Recommendations to Increase Student Engagement in Online Courses
The online teacher-student interaction “off-class” will increase the interaction during online lessons. Make sure you create an opened communication channel. That’s as simple as replying to their emails and making time to give them feedback on their work. Feedback is an essential part of the learning process.
Online courses with level 3 interactions would be typically rich in audio and video elements, customized visuals, interactions, games, or quizzes. This level of interactivity is a must for teaching a new software application where learners have an opportunity to work in a simulated environment.
Chats are a great way to increase interaction because the level of commitment is low, opposed to joining in a video conversation or audio. At the beginning of your online class, make sure you explain the guidelines for using the chat.
Social interaction in online learning allows students to share their ideas on various subjects with each other. Student-led online discussions typically motivate deeper understanding as well as yield interesting personal applications of course concepts and theories.
Level 2 eLearning consists of limited interactivities. Something like the instructor posing a few questions to the audience now and then just to check for understanding and comprehension. In an online setting, this would be in the form of simple quiz questions that learners have to respond to before moving to the next segment. It could also be simple puzzles with drag and drop interactivity, animations, click on images, etc.
Articulate Storyline, Captivate, Lectora, and iSpring are some of the tools that allow creating eLearning courses using built-in templates, icons, and graphics, quite easily. This means we do not have to compromise on the quality of learning and the learning outcome.
Naturally, such instructors and presenters would be more popular with learners because they are bound to learn better from those lectures. The same holds true for online courses. There are 4 levels of interactivities that can be used in online courses.
Increasing the online teacher-student interaction can help students learn faster and more efficiently. To do that, online teachers need to create a connection with their students and build trust with them. But that can be challenging to do through a screen.
The online teacher-student interaction “off-class” will increase the interaction during online lessons. Make sure you create an opened communication channel. That’s as simple as replying to their emails and making time to give them feedback on their work.
A feedback during the online course can help you increase the online teacher-student interaction and help you better reach your students. The review of the course is essential for your progress as an online teacher. It could show you if your students were engaged, how they felt about your interaction with them and anything else you ask them.
Some online teachers use chats to encourage their students to comment and interact. Chats are a great way to increase interaction because the level of commitment is low, opposed to joining in a video conversation or audio. At the beginning of your online class, make sure you explain the guidelines for using the chat.
Incentives are an excellent strategy to increase online teacher-student interaction. They can be contests, giveaways, prizes and so on. For example, you can offer book prizes for the most interactive students, or they can join a contest through their participation in the online class.
Interaction is key to your success as an online teacher. If you increase the online teacher-student interaction, you’ll be able to build trust with your students. In turn, the trust will help them learn faster and more efficiently. So, create a connection with your students and encourage them to interact with you and with each other , every chance you get.
Conveying enthusiasm through video can be challenging, but it’s crucial for successful online classes. Remember always to deliver your content with passion and energy. Something as simple as the tone of your voice can impact the students’ motivation and willingness to interact with you.
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The big advantage to online learning is 24/7 communication. Course designs need to open up by building in resources for help through instant messaging, live chats and quick response times, creating a safety net for adult e-learners integrating the resources in the instruction.
Key takeaway: There is more help for e-learners today than there ever was for on-campus learning. Use announcements, feedback and other methods to direct students to resources. Build the path to resources into the design of instruction and align resources with assessment.
Gamification of a course can improve student interaction and learning, but there are other strategies instructional designers and educators can put into place to vastly improve adult student success in online courses. The more learning changes, the more it stays the same …. Technology changes, methods of delivery change ...
Adult learners are looking to become competent by learning. As such, it’s important for educators to break out of the box and gamify sections of the course where possible.
Course designs need to motivate engagement. This means creating a relaxed environment where the help is easily accessible so adults feel safe to engage. Resources also need to be made available at the point of learning in a highly visible, non-threatening way.
The question for the instructional designer is, “How do I get a student to show up?”
Electronic libraries have resources that improve the access to and experience of research. Many electronic libraries also offer tutors, writing labs, tutorials on how to research, citation engines and more. Finding new ways to integrate the resource with the learning and assessing both could improve course design.
For those of us who will teach large online classes in the fall, the challenge is clear: We must design and deliver courses that are engaging, interactive, well supported, and responsive to the times.
During individual sessions, check on student comprehension; conduct polls; and pose questions. Give students opportunities to actively participate during the class session, for example, by asking them to pose a question in the chat, or respond to a question.
Be flexible about how students participate in the class, for example, by including both asynchronous and synchronous learning opportunities. Allow students to access course resources in multiple ways -- allowing them to download PowerPoint presentations or view videos at a time of their convenience or take quizzes on their cellphones. Provide chances for students to earn extra-credit points. Shift your assessment strategies to include more authentic and project-based assessments.
Here are some strategies that work: Brainstorming sessions, where students present a variety of ways of approaching a topic or a problem; comprehension exercises, where students help one another understand a complex topic; critiques, where students challenge a particular argument or interpretation; diagnoses, where students deconstruct a problem; and sharing activities, where students reveal their own experiences or perceptions.
1. Build a personal connection with your students. Instead of simply introducing yourself, consider conducting a student survey.
What can you do? You can monitor their engagement. You can undertake regular check-ins and checkups. You can reach out proactively or send alerts whenever there are signs that a student is falling behind. You can send out alerts.
Encourage your students. Provide them with scaffolding: rubrics, check lists, sample responses to test questions, background information, glossaries. Offer some flexibility on deadlines and opportunities to re-do assignments. And provide prompt feedback.
Student-led online discussions typically motivate deeper understanding as well as yield interesting personal applications of course concepts and theories. A student could also share struggles or triumphs with the course work on discussion board forums to obtain feedback, suggestions, or praise from fellow classmates.
The instructor may interact with students on different course-related discussion forums, periodic live (and recorded) webinar sessions, instant messaging within the course, instructor podcasts, and other learning activities. In addition, instructors provide students with written and/or voice/video thread feedback on all student course work submissions. Students participate in the learning process by contributing to online discussions, requesting and sharing course materials, and sending course-related questions to the instructor. Accordingly, students have sustained opportunities to interact with the instructor throughout the semester to develop a community of inquiry. In addition, through e-mailed announcements and messages, students receive all of the needed updates and reminders necessary to stay focused on their course work.
Students can use communication on their class site discussion boards to obtain online learning support from others if they find certain course concepts challenging. Assigning group work online can also create opportunities for students to interact with each other.
Students participate in the learning process by contributing to online discussions, requesting and sharing course materials, and sending course-related questions to the instructor. Accordingly, students have sustained opportunities to interact with the instructor throughout the semester to develop a community of inquiry.
Instructors often ask students to share their personal experiences, academic achievements, and perceptions of the course concepts being studied. Such opinions can lead to the co-construction of understanding and knowledge in the course as well as give the instructor ideas on how to improve the course delivery.
Everyone learns in different ways, and social interaction maintained through online learning is just one of many great ways that students can thrive and prepare themselves for future careers. At Tulane School of Professional Advancement, we offer in-class and online education programs for those looking to advance their career. Our online learning coursework gives working professionals an option for pursuing their education on their own time. Learn more about our programs today.