How to Engage Remote Learning Students with the Effective use of Media

Experienced instructors know that student attention is going to wane after 5 minutes without something for the students to see, hear, touch or do. As often as possible, virtual instructors need to have the students do something to keep them engaged. Students should be asked to do things that are directly measurable and enable the instructor to provide the students with feedback and support. Internet and virtual classroom technologies provide the means to leverage a myriad of effective learning media in a remote learning environment. The most popular remote learning media/activities are:

• PowerPoint Slide Presentations
• Group Scenarios and Breakout Room Exercises
• Polls. Surveys and Q&A sessions

While each of the above methods are useful for engaging remote learning students, by themselves they do not provide learners with the visual, auditory and tactile experience of an in-person class delivered by a well prepared instructor. The above media types are also not sufficient to enable instructors to provide individual students with meaningful feedback, remediation and support.

Come to Class Prepared

In a traditional classroom, instructors come prepared with media (slides, video, physical displays, equipment, models, etc.) that provide visual, auditory and tactile learners with what they need to remain engaged.

In a remote learning or virtual classroom, instructors can leverage media to support the needs of the visual, auditory and tactile learners, including:

• Periodic (in-session) quizzes and exams that produce weighted scores that can be used to determine a student’s grade.
• Micro-lessons (5-10 minute eLearning modules) that students interact with and can be leveraged to determine a student’s final completion status or grade.
• Interactive and competitive games that enable students to demonstrate learning and achieve recognition. Games that produce leader-boards and individual scores are extremely effective.
• Scavenger hunts, supported by visual and audio media, are an effective way for instructors to engage learners and provide an opportunity for them to leverage what they have learned.
• Short videos (no more than 10 minutes) that provide tutorials, examples and demonstrations of relevant subject matter.
• Equipment, process and software simulations that enable student to interact with the instructor during a presentation and exercise skills obtained during the session that can be leveraged to determine a student’s final completion status or grade.

In a learning laboratory environment, instructors conduct demonstrations, introduce equipment, tools and software. They also supervise students that are exercising skills. In addition to the media discussed above, remote learning instructors can leverage equipment, process and software simulations that enable students to interact with the instructor during their presentation and exercise skills obtained during the session.

Simulations do not have to be expensive or elaborate to engage remote learners. Simply having the student click on screen elements that simulate a process or procedure is far better than having them just listen to a lecture.

Minimize Distractions

In a traditional classroom, instructors minimize distractions. ?Student attention should be focused on the instructor and the media that is being presented. What the remote learning students hear should not be side-conversations, phones ringing or cell phone message notifications.

Imagine a physical classroom environment where the primary thing the student sees is the expressions, antics and gestures of the other students.

There is no instructional value to providing students with a screen containing the webcams of the other students in the class. Student focus should always be on the information, demonstration or process being presented. Make effective use of your technology to not only provide this focus, but to eliminate distractions.

Types of Media to Avoid

Some remote learning instructors have students read PDF documents, look at a websites or watch lengthy videos during their sessions. As a general rule, if you allow remote learners to spend time accessing an asynchronous media source for an extended period of time (greater than 10 minutes) during your sessions, they will lose focus. While these types of media are great ideas for homework assignments and pre-class activities, they do not promote student engagement in a remote learning environment.

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