Using Web-Based Tools To Actively Engage Students

Student engagement is very important in the online classroom but not always easy to attain. In a live synchronous class there are various ways to engage students such as putting them into breakout rooms and giving them small group work to do, however, this does not always translate neatly to an online classroom and is often not as engaging as the live version. However, there are many other things you can do to actively engage online students through the use of web-based tools.

Online Quizzing

Online quizzing is a great way to determine if students have a firm grasp of the material and can be very fun and engaging depending on the tool you use. Many tools allow you to even embed your quizzes into an instructor made video lecture as well. Many of these tools also integrate with your Learning Management System to allow for easy navigation and integration with the Gradebook. Suggestions for and links to online quizzing tools are included in this week's newsletter. Be sure to sign-up for it HERE if you're not already subscribed.

Gamification

There are many options available for gamifying your course. Just as the name suggests, this is a method of using games to enhance learning. Many times this includes quizzing type tools as discussed above, but can even go a step further into structuring your entire course into a game where students earn points on a leaderboard throughout the semester. Many instructors give prizes throughout the semester that can be as simple as a digital badge or extra credit points. In this week's newsletter, I link to various examples of online gamification and samples of how different instructors have gamified their courses.

Asynchronous Group Discussion Tools

 One of the most important features of an online classroom is a sense of community. This is also one of the best ways to actively engage students in your course as well. How can you encourage students to make deep and meaningful connections? Group work and group discussions are the most effective way to do this. Some of the web-based tools I like to use are my  LMS Discussion Board and the tool VoiceThread. However, there are many other online tools such as Padlet and Flipgrid that are just as effective. In this week's newsletter, I'll include links to each of these tools that you can explore further.

Do you use any web-based tools to actively engage students? Share your thoughts, experiences and ideas in The Online Educator Facebook Group by clicking the link HERE. Also, as a treat don’t forget to GRAB YOUR FREE GUIDE to the 3 Secrets to Teaching Online Successfully.