Your class has moved online and now that you’re comfortable with technology, let’s discuss new ways to keep the course engaging for you and your students.
Here are four EASY and essential tips for making your online assignments engaging:
- Virtual Office Hours (Mental Health Check-ins): Since learning has shifted online rapidly, it is important to consider the mental health of you and your students. One way to stay connected and check-in is by offering virtual office hours where students can drop-in and ask questions, or just chat about what’s going on in their lives. The more supportive we all are in this challenging time, the better the outcome will be in the long-run. Use Zoom, or another web conference platform to check-in weekly with your students. Check out this blog post from Oregon State University’s ecampus about Humanizing Online Teaching for some valuable insights on adding the human experience to online.
2. Build Your Online Presence: Although this is not the beginning of the semester it is the start of a brand new learning adventure for you and your student. Take this time to continue to emphasize peer to peer connections among your students. Here are some creative discussion topic ideas:
- One word: asking students to post one word that describes them and their life, and then write a paragraph explaining why they chose that word.
- Keeping busy: Ask your students to write a brief schedule of how they are spending their time at home. Ask them to share reading recommendations, online workouts, family friendly crafts and activities, and any other tips for staying positive during this time.
- Two truths and a lie: have students post three fun facts about themselves – two true and one false, and have classmates guess which statements are which.
3. Think Differently About Assessments: Flexibility is key when teaching in an online setting, and sometimes traditional assessments are not necessarily the best ways to engage students. Think about other creative ways to assess your students’ performance including through the use of multimedia tools (e.g., VoiceThread), group research projects, and recording audio submissions instead of text-based assignments. These types of activities allow students to get creative and also promote critical thinking skills, so it’s a win-win for all involved.
4. Try-out a New Tech Tool– Now is a great time for self-discovery and being open to using new tools. Google digital education tools, ask your colleagues, or reach out to your Instructional Design team for support. There are a variety of quick and easy educational technology tools you can use in the online space that are engaging and fun to use! Check out previous blog post on 7 Tips for Going Online During the Covid-19 Pandemic highlighting some of these great tools.
Have fun, stay safe, be well!
Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply an endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by Touro College.
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