Login instead of walking in!
With the current pandemic situations, distance learning has become common among students. However, many children still have difficulty switching from a traditional classroom to an online learning environment. Hence, keeping students engaged isn’t always easy. So, teachers need to take extra measures to engage students effectively. But how?
Here are some tips and tricks for teachers to keep their students engaged during online learning. So, make sure to implement the following in your live session.
How to Engage Students in Online Learning?
1. Explain how the online class works
Before you begin your teaching, explain how online education works. Because for some students, it might be the first online class to get started with. Create an introductory video session to access the necessary software and hardware. It will help the students to stay tuned in the virtual classroom without any delay or technical issues.
2. Help to set up learning space
A slight sound may distract the students when learning. Especially at home, students may easily get distracted. Encouraging students with a positive environment will make them more engaged in online classes without sound distraction. So, help the kids set up a friendly workspace with essential tools like headphones, webcams, etc.
3. Build Student-Teacher interaction
When a teacher and student are physically distant, creating a social connection between them becomes more complicated.
In the classroom environment, teachers used to be more friendly and chat with the students before beginning their class or in the midst. But, when it comes to online teaching, teachers also have problems like login issues and subject portion completion. Hence, they may concentrate on their teaching part.
However, a good student-teacher connection makes the learners more comfortable asking subject questions that students have in their minds. Hence, it would be best to build a friendly relationship with your students as a teacher.
4. Begin with an Agenda
Before teaching the topic, begin with an Agenda. Providing a plan or schedule at the beginning of the class will help the students know what topics will be covered in today’s session. So… start the teaching session with a layout or bullet list and offer them prior knowledge on what will be taught in the particular session.
5. Build Strong Community
One of the best ways to spice up students’ engagement in online learning is “building a strong community or group.” How?
Create a group like a message board, social media groups, etc. You can easily connect with your students through the groups to share the study materials during teaching and non-teaching hours. Even it will be helpful for the students to ask subject-related doubts to get clarified whenever they have them. Also, with this technique, you can let your students know that you are available for them whenever necessary.
6. Let them collaborate
Distance learning can make the students feel isolated since every student is in a different learning space. To fight the feeling of isolation, help them collaborate by assigning project works in groups. When they are in a group or with a partner, they can combine the creativity of their ideas and share individual perspectives. In addition, they can create a relationship with one another. It will make them feel more comfortable when participating in class.
7. Communicate
You’ll never know whether a student feels bored or sleeping unless you ask in remote teaching. This is because, in a virtual classroom, some students might be uninterested in listening while others feel shy to interact or fall behind. So, communicate with the kids in the middle of your class by asking questions or chatting.
Further, there are multiple formats accessible for the students and teachers to communicate in online learning. For instance: sending email, forum discussion, etc. Why don’t you get in touch with your students?
8. Include games
There is no doubt that students love games. Some kids even have a passion for fun games more than their studies. So, why don’t you try adding games to your teaching?
There are many ways to add games to kids’ studies. However, you don’t need to develop a full-fledged game. Instead, use a few game elements like a quiz competition. Adding game elements in teaching make the students more interested in listening to the lectures. Also, reward your students with badges or certificates for their win and participation. It will encourage the students to concentrate on their subjects.
9. Feedback
If you want to check whether your student is engaged in the online class, why not ask them? Every student won’t be honest when a teacher questions them directly. Instead, create anonymous polls and ask the students to answer what they feel about your teaching. It will be a great way to assess how interested they are in your lecture and how interactive they are in your session. Further, you can create a discussion session with your students and find their needs in your teaching.
Without feedback, students and teachers would never know what they are experiencing in the online course. Therefore, always provide constructive feedback and keep your kids engaged in the online classroom.
10. Motivate
Motivation usually drives the kids on the right path. It helps the students to face their difficulties in assignments on their own. Also, it encourages them to stay motivated and build confidence in their learning. So, please don’t force the students to complete their assignments. Instead, let them learn how to work things in their way. This will allow the students to stay active in the virtual classroom.
Closure
There has been a consequent growth in online learning for the past few decades. In addition, Covid -19 pandemic has transformed education from traditional classroom learning to online learning. But, online classes are not familiar among students and teachers who are not used to them. So, for some people, online learning would be hard to stay active. Try implementing the tips mentioned above and lead your learning and teaching journey ahead if you are among those!
We wish the best for the future of your young talented students:)
