The sudden shift to online learning due to the pandemic has posed many challenges for instructors and students alike. While recorded lectures allow for flexibility, simply listening passively can cause students to lose focus and motivation. That’s why it’s critical to incorporate active learning techniques to engage students during virtual online class help services.
In this handy guide, we’ll explore some easy-to-implement active learning strategies to liven up your online teaching. Let’s get started!
Make Learning Interactive
One way to promote active learning in a virtual setting is to make your lectures highly interactive. Build in frequent pauses where students can respond to polls, quiz questions or prompts in the chat. Use whiteboard features on your video platform for collaborative activities like brainstorming sessions or problem-solving exercises. Let your students work together in breakout rooms to complete a task or discuss a topic while you float between groups.
Gamifying content with games like Kahoot is another excellent option for adding interactivity. The competitive nature will keep your students engaged as they test their knowledge. Make sure that game elements are balanced with learning objectives so that students won’t have to pay someone to do online classes.
Empower Student-Led Learning
Your learners will retain more when they’re involved in teaching parts of the lesson. Have students sign up to deliver short presentations on course topics via video. Set aside time for show-and-tell sessions where they can share examples or projects.
You might also try using the flipped classroom model where students watch pre recorded lectures beforehand to gain first exposure and then use your live class time for questions, group work and hands-on learning. This puts your learners in charge of their initial knowledge acquisition.
Use Breakout Discussions
Don’t underestimate the power of small group discussions for driving active learning. Either assign set topics or allow students to come up with the questions themselves. Break your class into smaller virtual rooms to debate ideas, share perspectives and learn from each other.
Set a time limit and bring everyone back together. Ask groups to share summaries with the class. Not only will this boost participation, but it will give quieter students a chance to find their voice in a smaller setting.
Add Multimedia
Variety is key when structuring an engaging virtual lesson. While valuable, your lectures shouldn’t be the only component. Incorporate relevant videos, infographics, animations or slide decks to give your students a multimedia learning experience.
Short educational videos are especially effective online since they speak to multiple learning styles with visual, auditory, and kinetic elements. Just be selective – choose only quality materials that align closely with your goals.
Make Space for Reflection
Learning sinks in when students have time to review and reflect on new concepts. Close each session by asking your class to summarize the key takeaways or share something new they learned that day.
You can also use a closure activity like having students post questions they still have, concepts they want to revisit or feedback on the lesson in a discussion forum or shared document. This metacognitive process reinforces the most essential knowledge.
Keep Things Student-Centered
At its core, active learning is about student engagement and collaboration. That means instructors should aim to act as facilitators rather than lecturers during virtual classes. Let your learners drive the conversation through activities like student-led Q&A sessions or peer reviews of assignments.
Occasionally, step back and allow students to run parts of the class themselves. By putting them in charge of their own learning, you empower them to think critically.
Offer Choices
Giving some control over the learning process will increase motivation. Within structured parameters, allow students to self-select paper topics, make choices in group work or vote on the next activity.
You can also differentiate assignments so learners can pick options tailored to their skills and interests. When possible, make flexible participation available through live chats or post-class online forums.
Get Creative with Assessments
Rethink the assessment process to promote active learning online. Traditional quizzes and tests are passive. Instead, have students apply knowledge through collaborative projects, presentations, portfolios, or concept maps.
Peer-grading and self-assessments with rubrics allow for evaluation experience while freeing up more of your time for instruction. Just provide guidelines and support to empower students through the process so that they don’t need to pay someone to do online class help.
Foster Community and Connections
It’s important not to underestimate the role social interaction plays in active learning. While challenging, aim to help students make connections with each other as well as yourself.
Use icebreakers and intro discussions as you would in person. Revisit these community-building activities periodically. Also, make yourself available for one-on-one video chats to touch base.
Final Words
With a mix of these student-centered active learning techniques, your virtual classroom will keep learners engaged from start to finish. Pay close attention to what methods resonate most with your teaching style and course topics when designing an interactive online experience. Good luck!