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One of the most scary activities we ask students to do in languages is to record themselves speaking the language they are learning. Such a demand needs to be scaffolded in order to build trust and the technology needs to be reliable and easy to use. In class I use soundcloud to store audio recordings to model questions and answers and often embed these into a Thinglink image which makes exploring them more fun. As we are working at a distance now I have set up Flipgrid boards which allow me to send personal feedback just to the individual speaker but also let the class hear each other's posts so they get more listening practice (important to help them prepare). The settings are very flexible and the tool deals with the headaches of transcoding etc.

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These will depend on your audience. I aim to deliver interactive webinars and make edited recordings available.
In an ideal world, I also offer self-paced learning resources with shorter chunks (5 mins top).
I am considering text only versions for students who have very slow connections.

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We are humans, we are programmed to love faces. Even when we don't love our own.
Students appreciate seeing there is a person behind the content. Look directly to the camera (it helps me to imagine the students are looking very interested indeed).

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Set aside an hour of time. Tell the students they can book a 15 minute slot in that hour for a one-to-one meeting. Tell the students to explain any details in the calendar invite, so you can prepare in advance. Let them make the booking in Teams calendar.

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Synchronous activities are much more high risk but allow (if you design them in) for interactive activities to be undertaken.

We all have a lot going on at home so it may not be practical for you and your students to attend synch activities.

A balance between synch and asynch will reduce pressure on you and provide greater flexibility for you and your students.

Use synch for interactive, collaborative and discursive activities. If there's no interaction, there's no difference between you talking over your slides live/pre-recorded.

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Make instructions as clear and concise as you can.  Label each resource and activity clearly to help e.g. 1.1, 2.3, 3.4

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Consider producing a short video guide screencast to introduce each topic/section/week.

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I have not shied away from being "informal" with them, talking about what I have been up to and using a range of emojis in the chat box. They have appreciated this informal approach, and I feel that it makes them more likely to participate in asking verbal or chat room questions.

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If you run an active session be aware that you will probably cover less than in an in attendance session. This links to the point already posted that you cannot read your students, so you need to take things at a pace that means they stay with you. To do this I have found that I cannot cover as much.

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Have a plan on what to cover. This provides structure to the session, and students like structure. BUT also plan some time for off "script" because heving flexibility to change what you do in reponse to what studetns need is important.

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ry to have diverse activities - don't rely on just one way of making the content interactive

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Ensure students get some form of feedback but be clear about what that will look like (what’s manageable, realistic and helpful).

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Be really clear about what is expected of the students. Be really clear about what the activities will be, and if there is a recommended sequence, and what they should do alone or in groups, and whether there will be progress checks  along the way.

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Design online teaching so that students have success early on which will motivate them to engage further.

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It's good to have a variety of activities but you must remember that students came to the programme for the subject matter, not to spend ages learning how to use new digital tools!

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Keep video/audio clips within online learning materials down to less than 2 minutes if you want students to actually listen to/ watch them

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Get everything in one place, if it can be embedded the embed it in the pages and link through to sections where possible.

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Providing clear instructions and letting participants know what is expected of them.

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Letting students know that you are available to help and support where appropriate

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You are without the immediate feedback of a classroom (you can see the looks on students' faces when something hasn't landed properly. SO a lot of effort has to go into getting balance between making yourself clear and not being patronising.

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Online teaching needs to be designed to ‘keep participants going’:
- Cognitive persistence - design tasks and activities that scaffold students’ thinking and understanding and work to the principles of constructive alignment.
- Affective persistence - make sure you keep students going emotionally (motivation, peer collegial approaches etc). Let them know you are there.
- Physical persistence - design sites with key, noticeable navigation so students know where they are in the process.

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Adapt content and materials you already have.