In today’s digital landscape, there are new ways to engage and connect with our students. Zoom is one of those ways. Zoom classes help offer flexibility for our students’ busy schedules. However, it can feel daunting to figure out how to keep students engaged during online classes and tutor sessions. Here are some ideas on how to utilize Zoom as a place of collaborative learning.
Leverage Breakout Rooms for Group Work
Using breakout rooms to divide students into smaller groups is a great way to engage students in peer-to-peer learning and collaborative exercises. This is especially useful for language learning, problem-solving tasks, or team-based projects. Be sure to assign clear objectives for each breakout session and visit rooms to provide guidance and support. Additionally, encourage students to take on facilitator roles within their groups to enhance leadership skills and accountability.
Utilize Screen Sharing and Annotation Tools
The screen-sharing feature is an invaluable tool for presentations, demonstrations, and collaborative problem-solving. You can annotate directly on the shared screen, highlight important points, and encourage students to use the annotation tools to interact during lessons. To make sessions more engaging, tutors can ask students to take turns sharing their screens and using the annotation tool while working on collaborative tasks in class.
Encourage Active Participation with Polls and Reactions
Zoom has a polling feature that is a quick and useful tool. The polling feature can be used to help gauge comprehension and gather opinions quickly. Reactions (such as thumbs-up or clapping emojis) allow students to engage without interrupting the session. These tools create an interactive learning environment. You can also use live quizzes and gamified polls to make learning more fun and effective. For example a quick true or false poll about a topic covered in class.
Use the Chat Function for Engagement
The chat box is a powerful tool for encouraging participation, especially for students who may be hesitant to speak aloud. Tutors can use chat for Q&A sessions, sharing resources, or quick check-ins on student understanding. Additionally, structured chat discussions can be implemented, where students respond to prompts or questions and provide feedback to their peers.
Implement Collaborative Document Editing
Zoom integrates well with Google Docs, OneDrive, and other collaborative platforms. Tutors can share links in the chat, allowing students to work on documents together in real-time while discussing them in Zoom. This approach enhances teamwork and practical application of learning. Furthermore, tutors can create group assignments where students collaboratively edit presentations, reports, or brainstorming documents.
Record Sessions for Review and Accessibility
Recording lessons is a benefit of using Zoom. Recorded sessions can help students who need recordings to better access the information and students who have to be absent from class. When recording sessions you will want to ensure recordings comply with privacy policies and are shared securely with students. Recorded sessions can also be used for self-assessment, where students can review their participation and identify areas for growth. This can be especially beneficial for ESL students.
Set Clear Expectations for Digital Etiquette
At the beginning of each session, establish rules for participation, such as muting microphones when not speaking, raising hands for questions, and respecting speaking turns. This fosters a smooth and productive online learning environment. Tutors can also create a shared digital etiquette guide that students refer to throughout the course. This can be turned into a great lesson for ESL learners and a way to introduce new vocabulary words related to etiquette.
Encourage Community Building
Creating a collaborative space goes beyond just the digital classroom. Tutors can use Zoom to hold informal discussions, peer mentoring sessions, or even social events to build a strong learning community. Virtual office hours, networking events, and “language cafes”, online spaces where ESL students can come together online to practice speaking English, are all ways to use Zoom to build a strong learning community.
Use Whiteboard Features for Visual Learning
Zoom’s built-in whiteboard allows tutors and students to brainstorm, sketch out ideas, and visually represent concepts. This feature is particularly beneficial for subjects that require diagrams, like lessons centered on math literacy. This is also a useful feature for teaching ESL students vocabulary, such as directions like up, down, and beside.
Integrate Multimedia and External Resources
Enhance learning by incorporating videos, info-graphics, and other multimedia resources during Zoom sessions. Tutors can share YouTube links, TED Talks, or other relevant media to supplement lessons and provide a richer learning experience. This can be integrated with the interactive poll and quizzes that were discussed earlier.
Final Thoughts
Navigating the digital landscape as an educator can be challenging, but tools like Zoom help us connect to our students and build collaborative learning experiences where students can feel empowered. Tools like Zoom also help us meet our students where they are by offering flexibility so students can join when they face challenges that keep them from being in person. Together we can all create collaborative welcoming environments, online or offline.
Resources
Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning: A great resources for how to engage students in active learning in online spaces.
Harvard Macy Institute: A link to an online document created by the Harvard Macy Institute on ideas to engage students on Zoom. This document also features embedded links to different troubleshooting and instructional pages from Zoom on different features.
Building Community in Remote Learning: A link to a document with different ways to build collaborative spaces online. Features some great activity ideas.
