Help with virtual learning: 8 Strategies to Improve Participation in Your Virtual Classroom

8 Strategies to Improve Participation in Your Virtual Classroom

In every classroom, there are students who always have their hand raised to participate, and those who are hesitant to engage. Whether they’re introverted, tend to think awhile before they contribute, or are just having a bad day, it can be hard to bring kids into discussions who are reluctant to add their voices.

The challenges of getting students to participate have intensified during remote learning, we’ve heard from many teachers. Digital platforms can create added communication barriers by making it hard to know when to talk, for example, or how to read subtle but important elements of discourse like a person’s body language and facial expressions. Additionally, online discussions are often hindered by variability in students’ access to technology and by privacy concerns, and consequently many teachers have had to rely on students’ submitting work over isolated channels like email, which can leave back-and-forth between peers (and between students and the teacher) by the wayside.

Getting kids to contribute in virtual classrooms takes some work, it turns out. “We keep calling this generation digital natives as if they are simply whizzes at everything computerized. They aren’t,” wrote Tim O’Brien on Facebook. “They need personal support, scaffolding, and reassurance that technology does not provide. It is simply a tool, not a teacher.”

To find out how to improve student discussions and participation in online learning, we culled through hundreds of comments on social media and followed up with more than 20 educators to see how they tackled the challenge last spring. Teachers offered a range of smart strategies, both synchronous and asynchronous, to integrate the values and the voices of all kids—even the quietest or those with disrupted schedules—into their classes this fall.

Synchronous Strategies

For synchronous learning, some teachers said they translated traditional discussion strategies from the classroom to live video chats, while others found that digital tools helped boost classroom participation.

1. Spider web discussion: During remote learning this spring, students in Shai Klima’s high school class led their own discussions over Google Meet. Before the live class, students answered questions independently, and then shared their responses at the start of the meeting as a jumping-off point for a broader class discussion.

While students conversed on video, Klima listened and drew lines on a sheet of paper tracking the flow of the conversation, resulting in a spider web. At the end of the discussion, Klima shared the drawing over video, and then asked students to reflect on the experience and what they learned about who talked, who listened, and who built on the ideas of others.

“It has been successful as a means to get kids to credit their peers with helping them come up with new ideas, which helps build rapport,” said Klima, who let students struggling with bandwidth call in to the meetings.

video

2. Using chat to check for understanding: After giving lessons last spring, Paul France had his third-grade students use the Google Chat feature to ask and answer questions or type in emojis, like a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, to show whether they understood a concept. To create structure around the responses, he guided his students in creating norms around using the chat feature—they decided as a group to use only one emoji at a time, for example. France said the practice helped him check for student understanding and pushed students to engage more with the content.

Kindergarten teacher Ruth Calkins, meanwhile, used Zoom chat when holding live lessons with her kindergarten students. She said they enjoyed typing “T” or “F” for true and false questions while answering math problems in the chat box, and some even attempted to write sentences in response to her questions. Typing responses also provided a lot of keyboard practice for her young students.

3. Flip your classroom to stimulate deeper discussion: Forrest Hinton, a high school math teacher, says he found that a blend of asynchronous and synchronous instruction worked well to stimulate student discussion during remote learning.

First, he taught new content asynchronously through recorded videos and online activities. At the start of his live class, students briefly summarized the concepts they had learned together and then divided into breakout rooms to solve related problems in small groups. Flipping his classroom allowed Hinton to spend less class time in direct instruction—and listening to students at the start of class and in small groups helped him identify, and then address, where his students were struggling. “This has allowed me to clarify concepts in a more targeted way and better assist students,” said Hinton.

4. Adapting think-pair-share to Zoom: Ryan Tahmaseb, director of library services, says he found that giving more project-based learning activities to his elementary and middle school students—and allowing them more autonomy over assignments—naturally encouraged richer discussions in virtual learning. “If we give students as much freedom as possible to experiment, research, and pursue interests within our content area, then they inevitably have a lot more to say,” said Tahmaseb.

When it came to class discussions, Tahmaseb adapted think-pair-share to Zoom. Students were given a prompt, broken into groups, and then placed into breakout rooms to discuss and record their answers on a shared Google doc, which allowed students to share their thinking in writing or read aloud. Since Tahmaseb wasn’t in each breakout room to listen to the conversations, the Google doc kept students accountable. Once they returned to the whole class, volunteers from each group shared their answers with everyone.

