I participate with my students online daily, this helps some who prefer that structure, others preferr to be more asynchronus.
I think that varying the learning methods so that they are geared toward all learning styles is the way to engage as many studetns as possible. Varying instrucitonal methods, utilizing technology in innovative ways, sending remeinders, and getting feedback from students as to how they are doing and what is and isn't working for them is important.
I have learned to improve student engagement through efficient and effective motivation tools also about explaining to the in how to improve not just saying good job also try to diversify activities so that they are kept engaged.
Its important to find ways to get students engaged in online classes. Designing interactive lessons and including components such as discussion boards and other interactive sections engage students and help them take part in online classes. Giving students feedback, whether through the discussion boards or indivually, helps teach them individually. Asking them to participate in class discussions and getting them talking to their classmates has also been helpful.
Reply to Dahlia Brown's post:Yes, I agree. I find that it is very important to follow up with students with a friendly reminder.
Many students have other responsibilities and sometimes forget when assignments are due. As a result they turn their H.W.
in late and don't receive credit which can be frustrating. By reminding them of when assignments are due, I think will be helpful.
I learned that the more you bring the learning process from real on the job skills the more the student will engage because she/he is learning from the lecture you have just taught.
I have used video's, zoom, email, and text. Short of that I am not familiar with all the other social media that could be used for student engagement. I know discussion questions work for some, but most of my students like our in person LAB time. We get a lot accomplished on those days.
When it comes to reminding students of out standing school work I have tried several methods. Here again, talking with my voice seems to work best.
This module has been great. It is easy to listen and learn from, and has provided not only assurance of some of the things I am already doing for my students, but has enlightened me on great resources for improvement with student engagement and learning, especially in this online environment. I have been reminded of how important it is for students to have the "real time" effect of communication when learning online. They can sometimes feel like they are being slighted, by not being able to be in the classroom. My courses are synchronous online, however, I have learned that I also need to create a forum for students to be able to ask questions. These questions can be answered by myself as the instructor, but can also be answered student to student. This promotes the student to become an active learner and be engaged with their peers, while also helpig them out.
I have seen many students thrive with on-line teaching but there are some who it is difficult to keep them engaged. During this COVID pandemic it had been a real challenge for our Vocational Nursing program as many of the students struggled with the transition. Tying to keep them engaged and in uniform was an every day event but once they felt more comfortable with the structure it improved. We are now back on campus and things feel somewhat "normal" again.
I really liked the approach they talked about here by engaging students from a variety of different sources to reach as many as possible. We have to realize that there is no one best way any more, and that we must use a large number of resources to effectively teach our content in a meaningful way.
I have learned that Social Engagement and Motivational Engagement can reduce procrastination and allow students to feel confident in their ability to progress successfully in school. Setting the standard for all-around communication between student to student, instructor to student, and staff/faculty to student. Once students develop trust in you, the lines of communication are open to providing efficient and effective feedback which helps students have a clear understanding of the class and their progress.
In engaging students in online learngin, I will continue to provide ways to stimulate and engage students through integrative, critical, an creative thinking via lectures and activities. It is important to maintain the perspective that students really are there and desire to learn. Instructor support and material presentation really does seal the deal most cases.
Social engagement and the class experience are important related topics. I would like to develop more on how I use email and discussion forums to make the experience more solid by projecting not only my presence and authority into the online learning environment but encourages students to do the same. I really like the idea of students getting more opportunities to bond as it can be quite difficulty to do with online learning.
With motivation engagement, I will continue to practice through individual affirmation, motivational interviewing, and constructive feedback. Students respond significantly well when they are supported on a daily basis and sense that instructors are partnered up with them so that they can be academically successful. I stress this by taking extra efforts and thinking to create this partnership in student learning engagement.
I want to consider content chunking as I prepare my recorded lectures; planning to keep them to 15 minutes by using this technique.
Feedback needs to be efficient and effective. Allows students to understand where they are in the class and how they are performing & provides accountability.
Setting Webex meetings to discuss feedback is very helpful.
Make directions available in different ways. Asynchronous courses rely on user understanding. Videos and examples are helpful.
Good messaging from admissions to enrollment and quality handoffs from admissions to academic advising. We have an overlap period between the two offices where students are getting contacted from both to ensure a quality transition, they complete the online orientation course and are ready to start their program.
Multi contact methods. We use email (school & personal), phone, and text.
Intro activity (student/learner, student-student)
Weekly announcements
Relate DQs back to the job or career aspirations. Require substantial posting. We do not count posts that simply state "I agree"
Instructors provide an initial participation post in addition to the weekly DQs. We try to make this more of a real-life situation that ties back to the topic covered that week in class. This usually stimulates discussion early in the week.
I learned that Motivational Engagement must be efficient and effective to benefit the students most. When students understand the why, things need to be done, for example, and the benefits they will receive by following through, they may build excitement in participating. I learned that you need to be creative and try different methods to deliver the material and encourage the students to participate in their learning and to have fun while learning. Need to create the steps to encourage the students to turn on their microphones and video cameras more often and upload a photo of themselves to increase the involvement in the course and improve everyone's experience.
With any learning environment, the key is student satisfaction-if I can get the feedback that my student is happy then I feel I have done my job. The skill of the instructor then lies in discerning that sense of comfort from each of the multiple personalities within a classroom. Patience, a gentle cadence and encouragement at every stage allows for most students to open up and share their issues that can then be resolved to their satisfaction.
I realized and learned that there is a need for several ways to provide instructions or directions to an assignment. There are many different ways that different students learn. It is challenging but I picked up some ideas by watching the video. I like the idea of students having their own chat or discussion board that athey can reach out to each other. Last of all, the friendly reminders are something that I do carry out but I think I could improve in in the content of the reminders so it does not sound like I am nagging.
I have learned that even on an online class the students need structure and feel like their time is valuable. They need to be motivated and feel like their computer is just an extension of the classroom. You really have to be creative to get your students engaged and involved in your online class.
great info i can use immediately
It would be nice to incorporate more games/activties to appeal to different styles of learners. Content chunking was a good point.
