Digital Dancing Manual 101

The arts sector is one of the most hard-hitting sector in this Covid-19 pandemic. The demand to attend these live performances are rapidly decreasing, because people are afraid to congregate in groups in risk of getting the virus. Additionally, studios globally are being closed/suspended as government laws impose stricter laws to try and curb this pandemic. Everyone is being highly encouraged to stay home, and go about our businesses from home. So, how the world does the dance sector try and maintain some form of normality?

Answer: online classes, live streaming, sharing of archived shows, lecture-demonstrations.... The list is endless.

Naturally, we would turn to the most available and accessible medium that can reach the masses - technology. With a large population on the world on social media, it is really not that difficult to continue daily classes, training and sharings from there.

I jumped on the bandwagon, and tried my hand in giving Online Classes. I thought to myself:

Question: "So do I teach as how I would in an in-person studio setting?"

Realisation: Yes, but No.

I realised that there are some rules I had to implement in order to create a better learning experience for both myself and my students. The more I experiment with this medium, the more I find myself thinking about the multitude of ways that people can still get quality lessons and classes from the comfort of their own homes. But I digress, for another time.

I thought that for this blog post, I would offer my 'Manual 101 - How To Teach Online'.

Not only is this for myself to reference, but to anyone else who might be interested on how an Online class works/conducted.

* I have to thank General Assembly for their valuable information that is currently being shared in their Free Course available now at the hyperlink attached. And to Ausdance for their resources on Effective Teaching Methods.

'DD' Manual - How to Teach Online

What are the Goals/Objectives of the Instructor? 

To drive engagement and excitement in the classroom. 

• By providing the students an active learning* experience. (*refers to the active contribution of the students via participation and feedback) 

• Inject personality and humour into the course, much like an in-person experience. 

• To provide a safe and positive learning experience for yourself and your students.

Considerations for Instructors

1. Type of Class (open class, private teaching, pre-professional, social etc.)

2. Dance Style & Genre

3. Participant's age, skill level & needs

4. Class size and venue.

I realised that this was a factor I had to consider when teaching from home. For example, I am more effective in a smaller group, 1-1 private teaching as I can focus my attention and care towards those individuals.

Developing a Lesson Plan

Logical, Suitable and Safe

• Successful instructors plan their lessons in advance - they explicitly plan for different types of activities, instruction formats and interactions in order to get the students engaged and learning.

• Take into consideration the students' emotional, physical and intellectual developments.

How to create a good Online Classroom culture? 

Important: the environment must be safe, positive and suitable.

1. Environment - consider the environment that you are conducting the lesson.

• Is your environment noisy/quiet? 

• Is there enough physical space (for both your students and yourself) to execute the steps/combinations. Make adaptations/adjustments if necessary.

2. Professionalism - Maintaining a professional demeanor

• Same classroom norm applies: speak to each other in a respectful manner. 

• Making sure your attire is appropriate for the class you are going to attend. 

• The location that you are teaching in does not have any images or paraphernalia that others may find disrespectful.  

• For instructors: having the right equipment. Eg: dance/yoga mat, ballet slippers or pointe shoes, sports bra, resistance band etc.

But you must make it clear beforehand on the equipment that you will be using (if any).

3. Communication Skills - Communicate Clearly.

• Discuss your goals and expectations of the class before beginning the lesson.

• Give clear instructions, explanations and demonstrations physically and verbally.

• Adapt your language to suit the age and experience of students.

• Giving real-time feedback that respects students and helps them develop as independent learners.

4. Participation - keyword: interactive experience. 

• The Instructor should encourage student to accept reasonable challenges and to take risks with the teacher's support.

• Cultural, gender and age differences and different physical and learning abilities are reflected in fair and inclusive teaching/learning practices.

Troubleshooting with the Students 

Students who many not be as comfortable with the technology may struggle more in the beginning on how to conduct themselves and learn from video. 

Creating a Game Plan for Struggling Students

• Checking in with these students during the lesson. 

• Connecting with these students - this is crucial to ensure a safe and positive learning environment for yourself and the student.

• Teaching safe dance principles that are respectful. Eg: positive body image, non-judgemental attitudes etc.

• Show different problem-solving methods and solutions to a task or movement.

• Being sensitive to social, economic, cultural contexts, expectations, languages and themes.

• Give students learning opportunities which develop and recognise different learning styles.

Remember, respecting your students always comes first. Encouraging them to learn by themselves, with your guidance and support, is the next step.

Setting Ground Rules

These are some ground rules I set for my students before they we begin the lesson. 

1. Make sure all students are visible on camera. 

2. Making sure their microphone is on mute when the lesson actually begins. It is okay for the microphones to be turned on at the beginning to connect. But as soon as the lesson formally begins, they must switch off their microphones. This is to ensure that their attention can be directed towards the Instructor's voice. 

3. Make sure that they pin/enlarge the instructor's screen so that they have a more visible Point Of View to learn. 

4. If the students have a question/feedback, they will need to raise their hand so that it is a physical cue for me to acknowledge them. 

5. If they understand my instructions, they will give a thumbs up as a physical cue for me to acknowledge them. 

6. After 3-4 exercises, I will make sure to spend at least 2-3 mins giving feedback so that they can synthesize the new information before we move on. It also helps to check their level of understanding, and reteach if necessary. 

Camera Angles

Make sure that the screen captures your entire body.

This is to ensure proper alignment and placement for the teacher to be able to provide accurate feedback.

Eg: Making sure that the screen captures your entire body.

Remember:

Do:

• Set boundaries & Ground Rules

• Make sure that all students must be on camera

• Give students step-by-step instructions on how to do video conferencing

• Let them know how you DO NOT want them to use the Video Conferencing software.

• Connect with your students.

• Clear some space.

• Create a logical, safe and progressive lesson plan (if it is recurring)

I hope this manual is useful for the curious. As I continue to explore and experiment with more class happening during the course of this week, do check out my list of classes available for you to join!

Just click on this link, register and you're all set!

See you on the virtual space. #keepdancingonline