The Simple Way to Manage Online Lesson Timings

Getting timing right is an essential part of preparing successful live virtual lessons. But are you finding it a challenge? With no bells to keep you on track, even the most experienced teachers can struggle.
So how can you get it right? We’ve got a range of simple ideas to help you take charge of lesson timings to manage online learning effectively.

1: Keep an eye on the clock

When you’re busy teaching, it’s easy to lose track of the time. Your clock display might be hidden when you screen share in live lessons.
Keep a small clock or watch on your desk in front of you. Check the time after every small section of your lesson and adjust to keep the rest on track. You could even set alarms if you find you keep running over.
Write down rough timings on your lesson plan so you can see when you should ideally move on to the next task. Check them against the actual time as you teach.

2: Be realistic about lesson timings

Are you missing the signs to move on? Without the subtle cues from learners, you can easily keep presenting for far too long. Your students lose interest and it ruins the pace of your lesson. Stop and take a few moments to ‘read the room’ at regular intervals.
Or maybe you find online tasks quicker than expected? With all the preparation taking place before the lesson begins, there’s less fuss and organisation during the class. You find activities taking half as long as you’d planned.
Be realistic about what you’ll cover. Have back-up activities in reserve. Prepare two lessons at a time so you can move straight onto the next objective whenever you’re ready. Planning beyond lesson-to-lesson means you always know exactly what the next steps in learning are.

3: Be flexible with the content of online lessons

Activities take a long time to prepare. After all that work, it’s hard to not do everything you’ve planned. But you need to put learners first. Lessons must be fluid to match the needs of the students, rather than a rigid plan to follow.
If you’re running out of time, don’t cram an activity into a few minutes. Similarly, if a task takes longer than expected, don’t cut it short if there’s great learning happening. Activities can always wait for another day.

4: Check online lesson timings against your predictions

It’s hard to make an accurate judgement about how long activities will take. Write your predictions and measure them against the reality.
Are you always running out of time for a plenary or left twiddling your thumbs to fill the last few minutes?  See where you tend to overrun or overestimate time. Use this to become more accurate with your predictions.

5: Evaluate your virtual live lessons

Recording live lessons gives you a fantastic resource to send home as revision and for those students who missed your class. But have you considered the potential for your own professional development?
Watching videos of your teaching may feel excruciating at first, but you soon get used to the sound of your own voice. Watch past lessons for any timing problems. Where did a lesson lose pace or rush the learners?
If you feel brave, choose a trusted colleague, and ask them to critique you with a virtual lesson observation. It’s a good way to improve your online teaching presence. They can join your live session or send them the video recording to watch.

6: Start on time

Keeping students focused during live lessons is essential. Things will go wrong as soon as your class begins if you don’t start quickly. But there will always be some students joining late. What can you do?
Instead of making everyone wait, plan an independent activity they can do as soon as they join the lesson. Display the instructions as a screen share and let them get started whilst they wait for other learners to arrive.
This way, when students are late, there’s no need to keep repeating the instructions. After the starter activity, you can share learning objective and begin your lesson right on time.

7: Finish on schedule

It doesn’t matter how amazing your lesson is, students will switch off the minute it’s time for the class to end. Don’t keep them hanging on for a few extra minutes to finish something off. They won’t be listening.
If you’ve got an awkward few minutes left, let your class talk about the learning, play a retrieval practice game, or share the focus for the next lesson. You could even reward them by finishing a little early on occasion.

Final thoughts

Managing lesson timing is always a challenge for even the most experience teachers. Planning flexibly lets you adjust effectively whilst you’re teaching. Drop activities or let a discussion run on for longer than planned rather than sticking to a rigid plan.
Evaluating timings after each lesson will help you spot patterns. Ask a colleague to support you, to identify where you need to make changes. Often little tweaks are all that’s needed to make lessons run smoothly.
You can find lots of other online teaching support on Wacom’s community blog. It’s packed with ideas to help you move to online virtual learning.

