The success of online learning depends on how quickly it identifies the disengaged learners and the techniques used to reengage them. Students’ disengagement has become a prominent learning issue as online students fade over time, get themselves busy in other things, and even find trouble in keeping up with their online coursework. Even the most intended learner may lack attention or procrastinate while taking online lessons. With a lack of face-to-face accountability, online students give up without anybody noticing, so, it becomes paramount to strategize students’ engagement facilitating quality education through digital media.
How Disengagement Occurs in an Online System?
Online education system delivers content through internet technologies and has become the fastest growing industry, which caters to all the participants staying physically apart from each other. Learners can use their flexible time and place to learn, access study materials and motivate themselves.
Yet, many students lose motivation and students’ disengagement has become the biggest challenge in the online education system. The disengagement can take many forms – lack of participation and effort, acting out and disrupting class, disaffection and withdrawal and lastly failure to invest deeply in the academic content.
Best Practises to Engage Online Students
In an online live classroom, technically known to be a Synchronous Mode of teaching, instructors can detect the students’ engagement through classroom activities. Both energy and sound levels are higher; the synergy between the collaborative partners is exciting to observe, discussion grows animated and connections are established.
Out of the many strategies adopted by modern-day instructors, the following five are the most proven strategies to develop student’s engagement in an online mode and are applicable for all three types of online teaching – Synchronous, Blended and Asynchronous modes.
Strategy 1: Use Modern Teaching Tools
There are hundreds of online tools available online for the instructors to create interactive and engaging contents for online classes. From slide presentations to fill able worksheets, it becomes easier for the remote students when they know the online course is easy for them to cope with.
Teachers need to be acquainted with all the remote teaching tools so they can deliver instructions effectively over the internet. Practise is essential using online whiteboards to explain a concept thoroughly.
Strategy 2: Provide Interactive Lesson Delivery
It appears inclusive when Online Courses follow the universal instructional design approach, and the VARK methodology, so no students feel left out while taking up the course. Online quizzes, ready-to-go assignments, brainteasers are a few of the interactive activities instructors can use while delivering the online content.
Student engagement can also be emphasised by building online education communities, where students can actively participate to carry on with meaningful learning.
Strategy 3: Instructor’s Interesting Persona
In the physically isolated world of online education, virtual identity often gets associated with real-life identity, so online instructors need to be careful while projecting themselves through the digital media. A positive and cheerful self, with a welcome video, can be beneficial; and helps to generate interest among the course takers.
Strategy 4: Assess & Track Progress
Assessment in the online environment measures and facilitates the credibility of the online course. The timely assessment can improve the quality of learning, helps to engage students and acts as a motivator to bring out the learning outcome. Online assessments can range from online quizzes, dialogue & conversations, self-assessment activities and even projects, help to gratify a learner for completing the course successfully.
Strategy 5: Timely Feedback
Feedback allows the online learners to assess their progress, and work on the areas of self-improvement. It also promotes self-reflection, increases knowledge retention and encourages constructive discussion with instructors or with their peers.
Feedback acts as a powerful engagement tool to address both cognitive and motivational factors. It allows the online students to formulate action plans and lead them towards their goals.
Learn more on Student’s Engagement with GBS Online
Online Instructors are likely to establish a sense of community among the learners, so the students are less likely to feel disengaged or drop out from their course. A sense of community makes the learning process more real, human and achievable.
Many such strategies and concepts are discussed in a specifically designed online course titled “How to Teach Online” offered by Globsyn Business School Online (GBS Online) education platform. Stay ahead of the curve with GBS Online and accomplish yourself as a commendable certified instructor for promoting a meaningful online teaching-learning process towards a better world of education.