Keeping students’ attention is not easy, even in a physics class. When it comes to online learning, things get even more complicated. According to the website Statista, the total e-learning market worldwide is forecast to grow exponentially by 2026, reaching over US $ 370 billion.
Online teaching and learning skills have become essential when so much has changed due to the pandemic. Blended learning, which is basically what we now call hybrid learning, is nothing new, and most importantly, it will not go away. In fact, all signs point to the future of learning.
However, the good news is that several proven methods can help you increase student engagement in your online classroom. Here they are:
1. Be available
You can quickly lose students’ attention if you find it difficult to find or reach out to you.
Creating an environment where you are approachable, understandable, and willing to help will make your students more open and motivated to communicate.
Accessibility includes:
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 the creation of educational materials with video so that students know you exactly by sight;
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small talk before the start of lectures, exchange of personal news
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showing interest in your students
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communication at lectures is mandatory with cameras
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the agreed time and messengers through which students can get you.
2. Create interesting teaching materials
This seemingly obvious trick means a lot. Your goal is for students to remember the material – therefore, you need to think about an original and exciting presentation. Insert more pictures and infographics into lectures, bring associations with the animal world and bring light humor to your lectures. All this will significantly increase the interest of the audience.
3. Communicate with your students one-on-one from time to time
One-to-one lessons between student and teacher can often make a difference. In individual communication, you better understand what problems your student is facing, and he, in turn, understands that his concerns are being heard. This approach dramatically improves student engagement in your class.
4. Create more group activities
It is an obvious solution in the physics classroom, and you use it a lot. However, in online learning, teachers typically forget this. However, it is an excellent strategy to keep students engaged in the classroom. Well-planned group work can be a perfect opportunity for students to hone their social skills and learn how to collaborate. Forbes notes that peer experiences provide a motivational context for learning and that effective teamwork can build self-awareness and situational awareness as tangible, measurable outcomes.
5. Always use student feedback
Giving regular feedback is essential in any learning environment, and it is just as important that your students learn to accept it and give it. If you can make them feel cared for, they will be more interested in learning online. And, of course, you must get feedback from your students.
Conclusion
There is no need to be afraid of the new world. The world of online learning has already firmly entered our present. And it depends only on you whether you can keep students in front of the monitors of their devices during the lecture.
Some educational institutions hire a custom software development agency that develops online courses to create the most effective online classes. And this is also a perfect path.
