You’re teaching remotely and need to keep students engaged. What online learning platforms should you use?

1 Create interactive lessons

One way to keep your students engaged is to create interactive lessons that involve multimedia, quizzes, feedback, and gamification. You can use online learning platforms that allow you to design and deliver your own lessons, or use ready-made ones that are aligned with your curriculum. For example, you can use Nearpod, which lets you create live or self-paced lessons with polls, videos, simulations, and more. Or you can use Edpuzzle, which lets you add questions and comments to any video and track your students' progress.

2 Facilitate collaboration

Another way to keep your students engaged is to facilitate collaboration among them, so they can learn from each other, share ideas, and work on projects. You can use online learning platforms that enable communication, file sharing, and group work. For example, you can use Google Classroom, which integrates with Google Drive, Docs, Slides, and other tools to create and manage assignments, announcements, and feedback. Or you can use Padlet, which lets you create online boards where your students can post notes, images, links, and more.

3 Assess learning outcomes

You also need to assess your students' learning outcomes and provide them with timely and constructive feedback. You can use online learning platforms that allow you to create and administer quizzes, tests, surveys, and portfolios. For example, you can use Quizizz, which lets you create fun and engaging quizzes with live results and reports. Or you can use Seesaw, which lets you create portfolios where your students can showcase their work and receive feedback from you and their peers.

4 Personalize learning paths

You can also keep your students engaged by personalizing their learning paths according to their interests, goals, and abilities. You can use online learning platforms that offer adaptive learning, differentiation, and scaffolding. For example, you can use Khan Academy, which offers personalized learning plans and practice exercises for various subjects and levels. Or you can use Newsela, which offers articles on current events and topics with different reading levels and comprehension questions.