A recent study found that 92% of college students use their phones to text during class. Even with the strictest rules on cell phone use, students still find a way to check their phones.

However, as more and more schools move to online classes, students have no choice but to be on their computers and phones. Now, from the comfort of their own home, laptop close at hand and phone in hand, students are free to roam wherever they please. How can educators keep their students engaged virtually and ensure they are paying attention?

We are committed to fostering student engagement, wherever they are.

Whether you’re streaming your classes live or pre-recording your lectures, start your class with music playing in the background. You can choose something soothing like classical music or uplifting like pop. Putting on music at the start of class will set the mood and tone for the rest of the lesson. Your students may be feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or worried about their health and grades, so putting on some music before class can help them relax. Playing music before class will help them relax. This will allow them to clear their minds and be ready to learn.

Another great way to capture their attention and keep them engaged is to start the class with a video. When your students register for class and settle in, play an educational video on YouTube. YouTube channels like Crash Course, ASAP Science, and Kurzgesagt offer visually stimulating videos on a variety of topics like history, science, and English literature. Choose a video related to your course content to help students review before class begins. These channels have years of experience educating and entertaining virtual audiences, so they can be used to capture your students’ attention.

What is your favorite quote?”. Use a word cloud to create an exciting visual of all their answers. By starting the lesson with an icebreaker, you wake up your students and prepare them to learn. If you need inspiration for icebreaker questions, here are some fun icebreaker questions to bond with your students.

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To improve student engagement during the lesson, you need to create an interactive learning experience. Most students have attention lapses of up to 5 minutes, so lessons should be interactive. Here are some tips you can use during class to check in on your students and regain their attention:

After a lesson, create small discussion groups on Zoom. Students can freely discuss the material and you can chime in and moderate.

Create a short quiz to test students on the material they just learned and check their understanding.

Breaking up the lesson with these interactive activities will help students stay engaged and better absorb information. These activities ensure that students are actively listening instead of scrolling through social media on their phones. Appeal to the competitive side of your students by playing in your classroom. (Read more: Teaching trends in 2020: 10 ways to gamify education).

Before the end of the course

lesson to review the answers and clear up any confusion.

Another exciting way to complete the course is to hold a competition. Engage your students with friendly competition by asking them exciting questions about the course, pop culture, or current events. If contests aren’t your cup of tea, end each lesson with a fun puzzle or challenge that your students can participate in. This way, students continue to think about the material even after the lesson ends and will have something exciting to share at the start of the next lesson.

Remote learning can feel strange and uncomfortable for students and teachers during this time. As we go through all of these sudden changes, it is important to keep students interested. For some, class time can be an escape from the negative news cycle, so make every minute interesting and fun