Demystifying Interactive Lectures
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Aren’t all lectures interactive to some extent?
Isn’t the real idea behind interactive lectures just entertaining the students?
While it is true that most teachers today do what they can to offer engaging lectures and interact with students, interactive lectures go beyond simply asking open-ended questions or having students work for a time in pairs.
The focus of interactive lectures is to engage students in both the material and learning process more holistically. Interactive classes have many benefits:
- They make the class more interesting and the subject more tangible.
- They help gauge student learning (make learning visible).
- They help integrate learning by involving more of the student.
- They add a level of practicality to lessons.
But most importantly, interactive lectures are about better pedagogy. The following tips will help in creating interaction and engagement that will not just make your classes more fun but more beneficial for your students.
Purposeful and Outcome Specific – All activities in an interactive lecture need to be purposefully created to meet or assess a specific learning outcome (or two). Think of interaction and engagement in terms of an assignment or assessment instead of entertainment. It is easy, in the rush of the day, to simply stop from time to time and ask a question of your class, see if anyone has questions, or even to ask them to discuss some issue in pairs. But if the activity doesn’t tie back to learning outcomes they often come across as busy work.
- First, ask what primary outcome you are seeking to meet (content mastery, application, or assimilation), then find an interactive exercise that meets that goal. For example, content mastery could include various recall activities such as polls, content maps, or fact sharing. Application or assimilation goals might utilize case studies or process maps.
Well Planned – Interactive lectures take time to plan and execute. Once you have an idea for how to engage your students, be sure to think it through clearly – from beginning to end. If it uses new or unfamiliar technology, make sure to practice the activity in the classroom or with the appropriate computer before trying it with your class. Make sure that all students have a way of participating in the activity by considering possible modifications.
- Think through your interactive plan when you create your syllabus. Schedule interactive lessons appropriately and then practice those interactions ahead of time. Also, start small when introducing interaction so if things don’t go as planned you haven’t wasted significant class time.
Expected – Be sure your students know they will be expected to participate in various activities. Letting your students know what they are going to do during the next class session, for example, will build a level of interest and might also encourage better preparation for class.
- Put key interactive lessons in your syllabus and announce them so students are aware of what’s coming. Build excitement toward the event and give students plenty of opportunity to be prepared.
Appropriately Incentivized – While learning should be its own reward, most of us want to know what’s in it for me before we jump in. Adding a low point grade or possible bonus points to the interaction not only helps get students more interested, but it also gives the exercise greater validity as a learning tool.
- While it might not seem like a lot, a 1% grade or bonus can add up over the course while not disincentivizing students to do the regular assignment. Non-grade incentives can also be used, such as dismissing class early if students accomplish an interactive exercise quickly but thoughtfully. For example, give a short quiz through Poll Everywhere and repeat it until the class average is 80%, then dismiss.
Start Small but Think Deep – As with most new things, starting small is the best practice with interactive lectures. Don’t try to revamp your entire class, or even an entire lecture right off the bat. Look for an assignment that you could modify to make it more interactive, or you could replace with something more so. Just remember, keep the goal is sight!
- If you are new to interactive lessons, think long-term while acting short-term. Start by adding one small interactive lesson every other week, with a goal of doubling that the next time you teach the course. In a similar vein, introduce simple interactions early in the semester and move to more complex activities as things progress.
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Using Lumi and H5P to Create Drag and Drop Activities for Students
What is Lumi and H5P?
H5P is an open source application to create interactive and engaging learning objects quickly and easily. Up until now it required an on-campus installation but now there’s an application called Lumi Education that allows you to create these interactive objects and even embed them into OAKS for your students to use.
It’s free and easy and you, and your students,
can use it to create interactive learning objects.
can use it to create interactive learning objects.
How It Works
Go to https://lumi.education/ and click on Download.- Select your operating system to download the app for your computer.
NOTE: if you get sent to a page asking for a donation, just click the back button and do it again. Next time it shouldn’t ask you. - Save the installer, then install the Lumi app.
