Finding ways to keep students interested in class isn't always easy. Distractions abound for today's students, whose attention spans are increasingly shorter as a result.
Engaging students should be a top focus for teachers. Learning and achievement go hand-in-hand when kids are actively engaged. It's also a lot simpler to stay energized all day long that way.
Students nowadays have grown up with computers and the internet as part of their daily lives. Instead of seeing technology as a distraction, we should see it to improve student involvement. You should always offer your material in such a manner that your pupils can immediately see the relevance and importance of what they are learning.
When students have access to technology in the classroom, they may better grasp the subjects they are interested in and engage with one another. We've put up this list of ideas to help you better integrate technology into your classroom.
Let's speak about incorporating social media displays into the classrooms, halls and campuses as a starting point. Students of all ages may benefit from various educational, social media platforms from elementary to post-secondary. Powerful digital signage software will simplify the content management process for the educators. The following are tips for leveraging social media displays to improve student engagement:
1. Sending updates and notices using a Facebook Page
Using Facebook is an excellent way to include social media. To avoid a steep learning curve for both the teacher and the student, stay with a well-known online classroom interface. Students may follow the class's Facebook page, and the teacher can use it to publish class updates, provide homework assignments, and stimulate discussion on the course material.
Even if a student isn't using Facebook, these Pages are still visible even if they've logged out of their account. Remember that Facebook pages are public, and anybody with a Facebook account may remark on the content.
2. Organize giveaways and contests
Students who tweet with a specific hashtag, retweet, share their work, or follow you are rewarded and acknowledged by offering them something in return.
3. Ensure your posts have the appropriate graphics
Numerous data and research support the resounding conclusion that images are essential. The engagement rate on Facebook posts increases by 2.3 times when photos are included, and the number of retweets on tweets with pictures is almost 150 percent more than on tweets with simple text. You may think that the best response to these stats is to post more photos, but that's a missed opportunity.
Putting a link to your website in the description of a picture isn't as effective as adding a link with an appealing sample image instead since you can't hyperlink images.
As a result of Facebook recently removed the ability for Pages to change link previews, whatever shows as a preview picture, page title, and description will all be retrieved straight from the page's information. Facebook You may, however, use various services to restrict and modify what appears when you post a link to social media. Additionally, if you share the same article or page numerous times, you may change it with various photos so that the link preview doesn't always seem the same.
4. Create polls and surveys.
Polls and surveys may also be used to make social media postings more interesting. Using social media polls and surveys to get student input is a cinch.
5. Use Twitter as a class discussion board
To use Twitter as an educational tool, you may arrange a Twitter conversation during class - you can come up with a hashtag together that you will connect to the subject. Each student can perform an internet study and tweet a message within 15 minutes. A helpful life skill kids may learn from Twitter's 280-character character restriction is efficiently communicating.
Likewise, teachers may use Twitter to remind students of upcoming tasks or provide valuable materials that students can then use to organize their hashtag-based conversations. It's easy for students to utilize hashtags to see what's trending in education.
There are various options for teachers using this site, from asking students to tweet an overview of a book to merely posing a question. Other ideas include getting celebrities' tweets, checking them for grammatical or spelling mistakes, and then having them retweet a corrected message.
Tweeting about class happenings is a great way to contact kids and parents alike while also adding a fun element to the learning process.
6. Create a school channel on YouTube
Educators may use YouTube to build a channel for their school, post instructional videos, vlogs, and podcasts, and share their content with their students. Students may learn more about a topic by watching instructional videos or participating in class discussions. With the help of YouTube, educators can rekindle the notion that students may interact with one another while simultaneously learning something new or expanding their existing knowledge.
Examples include TED Talks and educational institutions like the BBC's Open University, which have YouTube channels with high-quality courses. Even if you don't have time to maintain an online presence, you may identify fascinating and relevant stuff and frequently share it with your students to keep the information flowing.
7. Make a Pinterest board for your class alone.
Teachers may set up a Pinterest account for each class and save necessary pins to that board. Pinterest is a terrific tool for educators to gather class materials (such as lesson plans and worksheets) as a social media site. For each weekly unit or all worksheets, build a sub-topic board for that unit's board.
Students may utilize Pinterest to create a digital bibliography for their research, papers, and group projects. Students may refer to the websites, books, and videos they've pinned on the board when it's time to write.
8. Analytical Tools may help you keep tabs on your students.
Analytics tools are handy for keeping tabs on user activity across various platforms, including social media and websites. You get a wealth of information that you can use to refine your campaigns and make them more effective. To determine the best times to publish and the most popular social media sites, you need to measure the number of views and the number of link or picture clicks.
As a first step, keep an eye on how pupils use social media in class, as this may quickly become a distraction. You should also find out your school's policy on social media use. Teach your pupils about the value of social media in school and use it effectively. Students are already using social media on their own, and many of the things they see there aren't the finest models.
As a teacher, it is your responsibility to serve as a positive role model for your pupils. Utilize social media to educate kids about the dangers of using it and encourage them to learn and grow their reputation. Before adopting social media digital signage in the school venues, educators must be aware of its effect on students' learning and utilize it to their advantage.