5. A new twist on show-and-tell: To get students comfortable with online participation, Brittany Collins, the teaching and learning coordinator at Write the World, a global online writing community for middle and high school students, converted the familiar show-and-tell activity into “think, write, share.”

In one activity, Collins asked middle and high school students to find a photo, painting, or drawing that represented intergenerational connection and independently respond by writing to the following questions from the Making Thinking Visible Framework before discussing them over video as a class: What are we looking at? What makes you say that? What do you notice (see, feel, know)? What more can we uncover? What do you wonder? “It helps to break the ice in a virtual learning setting where unplanned participation can prove challenging for some students,” said Collins.

Asynchronous Strategies

Although some teachers—and students—said that synchronous discussions were more engaging because they resembled a traditional classroom, many educators found that asynchronous discussions were more equitable because they opened up participation to students with low bandwidth, who had schedule limitations, or who were uncomfortable engaging with the full class.

6. Online forums create back-and-forth dialogue: Angelina Murphy, a high school English teacher, said she used Google Classroom’s question feature to get her class to respond to readings and discussion prompts during remote learning this past spring. When each student commented, Murphy replied with clarifying questions to create a back-and-forth dialogue and also asked every student to respond to at least two of their peers’ comments to create a broader base of discussion.

Fifth-grade teacher Raquel Linares said she used Nearpod Collaborate (Apple, Android), a virtual collaboration board, to get students to share images or write a response to show what they had learned about an article they read. To inspire connection and reflection among classmates, Linares also used Flipgrid (Apple, Android), so that students could hear their peers’ voices even though they were remote.

7. Seeing and critiquing peer work through virtual gallery walks: Virtual “gallery walks” give students an opportunity to view their classmates’ projects while learning from each other, according to Joe Marangell, a high school social studies teacher. After his students presented their own projects through five-minute screencasts, they were then required to give feedback to at least two other students on theirs.

Using Google Sheets, students provided feedback to their peers by answering the following prompts: What’s something new I learned about this topic?; What’s something that surprised me about this topic?; What’s something I liked about this presentation? The online format gave every student the opportunity to see their peers’ work and their assessment on theirs for deeper reflection, Marangell said.

8. Moving station brainstorming online: When carousel or station brainstorming activities are conducted in traditional classroom environments, small groups of students rotate around the room to different stations to answer prompts—and view and add to each groups’ responses.

To translate this online, Marangell divided his students into groups online and created shared Google docs—or a series of Google slides—for the prompts/questions. Each group left their thoughts under the questions by the assigned date and then followed up by commenting on the other groups’ responses the next day. “The strategy still allows them to maintain a sense of classroom community [in a virtual setting],” said Marangell.

5 Things You Need to Get Ready for Virtual School

It’s that time of the year again. Back to school!

For many FLVS families, this will be their first experience having their child attend school virtually – but even parents with experience can use some fresh ideas to start the new school year. Here are proven tips from teachers and parents of virtual school students to help your child get ready!

Have a designated area for school work.

This is my personal tip since, as a virtual teacher, it is probably one of the most important things in order for me to be successful at my job every day. For students, having a designated area means fewer distractions and getting into a “school mindset” when in that area. This can be a spare room or even a corner in a room; the important thing is to use that area only for school. Other considerations include:

Make sure this area is quiet or has a door that can be closed. This gives students privacy when they’re working, talking to their teachers, tutoring, completing DBAs, or taking an exam.

Allow space for a desk or table, but incorporate flexible seating. This can be a cozy spot for reading or a change of pace during the school day. Beanbags, hammock chairs, shaggy rugs, and oversize pillows can help a student relax and take a break when reading, drawing, or using a device between classes or after a lengthy exam.

Promote your student’s health. Ensure there is enough light for reading and taking notes. The monitor should be at eye level and the student’s chair must be comfortable and offer back support.

Stock this area with school supplies! Include pens, pencils, markers, paper, notebooks, and any other tools your student may need besides the computer.

Ensure you have the appropriate equipment.

