A teacher’s job comes with a lot of responsibility. And, with responsibilities comes stress. With education moving online, this has increased as this concept is relatively new. Teachers had to modify their teaching pedagogy, learn digital skills and cope with the online teaching mechanism to make learning more effective.
Online teaching has opened a plethora of opportunities for both educators and students. However, it has also increased exhaustion which is virtual exhaustion.
Virtual Fatigue
Staring at the screen and engaging with digital tools for long hours leads to mental tiredness and burnout. This is what virtual fatigue is. This results in mental and physical tiredness, loss of energy and disinterest.
When you take online classes, you are left with no choice but to spend a lot of time staring at the screen and not only that but have to teach with full concentration. So, the chances of you having virtual exhaustion are high.
To help you manage the exhaustion that this might lead to, here are some tips:
- Choose the Right Teaching Tool
To ease your online teaching experience, it is important to choose the right tool. Before making a decision, check for all the features that you are looking for, go through them, and run a trial.
If you do not know how to use the platform that you are using or have difficulty using the platform, you will have difficulty teaching. If you do not enjoy what you do, you will have frequent burnouts.
- Turn Off Camera Whenever Needed
You might get exhausted looking into the camera and also might feel uncomfortable. Therefore, it is necessary to take breaks and turn off the camera whenever you feel the need to. You can also ask your students to do so.
- Take Short Breaks
Take short breaks between lessons to freshen up your mind. This helps you ease down. Divide your lessons into various parts and teach with breaks in between. It renews your teaching spirit and eases mental fatigue.
- Create a Dedicated Teaching Space
Create a dedicated teaching space. In order to prevent distractions when you teach, it is a good idea to have a designated workspace or home office with adequate setups, including a good background, desk and chair, proper lighting, and a door.
However, it may not be possible for you to create a home office, which is understandable. In such cases, try teaching from a quiet space.
- Do Not Use Screen When in Break
When you take a break, indulge in activities that do not require you to spend time staring at the screen. Avoid using social media, watching movies, etc. Try not to read also. Basically, spend time doing activities that do not require you to put your brain into use.
Do fun activities such as playing a fun game, exercising, talking to your family or friends, etc.
- Do Not Multitask
Switching between multiple tasks and going to-and-fro puts a lot of pressure on you. You will get easily exhausted. Do one activity at a time.
Final Thoughts
Experiencing fatigue while teaching online is common. You must try to deal with it in ways that help you feel relaxed.
