Interaction and Engagement Online

Teaching online is a great way to provide flexibility for our busy students.  If our students work full time or they are caregivers at home, they may not be able to take hybrid or face-to-face classes, so online classes are sometimes the best and only options.  However, many of us struggle with teaching online because of the lack of connection.  And many students struggle to keep up with online classes because of stress, difficulty with time management, and lack of experience with asynchronous courses.

Indeed, there is countless scholarship that demonstrates a direct correlation between student engagement and retention.  Yep, it's as obvious as it sounds; it's not rocket science.  The more engaged students are, the more likely they are to stay in an online class.

 

Why Is Engaging Our Students Important?

What Does Engagement Look Like?

If we look at The 4 Connections, you'll find that the recommended student engagement techniques are the same things we do in our face-to-face classes all the time.  However, when we move to an online or virtual environment, we often think that it's impossible to engage students in the same ways. Engagement can take many forms, but if we go back to The 4 Connections, we can start with:

  1. Interacting with students by name
  2. Checking in regularly
  3. Scheduling one-on-one meetings
  4. Practicing paradox

How Do I Engage My Students?

Start the course right

Here are some easy ways to engage students in an online class:

  • Send a welcome letter and/or video to the students, perhaps even before the quarter starts.  This can lay the groundwork for building a relationship with your students.
  • Include a "Start Here" module.  Build the confidence of your students by showing them how to start and navigate the course.
  • Record a video for the first week of the class (it's different from an introduction of yourself) so that students see that a real person is teaching the class, and that the class is not just bot-driven.
  • Download the student survey sample Links to an external site. or create your own. Add it to the end of the first week of the class.  This will show students that you want to hear from them.
  • Create a discussion board for students to share successes and frustrations.  This will start to build community in the class.
  • Have students do an early assignment and provide feedback.  Show the students that you're going to support them in their academic progress.

 

Throughout the quarter

Once you get into the swing of the quarter, help students find common ground. As Dr. Darryl Brice, Sociology, reminds us, "relationship precedes learning."  Try creating a space for that relationship building.  An online discussion isn't a bad place for that.  You could create a discussion that allows students to share frustrations and successes.  Share your own, too!  While you're at it, check out how one instructor sets up study groups for his students.

Also, don't be afraid to show yourself to your students.  So, make videos!  Seeing you will let students know that you're there for them and that the class isn't being run by AI! For online courses, a great practice is to produce a weekly video. Introduce the week, talk about the weekly survey (see above), talk about what's making you happy or sad... simply sharing helps your students connect. 

Give feedback. Lots of feedback. The technical goal is called "regular and substantive interaction," and in short, you want to provide a semi-customized message to each student on a weekly basis. The Build - Interaction in Action page in Advanced Canvas has a bunch of ideas. You can also try a few shortcuts:

Speaking of feedback, make sure to participate in discussions. You don't want to be too heavy handed, but let students know you're reading and interested in what they have to say. More on that in the next page. 

Survey students on how they're doing.  Let the students know that you are interested in their progress and solicit their feedback so that you can make adjustments where needed. A short, ungraded survey every week (in Summer) or every two weeks (in Fall) can yield lots of useful information. Check out this sample in the Canvas Commons Links to an external site.. Remember to respond to the results in the survey! (That's a good topic for those weekly videos.)

Share the final with the students from the beginning.  That way, students know what they are working toward.  It's a great way to build transparency.  And if you're transparent, students will be more engaged.

Learn more

Lots of things!  There are many great resources available that provide ideas for engaging students.  For example, take a look at these resources:

Use the strategies here along with PLAID.  Contact ID/Ed Tech for more help or to brainstorm.