This tip comes from Mrs. Mills, our Creative Photography teacher at FLVS Full Time High School. She knows of some students that think they can complete all their coursework from their smartphones, but this will not give the student the best experience. This isn’t to say you can’t use your smartphone occasionally (if you need to complete something on the go). But the best way to experience virtual school is on a desktop or laptop where you can view lessons full-screen. You’ll also need storage to save backup copies of your work!

Create a set schedule with breaks built in.

This tip comes from Mrs. Worrell who teaches Law Studies and from Mrs. Rodriguez, who teaches Spanish at FLVS Full Time High School. They both agree that you should think of your student’s schedule just like the bell schedule at a brick-and-mortar school. When the bell rings in a school, students automatically get up, pick up their books, and head on to their next class, right? You should plan your virtual school day the same way. Respect the schedule, and if needed, allow for an additional “period” at the end of the day to finish up any pending assignments. If your student completes all their work in the allotted time, this end-of-the-day period can be study time to get ahead in a class or work on a long-term project. Customize the schedule so that your student has more time for courses that take a bit longer to complete and less time for those courses they can complete faster.

Create a calendar.

Mrs. Mills also shares that her virtual course has a pacing guide that can be downloaded. This guide can be used to find what assessments are due every week. If a pacing guide is not available for a course, ask your child’s teacher how you can obtain a list of the assessments that are due every week.

Mrs. Stocks teaches Theater at FLVS Full Time and is also a mom of a virtual middle school student. She says it really helps to have a weekly calendar posted on a dry-erase board conveniently placed near your work area. She posts assignments due weekly and ensures they fit within their schedule which focuses on 1-2 subject areas each day.

Don’t forget about non-school activities!

Mrs. Ingley teaches Leadership at FLVS Full Time and is a mom of a virtual student. She feels it is very important to note non-school activities on their calendar, such as doctor appointments, after-school programs, holidays, and vacations, to avoid stressing about unfinished school work on those days. She sits down with her student once a week to go over her calendar and plan her school days around those extracurricular activities. She uses Google calendar and shares the dates of her doctor appointments and other events to her calendar.

Get ready to enjoy the flexibility!

If you help your child stay organized through the school year, you will be able to better enjoy the flexibility of virtual school. Occasionally visit your local library to study and enjoy the many programs libraries have to offer. Encourage your student to take time to volunteer at a local shelter or food pantry, visit a sick relative or go watch that new superhero movie during the afternoon. And don’t forget to explore our FLVS Clubs!

Have fun with your student and remember to keep them motivated by providing incentives for reaching their weekly goals. Have a great virtual school year!

Know someone interested in online learning? Share this post and invite them to learn more!

Virtual Learning Survival Guide for Parents

Before the COVID-19 coronavirus forced many around the world to switch to virtual learning, according to Statista, 49% of students said they already took some form of online learning course in the past year, according to Statista. With local government closures of schools and students moving to remote learning, the responsibility for creating an effective learning environment now falls on the shoulders of parents more than ever before.
nine0003

It is necessary to carefully monitor the progress of children, as the education system is changing dramatically. By remaining attuned to the lesson plans provided by teachers, parents can begin to stimulate their child’s educational growth on their own. But how do you create a balance of effective learning for your children, if at the same time you still need to do your work remotely, as well as solve a lot of other daily (domestic) tasks? Set up parental controls on all devices, build a conversation with your child and their teacher, remove barriers to online learning, and help create an effective learning schedule.
nine0003

Benefits of virtual learning

Many of the objections to virtual learning stem from the fear of desocialization and degraded learning. In theory, however, the benefits of e-learning far outweigh the problems and offer just as many benefits as traditional classroom learning, if not more. Supporters of virtual learning note a wider range of subjects and the ability to fill in gaps in previously covered topics, working at their own pace.
nine0003

Benefits of virtual learning:

• Higher cost-effectiveness than traditional schools.
• Instant results of tests and checks.
• Wider range of subjects compared to the standard face-to-face course.
• More personalized lesson plans.
• More scheduling flexibility.
• More effective presentation of the material, resulting in a higher digestibility. nine0018
• Easier to meet individual educational needs.
• Greater involvement of parents in the learning process.

