Terrific suggestion Mark. That is a great way to get students engage and keep them engaged!
There are a number of methods that I use to keep students engaged in the online environment. I like to post attention-grabbing announcements on a regular basis to keep students informed of important dates and events. I also use polls and games during live chat sessions to keep the students engaged during online lectures.
Great ideas Robert. Is there a specific example you can give us of a game you use during the live chats?
That is a good idea and one that I hadn't considered. Is there a good place to online to do polls during a chat session?
I try to bring in an true to life example of what the topic is that I will be covering. This helps to show the students a real live scenario for why this is important or how this might be used. Using this kind of like a demo helps to keep them involved to a point, but having additional tool such as polls helps to keep them from doing other things while listening to the chats.
It is a great teaching technique to use real world examples that the students might find themselves in where they information or skills you are teaching would be critical. I find that many times students don't understand why they are taking general education courses but by telling them how this information might be helpful in their work setting, they seem to be more interested.
I like your example of how you maintain a strong presence in the classroom and how you keep your discussions "alive" through praise and encouragement. However I do have a challenge with my class for this quarter regarding their weekly assignments. It appears that I have students that will not take advantage of the course resources. The resources that are available would aid the students in getting higher scores on their weekly assignments and on their exams. I put a lot of time and effort into grading the weekly assignments and including feedback. Since the student only has one opportunity to submit their assignment, I encourage them to ask questions before their submission, especially if they are having trouble with a particular concept or problem. Only a few take advantage. Any suggestions
definately a plus point tecnique and in addition to that , picture presentation , case discussion , case scenarios can also be included in their learning process
Very good - As you indicate, the relevancy, presentation and scenario-based instruction are all three good tools for enhancing student engagement.
In my experience making the material relevant in the live chat sessions is critical to maintaining student engagement. If the material is delivered flatly or in manner where the student cannot relate to it (or apply it to their particular environment) they are unlikely to absorb it and be interested. As such, the first and second live sessions can be critical to student engagement. If you lose them early on they are unlikely to return to the live sessions or (if they do) pay attention. Asking students about their experience and environment and then applying the material to those situations helps the students understand the material and allows them to get some context and relevancy.
Jacob,
Thank you for sharing your insightful experience.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
