You need to teach a class online. How can you make it interactive and engaging?

Online teaching emerged when the pandemic drove necessity as the mother of invention. Using the bathing suit metaphor; have enough material to cover the essentials whilst at the same time keep it interesting. This entails having a flexible plan with as much variety as is possible. For a 3 hour session, build a 10 minute break in the middle and divide the time into 20 and 10 minute sections. Have 20 minutes of input, then use; on line polls, case studies, role-plays, videos, virtual guest speakers, group work via break out rooms and surveys. All cameras on, microphones controlled. Questions welcome. Record all sessions and have all material used and more posted to Moodle. This works fine when 100% online, but is harder when done as hybrid.

To make my online class interactive and engaging, I would consider the following strategies: i. Use polling and quizzes to gauge understanding. ii. Incorporate interactive multimedia like videos and simulations. iii. Encourage participation through discussions and group activities. iv. Provide hands-on exercises or virtual labs. v. Utilize breakout rooms for small group discussions. vi. Offer real-time feedback and encourage questions. The proper use of these strategies can help keep my students engaged and foster active learning in the online environment.

Understanding the online audience and gathering pertinent data are pivotal for achieving success. Here are key considerations: 1. Assessing the audience's tech literacy and tools familiarity is crucial. For instance, blue-collar workers might struggle with simple tasks like unmuting. 2. Prior online experiences vary among audiences; some may have had negative encounters, requiring additional efforts to engage, while others may be frequent online learners, demanding more innovative approaches to maintain engagement. 3. Audience's attendance motivations. Not all attendees are inherently interested in learning. Thus, tackling the need-to-know andragogy concept and actively engaging in deep learning experiences ensures sustained engagement.

To make any online session interactive and impactful, I usually divide the entire session into three to four bite size learning lessons and further I subdivide each topic into four sections namely, concept, activity, recapitulation and knowledge check thereafter... So far it has always ensured that I get maximum output from any online session.. drop out rate remains negligible and response rate high throughout the class.

The use of gamification, case studies, breakout sessions are some of the useful tools for facilitating interaction and engagement in an online training.

There is no one right platform. Each platform comes with its feature set that may or may not work for you. Therefore, spend some time working out what exactly you want to provide to your students and what is the custom configuration your content needs and how that maps onto students needs. Is your content text-heavy? Is it audio-heavy? Is it video-first or multi-modal? These are some variables to consider as an example. In addition, think about how closely you'd work with the platform and how much customisation you need the platform, and how the platform will aid your goals. Last, consider both current and future needs when choosing a platform - consider if you're investing in the future (video or interactivity or AI) for example.

Think about what you need the most out of an LMS or online learning platform. To make your class more entertaining, think about whether you want: - Polling / Quizzes - Breakout rooms - Audience videos - Chat room Beyond this, it might be that you can get one of these features as an extra function by using multiple platforms (for example, using Zoom for breakout rooms and polling, but then heading to Kahoot for a quiz).

Use a variety of online tools and platforms to deliver your content, such as videos, podcasts, slides, quizzes, polls, games, etc. This can help you cater to different learning styles and preferences, and keep your students interested and motivated.

For an online course to be taught effectively and for students to learn successfully, the platform must be able to provide accessibility to students. It needs to be able to share or display and deliver written and audiovisual content. In today’s digital world the platform must be agnostic with regard to operating systems, and should have mobile device access to be relevant. More and more students are becoming mobile and education must keep up. Lastly, the platform absolutely must have the ability for interactive teaching and learning content, even if it’s an asynchronous course.

To make the lessons more interactive and engaging, I divide the session into three or four parts and change the activity in each part. I use multimedia, presentations and videos, and encourage peer participation and collaboration by issuing a challenge or asking a question to the group. I make sure everyone is talking and provide personalised feedback. The latter is very important.

To create an interactive and engaging online class, it's important to cater to various learning styles. The VARK model (Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing, and Kinesthetic) can be implemented in the following ways: - Visual Elements: Incorporate eye-catching slides, videos, and graphics to cater to visual learners. - Auditory Components: Include live discussions, guest speakers, or recorded lectures to appeal to auditory learners. - Reading/Writing Activities: Encourage discussions, journaling, or written assignments for those who prefer reading and writing. - Hands-On Engagement: Integrate simulations, virtual labs, or group projects for kinesthetic learners.