Types of virtual learning

Virtual training can be partially or completely done online. Lessons can vary from live video lessons to pre-recorded videos. In addition, virtual learning can be used as an app or online tool to complement classroom learning.
nine0003

Types of virtual training:

• Fully Virtual Classroom: This model is a synchronous online course where students and teachers attend real-time video lessons and use group interaction (as if they were all together in a real classroom at school).
• Asynchronous Online Course: Sometimes referred to as a flexible virtual classroom, students can attend whenever they want. All lessons are pre-recorded and scheduled, so students have the most flexibility to progress through the material within this model. nine0018
• Rotation Model: Also referred to as blended learning, this model divides students’ time between distance learning and traditional classroom attendance.

Work from home and virtual learning

Often, the very transition to work from home requires a certain adaptation from a person. But when the need for distance learning for your child is added to this, then without special approaches there is a high probability of problems.
nine0003

First of all, it is necessary to allocate separate spaces in the apartment or house for doing your work from home and distance learning for the child. Separate “workspaces” will positively affect your productivity and your child’s academic performance, and it will also allow you to separate work, school and home life. Be prepared that at first there may be various difficulties (primarily of a technical nature), so be sure to consider that “pauses” may appear in your work schedule and that of your child.
nine0003

Set schedule

Creating a schedule that is relevant to you and your child is vital to getting the most out of your day. In the same way that you make your schedule for the day, create a schedule for the child. Plan your child’s day at least by the hour so that you have enough time for your work. But it is important not only to plan every hour correctly and start the working day right, but also to set aside time for food and rest at home so as not to overload the child with continuous learning.
nine0003

Sample schedule for a child:

• (7:30) Getting up, charging and washing
• (8:00) Breakfast
• (8:30) Lessons (e.g. 40 minutes with a 10 minute break in between)
• (10:30) Rest break
• (11:00) Time for self-study
• (12:00) Lunch
• (12:30) Lessons
• (14:00) Rest break
• (14:15) Time for self-study
• (15:15) Graduation, independent household chores (games, drawing, reading, reasonable time for watching TV, etc.)

Sample schedule for a parent working from home:

• (7:00) Getting up, exercising, washing, preparing breakfast
• (8:00) Breakfast
• (8:30) Checking mail, communicating with colleagues, daily plan
• (9:00) Work questions
• (10:30) Rest break
• (11:00) Helping a child learn independently
• (12:00) Lunch
• (12:30) Work questions
• (14:00) Rest break
• (14:15) Work questions
• (15:00) Checking the results of the child’s learning during the day
• (15:15) Work questions
• (18:00) Completion of work, household chores

Create plans and deadlines

Before you start solving your work issues, determine the tasks for the day for your child. Combine your requirements for completing the day’s plan with a reward system. As the lessons progress, these questions may be discussed and changed. Emphasize to your child the importance of completing homework on time just as they should do in traditional schooling. Particular attention should be paid to the allocated time for independent study of the material and work with educational online tools.
nine0003

After-school planning

As a rule, the working day at the enterprise lasts longer than a normal day at school. To help prevent boredom after school, encourage your child to progress with fun and engaging activities. By the way, you can make it so that, depending on the learning outcomes during the day, the child will be able to do one or another interesting pastime (for example, watch TV a little longer or play some game, etc.).
nine0003

Here are some more ideas for educational and interesting after-school activities:

• Tour of virtual museums and other virtual tours (children’s parks, cities…)
• Educational computer games
• Interesting puzzles, puzzles and creative tasks
• Musical exercises with your favorite fairy-tale or cartoon characters (video lessons)
• Online dance training (video lessons), etc.

nine0033

Child involvement and virtual learning

The downside of virtual learning can be a sense of isolation and desocialization. The key to quality online education lies in your child’s level of engagement. Getting your online relationships and interactions right, practicing mentoring as much as possible, keeping your schedule on track, helping and instructing your child will all help you avoid many of the above problems.
nine0003

How to measure engagement in virtual learning

Often in virtual learning environments, teachers encourage parents to be more active than is usually the case in standard school settings. Open communication with your child and their teacher is essential to success in an online program.

