Learning has no limits

In this unprecedented situation due to COVID19, the schools are shut down and the instructors around the world are collaborating collectively to respond and provide education for all age groups.

While schools are remaining closed for an extended duration, a sudden need has arisen for the online teaching/learning. Teachers who are proficient in teaching in the usual traditional classrooms had to rise to the occasion and re-learn for the virtual classroom. For some who are already used to this technology, it might have been easy to switch over.

The first step was to choose the right platform and the second step was to use the selected features to make teaching effective and ensure that all students are learning.

The question is: How to keep the students attentive? What is the type of online teaching required?
However the tool that can ensure an online classroom management and reach all students of different cognitive ability matters.

The use of blended learning has become the talk of every educationist today which mixes various teaching techniques, learning styles, and instructional methods.

Change can be difficult especially for teachers who are comfortable with the traditional teaching techniques of chalk and talk. The use of blended learning has become the talk of every educationist today which mixes various teaching techniques, learning styles, and instructional methods. In most cases, blended learning combines a mix of classroom meetings and contents delivered via some form of online platform.

This style of learning provides a way for the faculty to engage students through visuals in online teaching. Students are given a comprehensive educational experience that can boost retention and optimum engagement in the learning process.

Let us look at the impact of visual learning and learning through videos by students.
It is a fact that majority part of the human brain is dedicated towards processing the visual information. Students respond to visuals faster than text or any other kind of learning material. Remembering material from the picture is retained in the mind for a longer time. It is useful to convert the abstract theories into visuals and through visuals, students get to process information faster.

How can we make learning effective and long standing?


It needs a lot of creativity, imagination and necessary skills. To achieve this, we must make engaging, interesting and catchy visuals. Visuals remove the burden of reading through pages of text and understanding the complex sentences and language difficulties. We talk less and show more allowing students to see and comprehend.
A few useful tips to make the visual content interesting and attention-grabbing which can be incorporated into the online learning sessions to make the content clear and comprehensive is listed below:

• Pictures and photographs—Primitive cave drawings show a desire to use pictures to convey thought, feeling, and meaning. A relevant picture or a photo is always self-explanatory as it can drive the message faster than the verbal explanation. It reduces the cognitive load and fulfills learning objectives.

• Demonstration /illustrations – It is an interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or a process, which can make the content clear. It can be a drawing, digital design, do and show and collage. They are very expressive and realistic.

• Flow charts and Graphs –These are powerful tools both in classroom and in online teaching. A chart can easily represent numeric data and functions in order to give a person an idea of the current or even a forecast situation. The use of pictographs, flow chart, pie diagrams and mind mapping are some useful tools to enable learners to see and understand.

• Mind mapping – It is probably one of the best online teaching techniques for the visual learners within a particular age group. A mind map is a diagram of related ideas and concepts that can be used as a support for studying and a way of organizing information. This helps instructors in structuring classroom discussions, classifying ideas and gradually bringing learners to the central idea.

• Simulation – It is another tool which gives evidence-based approach and makes content realistic. Certain text forms can be added to explain the concept.

• Simple drawings — A line drawing is an easy way of teaching complex procedures and is understood well by students.

Video lessons…
In the video lessons, learners are more focused throughout than in the Power Point presentation, as they can see life in the moving figures of stories and scenes than a dull static content. While watching a video, it helps learner to pause, rewind and see the lessons again and again until it is clear, and they can also control their learning pace.

Remember, the best way to appeal to the learners is with the ‘story’ approach. Humans naturally engage with narratives. Teachers must plan scripts for video lessons which will be engaging like telling a story or demonstrating a process where learners are able to grasp the message faster.
With countless distractions pulling learners in all directions, smart visuals keep them hooked to the content and help them retain the learning.

The video script must be simple, short, and clear. This helps in the long-term retention ability of the learners. It should be ensured that the image and its corresponding text convey the same idea. One must not make the image so prominent that the text gets lost.

Benefits of visual teaching and learning

When educators introduce any new technique of teaching and learning, the goal is to help students understand the material better. Visual teaching and learning are unique methods in that they can simultaneously address the needs of a learner.

Visual communication is something we see and use in our daily life. We actively depend on visual communication to perform certain tasks. For example, when we follow directions on road signs, use of GPS and get attracted to hoardings. We also receive visual messages as product images in advertising, pictures in weekly magazines and messages in mobile phones. Learners will love it too if you give them an assortment of visuals to feast their senses.

For some students, learning a particular subject by watching a video may be most effective. Others may learn better through participating in online discussion forums. Ultimately, it is up to the teacher to transform each student

it is up to the teacher to transform each student from a passive receptor into an active participant in the online classroom. This may mean providing different mediums viz. video, text, visuals, etc. for introducing each new lesson or concept.

from a passive receptor into an active participant in the online classroom.
This may mean providing different mediums viz. video, text, visuals, etc. for introducing each new lesson or concept.
The use of technology imply that we need to incorporate opportunities to learn, teach, and relate visually within education framework
In spite of visual learning and teaching is becoming important, verbal and written mode of teaching are still essential.
‘Learning to see and create visual images must also be recognized as essential to the learning process.’ – Bette Fetter