Learner engagement has always been a focus for all educators, now that online teaching has become a bigger platform of education, teachers are constantly focusingmore on their student engagement strategy to foster learning in the virtual classroom. the major shift that is required is to review teaching methodologies that we generally apply in the traditional and how can we bring changes to fit with the online learning environment. Needless to say, what has been practiced for so long needs to be reinvented.

When it comes to assignments, students always crave something that keeps their motivation on. Assignments that are exciting and inspiring can bring a lot of creativity in the outcome and it also makes it easier for the teacher to achieve the learning goal on track.

5 Engaging Online Assignments To Engage Online Students –

Interview

The interview can be tied up with multiple subjects such as biology, history, sociology, and many more. Your learners can pick their favorite personality who inspires them and create a set of questions in the form of an interview. To make it more specific you can also discuss a single line of topic for such as interview, with this learners can use their critical thinking and awareness about the topic or the theme and thus explore the depth into the subject matter.


Case Studies

Case studies are all-time favorite ways of engaging students, even for online teaching real-life topics can be used to tie the subject with. It works for all kinds of the classroom. this is a great form of assignment where learners can do their research on the topic in-depth, explore their ideas and grasp the lesson. The add-on advantage of the case study is that technology can be integrated easily. Students can use the internet to discover their findings and present their assignments.

Video Recap

If you want something quick and simple, a video recap of the lesson can be done by learners, where you can provide them a limited time for the video and students design their version of understanding of the topic. video recap is a lighthearted method of assignment that ensures learners summarize what they have learned so far. To make it more effective, you can notify your students prior that at the end of the lesson they will be needing to submit a video recap, this way your learner will pay more attention during the lesson.

Online Debates

Online debate is a group activity that can enhance collaboration among learners. Teachers can choose a particular topic and divide students into groups. The debate can encourage students to dig deeply into the topic and make their point in simplified ways. Since both pros and cons are generally involved in debate activity, it can enhance empathy and improve research skills. be sure to keep some ground rules of the debate as in online platforms, things can get a little messy with overlapping audios.

Five Minute Paper

Similar to video recap, this is another short interesting assignment. After the lesson, the teacher can ask learners to write a sort paper, preferably pointwise on the significance of the lessons and what they have found interesting. It allows them to recall the lesson and think fast while they write their points. When the student finishes you can ask a few of them randomly to read what they have written. together this can bring a lot of fresh perspective to the subject matter, also learners can learn a lot from each other.

Final Thoughts

The point of online assignments is to get online learners to think. Online assignments can always be tailor-made by the teacher to keep things interesting for students. It can also be craved according to the need of the learners. For instance, if any topic needs to be explored in-depth teacher can use a case study. Overall, in online teaching, teachers need to consider the pros and cons of the platform in order to create an effective learning experience for the learners.

To engage 21st Century Young Learners in the online platform, teachers with Diploma in Pre and Primary Teachers Training can bring innovation in virtual classrooms with the latest nuances of online teaching.


Written By : Sudeshna Guha Thakurta