We found 183 results that contain "interactive exercises"

Building an online community is just like building any other community: building relationships, trust, credibility, and open communication. It is important as an educator to set the norms for working together and clearly identify the roles and responsibilities for everyone in the community. It's also important to build in opportunities for interaction. When thinking about interaction, refer to Moore's Interaction Framework to consider the different sort of interactions a student might experience. Build opportunities for students to interact with yourself as the instructor, interact with the content, and interact with other students. 
 
Student to Instructor Interaction
Students can interact with the instructor via email, asynchronously, or live zoom sessions, synchronously. You can also consider the feedback you provide to students as a form of interaction, and this is likely an asynchronous interaction. Posting on the class discussion forum is another way to interact with students asynchronously, while a live chat session in Microsoft Teams is a similar form of interaction in a synchronous format. You can also record lecture videos to post in the course as another means of interacting asynchronously with students. What are some other ways students might interact with you in your course?
 
Student to Student Interaction
Students can interact synchronously with their peers on live zoom sessions, especially in a breakout room where they have the opportunity to discuss. They can interact asynchronously with peers via email or the course discussion board. To build in more student to student interaction, consider building small group activities into the course. Students can be organized into small groups within D2L, and interact to complete tasks and activities. You can direct them to use collaboration tools to complete their tasks. Some tools to consider are shared documents like Microsoft Word in Office365 or a Google Doc, or a peer review tool like Eli Review. What are some other collaborative tasks students can complete together?
 
Student to Content Interaction
Students will primarily interact with the content asynchronously, but it is still important to provide a variety of interaction opportunities. Traditional means of interacting with content might include reading assignments in the textbook, articles, or case studies. Consider including a few other opportunities for interacting with content such as videos or podcasts online. Also think about ways for students to actively engage with the content, such as project-based learning where students explore and learn by working through a project, or by completing an assignment requiring them to respond to the content like a written assignment or their own video recording. What are some other ways students might interact with the content?
 

   Video has become an increasingly popular tool for instruction, with students frequently turning to it for both learning and entertainment. Platforms like YouTube see tremendous traffic, illustrating this trend. However, research shows that videos only retain viewer attention for a few minutes. Even brief commercial breaks can enhance engagement and retention, much like pausing a video for a single question can significantly improve memory.
   At MSU, instructors have access to a tool called playposit for creating interactive videos. It can be accessed for free via D2L. However, there is a catch: MSU has only licensed playposit for three years, and we are already nearing the end of the first year. Despite this, it's worth exploring the potential of interactive video. If enough instructors express interest, there may be a case for continued support and licensing.
   playposit offers a variety of interactive features designed to make videos more self-paced and impactful. At MSU, the most popular interactions include multiple-choice questions, reflective pauses, free responses, and discussion forums. Other options include polls, fill-in-the-blank, select all, place-in-order, and vocabulary matching. These interactions enable instructors to provide feedback and guide learners to reinforce their understanding. For a complete list of interaction types, visit this link. Additionally, templates are available for adding multiple interactions or incorporating more complex interactions automatically. You can use videos from your MediaSpace account, or you can paste in a URL from YouTube.
   playposit refers to its interactive modules as "Bulbs," aiming to illuminate the learning process for both instructors and students. These bulbs help students identify gaps in their knowledge in real-time and offer opportunities for note-taking to document questions and learnings. To see for yourself, access your D2L course, select "Content" to add a module, choose "Existing Activities," and then select "playposit Interactive Video." Afterward, be sure to come back here share your experiences with this tool. Here is an infographic to help you get started.

