Online learning has come with its own sets of advantages; be it convenience or accessibility, it has opened new horizons. At the same, one cannot overlook one of its biggest drawbacks, the lack of engagement. Since students are not in school and in the comfort of their homes, their minds start wandering and being online; instead of attending class, they engage in other activities.
Now, to counter this, teachers can implement a few tailor-made engagement strategies for online learning. They can help to keep the students focused throughout the lesson.
5 Engagement Strategies for Online Learning
Here are 5 tips that you can use to increase engagement in your online class –
1. Educate students by providing them with study materials
Even though it sounds obvious, it’s essential to provide students with more than just a dry lecture filled with data and instructions. What alternatives are there? You can either produce the material yourself or look for resources on the subject that are simpler to understand. It is an amazing way if you want to make your lessons more interactive because it will inevitably boost student participation.
Use videos in your online or hybrid classes now; they are beneficial and help to generate interest in particular subjects.
2. Increasing group work engagement among students
There’s no need to stop practising this activity while online, even though it is something typically reserved for a physical classroom. It is among the top engagement strategies for online learning. Group projects that are carefully thought out can provide students with the ideal setting to hone their interpersonal skills and develop teamwork.
What qualifies this tactic as one that will raise student engagement? Being in a group will encourage them to finish the assignment because peers often learn from one another more effectively. A student will be excited to take part if their role allows them to showcase their best qualities.
3. Use multiple formats to engage students
Using a variety of formats to make virtual classrooms more engaging for students is one of the best strategies to ensure student engagement in online learning. There are many ways to communicate with students, so using formats like discussion boards and course emails can help students become more engaged in the lectures.
You can use various alternative formats in addition to these, such as embedded video and audio, broadcast text message systems, chat rooms for chatting, and home page announcements. Another common format that is not only quick, cheap, and easy to create and publish but also well-liked by higher education students is explanatory screencast films.
4. Set up 1:1 sessions with your students
One-on-one lessons are essential, especially for struggling students and making slower progress than other students. They will understand better and be more engaged if you pay close attention to them and set out some extra time to walk them through concepts they find difficult. Additionally, one-on-one sessions offer you the chance to engage with your pupils in a much easier way than in a traditional classroom setting.
5. Using feedback as an engaging exercise when teaching online
In every learning setting, it’s crucial to regularly provide feedback and teach your pupils how to offer and receive it. Regular feedback is effective for hybrid and online teaching because it will increase students’ interest in their lessons. Why? Simply said, it can assist individuals in making adjustments, boosting their confidence, improving themselves, and communicating their issues. In addition, they will be more eager to participate in online learning if you can make them feel valued. Of course, you need to gather student input as well.
The classroom, whether in person or virtually, is a dynamic setting teeming with innovative activities. Because of this, educators must update how they regularly teach by using multiple carefully thought-out engagement techniques. Using the top 5 engagement strategies for online learning listed above will ensure full student participation while also improving learning and social interaction. Also, with online teaching platforms like Wise App, you will get access to various tools like pools, discussion boards, chat rooms, etc., to help you increase student engagement even better.
