Summary
This article dwells upon effective strategies to make K12 virtual learning interactive. The blog has given a brief overview of the interventions.
The classroom concept of teaching is giving way to virtual learning. Students can access learning materials online and delve deeper to nourish their intellect.
The catch is that if the virtual learning sessions are not interactive enough, learners can soon get distracted, and digressions would be frequent. Hence, the K12 virtual learning experience needs to be immersive and engaging.
Table of Contents:
- Eleven Strategies to Render K12 Virtual Learning Interactive
- Create a Safe and Well-Organized Learning Ambience
- Reduce the Cognitive Load of Students
- Register Your Presence
- Foster a Sense of Community
- Share Your Screen
- Leverage the ‘Chat’ Option
- Crowdsource Learning
- Use Annotations
- Deploy AI-Powered Tools
- Use Pre-built Virtual Labs to Bring Out the Creative Genius in Learners
- Spark Interest with Innovative Ways
- Final Thoughts
Eleven Strategies to Render K12 Virtual Learning Interactive
A high interactive quotient of virtual learning sessions implies intuitive learning and quick comprehension of difficult topics. The probing of effective strategies to make K12 learning to engage is ongoing.
However, some proven tactical interventions have yielded consistent results. These are dwelt upon below.
1. Create a Safe and Well-Organized Learning Ambience
The virtual learning space should be welcoming and quick to foster familiarity. A welcome video, for instance, can build up excitement about what to expect.
To develop bonding, questions can be asked about how students would like to be steered through the course by the teacher. Choices make students more forthcoming as they can anticipate that the usual dreariness of classroom learning won’t be there.
2. Reduce the Cognitive Load of Students
Your K12 solutions should be easily navigable. Pointers to facilitate learners’ quick maneuvering to desired topics should be present. Artificial intelligence (AI) led designing principles can come in handy. These efforts minimize students’ cognitive load and inspire them to interact better.
Also Read: 10 eLearning Design Techniques for Improved Learner Engagement
3. Register Your Presence
A good way to make online learning interactive is to make students feel that their teacher is there to guide them. Your availability will make students more communicative and curious.
You can make an empathic presence in virtual sessions by:
- Creating your personalized instructional materials like videos or quizzes
- Showcasing how mistakes are stepping stones to constructive learning.
- Occasionally conversing about study or casual topics in a relaxing mood.
- Prompting fellow learners to connect.
- Allowing students to articulate their views without being judgemental.
- Keep swiveling the webcam so that students can see their teacher periodically.
4. Foster a Sense of Community
Students often start feeling isolated and spaced out in virtual classrooms. This hampers interaction. To get around this, you need to promote social and emotional connection among learners.
For this, open more avenues for collective discussions on K12 curriculum topics being learned. Give learners a chance to collaboratively figure out how assimilated knowledge can be practically applied to solve knotty problems. This will deepen conceptual understanding of topics through better learner interactions in a supportive virtual environment.
Organize small group discussions in separate virtual rooms for students. Visit each room and give participants food for thought and follow up on the outcomes.
5. Share Your Screen
Presenting an idea through video conferencing offers students the flexibility to view the instructor and presentation both through screen sharing.
Use a virtual platform that allows any learner to ‘digitally raise hand’ whenever a doubt lurks in his mind. The quick response of the instructor to the learner’s visual indicator takes interaction to the next level.
6. Leverage the ‘Chat’ Option
The ‘Chat’ option is a great tool to supplement interactive virtual learning. If an online discussion is underway, the chatbox allows participants to express themselves by offering space for citing personal examples or sub-points. This facilitates peer learning.
Answers by the presenter in the chatbox are an affirmation that motivates others to post follow-up questions. An instructor can also chat with a particular student in private if they ping to get doubts clarified.
7. Crowdsourced Learning
Learning becomes fun, creative, and interactive when you allow students to crowdsource content. There is no point in always assuming that students like everything you teach in virtual classes.
Group students in batches, provide them with the next topic to be taught and empower them to come up with actionable and meaningful content. Once the learners realize that the instructor is relying on their wisdom, more contributions will come in. High-quality learning content can be interactively devised online through effective collaboration.
8. Use Annotations
The ‘Annotations tool allows students to write on slides being presented in virtual classrooms. This way, learners can highlight topics that they find difficult to understand.
You can provide different options on the screen and ask the students to choose appropriate ones. Students can also visualize their depth of understanding relative to their fellow learners for provided discussion prompts.
9. Deploy AI-Powered Tools
AI in K12 education has added a new dimension to interactive online classrooms. Chatbots and virtual assistants driven by AI make learning immersive by providing scope for:
- Quick and intuitive feedback
- Generating intelligent answers to students’ queries even without the teacher’s intervention
- Crafting assignments that help learners solve problems through critical thinking
- Involving specially-abled students in class interactions with bespoke solutions.
- Making ‘active learning’ more interesting and exciting
- Assessing students’ progress in real-time with interactive exercises
- Using cloud-based virtual spaces to equip learners with practical skills through simulation of challenges in real-world
10. Use Pre-built Virtual Labs to Bring Out the Creative Genius in Learners
Cloud has given educational technology a much-deserved boost. Pre-configured labs hosted on a cloud platform are available for instant integration with a K12 virtual learning environment. The lab can be set up easily and is end-to-end managed.
Learners can judge the veracity of scientific concepts learned through practical investigation in such virtual labs. The labs allow their creative juices to flow with a diversity of online experimenting options. This can take interactivity to new heights.
11. Spark Interest with Innovative Ways
Videos, presentations, multimedia, etc., are integral to K12 online curriculum. To widen the attention span of learners, you need to think out of the box to incorporate tantalizing elements that can invite better participation from them.
Use digital whiteboards for presenting information and solving problems together with learners. Use charts that get updated in real time to highlight the impact of changes. Infographics, podcasts, YouTube videos, clips, etc., can be used intelligently to keep students engaged.
Check out EXCLUSIVE: Hurix Minibook: Immersive Learning for the WIN in Education!
Final Thoughts
K12 virtual learning can undoubtedly be made more interactive with the strategies discussed above.
Young minds are curious, and interventions that cater to their curiosity are bound to capture their imaginations. Once learners feel intuitively involved with the virtual sessions, the youthful spirit in them will inspire them to interact with full vigor.
Hurix Digital believes in adding depth to the academic brilliance of discerning K12 educators. To accomplish this, we offer an array of cutting-edge tools that can strategically render K12 virtual learning more interactive.
Our tools complement strategies to make learners feel intuitively involved with the virtual sessions. Our experience and expertise in crafting immersive training modules help reduce the learning curve of students in K12 virtual classrooms.
Contact us today to get started!