- Once it’s installed, click on the Lumi app to open it.
- Under H5P Editor choose Start.
- Choose Create New H5P.
- Next to the item you want to create, click Get to load this option into your Lumi app.
- Click Install (if first time).
- Then click Use.
- Always start by viewing the Example and the Tutorial.
Drag and Drop
Drag and Drop allows you to create many forms of drag and drop using images as well as text.
- This can be used to teach vocabulary in any language that is supported.
- Creating games.
- Creating maps with drag and drop options.
- Creating labeling for a diagram or image.
Drag the Word
Drag the Word allows you to create text based challenges where users are to drag words into blanks in sentences.
- Excellent for language training among other things.
- You can use this to teach vocabulary in any language that is supported.
- Can also be used to allow young students to quiz themselves and get instance feedback.
Image Pairing
Image Pairing allows you to create pairs of images to be matched. Learners are presented with the unpaired images and have to either use drag and drop or click on the images they think matches. Since it is not required for both images in a pair to be the same, authors are also able to test the understanding of a relation between two different images.
Again, great for language and vocabulary study as well as rote learning.
REMEMBER: each learning object type in Lumi contains a built in tutorial so be sure to use those to learn how to create these. Most are self-explanatory and easy to learn but having the tutorials is handy.
[button link=”https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ORFHEy2U0YkHImzc5qS0zs34PoaBfbhpaBNIZDjgZfc/edit?usp=sharing” newwindow=”yes”] View a tutorial on how to add these to OAKS![/button]
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#OneNewThing: Conducting Interviews Using FlipGrid
There are times when you or your students want to conduct an interview with someone but it’s very difficult to get together due to time zone issues, busy schedules, or some other reason. Well, Michael Overholt, former instructional technologist with LCWA came up with a great remedy for these issues…
FlipGrid
Flipgrid is a video discussion tool from Microsoft…The idea behind this education tool is to use video to create an open platform of discussion and learning that doesn’t require a physical classroom to get everyone involved. (Tech Learning) But why not expand its uses to interviews.
The concept behind FlipGrid is that someone (the instructor or another student) creates an initial audio/video recording then others respond to it also using audio and/or video. Because it’s not synchronous, the students can respond at any time that is convenient to them. Each FlipGrid “class” can have multiple FlipGrid “discussions.”
Now let’s apply this to an interview…
- You create either one FlipGrid discussion containing all of the questions or one FlipGrid discussion for each question.
- Send the link to your interviewee(s).
- The interviewee, at their convenience, listens to your recording containing the questions then they will create a video of themselves answering the question. It’s all done online so it’s incredibly easy for them.
- Multiple people can answer the questions if you need to interview multiple people. In the settings you can select to not allow users to see other users’ responses.
- Now you can go back in and listen to all the of the responses. You can even download the videos and edit them together.
This saves you and your interviewees the headache of scheduling a time to meet.
This can be used in your research or by your students for class assignments. Makes it easy for them to interact with experts in the field in different timezones and countries.
Give it a try!
[button link=”https://blogs.charleston.edu/tlttutorials/2020/09/25/flipped-friday-flipgrid-updates/” newwindow=”yes”] Access the tutorials for you and your students[/button]
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Stop! Are your Zoom Recordings toooo Long?
Read on to find out if your recorded lectures are hindering or helping the learning process for your students.
Did you know that prolonged hours behind a screen can cause Zoom fatigue and eyestrain? Zoom fatigue, a new phenomenon, is exhaustion due to communication via virtual means. Eyestrain occurs when one focuses on a screen for extended periods of hours which can cause myopia, as it forces our eyes to continue an elongated growth, an event that typically ends in our teens. There has been an uptick in myopia since the pandemic that has both the American Academy of Optometry and American Academy of Ophthalmology calling it a myopia epidemic. So how can we help our students?
- Create short lively and engaging 5 to 15 minutes videos with you in them. Research shows that most students lose focus and have difficulty staying engaged after 15 minutes and prefer videos where they can see the instructor. So don’t be camera shy!