Title: Rise: A Tool to Building Interactive Online CoursesPresenter: Erin Bosch-HannahFormat: Learning Tech DemoDate: May 11th, 2023Time: 10:00 - 11:15 amClick to hereDescription:Rise is a course authoring software allowing instructors to quickly build online courses that are structured easily with high levels of interactivity. This technology helps change passive online learning to active engagement. The tool is asynchronous, allowing students to utilize their course at any time without the need for the instructor to be present. Assessments can be built in and it is compatible with all devices and most Learning Management Systems. This platform is user friendly, student oriented, and instructors can use a mixture of videos, voice recordings, quizzes, timelines, descriptive photos, and other modules. The amount of features and interactivity can be altered in each module, making for new and exciting learning experiences.Educators can quickly convert their existing content into Rise, allowing their students to interact with the material through several different learning styles. By incorporating additional activities that utilize the content in Rise, an increase in retention is often noticed since material is used frequently. Rise easily allows instructors to scaffold content through lesson sections and multiple educational blocks. Labeled graphics, tabs, processes, timelines, and sorting activities encourage students to proceed through information in an organized manner. These activities encourage connections and associations since students have to manually access the content and apply the information to the next section.

For many students, it can be very anxiety-provoking to approach a professor with a question or comment. When trying to be welcoming to students, keep in mind the following in order to include blind students as well.
In class discussions

When calling on a blind student with their hand raised, call on them by their name.
If you do not yet know their name, you can substitute with a description of their location in the room (in the front row, near the left of the room).
Avoid referring to them with a physical description, as your description has the potential to offend someone, and may also apply to others in the room, creating confusion.
If you are passing the microphone around, inform the student that you are bringing them the microphone so they don’t start talking before you are ready.

 
Talking before or after class

Greet the student by name as they approach you.
Substitute with a general greeting if you don’t yet know the student’s name.
If you see that the student attempting to figure out where you are (pausing and listening, etc.), greet the student and specify where you are in relation to them.
“Hello, I’m a little more to your right.”

Student to student interactions are a very important part in any classroom and the online setting is no exception. There are many ways students can engage with each other online - but here a few tips and suggestions you can structure in your course that can offer this connection between students.
Methods

Discussions
Group Work

Group Projects
Group Discussion
Study Groups
Group Case Studies

Peer Review
Peer Instruction
Collaborative Brainstorming

Tools

D2L Discussion Threads. Students need to be able to connect with classmates around your teaching. Provide them with discussion threads for both the entire class "i.e. General Course Conversation" and module-specific. Some students can and will use this tool. Others will only use it if it's required. But it still is a great way to be able to provide students opportunity to connect.
Microsoft Teams. Every student at MSU can use Teams for realtime group chat, individual chat, voice and video and file sharing. 
Zoom. Every student by default is able to use Zoom for voice/video/meetings. 
Google Apps: Docs, Slides, Sheets. Students can work together to create and work on files in real time.

Dip Deeper
If you would like to further explore this topic, here are some resources you could check out:

10 Tips for Effective Online Discussions 
Mastering Online Discussion Board Facilitation Resource Guide 
Zoom Breakout Room Information Sheet

SOIREE Team:
Design Lead: Sarah Wellman
Content Leads: Kate Sonka, Stephen Thomas, and Jeremy Van Hof
Content Authors: Jason Archer, Kevin Henley, David Howe, Summer Issawi, Leslie Johnson, Rashad Muhammad, Nick Noel, Candace Robertson, Scott Schopieray, Jessica Sender, Daniel Trego, Valeta Wensloff, and Sue Halick

Title: How to Encourage Student Engagement: Using PearDeck and Interactive SlideshowsPresenter: Nicholas Norris (RCS- French Program)Format: WorkshopDate: May 11th, 2023Time: 11:30 am - 12:30 pmClick to viewDescription: Introducing classroom material in a way that encourages student engagement can sometimes present itself as an obstacle that instructors must overcome. Nevertheless, providing a means for students to be engaged in class is not only important to foster their learning, but also to make class time more enjoyable. Over the course of the past year, thanks to a series of student surveys, I have established that, as a result of presenting my lesson plans through interactive slideshow presentations, the platform PearDeck is an essential tool for instructors to maximize student engagement in the classroom. As a part of my workshop How to Encourage Student Engagement: Using PearDeck and Interactive Slideshows, I will present a condensed version of one of my own lesson plans using PearDeck as a means to simulate the student experience for participants. In this way, they will not only witness how the various components can transform a simple presentation into an interactive slideshow (e.g., answering questions, taking polls, dragging and dropping items and drawing), but also they will encounter first-hand how these features helped enhance their own engagement with the material. Following the simulation, I will also instruct participants on how to set up PearDeck with both PowerPoint and Google Slides as well as demonstrate how to apply its various accessories to slides so that they can experiment with producing their own interactive slideshow. In return, participants will leave with a new toolkit to help them facilitate and promote student engagement in their own classroom.