• Discuss learning objectives: Throughout the curriculum, have multiple face-to-face interactions with the teacher to better understand the child’s progress and results compared to other students. nine0018
• Talk to your child : Encourage open communication and ask him often how he feels about the lessons and their results.
• Monitor grades : Look out for any major changes in grades. Identify problems as quickly as possible and create the necessary action plan.
• Pay attention to social shifts : If your child is withdrawn or does not show interest in things that are usually of interest, talk to him first and consult a specialist if necessary. nine0018

Use virtual learning tools safely

In recent years, children’s education has been changing rapidly: distance learning is developing, devices and applications are actively used in classrooms and at home. But it can often be hard to tell the difference between good apps and bad ones. Luckily, there are quite a few educational tools approved by the Ministry of Education on the market that can be used for online learning.
nine0003

To help keep your child’s online privacy, make sure to:

• Use only special educational applications: the application must be used for educational purposes and not for consumer purposes. As a general rule, consumer applications are less strict with respect to data.
• Check the privacy policy: should have a privacy policy that confirms that the data will only be used to operate the application itself and will not be shared or sold to third parties. nine0018
• Check site security : educational site must start with “https://” in its address, where the letter “s” is present at the end – this indicates that all data exchange with this site takes place within a secure protocol and is encrypted .

Signs your child is resisting virtual learning

Flexible thinking and a positive attitude towards virtual learning will help create a successful transition to distance learning (especially forced during quarantine). Although, of course, there is a period of adaptation, and probably not everything will go as planned at each stage, it is still important to remain calm, reasonable and maintain a two-way dialogue with the child.
nine0003

Online learning provides an opportunity to develop non-standard thinking and creative solutions. The beauty of virtual learning is the personal touch. Therefore, if you see signs that your child is resisting virtual learning, try to objectively assess the situation from the outside, be sure to discuss this with your teacher and school psychologist and make the necessary changes to the curriculum.

The child does not have time to do tasks

• What to do : If the teacher reports that your child does not have time to complete assignments on time, then see if your child lacks some tools or technologies to complete assignments on time, or the child needs your help with homework. Keep track of the deadlines for homework assignments, determine with your child the time for completing each of them, try to meet the deadlines.

Improper timing

• What to do : Sit down with your child every evening and check the tasks that have been completed throughout the day. If necessary, make a plan for the next day with a set schedule.

Child does not ask for help

• What to do : Find out if your child’s favorite method of communication is email, phone or video chat. Let the child send you drafts of their assignments so that you can discuss them together before the child sends the assignment to the teacher or discusses it with other students. nine0018

Lack of motivation

• What to do : If your child is not motivated by grades or course completion, consider using external rewards for good learning outcomes.

Lack of interest in extracurricular activities

• What to do : Talk to your child. Find out if there is any particular reason or person your child doesn’t want to see or interact with. If disinterest persists, it may be time to bring in a specialist. nine0018

Additional resources

The world of virtual learning has endless possibilities when it comes to teaching and using educational resources. Use additional resources to deepen your understanding and improve your virtual learning practice at home.

• UNESCO: distance learning solutions
• Discovery Education and Virtual Learning

Virtual learning is an opportunity to individualize learning outside of extracurricular time. By helping your child become a successful, self-motivated learner, they can learn to solve problems creatively, gain a broader knowledge base, and be able to do so within a flexible and personalized schedule.
nine0003

Sources: Global Workplace Analytics | Research Gate

Zoom for Learning: Top 10 Questions

Instructions, Education

Many teachers, school leaders, students and their parents have become accustomed to the fact that distance virtual learning is their new reality. Moving to this format can be challenging, so we want to share important information with our users on how to conduct classes in Zoom Virtual Classrooms not only safely, but also effectively. nine0003

Here are 10 of the most common questions about how to use Zoom for virtual education and online learning.

1. Which is better to use for classes – Zoom Meetings or Zoom Video Webinars?

Both conferences and webinars are equally suitable for connecting and collaborating with large audiences and gaining access to valuable data through mandatory registration. It should be noted that there is a significant difference between conferences and webinars on some points. nine0003

• In meetings, users can use audio and video, share the screen, and share comments in real time. This method is intended for meetings where participants are expected to actively interact and work together.
• For webinars, the host takes control of the audience. Here, the participants do not communicate with each other using video and audio, but contact the host through the Q&A dialog box and the chat panel.

nine0033

The conference format is useful if you are creating an interactive classroom environment and want students to work together on tasks and exchange information directly. For online lectures, it is better to choose webinars – here participants have the opportunity to listen and view content, as well as ask questions through the special “Questions and Answers” ​​function.

