Reading – Lessons for the Gullible Learner
Share the strategies you have used to communicate and connect more effectively with your students.
How have you used technology to engage your students? Share any resources you have created and used.
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I vary communication strategies depending on my cohort, with school students I use mainly digital learning tools. In general classes with several generations in the cohort, I provide paper options for communication with the older generations and digital with the younger generation. It is sometimes difficult to find a balance when there are mainly GEN Y and Z students in a class as they get frustrated with the lack of technological abilities in some of the older students
Strategies I have used to communicate and connect more effectively with students include interpersonal approaches, face to face story telling, virtually connected via Ms teams. We do check in’s at the beginning of class and check out at the end.
It’s been interesting to see how my class room practises change depending on my group and number of students and location and resources available these last three years. I’ve used TEAMS, WhatsAPP and Google Classroom, and also FB groups that student’s have created. There are lots of great resources online for AMEP students, such as BTN and AMEP online: https://ameponline.homeaffairs.gov.au/, https://www.protopage.com/esolflc, https://www.abc.net.au/btn/classroom/
I am working in a language teaching environment. My students fall into different age groups, from Baby Boomers to Gen Z. Students’ digital literacy varies. I like using some more foolproof technology to help students to engage and interact such as Kahoot and MS TEAMS. The rule of thumb for me is to not add too excessive cognitive load by using one technology in a consistent way instead of applying too much without consistency. I also like to use a lot of visuals in my presentation such as videos and pictures.
I share many of your experiences re use of technology, Tao. It changes from class to class, and from term to term depending on students and units to teach.
For younger students I find that they like to use technology to solve problems of find information rather than be told something.
Much of what is required is not to memorise everything but to utilise technology to access and extract information as needed.
Older students engage with the technology when shown how to use it and how it can help them. After initial reluctance confidence builds quickly
I also find that with my students David. Once the older ones engage with technology they have great pride when they can efficiently use that tech in their assessment tasks, it is nice to see that confidence grow
I use a mix of techniques as I usually get mixed agility groups. Also the topics under discussion, help me choose the strategy and techniques. With Mature aged learners , paper and pen is their preference; however, they are happy to use their phones to search for info, use the translator and play Kahoot quizzes
Agree there is no one size fits all technique in a classroom , Knowing your group helps guide the strategies and techniques we use.
Using MS TEAMS, Moodle and just general online resources that they can relate to works well for online learning. Some classes i have gone back to the simple student workbook because that is what they wanted. I find in the first few weeks i can get an overall understanding where they want to be regarding their learning and level of technology wants and needs
Thanks for sharing, Jo. Those two tools are good for blended learning.
I use the same technologies and agree that it usually takes a few weeks, especially with virtual classrooms to asses individual student needs and abilities. It seems to emerge when you have built rapport with the student and they actually now feel they can tell you that they are struggling and need help with technology
Covid has given us a chance to learn more about technology and I found the students needed to learn to adapt in more ways than one as well. There was always a mix of some being quite confident and others who were struggling. Breakout rooms etc. have made it interactive and without technology during covid so many students would have felt even more isolated, especially overseas students.
Yes, Irina, Breakout Room is good for students to conduct pair work and group work in an online setting
Yes, it was great that we could connect with students during lock down:-). And thanks to break out rooms making it interactive. I used WhatsApp and WhatsApp groups with some students too, and they called each other for roleplays etc, if they had issues with YEAMS (which happened at times for some students).
I have found online learning challenging as a gen Y, i struggle with knowing if my students are ok. I have embraced things like kahoot to really keep engagement levels with my students.
Yes Helen, mental health was something that we never had to deal with at such a huge level and with cameras off, it is hard to observe if students were triggered by videos etc.
A real challenge in itself and time consuming with checking in with students after class.
I have found myself a little uncomfortable with online learning, being a baby boomer, however, it has proven to be a great learning experience. My students constantly tell me about shortcuts and assist me when I make errors. It has made for some very funny situations and actually built some worthwhile connections with them.
I am glad to say that many of the tips and tricks with technology has come from my students. It is a wonderful two way street.
As a result of COVID times, I have been forced (in some ways, but willingly in other ways), to explore the use of technology, & predominantly, teach via Flexible Learning (via a couple of different platforms). With my current students, I find it best to communicate with them (outside the classroom), via their smart phones – they respond best to text messages. As ‘the system’, likes us to communicate via email, I do this, but will follow up with a text message (eg I have sent you an email), if a response is not received in a specific timeframe.
Good idea Leanne to meet the student’s needs which don’t always fit into the ‘system”.
The use of text messages is actually a good idea and one i feel i will adopt as I’m finding i just don’t get the response from emails a lot of the time.
I am currently not teaching but in the past, an appropriate sense of humour together with topic knowledge and industry experience helps.
I teach in a virtual space so all of my communication is founded in technology. Be that phone, email, video conferencing, etc. The different way students engage with that technology or their preference for written communication over a phone call, is where the generational change is most prevalent for me. I find most effective connection comes from the relationship you develop with your students, this is of course different in an online space, but developing this relationship, is my goal regardless of the age of my learners. I endeavour to know my students and how they learn best, doing what I can to support this learning and cater to their preferences.
I have created interactive videos to engage with online students.
That is a great approach.
I use a variety of techniques in the VET Classroom. I have learners from Gen Y right through to the Baby Boomers and find that the use of technology and learning strategies are very different. I use Kahoot and Mentimetre as a great way to test student knowledge in a fun way without bringing on the anxiety of an exam. Powerpoints and interactive discussion using the internet to research questions in class together is a great way to get all students involved by using their technoloigcal devices to research responses also works really well and if students have brought in books on the topic somemight use these as well giving students in the class exposure to how we can access to information and respond to questions in a variety of ways.
I too have found that doing group research while online and them using a google doc to update their work simultaneously works well. Rather than working as a individual, group work and working as a team has really helped with them forming friends in the online environment
With the online learning it is different again, teaching a cohort from different generations. Gen X could be confident with camera but shy with using the technology where Gen X is comfortable using the technology but shy on camera.
Yes i have found the amount of people not wanting to put their camera on surprised me!