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6 Strategies For Strengthening Student Engagement in Online Learning

There are ways to strengthen student engagement in online learning, however – read on for our top tips.

Published

3 years ago

November 20, 2020

6 Strategies For Strengthening Student Engagement In Online Learning

Student Engagement in Online Learning -More colleges and universities are leaning towards online learning to cope with the requirements of teaching in a COVID secure way. By designing courses that can be explored virtually, colleges also dramatically increase the scalability of their operations and can discover new sources of revenue. How Online Courses Can Replace Campus Education?

However, the challenges of providing quality teaching in virtual environments are often underestimated and students’ attention, now mediated by a screen, can often drop. There are ways to strengthen student engagement in online learning, however – read on for our top tips. How Positive Stress Affects Our Life?

1) Upskill Instructors For Online Learning

The skillset required for bringing teaching excellence into the online sphere differs
somewhat from in-person teaching, so course organizers need to recognize instructors may have a skills gap when shifting to virtual learning. Without face-to-face interaction and all the subtleties of body language that allows, the online learning environment can be alienating for students if instructors aren’t explicitly trained in ways of offering student support and encouraging interaction.

Don’t assume that the skills of in-person teaching will naturally transfer – run online learning conferences for your staff in advance of shifting to a virtual classroom and ensure instructors are familiar with the additional challenges this environment represents.

2) Offer Multiple Formats To Accommodate Learning Styles

In face-to-face teaching environments, students can choose to record class audio for
listening back, to take detailed notes, or to simply engage in the teaching style the instructor represents. In virtual environments, a paucity of formats can leave certain students behind if the learning styles they gravitate to aren’t represented.

Offering multiple formats will help to engage a wide spectrum of students, as well as
embracing emails and discussion forums institutions should embrace video and audio
resources for students. Instant messaging and chat room-style forums are a great way of encouraging dynamic student debate.

3) Encourage Activity

One issue with online learning is the static environment in which it takes place – no matter how many resources you offer your students, the medium of the screen will damage engagement as the physical space students are in – an office or, more likely a bedroom, never changes.

Wherever possible, learning materials should be related to the real world and assignments should include elements that encourage students out into the world – group assignments, case studies, or interviews with individuals in the communities are excellent ways to bolster your students’ digital experiences and encourage greater engagement.

4) Recreate The Social Classroom

In the absence of a physical classroom dynamic, instructors can leverage social platforms to recreate a community feel on a course. By encouraging students to communicate amongst themselves, engagement in the course can be strengthened as performance is now reinforced in a social sphere.

Adding a Twitter icon to your classroom’s homepage and building some hashtags around your course material can enable your students to bring course content into the social sphere. The organic discussions that emerge in these environments evidence independent learning and strong student engagement.

5) Gamify Your Course For Added Appeal

Gamification refers to the method of incorporating game-style rewards and achievements in course material to appeal to that part of the human brain that’s obsessed with ‘levelling up.’ If your students can get addicted to Candy Crush or Tetris, you can utilize that to get them addicted to (or settle for engaged with!) course content.

Gamify your course by adding achievement badges to student profiles when certain assignments are completed. Badges for extracurriculars encourage students to go above and beyond, and will strengthen engagement further.

6) Introduce Continuous Self-Assessment

When students feel a sense of independence and ownership over the course they’re taking, engagement increases. This sense of independence can be fostered by giving students more choice about the assignments they undertake and the opportunities they have for assessing their progress. More choice over assignments – both in terms of topics as well as formats for submission, from traditional essays to work involving case studies and practical skills – can encourage students to go deeper into a topic.

Self-assessment also encourages student engagement as students feel empowered to control their own learning trajectory. If students feel that quizzes or tests are too easy, enable an option for skipping them and pursuing more challenging material. Allowing students to alor their learning experience promotes their autonomy and has an important impact on engagement.

School’s Out

Creating dynamic and engaging online learning environments is a huge opportunity for institutions to cater to different styles of learning and access new markets. Digital learning doesn’t have to mean distracted students.

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Ashley Halsey

Ashley Halsey is a professional writer at Oxford Writing Service. She trained as a dancer before turning to writing, and still performs in amateur theatre and teaches yoga and movement classes.

Career

Report: NEET SS 2024 May Not Be Conducted This Year Due to the Admission Delay of the 2021 Batch

Published

2 days ago

May 1, 2024

Subhashree Panda

Report: NEET SS 2024 May Not Be Conducted This Year Due to the Admission Delay of the 2021 Batch

An RTI or Right to Information request was submitted by Dr Vivek Pandey, an activist, regarding the advancement of the NEET PG 2024 examination.

The NMC, National Medical Commission has responded to the request regarding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET PG) 2024 test.

The same reply by NMC also revealed the status of the NEET SS (Super Specialty) examination for the current academic year. It is anticipated that NEET SS 2023 might not take place this year.

As per the RTI, the 2021 academic year admission procedure for DNB and MD/MS courses took place from January to May 2022. Thus, the chances of NEET SS 2024 being conducted this year are low.

RTI further added that the exact date of the examination in 2023 or 2025 will be decided in the future, reports India.com.