Funciona bien que los alumnos esperen una presentación multimedia ( por ejemplo) y no la haya ,desde ese momento prestan atención porque se encuentran en un entorno desconocido ; se trata basicamente de buscar cualquier " motivo" lo más sencillo posible para que su atención se active.

It isn't one type of content that will engage your audience. Too much of any one kind of content will become dull for your learners. While it's not an educator's job to entertain the audience, providing variety in content and activities will help engage them. Consider having a few different types of content and a few different types of activities interspersed throughout the course. Also, having at least an activity or two that lets the audience apply their knowledge to a real-world situation is another way to help learners retain information.

Engagement is key. Students want to feel heard therefore debate is essential. This means the more topical and relevant the subject the more young people are inclined to get involved and then retain the information. www.theday.co.uk caters for all of these requirements and in 5 different reading levels is ideal for students of all ages and abilities who can then share the same debate time. Asking their opinion rather than dictating!

Interactivity is key especially as virtual learners have more distractions being on their computer. Encourage them to put “do not disturb” on other communication tools and to keep their camera on to fully participate in the class. It’s in the learners best interest as well to get the most out of their time. Then leverage as much interactivity as you can (unfortunately, you need to fight for their attention a bit). - Encourage responses in chat or out loud - use breakout rooms to allow learners to process and apply lessons taught in a safe and smaller environment and - vary how content is taught throughout.

Encouraging ideas from the students from the start is key. I'll offer a stimulus to get them going like a picture, and ask for questions from them that spring to mind. They can write in the chat box or use a collaborative white board so everyone can see. I also get my students to write ideas in a note book about something we're learning such as sentence openers or imagery in a poem and they need to be prepared to share their ideas in a breakout room within x amount of minutes. I find valuing their input through asking for their own ideas keeps them engaged. It also means they know they're accountable as they'll be expected to contribute.

The best advice I can offer is as for opinions and responses as much as you can. Verbally, in the chat function, using emoji etc polls it is harder online to get the feel for progress so you need more feedback.

When facilitating online classes, ensuring that you have audience engagement is key. Interactive engagement opportunities should be woven throughout the lesson or presentation. I have found that appealing to different types of learners and their preferences during online sessions is key. For example, "cold calling" in virtual settings can stagnate the flow. However, providing visual and digital interactive polls allows audiences to share their thoughts, engage quickly and easily and is less isolating for the audience. Offering an opportunity for audiences to engage both ways helps everyone including the facilitator.

Feedback is the bedrock of teaching and learning. In my experience the 3 categories of feedback are Positive, Negative and Neutral. More importantly there are 3 unique purposes for feedback and while the goal of all three is the same - students success - each approach is different. For example, Constructive feedback is intended to help, guide, encourage, and improve or inspire students towards improvement on their work performance or work product. It is delivered in along a Positive category and is also intended to facilitate communication and interaction. Constructive feedback is one of the most common of the three and as such is the one often used by successful educators.

Here are some typical metrics a person would look at when evaluating a course: 1. Grades 2. Completion rates 3. Student evaluations 4. Performance on specific assessments (some learning management systems (LMS) have detailed stats on quiz performance down to the individual question. These are all very useful, but I think the main driver for me over the years are the questions I received from students about the course. This tells me whether they understood the course and its purpose and is a great way to determine what needs to change. Finally, the substance may have changed since the last update and the science of learning may have as well, so these should be considered.

One thing that I have found very helpful is creating a relevant survey. This helps me to adjust to what my learners find important. While there is a specific set of skills I must teach, the way it is received should drive how I deliver it.

Here are a few essential pointers to keep in mind when conducting online classes that are interactive and engaging: 1. Gamify learning with interactive elements like quizzes and puzzles to make the online classroom more enjoyable and engaging. 2. Provide real-time feedback using tools for timely responses that motivate students and aid in their progress. 3. Encourage active student participation through discussions and group projects for an interactive learning environment. 4. Use multimedia to enhance learning with videos, images, and audio for an engaging online classroom experience.

Whatever medium you choose, never polished your presentation, allow some human features to come through. Memorising or reading your content is deadly and not in a good way. Unless you can enjoy it, no one else will.