After the impact of the global pandemic, online education has become an inseparable part of the teaching and learning process. Online education provided us a way to ensure the uninterrupted learning. Online education also kept students safe and sound in their homes. Along with this, online education brought several advantages.
Online education is more beneficial for students. And teachers also prefer the online mode of instruction. Teachers have adopted several means to make online education more fun, enjoyable, and engaging. These efforts help improve the productivity and efficiency of virtual learning.
Several teachers and educators introduced their own unique and creative methods to make the classes more fun. Teachers are successful in getting the best learning outcomes from students. But, teachers still try to make their online courses interactive. And have healthy interaction with students.
How to make an online classroom Interactive
Active interaction between teachers and students is vital to improving the efficiency of learning in an online class. Here are the best ways a teacher can use to make their online classrooms more interactive.
1.Encourage Topic discussions
Teaching during online classes sometimes becomes too monotonous and dull. This makes the students lose their interest. In such situations, the teacher can encourage students to take part in an active topic discussion. The topic from the curriculum is taught and gets thoroughly discussed by everyone present in the class virtually.
Active topic discussions enable the students to express their thoughts. Students can share ideas in front of everyone else in the online classroom. They become more confident, attentive, and responsible towards their studies. Such discussions promote interactions. And removes the barrier between a teacher and a student.
2.Assign group projects and assignments
The pandemic locked up everyone in their homes, and the students were left alone. Students often have a habit of studying with their friends. Most students miss the interactions they had with their friends and teachers. But it is not possible to bring all the students together. So, it is better to encourage them to work hand in hand online.
Teachers can assign projects, assignments, and homework to students in pairs or micro-groups. These will also remove the burden on individual students. Such practices enable the students to interact with their classmates. Students get the opportunity to interact outside the online classroom. And complete the assigned tasks with better efficiency and quality.
3.Seek response from students
Online classrooms are meant for the teacher to convey good academic information. However, Students may have opinions and doubts about what they are learning in the class. Thus, Teachers must take feedback from students about the various aspects of the online classroom.
Whether the feedback is positive or negative, the teacher must appreciate them. Acknowledgment makes the students open up and be more interactive. Proper feedback also enables a teacher to address the problems of students. These will directly convert into a healthy interaction in the form of doubt sessions.
4.Utilize Breaks
It is not always necessary that a teacher and students only interact during class hours. Good conversations can also take place during breaks that occur between classes. These conversations can result in a healthy interaction session. During these sessions, teachers can discuss different topics other than studies. This method can grow the interests of students.
Apart from the scheduled breaks, small gaps of 5 to 10 minutes can break the monotony of long class hours. Break rooms provide the students with a few minutes to relax. Such break rooms engage students in recreational activities. Active interactions, where students and teachers exchange casual thoughts, also count as recreational.
5.Add personal conversations
Adding small personal conversations between classes impacts the students. This also shows the concern of the teacher towards them. Such small conversations can also become a way of interacting with students. Students who often speak less get a chance to open up in the online classroom.
Personal talks also enable the teachers to keep a regular check on the well-being of their students. Such conversations can bring out unknown facts. Teachers can learn about the different problems of their students and provide the students with practical solutions. Thus, adding personal conversation can add value to your classroom.
6.Use free interactive tools
There are several virtual tools available on the internet which can act as a mode of interaction. These tools are activity-based that also include online games. Teachers can organize quizzes, puzzles, and other similar recreational activities.
Such activities will generate active participation of students in the classroom. These activities could be related to the curriculum or can only be made fun-based.
The advantage of using such tools is that they are freely available. Every student can access these tools on the internet. And another is that they have tons of customization options. Using these options, the teacher can make changes. These changes must be as per the interests of students and make them more interactive.
7.Be kind and gentle
Apart from everything else, the qualities of a teacher play a crucial role in the virtual classroom. Teachers should always incorporate kindness and helpfulness in their nature. Such quality makes the teachers gain the trust of their students. This makes interaction easy and healthy.
Teachers should always try to keep the environment of online classes happening. Such a positive environment helps the students to recover from stress and anxiety. A teacher must have friendly behavior towards students. The students would never hesitate to share their problems with a friendly teacher. And the teacher can provide a solution for them.
Conclusion
Several effective ways can help a teacher to make their online classrooms more interactive. A teacher can try implementing any of these ways or methods in their online classes. These methods make online classes different from the regular boring study sessions. A student will never ignore online classes if they are interactive enough. And in case these methods do not work, one can also innovate their unique way to encourage interaction. Healthy interaction is the key to bring out the best learning outcomes from students.
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