3 Quick Tips to Engage Students During Zoom Meetings
The following is a guest post from Erik Murray, a 6th grade STEM Teacher.
Have you felt that your life has turned into a series of boxes? You are teaching in a box, students are learning in their personal 6’x6’ box. You go home to a box that has people in it that are the only people you can interact with.
When you can get your students together, they’re being viewed from the box that is your computer while they’re in little boxes of Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams. Let's be clear, this isn’t why anyone got into teaching. But, like always, it's time for some outside of the box ideas to help navigate the world of virtual learning. Here are some tips and tricks to help with the confining world of remote learning.
1.) Keep it fun… Please!
Students are stuck in their own box. They’re at home interacting with their family, and if they are lucky; one or two friends. Students are looking for changes in their day and to socialize with new people. I like to use my video calls to give them a little bit of social interaction so they can feel a little bit normal.
I use my video calls to have fun and play games. Scavenger hunts are great. Tasks like “find a coin with the oldest date on it” and “find five different shapes of leaves and show me in the camera” are simple and get the students moving around. Playing simple games are great. If you need more suggestions here are some ideas of other activities you can do to engage students during your live video lessons. Get the full list of 25 ideas in our FREE STEM Resource Library.
We do not have a perfect world though and you have to give instruction and lessons over video calls. Let’s navigate some of the most common issues. For example, what can we do about the student that always has their camera off?
When talking to teachers, this seems to be the sticking point for most. Students won't turn on their cameras and teachers want to have them on. I get it, you want to see who you are teaching, make sure that they’re there and paying attention.
While this can be frustrating, let’s look at it from another perspective. Some students are struggling with identity and image issues. For them, having their camera is a mental stressor. To those students, it's like posting the worst picture of themselves for the whole world to see… which can be stressful for students. I personally don't use the camera to view my students. Instead, I use the camera to view their thoughts and work. The following are ways we can use the camera option to see how the student is doing and as a way for them to share their work.
2.) Using the Camera to Your Advantage
When students turn off their cameras, their image changes to their user image. This opens up a lot of options to students once you notice it. Conducting a morning meeting can now be very colorful. “How are you feeling today? Change your picture to match your mood,” or “change your picture to something red, green, or yellow to show me how ready you are to move on to the next topic.”
When it comes to teaching STEM classes it has become a great way to share and comment on work. When students are ready to share whatever they are working on, have them change their thumbnail to a picture of their project. Now, students can do a gallery walk and look at each other's work with ease. When you think about the camera as a tool to post and share work and other things it opens up the options of what you can do.
3.) Think Outside the Box
Going into this school year, I thought a lot about my students and what they’re going through as kids right now. They are in a world where there's a lot of uncertainty and fear. Covid-19 has taken a lot away, even the normalcy and routine of school is gone. I decided to cut my expectations of what I want students to do and focus on mental health and well being. That is why I purchased Winston the Puppet off of Etsy in August.
Winston is introducing my students to the challenge I call “The Mustache Box.”
When things need to be a little light I let Winston take over and teach my classes. It helps me because sometimes I feel uncomfortable staring at myself on Zoom. When Winston is giving the lesson the students respond better even though it's still me. Winston breaks up the monotony of the day and brings a little joy in. It's silly, but it helps the online experience feel a little more magical and less stressful.
Some students have even made their own puppets and had them be their stand-in for class. I find that some students that would not necessarily be active in class are active with the puppet. Maybe they don't have the confidence to speak, but their puppet sure does. It’s great to take a few moments of silliness in exchange for happier students.
Covid-19 has destroyed a lot of traditions and routines that teachers and students love. That favorite lab, activity or field trip is on an indefinite hiatus. Even the daily act of walking into the classroom and seeing students’ faces might not be a possibility. With all that has been taken away from us, we have to focus on the good and joy that we can have. For me, that good is in building relationships with students. Even though they’re not in front of me, most of the time, it still feels like they’re in my classroom… which is currently located in my spare bedroom half of the week.
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