Related posts:

How to design characters for animation: 3 tips from a pro

How to design characters for animation: 3 tips from a pro

How to set up a killer art portfolio for school or work

How to set up a killer art portfolio for school or work

Connect with Wacom on Social

We're On Instagram
Is that the summer sun or your computer rendering some new work? 🥵🔥💻⁣
⁣
Adorable and relatable illustration by the talented @caradebola_mx! ✨⁣
⁣
#MadewithWacom #digitalart #art #illustration
255 2
Pride is being able to show up with all your colours and shades. It’s understanding that YOU are the biggest and most beautiful masterpiece of your life. Pride is expressing everything that you are and dazzling the world with it ✨💫

We see you, we support you and this community will always be excited to see you be yourself 🌈

PRIDE ON! 🌈🌈🌈🌈

#madewithwacom with #pride🌈 #pridemonth
746 11
Artivist @nikkolas_smith, in collaboration with @AmericanRedCross, shares his art to bring awareness to sickle cell disease, highlighting the importance of blood donors and accessible transfusions.⁣
⁣
Nikkolas continuously inspires us with the work he does, using his creations to spark important conversations about a variety of social issues. We highly encourage you all to check out more artwork on his page! ⁣
⁣
#MadewithWacom #SickleCellAwareness #digitalart #art #artivist
466 1
Do you always end up drawing the same types of mouths for your characters? 😥

Then, this tutorial is made for you, learn how to draw the mouth step by step 👄

Improve your artworks with these tips ✍️ Enjoy the full video in our Youtube channel!⁣

What other parts would you like to learn how to draw?

#creativity #creativeprocess #wacomtips
1251 5
One by Wacom unboxing ASMR by @designbydimyana. 😌🎧⁣
⁣
Do you guys like watching product unboxings? ✍️👀⁣
⁣
#MadewithWacom #OnewithWacom #art #unboxing #asmr #satisfying
3512 39
The importance of spending quality time when creating a nice storyboard ❤️

Visualize your ideas, structure your stories and experiment with different visual and narrative choices without losing your workflow 🚀

Enjoy the perfect combination between #CintiqPro27 and the @‌unrealengine real-time 3D tool ✨

It’s perfect for those who work in film, animation, advertising, and other visual media industries!

The #CintiqPro27 is made for you! Link in bio!

#Engineeredforharmony #CintiqPro27
676 7
Love is love ✨⁣
⁣
Thank you for sharing your art @imzeferino ❤️⁣
⁣
We want to celebrate Pride month with you by sharing your art with our community 🌈 Tag your illustrations with the hashtag #MadeWithWacom so that we can share your amazing work!⁣
⁣
#madewithwacom with #pride🌈 #pridemonth
946 10
Sometimes reality strikes hard 😂⁣
⁣
Perfecting an artwork for hours and then getting surprised by the asymmetric is our daily routine 😅 But don’t worry, it’s all part of the process!⁣
⁣
#Madewithwacom by @yayachanartist in a #CintiqPro27 using @clipstudioofficial ❤️⁣
⁣
#CintiqPro27 #Engineeredforharmony
4511 64
⁣
Wacom Creativity Camp starts next Thursday with a live class with @idrawhomer one of the lead animators for The Simpsons!⁣
⁣
Join us for this free #WacomWebinar to get a behind-the-scenes look at the process of bringing some of our most beloved characters to life.⁣
Register today through the link in our bio! ⁣
⁣
#WacomCreativityCamp #WacomSummer #WacomEdu
589 2
Made with love and #MadewithWacom! 💕 Adorable illustration by @c.iloe, creator of many more colorful, whimsy masterpieces with a wide collection of beautifully diverse characters! ✨🌈⁣
#Pride2023 #digitalart #art #illustration #characterdesign
408 1
The importance of trusting the process ✨
@hollyjackieart described like this 👇

“Sometimes I look at a finished illustration and I have no idea how I got there. While I’m working, it’s like being in a trance” 🔮

Do you feel it that way too?

#MadewithWacom #Workinprogress
1108 11
Hey hey hey strike a pose 📷
Part 2 of @bonnie.blu's "Top Tips to Elevate Your Summer Photoshoot" series is here. 🔥

Learn about ways to use collabs to your advantage this summer😎

#photography #photographytips #photographer
165 2
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins
There has been a problem with your Instagram Feed.