Fostering Student to Instructor Engagement Online
In a traditional face-to-face environment, this can be pretty straight forward. You lecture. Students take notes. They ask questions. You answer them. They write papers. You grade them and give feedback. But how does this interaction happen best online?
Four Keys 
Students desire consistency and clarity. "What is due when? Where do I go in the course navigation? I'm confused, how do I gain clarity? Where are my grades?" There are ways in the online environment you can help mitigate these for a smooth learning experience. 
A Little Work That Go A Long Way

Provide your contact information in your syllabus - Clarify to the student what your response policies are and when they might expect a response. This may include your email, phone number, online office hours, etc. This helps the student feel a sense of connection and commitment from you to them. 
Create one solitary discussion thread called, "Assignment and Course Questions". In your syllabus and in your "Getting Started" module, coach the students to put all questions there. This allows you to answer one question to all and mitigates you answering similar questions many times. You can then answer one question to many. Saves you time and provides an answer to the student with the question as well as all students.
Weekly Recap/Vision. Students appreciate a quick recap and vision for each week to know where the course is heading. Creating a quick email and sending it through D2L every week helps the students feel connected to the course and to you. It also helps coach them on whether they are on track or not. You can also triple-publish this as an email, announcement and in your "Assignment and Course Questions" discussion thread. That way you know your students will see it. Consider going a step further and using your phone or computer to record a quick video recap and post it there. 
Timely and Accurate Feedback. Students want and need feedback. You know this in your face-to-face courses. The same is true online. One way to provide this efficiently is through the use of rubrics. This provides students with real time feedback and saves a lot of time on your end with extended feedback. We can assist with creating these rubrics for your course and offer ways you can get quality feedback to your students quickly.

Dig Deeper
If you would like to further explore this topic, here are some resources you could check out:

Difference Between Face-to-Face and Online Lectures 
Guides for Productive Online Conversations [PDF] 
8 Ways to Be More Inclusive in Your Zoom Teaching 

SOIREE Team:
Design Lead: Sarah Wellman
Content Leads: Kate Sonka, Stephen Thomas, and Jeremy Van Hof
Content Authors: Jason Archer, Kevin Henley, David Howe, Summer Issawi, Leslie Johnson, Rashad Muhammad, Nick Noel, Candace Robertson, Scott Schopieray, Jessica Sender, Daniel Trego, Valeta Wensloff, and Sue Halick

Topic Area: Online Teaching & Learning
Presented by: Rachael Lund, Michael Brown
Abstract:
In the Summer of 2020, the quantitative literacy courses in the math department transitioned to a virtual, asynchronous format. We had to redefine what meaningful student engagement and interaction meant for that format and updated our technologies and assessments to support our new course design. In the Fall semesters, there are typically around one thousand students in the MTH 101 course and 600 in the MTH 102 course. The scale of these courses presents special challenges for the instructional team with respect to the logistics of implementing new technology or assignments. In this setting, students also face unique challenges with respect to motivation, persistence, and engagement. We will discuss the technologies that worked and failed and our plan for moving forward with improving our course design to support meaningful student engagement with each other and the course content. We hope that attendees will be willing to share their own utilization of technology and how they helped create a supportive, purposeful digital learning experience for students.
Session Resources:
Meaningful Student to Student Interactions in a Virtual Asynchronous Environment (PowerPoint)