When thinking about how to enhance engagement in online classrooms, instructors often focus on making the material more exciting. They may wonder, “Should I add videos or interactive lessons? Can I break the content into smaller chunks?” While improving instructional materials is important, true engagement comes from fostering three types of interaction:
- Students’ interaction with course content
- Students’ interaction with other students
- Students’ interaction with the instructor
In this article we’ll list some ideas on how you can improve each of these areas to create a more engaging and interactive online course.
Interaction With Content
Content interaction includes any time students spend examining course content and participating in activities. Examining course content can be reading e-books, clicking through PowerPoint presentations, watching video lectures, and so on. Class activities include discussion forums, assessments, projects, and so on.
Here are some strategies for encouraging students’ interaction with content.
| Strategy | Details |
|---|---|
| Use multiple formats | If you present content primarily in one format (such as video, audio, or text), it requires all your students to learn in a format that may not meet their primary learning style. Provide a mixture of delivery formats to meet multiple learning styles, such as combining text lectures with video clips.Delivering content in multiple formats provides variety and eliminates monotony. |
| Incorporate interactive content | Simulations, Web searches, research reviews, and case studies all require students to interact with the content and learn more about the topic on their own. Simulations allow students to actively engage with the content. |
| Provide additional resources | Links to Web-based materials allow students to browse and delve into content that interests them the most. They may use your links to branch off to other information sources. |
| Invite guest lecturers and subject matter experts | Use these clips to provide an expert perspective on the topic other than your own. |
| Create reflective discussions | Students become actively engaged in the content through discussions about the materials you have provided. Write questions that require students to share their own perspectives and experiences to expand on the content provided. |
| Use self-tests | Create self-tests for students to test their knowledge of key content concepts. Students will then know what they still need to master and can go back and review as necessary.Provide students with a list of questions they should be thinking about after they review the content. Encourage them to try answering the questions on their own. |
| Keep it consistent | Organize your content in a similar way for each instructional unit and use similar content formats. As the course proceeds, this makes it easier for students to organize the content for themselves, and it eliminates the need for them to adjust to a new delivery format for each lesson. |
Interaction With Other Students
Students may be shy or unsure how to communicate online, and even when students do interact, you may need to guide them to push the discussion deeper. Interaction among students helps build community and encourages collaboration, which is vital for online learning. Here are ways to increase student-to-student engagement.
| Strategy | Details |
|---|---|
| Encourage socializing. | Encourage students to introduce themselves during the first week of the class. Ask them to provide information about themselves. These introductions will help students find others who have similar backgrounds and interests and will also build a sense of community in the course. Provide a student-only discussion forum where students can discuss anything that interests them, even if it’s not related to the course. |
| Encourage open-ended discussions. | Write discussion questions that are open-ended and invite students to relate their prior knowledge and work experience to the content. Students bring diverse backgrounds to your course, and through well-designed discussions, students may learn more from each other than they do from the instructor. |
| Rotate discussion leaders | Assign students to moderate for a week, or ask them to sign up to moderate the discussion for a topic that interests them. Ask moderators to summarize the discussion at the end of the week. |
| Peer feedback | When the assignment is likely to produce a variety of responses from students, having students post their work introduces students to new perspectives and can generate lively discussion. Set the expectation that students must be respectful when commenting on others’ work. Without this assurance, some students may not feel comfortable sharing their work with the entire class. |
| Encourage synchronous tools for group meetings | Students can meet on a scheduled or ad hoc basis to discuss group projects, content, assignments, and so on. Depending on the parameters of the assignment, you could allow students to use more informal synchronous tools such as Skype or Google Hangouts, or more formal tools such as Adobe Connect, Zoom, or WebEx. |
| Assign group work | Assign group work when group work will help students achieve a learning objective. For example, if an assignment in your course might come up as a team project in the workforce, assign a group project to simulate the workplace experience. Case studies that may require discussion and different perspectives lend themselves well to group work. |
Interaction With the Instructor
Your presence and feedback play a key role in fostering engagement. Here’s how to make your interactions with students more effective:
| Strategy | Details |
|---|---|
| Create a welcoming environment | Introduce yourself at the beginning of the course. In addition to your academic background, post some personal items to give students a sense that you are approachable. Post a picture of yourself to give them a face to identify with. Don’t be afraid to let your personality show when you are responding in the discussion forums or to e-mails. Use students’ names when you respond to their e-mails and discussion forum posts. Write in the first person, using “I” when you respond. |
| Provide multiple communication methods | Provide more than one way for students to contact you so they can use the option that is most comfortable for them. For example, provide your e-mail address and your office phone number with office hours. Respond to students as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours. |
| Give clear instructions | Make sure your syllabus thoroughly describes how the course works and your expectations for students. Provide a list addressing the most frequently asked questions you anticipate students having about the course. Thoroughly describe each assignment and the grading criteria. |
Conclusion
Interaction in an online learning environment is a central component of the online learning experience and student engagement. As an instructor, you can provide meaningful methods for students to interact. By offering diverse learning methods, encouraging collaboration, and maintaining a supportive presence, you can create a more interactive and meaningful online course. These strategies help students stay connected and invested, making the learning experience much more rewarding.
