One of the most frustrating experiences I had early on in my online teaching was how often students would turn off their cameras and disappear from the class discussion. With only a handful of cameras able to be on the main screen at any given time — or the video boxes so small they might as well have been off — it was easy for students to tune out. Eventually I often found myself lecturing to a blank screen.
To address this I would start each class with students moving to breakout groups of no more than 4 and I floated in and out of each group. My goal was to establish the tone that they would be talking and have their cameras on. I would do this roughly 4 times per class. To create time for this I would make videos of as much of my direct instruction as I could for them watch before class. Again, I did this to set the culture that synchronous class time was for social learning and direct instruction happened outside of class.
How To
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Would you like to be part of a conversation about how to encourage student participation and/or manage virtual breakout rooms? Let us know by contacting John Pijanowski and we will be in touch to schedule a small group consultation via zoom where we can share ideas, work through technical questions, and learn from each other.