Four Unique Ways To Increase Engagement With Online Sessions

There is no question that the educational system experienced significant disruptions during the onset of the pandemic. Suddenly, a clear-cut path for millions of students became murky as a source of stability was shaken.

Teachers, administrators, and other contributors to education scrambled to figure out how to adapt to the new reality. New CDC regulations forced us to go digital, an avenue that was seen as intangible only a few years back. 

Some school systems did not have the resources to adapt in time and canceled school for the remainder of the school year. This set back many students in their journeys, who were expected to pick everything right up when school resumed.

Naturally, the need for tutors skyrocketed to fill the gap. Online teaching methods had mixed effectiveness, and many students who were known to be engaged in the classroom struggled to adapt to the online format.

With everything going online, e-methods of delivering goods and services improved, and tutoring was no exception. To keep users engaged, new tools, such as whiteboards, annotations, and other interactive tools, were developed for these platforms.

Unfortunately, despite the tools, many educators do not know how to become effective in online instruction.  We all know the people who hop on meetings with the camera centered on their nostrils.  This distraction takes away from the experience.

As with most things, new challenges always present opportunities to apply creativity well.

Four Unique Ideas To Spice Your Sessions

While most prefer in-class instruction over online instruction, there are circumstances where online instruction may be the best solution. Travel, distance, and schedules often determine what works best for both parties.

However, I have found that working from my office enabled some creative ideas that couldn't be applied to in-person meetings.  Here are four of them:

–1– Play Background Music During Sessions

Adding some instrumental background music during your sessions may increase student engagement.  Finding music that caters to their taste becomes easier with private sessions or small groups.

If you're a musician, playing live background music while a student works is a great way to let them see another side of you.  For best results, use a MIDI keyboard or acoustic guitar and ensure it's plugged into an interface to your computer.

Playing over backing tracks may be an excellent alternative for other instruments, such as electric guitar, woodwind, or brasswind instruments. If you have a good voice, use that, too.

It's important to control your volume to ensure the music is clean and relaxing.  If the music is too loud and distorted, it will have the opposite effect and take away from the session.

In all cases, the music added to the session should enhance it and not distract from it.

–2– Use Separate Tablets For More Interactive Sessions

Just because a session is held online doesn't mean it needs to be passive.  Technology has advanced enough that people can now interact with digital materials.

There are ways to become interactive. Kahoot! and other platforms allow students to click on answers.  Setting up these games can be great for warming up for the session.

When it comes to the real work that students need to do, it's best to use tools to stimulate real learning.  This involves building muscle memory and mapping out concepts to connect them uniquely.

Over the last three years, I have found Microsoft OneNote and a stylus-driven tablet to be an effective combination. OneNote is free, and you can create custom notebooks to share with students. Any tablet with a stylus, such as an iPad Mini, Samsung S-Series Tablets, and other alternatives, is sufficient.

From OneNote, I assign problems in mathematics, which students complete on their own tablets. I can see their work on the problem and correct it in real time. I've also used this approach for physics, chemistry, and other classes that involve documenting steps to solve the problem.

Additionally, these tools are great for sharing content, creating custom homework, and giving students tools they can view from their phone.

–3– Invite A Guest Speaker

There's no better way to spice up a session than to introduce a new human being. When someone new is in the mix, everyone becomes curious about what the new voice offers.

A great guest speaker adds fresh insights to the material.  Additionally, the speaker can act as part of a panel to create a more engaging dialogue where the guest speaker and we take turns and make mindful interjections to enhance each other.

When inviting a guest speaker, ensure they have a good stage presence, are confident in front of the camera, and are subject matter experts.

–4– Use Multiple Monitors

Multiple monitors are not only for people who write code or run a large enterprise. These days, it’s very easy to access multiple monitors and set them up appropriately.

The platform on which sessions are run usually takes up a full screen. When we need to look up different resources, it can be awkward to fumble around, clicking things on a single screen until we get what we need.

Using multiple monitors allows us to prepare things on the side as a session runs to make the transitions smoother. Additionally, if we don’t know something, we can do the research on the side, digest it, and keep the conversation going fluently.

Make Your Online Sessions Memorable

Delivering the best experience in running an online session comes down to knowing your audience. What kind of students are you working with? How do they stay engaged? We know they can be on their devices a lot since their Discord servers and YouTube videos, so we should be able to achieve the same amount of attention!

It all comes down to thinking outside the box. We will lose their engagement if we only try to teach the lesson. After all, they are not in the room with us, so if they want to leave, they have to click end session, and they’re out the door.

"Whoops, my Internet slipped!" –Every Bored Student Ever

Meeting online is convenient for us, so we can make it as engaging as possible and make it worth their time, as our students may learn something new.

I make my sessions more interesting in four ways, but many more are out there! Got a clever hack for online engagement? Share it below!