Top 11 Ways to Maximize Student Engagement for Online Classes

By Yan Weng (CEO & Cofounder of Funclass | Harvard M.Ed | 7 years of online education experience)

Picture this: you are about to start another online class on Zoom. As your students pop into the meeting, a sea of muted microphones and blank video feeds greets you. You take a deep breath and try to engage them with questions, but the only response is the echo of your voice. Sixty minutes feel like an eternity as you navigate through the student silence. Finally, with a heavy sigh, frustration lingers as you close the laptop, pondering, "How can I better engage my students?”

Does this frustration sound familiar? Many online educators, including myself, have grappled with solutions for student disengagement. In this blog, drawing from my seven years of online teaching experience and a Master of Education from Harvard, I’ll provide 11 top strategies to effectively engage your learners.

1. Start your class with a warm-up activity

First, before delving into the main lesson, consider kicking off each session with a fun warm-up activity. It serves as an engaging transition into the lesson, allowing students to activate their minds and participate actively from the very start.

Example: This can range from a quick trivia question related to the upcoming lesson or a thought-provoking prompt that encourages students to share their opinions. Wordwall provides a wide range of mini-games that you can use as warm-up activities to get your students into the learning experience.

2. Leverage gamified polls and quizzes

To spice up student engagement, it’s essential to break the one-sided lecture format and integrate interactive activities like live polls and quizzes into your online classes.

Example: You can use gamified quizzes like Kahoot, Quizizz, or Blooket to enable real-time interaction. These platforms not only allow for immediate engagement but also provide instantaneous feedback. With features like timed questions, points, and leaderboards, gamified quizzes transform the learning process into an exciting and competitive experience.

3. Use collaborative virtual whiteboards

Another interactive tool you can use is collaborative virtual whiteboards like Miro or Google Jamboard. These platforms enable real-time brainstorming, problem-solving, and group activities, creating a sense of shared learning.

Example: You can encourage students to share their thoughts by sticking virtual post-it notes on the whiteboard in response to a specific question related to your lesson. This way, everyone gets a chance to express themselves, and it turns the virtual classroom into a space where ideas can flow smoothly and we can all bounce off each other's insights.

4. Ask students to annotate on your screen

Encourage student interaction by allowing them to annotate on your screen. This hands-on approach fosters active participation and makes the learning experience more interactive. Just be cautious of those virtual doodlers—though their creativity might be amusing, it's best to set some ground rules for respectful annotation!

Example: You can prompt your students to circle elements they find intriguing, underline important details, or even draw connections to the different elements on your slides or PDF.

5. Reward students for active engagement

Recognize and reward students for their active participation. When students feel their efforts are appreciated, they're more likely to remain engaged and dedicated throughout the course.

Example: This could involve virtual badges, points, or a leaderboard showcasing the most engaged students. However, it's equally crucial to pay attention to students lower on the leaderboard. You can actively involve them by inviting them to answer questions and rewarding their contributions to make them feel acknowledged.

6. Include group work and collaboration

Students are more likely to stay engaged when they feel connected to other peers. You can build a sense of community by incorporating group work and collaborative projects. Assign tasks that require teamwork.

Example: For example, you can organize team debates where students are assigned to different breakout rooms to discuss and deliberate on specific topics.

7. Promote friendly peer competition

Create a healthy competitive environment by organizing quizzes or challenges that encourage students to compete with their peers.

Example: Instead of individual leaderboard, you can also consider team leaderboard where students’ engagement and efforts contribute to their own teams. This approach not only incentivizes teamwork but also introduces an element of friendly competition, enhancing overall class engagement.

8. Connect learning to the real-world application

When students see the practical relevance of learning to real-world applications, it sparks their motivation to learn. You can share case studies, examples, or success stories that illustrate how the concepts learned in class are applied in different real-world scenarios.

Example: For a geometry class, instead of teaching the geometric concepts solely, you can take your students to dive into real-world stuff – like how architects use shapes, formulas, and angles to craft beautiful and strong buildings. Connecting geometry to the art of architecture helps students see how it's more than just classroom math – it's the blueprint for creating amazing structures in the real world.

9. Incorporate learning material that tackles students’ interests

Students are more likely to stay engaged when the learning material addresses their interests. Incorporate relevant content that resonates with their passions, whether it’s Harry Potter or Minecraft.

Example: If it's a language lesson, you can use popular phrases from their favorite movie or incorporate dialogue from characters they love to teach new vocabulary or grammar. By including elements from their favorite books, games, or movies in the class, you can create a bridge between the subject matter and the students' intrinsic motivations, fostering a deeper and more enduring engagement with the material.

10. Infuse energy and enthusiasm into your teaching

Think back to your school days—those moments when you struggled to stay awake in class. Chances are, those teachers spoke in a monotone, right? Engaging students is all about bringing energy and passion into your teaching. When you infuse enthusiasm into your lessons, it becomes contagious, sparking a genuine interest among students. So, ditch the monotony!

Example: Use varied tones, facial expressions, and gestures to convey your excitement about the subject matter!

11. Make friends with your students

Lastly, a strong student-teacher relationship is ultimate in fostering students’ learning motivation. When students see you not just as a teacher but as a relatable friend, they're much more likely to stay engaged in your class.

Example: At the beginning or end of your class, you can talk about their lives and share mutual interests—whether it's playing the same video game or being fans of the same anime. You can even send your students relevant resources of your common interests after the class to strengthen your friendship.

And there you have it—11 effective ways to engage your students and elevate their learning experience. Funclass, in particular, is built for achieving this goal. It provides teachers with all the handy interactive tools mentioned above like embedded gamified quizzes, a collaborative whiteboard, leaderboards, rewards, badges, and quests to maximize your student engagement. Sign up on our waitlist and see how it will transform your online classes!

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