The chart below shows a side-by-side comparison of features available to licensed meeting and webinar users to help you decide which is best for your class. nine0003

2. What is the best way to set up a virtual audience?

Here are some tips for creating the safest and most effective virtual classrooms.

• Set a password. Create a conference or webinar password and share it with your students. This ensures that only members who have access to the password will be able to join your virtual audience.
• Request registration. nine0008 With registration, which is set for both conferences and webinars, you can see who plans to join your audience. You also have the option to self-verify each registered user to determine future event attendees.
• Turn on the waiting rooms. Lounges do not allow users to automatically join an activity. Those who signed up for our program for schools have them connected by default. Participants can be accepted one at a time or all at once. You have a feature that allows students who use your school’s domain to log in to bypass the lobby. However, participants who do not have access to the school domain are accepted on an individual basis. nine0018
• Disable screen sharing. For education users, this feature is configured by default to only allow screen sharing to event organizers. This prevents participants from sharing distracting or inappropriate information in class. If you want to allow users to share content, change the settings for this feature, or toggle the Share Content in Meeting check box via the Security menu.

nine0017 Disable private chat. The host can block the chat and prevent students from exchanging messages with each other. Chat with the teacher remains available.

• Manage participants. Use the Security menu controls to remove unwanted participants who have joined your activity. For more information on how to manage members, such as muting their audio, stopping videos, or preventing name changes, visit our support page. nine0018
• Lock the conference. You can lock the conference via the Security menu if you want to prevent additional participants from joining after your session has started. Thanks to this function, you can not only protect yourself from unwanted guests, but also wean students from being late.

3. What measures can be taken to ensure that classes in the classroom are safe?

There are a number of default features and settings that keep Zoom Audiences secure and require no further action. nine0003

The Security menu is a handy section that brings together all the features that make meetings safer. This menu gives hosts or co-hosts access to the following features:

• Conference lock
• Waiting room activation
• Deleting members
• Screen sharing, chatting, personal name change, and commenting are prohibited for participants

We’ve taken extra security measures to turn on meeting rooms and passwords by default for Basic and Single Licensed Professional accounts, as well as members of our Schools program. Accounts that participate in our program cannot turn off the password requirement for meetings. We advise you to read our new blog post on how to secure your virtual audience for more information on this topic. nine0003

4. How to control attendance?

One way to keep track of attendance is to require registration. This way you will receive registration reports and find out who registered for the class and who attended it. Another way to control is to run polls during a class. After polling, you can export the report and see who took part in it to mark those present.

5. How can I make all students visible on the screen? nine0008

With Zoom’s Gallery View feature, you can view up to 49 participants at a time. To do this, enable this feature in the video settings. Don’t worry if there are more than 49 students in the class, the gallery view allows you to view up to a thousand participants. You just need to switch between pages, which display 49 user thumbnails, using the left or right arrow.

6. How do I set up the breakout rooms?

Session rooms provide the ability to divide the audience into 50 individual sessions or less. This feature is great for classes or assignments designed for group work. Participants in each breakout room have full access to audio, video, and demo functions. Hosts can receive alerts from participants in each room when they need help, and can switch between rooms to answer students’ questions. nine0003

Breakout rooms must be enabled in the meeting settings to use this feature. The organizer can distribute students into groups independently or automatically. (Find out how it works here.)

7. How do I enable screen sharing?

Screen Sharing is a feature that allows you to show students slides, videos, and other important class materials. You can also allow screen sharing for members so they can show their own work. To enable the feature, tap the green Screen Sharing icon and choose what you want to show. If you’re showing a video, be sure to check the “Computer Audio Sharing” box. nine0003

You can also share the screen view of the secondary camera during your Zoom session. This means that the host has the ability to show content from a document camera, which performs the same function as a ceiling projector. Check out our integration with Kaptivo, which allows you to read and share information from the classroom board online.

8. How to leave comments? Who can do this but me?

When you share your screen, you can add pictures, text, and stickers to your content, and allow class members to leave comments on your screen. This is a great way to involve students in the process and work collaboratively with them. nine0003

You can use the message board with the participants during the demonstration. The message board is similar to a regular classroom board, but in digital format – it is a white page and is needed to work on class tasks with students.

9.