Create lively videos to engage students
- Great Tech Tool to Try: Prezi Video – Prezi Vide will allow you to create engaging video presentations with existing PowerPoints or Prezi presentations with you right in the video. Click here to learn how to create a Prezi video and how to create a Prezi video using an existing PowerPoint.
- Split your Recorded Zoom – if you are recording a live zoom lecture, once the recording is finished, split your recording into mini-videos by topic, concept, or learning goal. Doing this allows the students to chunk information in more manageable and memorable pieces and it makes it easier for students to find specific content when it is time to review and study.
- Add Transitions, title slides with a break – Add transitions and title slides in your videos to create break opportunities
- Great Tech Tool to Try: Camtasia gives you the tools you need to edit your Zoom, split and create mini videos, add transitions, add title slides, and import pictures.
- Add movement slides and breaks – Embed visuals that tell students to take a break and what to do. See sample visual below:
Taking breaks is vital to the overall health of both you and your students. If you want to dig deeper into this topic and receive your own set of break visuals, join us for Faculty Focus Friday on April 1st at 12pm, for a lively discussion on the topic “Gimme a Tech Break”. To sign up register here.
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Creating Audio-based Learning Activities using Lumi and H5P
What is Lumi and H5P?
H5P is an open source application to create interactive and engaging learning objects quickly and easily. Up until now it required an on-campus installation but now there’s an application called Lumi Education that allows you to create these interactive objects and even embed them into OAKS for your students to use.
It’s free and easy and you, and your students,
can use it to create interactive learning objects.
can use it to create interactive learning objects.
How It Works
- Go to https://lumi.education/ and click on Download.
- Select your operating system to download the app for your computer.
NOTE: if you get sent to a page asking for a donation, just click the back button and do it again. Next time it shouldn’t ask you. - Save the installer, then install the Lumi app.
- Once it’s installed, click on the Lumi app to open it.
- Under H5P Editor choose Start.
- Choose Create New H5P.
- Next to the item you want to create, click Get to load this option into your Lumi app.
- Click Install (if first time).
- Then click Use.
- Always start by viewing the Example and the Tutorial.
Speak the Words
Speak the Words is a voice recognition content type allowing authors to ask a question that should be answered with the user’s own voice.
While the example below is showing math, this feature is wonderful for language and pronunciation learning and practice. You can show the word they have to speak, ask them to complete a sentence, ask them to answer a question (must have only one answer), add an image and ask the what it is.
Note, this type can give immediate auto-feedback.
DICTATION
Allows you to create dictation exercises. Let your students train their listening comprehension and spelling skills. In this case the student listens to something you have recorded and they must type out what they hear.
Great for listening comprehension of new language learners and young children.
REMEMBER: each learning object type in Lumi contains a built in tutorial so be sure to use those to learn how to create these. Most are self-explanatory and easy to learn but having the tutorials is handy.
[button link=”https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ORFHEy2U0YkHImzc5qS0zs34PoaBfbhpaBNIZDjgZfc/edit?usp=sharing” newwindow=”yes”] View a tutorial on how to add these to OAKS![/button]
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#OneNewThing: Creating Infographics Using Google Slides
Infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data, or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly. (wikipedia) For the layman, they can make difficult to understand data or concepts more accessible by delivering only the most important data in an understandable way. When students are asked to create infographics, it requires them to understand the data and concepts deeply enough to be able to distill them into digestible chunks that a layman can understand. Because of this, I highly recommend incorporating an infographic assignment into your teaching.
While there are some free applications (Canva.com) that can be used to create infographics, my recommendation is to use Google Slides. Google Slides is completely free, easy to use, familiar, and the students already have an account! Here’s how you can do it:
Page Size:
Don’t worry about being restricted to the standard presentation size you see in Google Slides. You can change the page to be any size you want!
