12 online teaching activities to warm up the class

Conducting an online class can be monotonous at times especially for teachers who are not aware of online teaching. It is important that teachers liven up their online classes to keep their students on track and conduct fun as well as interactive online sessions. There are numerous benefits of online teaching that allows teachers and students to be a part of it. However, if teachers don’t keep their online session engaging, then chances are that students won’t take up their classes or will log off in the middle of the session. 

To avoid this, teachers need to include certain teaching activities that will spice up their online learning. In this article, we have come up with such activities to help teachers conduct an amazing online class. Take a look at the activities below.

Create short & crisp Content

Before looking at the various engaging teaching activities, this is one of the important things to keep in mind. Whenever you create any educational content like study materials or your video lectures, keep the content as short as possible. 

Let’s face it no one will read long paragraphs or information that contains too much text. Also, if you are conducting a video lecture (live or recorded) keep the length of the video short and include only the information that is necessary for the learner. 

Create Interesting Study Materials

To keep your students on track, create interesting study materials like quizzes, questionnaires, MCQs, etc. Students tend to interact more with such type of study materials as compared to the traditional study approach. 

If you are using an online teaching platform then you can create various educational content on the platform itself. 

Let them participate in discussions

Discussions are an effective way to engage your students. There are various methods that teachers can use to encourage discussions among students. 

Let’s take an example, you can divide your students into a group of two and then give them a topic to discuss (similar to a debate). This will generate more interest among them and the online class will be much more interactive. 

Encourage Group Activities

Similar to discussions, you can encourage your students to participate in various group activities. You can assign them group projects from time to time or tell them to be a part of the discussion forums. 

This way they get to know their peers and interact with them as well as they can get their doubts solved by discussing it in various forums. 

Set Short-term Goals

Setting short-term goals for your online classes are necessary as students can get an idea about the progress that they are making in their courses. 

Set goals with them down the line. It can be as simple as setting a timeline for the topics to be covered in the entire course duration. Then try to accomplish those goals together with your students. This way they can feel to be on track and participate more in the online class. 

Mark your Students Progress

Marking your student’s progress will motivate them to concentrate on their studies and attend their classes with full energy. Whenever they achieve a specific task, mark it on the course page or simply add an achievement page to outline their success. 

You can add badges, write positive remarks, add points, etc on the achievement page. If you are using an online learning platform then the majority of the platforms may contain the provision to outline the success of a learner. At the end of the course, students will see these achievements and feel more confident. 

Embrace the use of technology

Technology will make your work easier as there are various tools available on the internet to encourage participation in online learning. 

You can make use of virtual educational games, quizzes, text editors, virtual whiteboards, etc to liven up the online class.

Keep your Chat Window Open!

When conducting a live online class, always keep the chat window open for students to ask any queries. This is the mistake that the majority of teachers make while teaching. 

If students have any doubts in between your teaching then they should be given a chance to speak about it. This can escalate quickly as students can disengage from the online class. 

Present yourself Better

First and foremost, teachers should always start their webcam while teaching so that students can see the teachers and feel much better about the whole online approach. 

While conducting the classes with the help of online teaching software always make sure that you are presentable. There are many students who are watching you and they should feel positive, confident and motivated. 

Not only this but to have a good impression on your students, you should check your lighting and backgrounds as well. Try to sit near a clean background where there is enough lighting. 

Be Clear & patient

Teachers should always be clear with their students on what they expect from them. An online environment can be confusing at times and to avoid that you should communicate clearly with the students. 

Also, try to be patient with your students. If they didn’t complete their test/assignments on time then give them an extra day or so. Do not set unreasonable deadlines as an online environment can be lonely and students can feel demotivated from time to time.

Make your Students feel valued

When teaching with the help of an online learning platform, students can feel that teachers are not paying attention to them. This can make them lose interest or not attend your classes again. 

Teachers can simply remember the names of students and address them throughout the online session. You can also get to know them on a personal level and create educational content that interests them or conduct regular follow-ups. 

Give them Timely Feedbacks

Feedbacks are most important when keeping your students on track. Give them feedback regarding their test/assignments without any delay. This will also help them get an insight into their academic performance. 

Conclusion

with the help of these teaching activities, you can conduct a great online class. You can use Study24x7 which is a free online teaching platform to create various study materials and conduct a hassle-free online class. Incorporate these activities into your online teaching and keep your students on their toes.

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