Students these days are more engaged with technology than ever before. In the past, they would have been content to sit in a classroom and listen to a lecture from their teacher, but now students often find themselves distracted by new sources of information that can be accessed at any moment.
This means there is an opportunity for you as an educator to use those same technologies as tools for your teaching!
Here are three ways that you can keep your students engaged during online learning:
Create assignments that require creative thinking or problem solving
In a classroom, a teacher teaches you what to think about.
But in an online learning environment, the student can do it themselves. Students can be free to explore and use their imagination.
The only problem is that students need more help when they are doing things by themselves than listening to someone else tell them what to think about.
To fix this problem, give your students assignments that require creative thinking or solving problems!
Connect your course material with current events
Current events can be a great way to connect your course material with the world around them.
For example, if you are teaching about World War II in history class, talk about how it relates today by talking about what is going on now in terms of wars and news from other countries.
This will help students see that these events are important and that they actually do matter.
This will also help them get more interested in what you have to say because it is relevant to their lives!
It may even encourage students who aren’t currently engaged with the course material to become invested.
One of my favorite things about learning online is how easy it makes connecting with the material.
In a classroom, it is more difficult because you have to wait for your teacher to tell you how these events relate – or they might not even talk about them at all!
With online learning, I feel like I am more in control of my own education and can really do whatever I want with it.
I love being able to connect my course material with current events. It makes it more interesting and relevant – which are two things that every student needs!
Give them opportunities for collaborative work.
Another way to keep your students engaged is by encouraging them to work together.
This can be anything from asking questions that encourage discussion between classmates to giving collaborative assignments where they have to work with someone else!
It may seem like you are just wasting time if everyone gets distracted and loses focus in a classroom, but online learning makes it a little easier to manage.
In online learning, I feel like it is way more fun and productive to work together with classmates because we can all learn from each other.
Our discussions don’t need to be limited by the schedule of our teacher – which gives us an opportunity to really explore what we want!
It allows me to learn more in-depth, which is something that I really enjoy.
This also allows me to benefit from the strengths of my classmates – who may be better at some subjects than others!
Collaborative work encourages learning and growth within a group environment.
It’s fun, it’s engaging for students, and it can help everyone learn!
Did you know that there are many different ways to keep your students engaged?
It’s true – and online learning is a great way to do it.
In order for them to feel invested, they need something relevant – which can be as simple as connecting the course material with current events or giving them opportunities for collaborative work!
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FAQs:
What are some examples of activities that require creative thinking or problem-solving?
Some examples of assignments that would involve creative thinking and problem-solving include: creating a short video on the history of dinosaurs, drawing what you think your favorite song sounds like (based on just listening to it), or writing about possible solutions for climate change.
What is a way that teachers can connect their course material with current events?
One example of a connection between the two could be comparing and contrasting different world leaders from history to those in today’s news. Teachers could also talk about how climate change has been an issue since ancient times – but it may not have been as prevalent until recently, and what we can do to change that now.
What is a collaborative assignment?
Some examples of assignments where students work together would be: creating a presentation as a larger group and then splitting up research to each individual, brainstorming solutions for an important social issue as part of your class (and presenting those ideas), or role-playing as two characters from a novel.
How can online learning allow students to connect with the material better?
Students are able to take more control over their own learning, which makes it feel like they have an investment in what’s going on – meaning that they’re probably going to be more interested and invested! With the ability for anyone else who has access to the material to be able to contribute, students are more likely to gain different perspectives on the course material that they may not have gotten otherwise.
What is one way online learning can allow for collaborative work?
With an online class, it’s easier because there aren’t limited time constraints of a teacher – which means that everyone can learn in the way that works best for them. It also gives students opportunities to learn from each other, which can be really powerful when it comes to learning!
What is one example of a collaborative assignment?
One example could include creating something together – like writing your own short story based on some prompts you create with classmates (or even friends from other classes) or creating a presentation for your class that shows your interpretation of the novel you just read.
