6 Ways to Help your Students Succeed Online

When done well, the online learning environment can foster extremely engaging and successful learning experiences. Students who are challenged and supported in a virtual classroom finish the course satisfied with their experience and well-prepared for their next step, whether in the classroom or their career. As an instructor, you can help students on their online learning journey by taking care to build personal connections, encourage an environment of accountability and participation, and stay organized and prepared throughout the semester.

Connect with students

Interacting with students is the most important way to encourage their success. Building rapport and relationships in the online classroom context isn’t as challenging as you may expect — nor is it all that different from what you’re likely used to in a classroom. For example, getting to know your students by name goes a long way when improving retention and learning outcomes. And holding virtual office hours offers students the opportunity to connect, work through problems, and improve marks on future assignments.

Where online classes do differ from the classroom, there are fun and unique opportunities to introduce yourself to students. Use technology to show your personality. A two- to five-minute welcome video, for example, is a great way to introduce yourself and give students a sense of your personality. Not only does it show the class that a real human is behind the screen; it opens the door for conversation and connection over shared interests and ideas.

Be involved

A welcome video helps students connect to you off the hop, but regularly interacting with participants online will build relationships throughout the semester and make students believe in your commitment to their success. Make it a habit to join student breakout rooms for a few minutes to check on progress, answer questions, or further discuss a concept. If group work is completed over the cloud, give input by commenting and editing in real-time on shared documents. Participating alongside students demonstrates you, too, are invested in their learning journey.

Foster engagement and accountability

Sustained engagement can be challenging for some students. Emphasize group collaboration by encouraging the chat function during video calls and creating mandatory small breakout rooms during class time. This encourages students to build relationships with each other and keeps engagement high during lectures.

Creativity in assignments is also a great way to boost student interest. Students have grown up interacting online, thus have developed many digital skills. Why not use them? Encourage the use of video, design, and other digital elements in assignments.

If you still see a student struggling, use course analytics to know if they’ve used all the posted resources or know how to access additional help. Remind students about your office hours, share tutors’ schedules, and distribute resources, like this tip sheet, designed for students navigating online learning.

Consider attention span

Shorter attention spans are best served with concise lectures. Build your classes by strategically “chunking” information. Create short videos and lectures centred on one topic each. You can also break up longer class times with breakout sessions or short interactive activities, like a not-for-marks quiz, to help the wandering mind stay focused. These tools will also improve students’ content retention.

Share information from the start

As a part of your prep work, anticipate aspects of the online process that may cause stress or pose a challenge for students. Consider creating a helpful document or video that will guide students through a process and share it alongside other course preparation materials.

Finally, make that course information (not only the syllabus but also readings, notes, etc.) available immediately. Because like instructors frontload a course in order to be prepared for anything that comes their way, students, too, are ideally reviewing the course content to prepare for the virtual classroom and plan their semester’s calendar accordingly.

Stay positive

An entirely online learning experience is new for the majority of students. Approaching each class with patience and positivity will go far in creating a space for students to feel comfortable seeking for help. Further, your attitude will set the stage for class participants to provide you with respectful, constructive course feedback. Over the long run, a great attitude can make your course successful and enjoyable for everyone.