This pandemic has taught us that we must adopt new ways of learning. “Online Class” is one of the most popular words which has gained a lot of attention in 2020 and continues. If we want our industry to sustain through any situation, evolution is a must. If today we are struggling with COVID-19 tomorrow there might be some other challenge. We can’t put the education of our young generation at stake because they are the future of our country. We want them to be smart and intellectual humans who can take command of the nation in the right direction. This is only possible if they are rightfully and meaningfully educated.
The online class systems became much more prevalent when we were struggling with how to conduct classes during lock-down. Virtual classrooms faced a number of problems. The major ones are the requirement of good internet connectivity, a tech-savvy population, student engagement, and many others. But the most crucial one was how to get student engagement in the class. We all know that today’s students don’t attend physical classes with full attention. So, it is out of the question that they will pay 100% attention in online classes.
Here we have mentioned certain online class techniques that will help our teachers to get a good engagement during online classrooms:
1. Familiarize students with the online tool used
It is very imperative for the student to know the features and functionality of the tool used for online lectures. They should know how to find study materials, assignments, and assessments. Teachers should tell them how to communicate with their instructors and fellow students. Teachers can prepare an introductory video on this and share it with the students before they start conducting online classes.
2. Take the hold of the show in the first two seconds
Today in this digital age we can easily understand the online lecture just like we watch a movie or any other web series but what will fetch our interest is the starting of that particular show that decides whether we’ll watch it further or not. Similarly, the first few minutes of the class decides whether the student will pay attention or not. So, teachers should decide their content far in advance. Special focus should be laid on the first two minutes. These few minutes will decide the fate of your lecture.
3. Use of proper multimedia
No student will be interested in watching your face throughout the lecture of 45 minutes. So, you should make effective use of the technology in hand. During class, you can teach the concept using certain related videos or PowerPoint presentations. Teachers can make use of other audio-visuals related to the topic that integrates the interest of students.
4. Personal connection with each student
It is of prime importance that every student should feel connected to the course rather than feel like it’s running on auto-pilot. While giving the lecture the teacher must connect with each student individually which creates a positive liaison between both the parties and students get interested in the lecture. For instance, if a certain student hasn’t logged in for a while then the teacher must connect with them. They must ask the reason and if there is some issue then resolve it right there. This encourages students to attend the class with enthusiasm as they understand that their teacher is keen to teach them.
5. Online learning community
Apart from mere lectures, teachers can form an online community for students where they can share ideas, discuss classwork/homework, help fellow students, share ideas and get more engaged in lectures. Even teachers can share useful videos and articles with students that can help in clearing the concept effectively.
6. Give students time to retain the concept & refresh themselves
When the teacher feels that the class is losing interest and they will not be able to retain more, then they should stop and provide students time to digest what is taught. It becomes way more significant during virtual lectures; students should be taught after giving proper breaks. So that they can refresh themselves after every topic and come up with a fresh outlook.
7. Divide the topic into concepts
The teacher should divide the entire topic into several chunks. After teaching that part of the lesson the questions can be asked. They should make it clear that the student understood that part of the chapter or not. This way it is easier for the teachers to teach and for students to retain. It is very important for the online environment because a long lecture often gets boring.
8. Interactive sessions
Online lectures should always be more interactive because when students are provided with a chance to speak then only teachers can come to know who is paying attention and who is not. Otherwise, during an online lecture In a class of 50 students, it is next to impossible to find out who is inattentive. So, during lectures, every student should be asked frequent questions. Even you can ask them to write it down if they have any doubt. Some of the students might shy about speaking it in front of the entire class.
9. Regular assessments and feedback sessions
To make online class learning efficient and effective it is very important that teachers give a regular assessment to students, evaluate them and provide feedback to every student on which topic they need to improve, that helps a student to form a sort of faith in the teacher and they can work on their weaknesses effectively. This helps in improving engagement in the class as well.
10. Make online class learning a real fun
Learning is actually a serious task but it shouldn’t be boring. Teachers should keep on conducting certain fun activities in the class. This refreshes the students and even students start engaging in the lectures more than ever.
So, here we have mentioned certain sure-shot techniques. These will surely help you to increase student engagement and attentiveness during online lectures. You must add these engaging elements in your online class. We can assure you that this will create a learning environment that is as effective as a physical offline class. So, use these methods in your online classes and let us know how it helped you and your students.