Adding Images:
You can search the web for royalty free images directly from Slides or you can upload images from your computer (note: Pixabay.org gives you free images to use).- You can crop your images into shapes and add shadows and reflections.
- You can also add a color overlay to some images to make them work for showing a percentage of people for instance.
Add Charts:
You can add charts (pie, line, bar, and column charts) from directly within Slides.- You can also connect a chart from Google Sheets that will automatically update when you change the data in your spreadsheet! Can’t do that in Canva.
Add Diagrams:
You can add anything from an org. chart to a timeline from within Slides as well. They are professional looking and easy to update.
Add Shapes:
Shapes can be used to highlight or group text or data areas on an infographic. Slides offers a wide range of shapes and call outs.
Add Text:
Slides offer a variety of font styles and sizes to meet your needs and the best part is that these will look the same on every computer regardless of the fonts installed on the viewer’s computer, which is critical on an infographic.
Shareable and Collaborative:
Because it’s a Google product it’s easy to share it for group or parter collaboration in creating and easy sharing to turn it in the instructor.
[button link=”https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uK22xphnEWkXn7nMDDn67NvU6cQMz9qcbkSeBVJDZOA/edit?usp=sharing” newwindow=”yes”] Access the tutorials for you and your students[/button]
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Bitesize Research
Have you ever thought you created the perfect research assignment for your students? You made sure it perfectly aligned with your course goals. You were careful to give very detailed instructions in a student-friendly tone in the syllabus. You discussed with your colleagues tips on creating the perfect rubric. This was it, this was the mother of all assignments, you thought to yourself, my students are going to enjoy this one. And you hoped that they would come to love your subject just as much as you do. Then your students submit their assignments……..what?!!! These are 300 level courses, I held small group sessions, and held one-on-one office hours. What happened??!!
Unfortunately, many of us have had this experience, in my case, the reassurance I received from a colleague was “that’s why I don’t give research assignments”. Can you imagine? However, I did not allow that to stop me from wanting my preservice teaching-students in my “Intro to Instructional Technology” course to develop valuable research and writing skills. Over the years I have discovered several tried and true, research-based best practices that have helped my students achieve greater. Here are a few of my favorite strategies using technology:
- Encourage students to use planners – Even some of our best students can give us mediocre or subpar research projects just because they haven’t learned how to balance it all and struggle with time management. You can schedule assignments and share them with students on both Microsoft Teams and Google Calendar. Students can use apps such as Microsoft Planner and Google Calendar
- Have mini-research homework assignments – Using a social bookmarking tool such as Microsoft One Note, students can collaboratively research content taught in class, and share in one place. Then in class, you discuss the validity of one or two of the sources found. If this is done throughout the semester, by the time that the final research project comes around students will have a list of credible resources, to start their project or research paper.
- Discussion boards, discussion boards, …did I say, discussion boards? – Discussion boards are powerful tools because they:
- Create a space for students to practice citations and references. Students can back up their opinions and arguments with resources. Take this opportunity to model for students what you do when you are researching. Encourage students to use Microsoft Word to create a bibliography, citations, and references. You can require students to have at least one reference, and use at least one citation
- Give a voice to the students that would not talk in a face-to-face setting
- Provide human interaction in what can feel like isolation and loneliness in a fully online environment
- Help students improve their writing skills, as well as gives you opportunities to give them feedback for improvement
- Introduce students to journals in the discipline – point students in the right direction by encouraging them early on to find journals in the field to support discussion posts and homework assignments. Again, you have an opportunity to discuss credible resources and another avenue for students to build resources collectively before the actual research assignment even begins.
- Take a field trip to the library be it in person, virtually, or both!
- Invite a librarian! You can connect with a research librarian and they can join your OAKS class, come to your class AND help tailor resources specific to meet your learning objectives
You and your students will be juggling several projects at once. The key to a successful research project is to provide scaffolding to your students before the project is even assigned. Look for small bitesize opportunities that will lead to greater success!
