A frequent comment we hear about online learning is that it lacks the interactivity of face to face classes. While this may be true in some ways (online discussion boards often lack the spontaneity of in-class discussions), online classrooms also allow for everyone to have a say, from the quiet student who says little to the most confident and talkative student in the room.
These interactive types of activities can also serve as assessments that can't be cheated at, unlike more traditional exams. Assessing student learning, fostering interactivity, and preventing academic dishonesty? What's not to love?!
But how can we foster this interactivity? We're glad you asked!
- Annotations: Ask learners to annotate a written test or document. This can be done either individually or collectively in small groups. You can use products like Hypothes.is to easily manage these types of assignments.
- Collaboration: As students to create documents and presentations together using Google or Office365 suites. To organize larger documents and presentations, they can use collaboration management tools like Slack Messenger, Microsoft Teams, Google Jamboard, and Trello to make sure the group is all on the same page.
- Concept Mapping: Have students identify relationships between concepts or networks and then illustrate these relationships by creating a concept map.
- Curation: Students can aggregate both visual and textual resources using Google Keep
- Data Visualization: Students can use Google MyMaps to create and annotate maps, or use the US Census's website to create visualizations of data.
- Exhibition Creation: You can ask students to create their own virtual museum exhibits using Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint.
- Peer feedback: Allow students to provide constructive feedback to classmates as a way to show that they understand the material well enough to positively critique others' work.
- Portfolio: Students can use the built-in Folio tool in Canvas to create professional-looking portfolios that can follow them into the job market.
- Flipgrid: Adding more of a traditional in-class feel to digital discussion boards, this online discussion board adds video and audio feedback for students, as well as the ability to leave text comments. Talk about enriching the online discussion experience!
- Teach back: Have students "teach" a lesson in a short video. This demonstrates mastery because you can't teach it if you don't understand it!
