Foster participation & interaction online?

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Students want to feel connected, now more than ever. Interacting with their instructor and peers creates a sense of community, which helps with motivation and engagement in the course. Engaging with your students in an online course can take many forms and will establish a healthy classroom learning ecosystem.

At least once a week, engage with students, either individually, as a group or both. Share an announcement or general feedback in Canvas tailored to the experience and work of those specific students--connect what they are doing with something in current events to increase the relevance. (Instructor-Student)
Aim to have students engage with each other at least once most weeks--Encourage these Student-Student connections using discussions and/or partner and small group work.
- Real time Student-Student conversations can be encouraged in Zoom, with breakout rooms or the chat function during synchronous discussions. Have a back-up plan for those students who are unable to attend, or allow small groups to schedule their own time to discuss course concepts and send you the recording.
- Asynchronous conversation can be accomplished through discussion board prompts where the students post comments, reflect and respond to each other through text or video. Keep interest high by asking divergent questions encouraging students to share connections between their experiences and course content. You can pose follow-up questions helping them critically compare and contrast experiences, give feedback, or add new information from your perspective as discipline expert to guide their thinking. Note: Keep the "Discussion" in Discussion by saving formal writing for assignments or peer review discussions, and leverage Student - Community connections.
Create small group connections with the Canvas "groups" function, sorting students in groups of four to five. Having them use a group discussion thread to check in a few times over the week, share perspectives and work with each other asynchronously on an activity can be less overwhelming and more inviting to students than having to interact with the whole class.
Share Directions on Creating an Online Study Group for Students giving within-course and outside-of-course options for students
Create ungraded surveys in the Canvas quiz tool to collect information and promote "learning to learn," such as asking for a reflection on their current struggles or successes learning in the course, or feedback on how well a specific activity helped them learn the material (Student-Content; Student-Self).
Be explicit about instructions and expectations for interaction and participation. This includes what counts as participation and rules for civil discourse in the online environment. Put instructions in numerous places in Canvas and mention them frequently. Include sample answers in your discussion boards modeling what you are looking for with their responses.
For examples of activities that help students engage with you and each other, view this presentation online or by clicking below, including many samples from Ferris Faculty--open the speaker notes for additional information.