Seeing your students during an online classes is the most important thing as it ensures that student-teacher interaction is happening. Just as during offline teaching we can’t force students to stay engaged similarly we can’t force them to keep their cameras on during an online class. But a good strategy can help you build trust or make your students comfortable to turn their cameras on during online classes. Today with the help of this blog we will discuss the strategies to encourage students to keep their cameras on during online classes.
Basic Strategies to Encourage Students to turn Cameras on
The virtual classrooms provide a way to interact with students. This time must be utilized to get engaged with them and be sensitive to their needs. It ensures human attachment and interaction along with playing an important role in classroom teaching. During online classes, educators must find ways to encourage their students to keep their cameras on. Some of the strategies to follow are –
Play Games with Students
Attending a three to four-hour live online class can become a burden to the students. Everyone wants a short break in between. So it would be better to do some fun with students in the form of games. Online learning applications like Zoom consist of interesting games like stone paper and scissors inside it. Apart from this, teachers also perform extra activities in the form of quizzes to nourish the student’s mental health.
Some of the games which can be played while teaching your students online during your virtual classes are mentioned below.
- Quiz games – all that is required to play this game is a pen and paper so that students can write their answers. This will keep students engaged during online classes and help maintain better student-teacher relationship.
- Make a story game – here teachers can assign topics to students ask them to write a story and present it during the class. This is the most engaging activity during an online class.
- Active note – ask your students to use markers and different colored pens to make their notes. They can make bullet points, make doodles etc. to make their notes attractive and fun.
- Pet parade – teachers can ask their students to introduce the class with their favorite pet. It makes kids feel bolder and confident when they are focused on introducing their pets or soft toys.
Park their Queries
As we all know that online education is a part of internet technology and tools. So sometimes students face some trouble regarding the tool or internet connection. For a better experience of education, it is necessary to address their needs and try to fix them as soon as possible. Many students are interested in interacting with teachers but low-quality tools and connections may resist them. Ensure that you have access to good tools which will not hinder the quality Make sure to address their queries and try to introduce them to new technology and features. Help them adjust with this new platform of learning this will also help in maintaining student-teacher relationship.
Build an Affirmative Approach
Whether a student is attending an online class or offline, everyone deserves respect and a positive approach. Before starting any class make sure to build a positive relationship among students. Ask them to introduce themselves to make them comfortable and also introduce yourself. Let students know each other, communicate and build trust with you and other classmates, this will develop a good student-teacher as well as student-student relationship.
Focus on Empathetic Listening during Online Classes
It is important to be an empathetic listener as a teacher because it will ensure that you understand the problems of your students and value what they are saying. This will help in building trust between you and your students and there will be few misunderstandings and more empathy. Students will be more comfortable in sharing their problems with you without any hesitation. As a teacher, empathetic listening will help your students relate with you in a better and more effective way.
Chat Individually
If any student feels shy or hesitates to ask something in a live lecture then the teacher must talk to them personally. Take time to understand the problems he/she is facing and address them politely. Build a trust that they can talk to you regarding their problems comfortably. Be sensitive and find ways to make them feel safe and included.
The online classroom is a boon for us and today with the help of this system we can interact with our students without any hassle. Online learning allows you to learn something that is far from ideal. With the help of this education medium, we not only save our time but also save money too. Know more about how you can get your own app and become a successful online teacher.
