Ice-Breaker Tuesday: Your Favorite Song

Music can evoke a wide range of emotions and can also be a great motivator. For today's ice-breaker activity, I'll show you how to use music to help make connections in your online course.

One fun ice-breaker activity you can easily do in your online course is to have students share their favorite song. Ask students to post their favorite song in a discussion board, along with why they picked it. You can then highlight one of the songs each day, module, or week and have all students listen to it and comment on how it made them feel. If you want to take this ice-breaker activity to the next level, you could also ask students to share a song from a particular time period such as the 70's or theme such as a holiday song, or a popular song from a hit movie. You might also ask for songs with specific items such as a US state in the title.

 You can then make a class playlist as a resource for all students to access as needed. You can tell them to listen to it while completing class activities to enhance a sense of connection to colleagues or listen to it throughout the week as motivation.

Another fun twist to this activity would be to ask students to create a canva design or choose an image that relates to their favorite song. They could then share the design or image in a discussion board and explain why they chose it.

Using music as part of an ice-breaker activity is a great way to get students engaged in your online course and connecting with one another. Many studies have shown that music can be a powerful motivator and tool for learning, so why not use it to help foster connection in your online course? 

There are so many fun things you can do using music and songs as an ice-breaker activity!

I'd love to hear your ideas on this ice-breaker. Share them in The Online Educator Facebook Group!

Want to get access to more assignments? Check out The Innovative Online Nurse Educator Membership. In addition to a monthly "Best Practice Masterclass", each month you receive a sample innovative online assignment, complete with assignment instructions and guidelines. Check out the additional benefits of this awesome membership HERE.

Would you like me to spotlight one of your ice-breakers? Share your assignment HERE for an opportunity to be spotlighted in The Online Educator Blog.

Happy Ice-Breaking!