About The Minutes of the Meeting of NMC

Dr Vivek Pandey shared the Minutes of Meeting of NMC. It quoted,

“Regarding NEET SS 2024, it was decided that as admissions for academic year 2021 for MD, MS and DNB courses were held only in January to May 2022, therefore, NEET SS 2024 may not be conducted in the current year. However, the exact date of conducting NEET SS 2024 in the year 2025 will be decided later.”

The meeting took place on February 21. It was chaired by the President of the Post-Graduate Medical Education Board, Dr Vijay Oza.

As per Shiksha, other participants in the meeting included the Deputy Secretary, PGMEB, NMC: Sh Aujender Singh; Joint Director, NBEMS: Dr Vinay Gupta; Dr Rakesh Sharma OSD, NBEMS; Dr B Srinivas, DDG (ME), MCC and Secretary, NMC; Prof M Bajpai, Hony Executive Director of NBEMS.

The panel finalized the date of the NEET PG 2024 examination. It has been finalized to be conducted on June 23, 2024.

The panel discussed the pattern of examination of the upcoming NEET SS.

Until now, the entire schedule of the NEET SS 2024 examination has not been revealed yet. However, it will be announced, once decided.

Also Read: Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu Exposes Fake Twitter Account Spreading Rumors on HSLC Exam Results, Shares Screen Shot On Social Media

India News

Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu Exposes Fake Twitter Account Spreading Rumors on HSLC Exam Results, Shares Screen Shot On Social Media

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Manoj Nair

Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu Exposes Fake Twitter Account Spreading Rumors on Exam Results, Shares Screen Shot On Social Media

It was another case of fake news in which a rumor spread that the results of Assam Higher Secondary exams had been released. The fake news spread quickly, requiring the intervention of Assam’s Education Minister, Ranoj Pegu, who exposed the details of a fake Twitter account spreading rumors about exam results.

On Friday, Assam’s Education Minister, Ranoj Pegu, took to social media to debunk the fake news that the Secondary Exams results of Assam had been released. The Minister clarified that the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) and Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) are responsible for declaring the exam results, and they will be declared according to their predetermined schedule.

Additionally, Minister Ranoj Pegu shared screenshots of the fake Twitter account bearing his name and allegedly spreading false news about the announcement of results for the HSLC & HS Examination, 2024. The screenshots revealed that miscreants had attempted to spread the fake news that the results of the Secondary Exams would be declared on Saturday, April 20, 2024.

Minister Ranoj Pegu also clarified that the claims were entirely false and once again exposed how easily such false information can spread on social media. This underscores the need for readers to remain vigilant and verify information from credible sources.

SEBA and AHSEC are tasked with conducting the Class 10 and Class 12 exams, respectively. The Class 10 matric exams concluded on March 4, and the Class 12 higher secondary exams concluded on March 13. In 2023, the Assam board Class 10 results were declared on May 22, and Class 12 HS results on June 16. The results will be made available on the official websites of the board — sebaonline.org, resultsassam.nic.in, and ahsec.assam.gov.in.

Last year, the pass percentage for Class 10 was 72.69 percent. The pass percentage for the Class 12 Arts stream was 70.12 percent, 79.57 percent for the Commerce stream, and 84.96 percent in the Science stream.

The Assam Board of Secondary Education is expected to release the Assam Board 10th Result 2024 during the first week of May 2024. However, no official announcement has been issued by the Assam Board yet.

Also Read: 911 Outage In US: China Cyberattack Hacking Theories Explored

World

NASA Providing Internship Opportunities: Check Last Date To Apply, Eligibility Criteria, and Other Details

Published

3 weeks ago

April 9, 2024

Subhashree Panda

NASA Providing Internship Opportunities: Check Last Date To Apply, Eligibility Criteria, and Other Details

The legendary National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, is currently looking to appoint interns!

The Fall 2024 Internship Session is currently being opened by the leading space agency and inviting applications from interested individuals, reported NASA.

Interested candidates and students can apply for the internship provided by NASA on intern.nasa.gov., their official website.

NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement on an annual basis accepts enrollment of over 2,000 students via this opportunity.

Under NASA’s pathways programme, recent graduates and students are allowed to apply for “paid internships that are direct pipelines to full-time employment at NASA”.

NASA provides internship opportunities for non-STEM students as well.

Even a virtual "launch" can get scrubbed. 🙅‍♀️

Our fall 2024 internship applications are extended until Friday, Apr. 12 and will close at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Apply: https://t.co/pUmAlqhkvB https://t.co/tzBpQH9sXc— NASA Internships (@NASAInterns) April 5, 2024

The leading space agency announced,

“A common misconception is that NASA only offers engineering internships. Please know that we have opportunities for students who are not majoring in engineering. NASA needs employees with a variety of knowledge and skills. At NASA, our engineers, mathematicians, scientists, accountants, writers, IT specialists, project managers, program analysts, and many other professionals work together to break barriers to achieve the seemingly impossible.”

NASA further added,

“Non-engineering interns may support a variety of business and program management work, including procurement, budgeting, accounting, information technology, and security.”

Eligibility Criteria of NASA Internship

The eligibility criteria for the internship is also an important factor to be taken care of. To apply for the internship, candidates must hold US citizenship and have a minimum GPA from 3.0 to 4.0 on a scale of five.

Candidates of 16 years or older can apply for the internship. The last date to fill up the application form for NASA’s internship programme is April 12, 2024.