Tips To Keep Your eLearning Students Engaged
Now that COVID-19 has shut down elementary schools, high schools, and universities across the globe, educators are scrambling to digitize their courses. Many of them are discovering that moving into a digital learning space is rife with challenges, especially when it comes to keeping children entertained, engaged, and eagerly learning from start to finish. Some schools are already giving up and have decided to temporarily suspend instructing all together instead of relying on proven eLearning methods. That’s a terrible mistake, and one we can’t afford to make as the coronavirus ravages the globe. By relying on video services, collaborative projects, and the gamification of learning, teachers can keep eLearning students engaged during this period of social distancing.
Starting With Video
Let’s start by discussing the incredibly important role that technology has to play when it comes to eLearning. For the most part, eLearning would quite literally be impossible without the help of certain digital devices; laptops or desktop computers allow students to conduct research, write papers, and submit them from the comfort of their homes, for instance. Smartphones also allow students to learn on the go. Despite the fact that these devices are regularly used by teachers themselves, few instructors are embracing the full potential that they have to offer, especially when it comes to video services.
It’s a matter of fact that using videos in the classroom can amplify learning. So, how should teachers introduce them to the class? First and foremost, don’t rely entirely on videos alone; students should be watching certain videos to introduce them to concepts, but afterward should be expected to submit assignments detailing what the video taught them. Similarly, they don’t have to only watch videos but can partake in them as well; having students use video services to access a digital lecture can help you reach them in this period of social distancing.
Don’t just use videos to reach out to distant students, but also encourage them to make videos of their own. This is a great time to teach them interview and documentary skills, so encourage them to interview their family members or to use video services to interview distant friends or schoolmates. Even asking them to make an informative 5-minute video to share with their classmates on a given subject can help teachers manage the above-average amount of work they’re grappling with right now.
Moving Onto Collaborative Projects
Collaborative projects are different from video services, but they can be interconnected. It goes without saying that digital collaboration in the classroom is difficult right now, but you should still be encouraging students to work with one another and gain the skills they’ll need for a digital future. Tomorrow’s collaborative business projects won’t always be carried out in-person but will instead depend upon digital connections, for instance.
Reviewing some helpful tips for bolstering collaboration amongst your students is highly advisable. This is also an ideal time period for teaching them about how collective and coordinated society is. Nobody can go at it alone—we’re all working together, which should be the message you’re stressing throughout your collaborative lessons. Teach them how to look up information together so that they can coordinate their efforts to maximize efficiency. Soon, they’ll be able to find any data they need, from historical information to business gas prices to college applications.
Finally, the gamification of learning is an essential element when it comes to keeping eLearning students engaged. This is because eLearning can be a bit tedious for some students, so gamifying things in order to help them earn points, rewards, or other prizes can help ensure they’re fresh-faced and eager at the start of each lesson.
Gamifying Your Teaching
It’s important to know that gamifying your teaching does not mean turning everything into a hyper-competitive contest. Sometimes, it’s as simple as playing digital games together to teach them how to utilize emerging software or hardware. At other times, you may take old-fashioned games and repurpose them for the digital era so that your students can learn in a similar (albeit digitally different) fashion as you did. There are many different ways to gamify the learning process, but every classroom is different, so don’t be afraid to customize your approach to this.
Be sure to provide ample prizes to students; sometimes giving them virtual points, titles, or rewards can encourage them to struggle to be the best in their class. Ensure that you’re not punishing those who “lose” during the gamification of classroom activities too harshly, however, as that could drain their motivation and leave them feeling unhappy about themselves. Focus on extra-credit prizes and fun but costless activities and you’ll find that students who are normally unengaged in the classroom become avidly interested in what you’re teaching.
Of course, you can only keep your eLearning students engaged if you yourself remain committed to the eLearning process throughout the remainder of this academic year. Teachers and instructors of all sorts are being pressured right now, and it’s okay to feel a bit overwhelmed. Understand that the digitization of your courses is effectively inevitable, though, and that the sooner you get started introducing eLearning methods to your students the better off the both of you will be.
Rely on video lectures, video conferences, the gamification of learning, and creative collaboration, and soon you’ll be achieving your eLearning outcomes like never before.
