Give students creative participation options.
One of the simplest ways to encourage students to participate in a video class is to make sure that they have an option that they feel comfortable with. Sure, in a perfect world, all of our students would have their videos on and frequently unmute themselves to participate. But, of course, we know that this is not the case. Try a few alternatives, and frequently remind students of their options.
Some suggestions:
Video On, Unmute
Video Off, Unmute
Type in the Chat
"Raise" hand to signal certain things (using Zoom or Google Meet)
Post on a collaborative discussion board that you are posting to the class (Try: Nearpod, PearDeck, JamBoard, etc.)
Start your Video Class with some good ol' small talk.
Open up your class with some simple small talk to get the students chatting about something unrelated to class. Some students will instinctively reply to you (in the chat or by unmuting), and others will join the conversation once it gets going. Doing this will open up the class with students talking, which then sets the tone for the entire period.
One thing that works for me is to say something that either catches the students off guard or sounds ridiculous enough that they feel the need to respond. For example, instead of "How is your day?," try "Everyone enjoying this wonderful Tuesday? Best day of your life?" Sounds silly, but works like a charm.
Announce student birthdays in the beginning of class.
This is one of my favorites, and works just as well in person as it does in remote learning. At the start of class, when you would generally make announcements or reminders, call out any birthdays that are happening that day. Ask everyone to wish the student a happy birthday in the chat. This is another way to set the tone for the class, starting it off with student participation. I promise that you will see a flood of chat responses from students who rarely speak out in the video calls.
Another tip - You can usually view daily student birthdays pretty easily on the educational software that your school uses (IO Classroom/Skedula, Google, etc.). If not, simply ask the students for their birthdays in the beginning of the year, or check the records. The return that you will get for this simple gesture is worth the time it takes to collect their birthdays.
Ask students to cold call one another.
- Post on a collaborative discussion board that you are posting to the class (Try: Nearpod, Pear Deck, Jam Board, etc.)is a whole new type of awkward in a video class. What can you do? You could start calling out student names, or give the answer yourself, or just move on....but those are all pretty awful options. Instead, try asking the last student who shared to choose the next person.
Make it fun by saying something like: "Okay, Kyra, its time to choose ANYONE on the class list to share out next. Anyone you want! You have all the power.." This also works in the in person classroom - It allows cold calling in a fun, lighthearted way, and you will never have to be the bad guy!
Have a nervous or shy class? Structure this routine in advance. For example, "call on anyone" can become "call on someone whose last name starts with M." Or, allow students to simply say "pass" if they do not want to share in that moment. There are many ways to adjust this to make it work for a variety of student personalities.
Enthusiastically thank students for their participation, every single time.
It is impossible to stress this too much. Every time a student participates, thank them, tell them their response was perfect, give a golf clap, remind other students how great they are, or do whatever else feels natural to make sure they know that you appreciate it. If you do this enough, other students will begin to feel comfortable and safe sharing out as well.
You can even take this one step further by reaching out to the parents of students who participate to let them know how great their child is doing in class. This is not only a great way to conduct positive outreach, it will also encourage students to participate again the following day.
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