I began my online school compliment of teaching in earnest this week. The directive from my main source of teaching was to use teams and record the lessons within this app. Although there are some issues with the idea of systematically recording lessons, the argument put forward by the establishment that I work for which I found most compelling is the protection issue. Music teachers delivering lessons do need to feel that they won’t be accused of inappropriate behaviour. Reservations that I had about anyone being able to access these lessons are probably not worth worrying over; the only people who have access to the recording are you and those added to the lesson.

So what are my top tips?

1. Add your lesson to the student calendar and badger them to accept the invitation. This calendar facility is great; both you and your pupil are pinged when the lesson is created and 15 minutes beforehand. It’s worth knowing too that on a mobile device you can only record the lesson if it is scheduled as a meeting.
2. I often set up the recording when I enter the meeting, not necessarily when the student arrives. This means that you set up the expectation that students will arrive on time. When I arrive, I give them a minute to join. If not, there is a handy tool to nudge them with a call direct to the meeting – just select participants, click on their name and there will be a ‘invite them to join’ option. It also means that should someone not be happy that their lesson has not been the full length, you can show that you were there waiting.
3. If a student does not arrive having accepted the meeting and you can’t raise them using the above process, I usually stop the recording and restart, I then proceed to give them the lesson that I was hoping to give. This might be a recap on pronunciation, a description of musical context and translation, a suggestion of breathing places, talking and modelling tricky phrases which you instinctively know will be an issue. I might also use that time to create or send other resources; a learning track, a pdf of a new song, a call and response with gaps, detailed look at the melody, anything that will assist. At the end, I will leave time for me to email that student telling them that there is a lesson for them to pick up at their leisure. This also protects you from having to find another window to take that lesson, having already wasted 5-10 minutes of your time checking if the student will actually appear. Recorded sessions at these times are also extremely useful; they can be re-accessed as many times as the student wants in the week.
4. If the connection is bad or IT is not working on your student’s side, you have a couple of choices – do what you can to carry on, sort out the issue or record the lesson as above so at least there is something positive. Alternatively, as it’s an issue which is beyond their control, or at your discretion, you could abort and offer to reschedule if you are able.
5. I have a team of singing students in the same organisation. You can add resources to the ‘files’ tab for the team which you may need in the lesson or for downloading at another point. This means that students can be more proactive about getting their resources ready. You can only add the files from a PC though, not iPads…. I have to confess I do email resources across if asked, but obviously this does mean you can direct them to a resource that is usable immediately, rather than waiting for a file to arrive.
6. When timetabling, do yourself a massive favour and add a minimum of 5 minutes between lessons. This gives you room if someone arrives a bit late or there are organisational or technology issues which you don’t want eating into the lesson or essential breaks to get up, make a drink, go to the loo or my favourite – sit in the sun or run round the garden!
7. The lesson depends on meticulous organisation, try to email resources ahead and ask for them to be printed out/accessible for the lesson. Don’t forget to print out the resources they need your end, so you know you have everything you need. If working with youngsters, add breath marks, bar numbers and any thing useful so it’s easier for them to pick up where you want them to.
8. Try not to overrun. This is a big issue for me as I think, I will just bring things to a natural close, but the reality is, you have probably given a lot more time sending resources than in the lesson, don’t be afraid to finish a few minutes early to do that ahead of next week so you are fresh for the next student.
9. Take a look at a few of the recorded lessons and look for ways to improve. It became very obvious to me after looking at one lesson why my throat felt tense after teaching like this. I think the frustration of things being less immediate makes us all speak more loudly and be more tense generally. I realised that I could speak less and listen more and the lesson would be equally useful and more satisfying for the student. Your own areas for improvement will be glaringly obvious to you. It’s a great way of getting CPD without paying for it!
10. A pupil’s second device for digital resources is essential really. It also provides a back up if one device fails.
11. Direct your student to the recording at the end of the lesson as a means to recap anything they forget or model their future practice. In the same way you can see your own faults, they should be able to see theirs! Recap main points you want worked on – do not add to your workload by writing notes to students afterwards, get them into the habit of writing their own notes. Use the recording to your advantage.
12. Keep positive – try not to get anxious if technology fails or there are glitches which are inevitable. Remember that the teaching experience is not the same as the learning experience and your student looks to you to determine how effective what they are doing is. If you look fed up and constantly moan about things which can’t be helped, they will also find those things bug them. If you don’t mention them, they will merge into the background. Enjoy the moments when you are able to praise your student. Remember to see how important that is to them by their smiles and posture and congratulate yourself inwardly on doing something nice for someone today. Don’t forget that teaching is a way of enabling and instilling self-confidence.