In many circumstances, effective online teaching needs more consideration and effort than in-person instruction. It can soon deteriorate into ‘Zoom Classroom Fatigue’ if not handled effectively. As a result, we must revamp our curriculum to make it more engaging, interactive, and adaptive for kids.
Furthermore, you can use software like Adobe Connect App, which allows instructors and teams to reproduce the learning environment of physical classrooms and catch and maintain a learner’s attention. It also has integrated features like Chat, Polls, Custom Apps, and more.
One of the most important aspects of a successful online learning program is making sure your students are actively participating in it. Making something interactive is one of the most effective methods to get students more involved in what they’re doing. Before moving forward, let us understand what you think is a virtual classroom?
The term “virtual classroom” refers to online teaching and learning surroundings in which learners and teachers can share teaching materials, participate in class discussions, and work in groups.
One of the most distinguishing features of a virtual classroom is that it operates in a live, synchronous environment. Students can see pre-recorded or asynchronous content as part of their online coursework; virtual classroom environments require real-time interaction between instructors and students.
When taking part in a virtual class, it is to everyone’s advantage to have students engaged in the material. It alters the classroom dynamic and improves the overall learning experience for everyone, including the teachers and other students. Below are a few tips that will make your live virtual classes more engaging:
Build a sense of community
The sense of belonging is a powerful motivator for participation. We all need to be a part of something at some point. When it comes to creating meaning, the people in your life play a crucial role.
Creating a sense of belonging in your classroom helps students take responsibility for their progress and success. By working together and taking responsibility for their learning, they are more likely to succeed. People can learn from each other through the use of IT.
Interaction with a more knowledgeable individual can help learners acquire skills that are too tough to grasp independently. Your lesson plans must be interesting and timely to develop a sense of unity among your students. To that end, it should allow students to form bonds and work together on projects.
The course materials should encourage students to participate in class discussions and after-class discussion groups by recognizing them for their valuable contributions.
Address students by their names
Always use students’ names when referring to them; not only does this help develop a connection with the audience, but it also gets their attention. If participants aren’t using their true identities as the names of their Zoom account names, you should ask them to change this at the beginning of the session so that you don’t have to guess what their names are.
For instance, if someone makes a statement in the conversation, you can paraphrase the message and mention the person who commented.
Use graphics
Going through white slides with extensive black writing can be an exceedingly tiresome process. That will make anyone feel bored, but a student will feel it more than anyone else. Therefore you need to add colors and excitement to the situation.
You can include popular memes, short animated videos like GIFs, or movie sequences to make your class more engaging and exciting. Set up funny timers for students on their weekly tests and quizzes. You could, for example, use excerpts from funny tv series to inject some humor into your science lessons.
Use multiple tools
The desire to develop and improve learner participation and engagement is not unique to you. Program-wide social networks that allow students to keep in touch with each other throughout courses can be set up by institutions. Direct messages, announcements, and live events can all be used by administrators and support personnel to increase student involvement in the program.
However, it’s not necessary to have institutional support for your class to be interactive. Students can meet one another via Adobe Connect and Google Hangouts alongside external social networking applications such as Facebook and Telegram.
Conclusion
A crucial factor in the success of any online course is student participation. Since online classes are here to stay, we must do everything to keep them interesting. As a result, students will get the most out of every lesson they attend. It’s all about providing useful and engaging content that enhances their educational experience.