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Pedagogy Pointer: How to write your own PBL problems
Problem-based Learning
“Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which complex real-world problems are used as the vehicle to promote student learning of concepts and principles as opposed to direct presentation of facts and concepts.” (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) If you’re not familiar with the term, the goal of PBL is to encourage interdisciplinary thinking, collaborative learning, ethical and quantitative reasoning, and critical thinking all while working on authentic, relevant and real issues.
Regardless of the type of PBL you want to use in your teaching, it all relies on the “problem” that will be resolved. Therefore, learning to write a good problem is critical to the success of PBL.
Use existing problems
You can find existing problems on the internet or maybe even on your textbook site. The University of Delaware Institute for Transforming University Education has a PBL problem database that is free to use as well.
Write your own
Writing your own problems ensures that the problems and questions align with your course learning outcomes. Therefore, before setting out to write a problem the first step is to make sure you have written your learning outcomes.
STEP 1: Write your learning outcomes for the PBL assignment.
STEP 2: Write a “hook.” This is a story or statement that draws the students into the problem and makes them want to find a solution.
STEP 3: Use the rubric below to help you craft a fully engaging problem.
STEP 4: Review the problem, to ensure it has enough complexity to support group work.
STEP 5: Make sure it encourage solutions that may: require a decision or recommendation; be open-ended or depend on assumptions.
rubric provided by the University of Delaware.
REMEMBER…
The PBL activity is based on a problem.
Write the problem and the corresponding questions that will lead the students to demonstrate that they understand and can achieve the learning outcomes.
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Using Lumi and H5P to create Easy Images with Hotspots, Timelines, and Sequencing
What is Lumi and H5P?
H5P is an open source application to create interactive and engaging learning objects quickly and easily. Up until now it required an on-campus installation but now there’s an application called Lumi Education that allows you to create these interactive objects and even embed them into OAKS for your students to use.
It’s free and easy and you, and your students,
can use it to create interactive learning objects.
can use it to create interactive learning objects.
How It Works
- Go to https://lumi.education/ and click on Download.
- Select your operating system to download the app for your computer.
NOTE: if you get sent to a page asking for a donation, just click the back button and do it again. Next time it shouldn’t ask you. - Save the installer, then install the Lumi app.
- Once it’s installed, click on the Lumi app to open it.
- Under H5P Editor choose Start.
- Choose Create New H5P.
- Next to the item you want to create, click Get to load this option into your Lumi app.
- Click Install (if first time).
- Then click Use.
- Always start by viewing the Example and the Tutorial.
Image Sequencing
image sequencing content type that allows authors to add a sequence of their own images (and optional image description) to the game in a particular order. The order of the images will be randomized and players will have to reorder them based on the task description.
You and your students can use these to:
- learn process
- sort anything
You can add text and audio to your images. Just because it’s an image doesn’t mean it can’t contain text as well.
Timelines
TIMELINES
The Timeline content type allows you to place a sequence of events in a chronological order. For each event you may add images and texts. You may also include assets from Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Vimeo, Google Maps and SoundCloud.
Timelines can be used for more than dates.
Use them to organize processes, jigsaws, storyboards, image timelines, show changes over time, develop historical context, develop arguments, compare time periods, create visual literature review, just to name a few.
Hotspot Images
Image hotspots makes it possible to create an image with interactive hotspots. When the user presses a hotspot, a popup containing a header and text or video is displayed.
You and your students can use these to:
- Expand the information in an infographic
- Explain data in a map or add history to a map
- Explain specific details of artwork
- Create games
- Great for foreign language or english vocabulary
You can add text, links, audio and video to the hotspots to make them interactive.
REMEMBER: each learning object type in Lumi contains a built in tutorial so be sure to use those to learn how to create these. Most are self-explanatory and easy to learn but having the tutorials is handy.
[button link=”https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ORFHEy2U0YkHImzc5qS0zs34PoaBfbhpaBNIZDjgZfc/edit?usp=sharing” newwindow=”yes”] View a tutorial on how to add these to OAKS![/button]
