Remote learning has evolved in less than two years. As a teacher, adjusting and re-adjusting our lessons can be a challenge to meet student-needs in this fast-paced society. One of the things that most teachers find challenging is keeping their class engaged. However challenging it is, we all want one thing for our students: to be successful in their learning. Surprisingly, that is exactly what every student wants, too! As they grow older, they become increasingly independent thinkers. Each time they learn something, they feel like they have super powers to continue to succeed. But, how do we push them to the path of success while keeping them engaged? As we know through experience, if a teacher is boring, well…the mind wanders.
Below you will find a list of my favorite platforms that I use to keep class engagement pumping.
Note: I am continuing to build this section. Keep coming back for updates, or subscribe.
https://padlet.com/ Padlet is a wonderful way to see text in real time. The teacher poses a question, and whatever device the student uses, they will post their answers anonymously or whatever username their heart desires.
https://classroom.google.com/ Google Classroom. Of course, this is pretty well-known. It can be a love-hate relationship for many educators, but I still use this. This was the first platform I used when we were required to teach remotely. Google does have a plethora of tools that you can use and if you are Google-savvy, then it’s probably the best tool to use. Using a gmail email address, you can build a digital classroom where you can post assignments (files, urls, etc.). There are tons of tutorials on YouTube to create an effective classroom for your Google Classroom. Once you know your way around it, then you’ll find yourself saving tons of time from paperwork. I still find it convenient to use. Best of all, it’s free.
https://moodle.com/ Moodle is a wonderful learning management system that helps organize your content for students to learn. A couple of seminars I attended used Moodle and I found it engaging as I was able to keep track of my completed assignments. Using Moodle is still a learning process for me.
https://kahoot.it/ Pose questions, students answer in real time. A fun game — probably for the young middle-schoolers. The majority of educators are familiar with this game-based platform. I use it to assess my students (sometimes) to check for prior knowledge. The only caveat is internet connection. If a student’s internet is lagging, so is the game and it can get frustrating. – but it is more effective to use when in-person.
AAPI Teacher 