Remote Classroom

Essentials:
How K-12 Educators Can Improve
Student-Driven Engagement

© 2011–2020 eLearning Industry.

Introduction
Wandering minds are a common phenomenon in
classrooms, and it’s not a problem if it only happens
from time to time. However, if learner disengagement
has become the norm in your virtual classroom, you need
to take action. Hopefully, the tips we share in this eBook
to prevent and combat student engagement obstacles
will help you realize what you need to make the most of
online learning.

Christopher Pappas
Founder of eLearning Industry Inc.

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 Table Of Contents

Follow
Chapters Page the bee

1 Obstacles That Stand In The Way Of Student

Engagement 04

2 Ways To Encourage Student-Driven Engagement

In Virtual Classrooms 08

3 Tips To Make Your Remote Classroom Teaching

Plan More Efficient 13

4 Stress-Free Tech Tips To Improve K-12 Student

Engagement 18

5 A Guide to Introducing Gamification to your

Remote Classroom 22

Conclusion 26

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Chapter 1

Obstacles That
Stand In The
Way Of Student
Engagement

Keeping students engaged can be a challenging task on

its own. Now imagine how much harder it becomes when
you’re teaching an online class and your students are miles
away, struggling with unprecedented learning conditions.
The truth is that online learning has a lot to offer in terms of
ease of access, personalization, and creativity. But you can
only enjoy all these benefits if your students are motivated
and engaged in learning. In this chapter, we talk about some
student engagement obstacles that most educators face when
making the switch to online learning, as well as some ideas to
overcome them.

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Chapter 1

1. Limited Technical Skills

At a time when technology exists in almost every part of our
lives, we sometimes take for granted our students’ ability to
navigate online learning. However, it’s possible that many
children—especially younger ones—haven’t had previous
experience with online learning platforms. Not to mention
financial or social factors that affect people’s access to devices
such as laptops and smartphones. As a result, students end up
struggling to navigate the platform instead of paying attention
to class. Overcome this issue by being close to your students,
especially during the first sessions, and giving them mini
tutorials of how everything works.

2. Lack Of Motivation
Motivation is always high in student engagement obstacle lists,
as it is one of the most common challenges educators face. And
being the driving force behind student development, motivation
can make or break your virtual classroom. Various factors
can affect it, some being your responsibility (content variety,
pacing of sessions, complexity of training material, ambiguous
purpose) and others not (low self-confidence, anxiety to fulfill
expectations). Although you can’t fix every problem, you can
empower and support your students by maintaining open
channels of communication and making sure to add to your
teaching plan techniques and materials that motivate them.

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Chapter 1

3. Uninspiring Or Complex Learning Material

Another factor that greatly affects student engagement is
the learning material itself. If it is repetitive and uninspiring,
students will quickly lose interest. But what if, despite having
carefully curated your content, it’s still not performing well?
Then it’s possible that its delivery fails to cater to all learning
styles. You must keep in mind that some students respond better
to auditory methods, while others prefer visual or kinesthetic.
A virtual classroom allows you to give your students access to
different types of content so that everyone can find what works
best for them.

“Motivation is always high in student

engagement obstacle lists, as it is one of the
most common challenges educators face.
And being the driving force behind student
development, motivation can make or break
your virtual classroom.”

4. Lack Of Community
Nothing can cause a student to become disengaged faster than
feelings of isolation. And unfortunately, spending your school
year in front of a computer screen can be inherently lonely.
Students who operate in an environment that lacks a sense of
community tend to lose interest in the learning process due to
the absence of healthy competition, collaborative learning, and
exchange of knowledge. For this reason, it’s crucial that you give
students the tools they need to communicate and collaborate
efficiently. This can be achieved through group assignments,
discussions, forums, competitions, and more.

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Chapter 1

5. Insufficient Support
Another obstacle teachers must overcome to boost student
engagement is streamlining communication between
themselves and learners. Asking a question may be easy during
face-to-face learning but not so much via a platform with
dozens of users at a time. It can be frustrating for students if
they can’t get to you during class or after hours to solve issues
or get feedback on their progress. Therefore, make sure to
provide them with your contact information and be available
to answer emails or “hop into” a video call. Offering them the
necessary support will motivate them to keep track of their
development and maintain a consistent effort

How can you overcome your biggest

tech roadblocks? Discover insider tips
to launch a virtual classroom with Follow the bee

minimal IT experience.

6. Online Learner Boredom

Sometimes, all that is standing between you and learner
engagement is good old boredom. The kind that makes
students in in-person and virtual classrooms alike lose interest
and zone out. Most times, the culprit behind this phenomenon is
training material that doesn’t match the interests and needs of
students. Additionally, boredom can also be caused by material
that is too complex and difficult for learners to follow. To avoid
this problem, remember to frequently use surveys, interviews,
and assessments to remain in touch with your students’ goals,
expectations, and needs.

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Chapter 2

Ways To Encourage
Student-Driven
Engagement In
Virtual Classrooms

When it comes to successful teaching—either remote or

in-person—student engagement is the name of the game.
Engaged students are motivated to take accountability for
their progress by participating, completing assignments, and
studying independently outside class. However, when we talk
about engagement, we usually think about what teachers can
do to promote it. In this article, we talk about the other side of
the coin, which is student-driven engagement. Let’s see what
makes it different and how you can promote it in your (virtual)
classroom.

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Chapter 2

Types Of Student Engagement

Most educators aim for teacher-driven engagement. It is a very
popular teaching method, and one that educators and learners
alike have grown to expect. However, moving forward into the
future of learning, researchers are finding that putting control
back in the hands of students might be even more effective.
But what sets student-driven engagement apart from teacher-
driven? While the former focuses on fostering a relationship
between the student and the educator and building high-energy
lectures, the latter aims to build collaborative settings, give roles
and responsibilities to students, and help them develop using
increasingly challenging tasks.

“Boredom is a factor that can greatly

affect learner engagement and subsequent
progress. A common cause of boredom is
the use of unchallenging learning content
that doesn’t invite students to push their
academic boundaries.”

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Chapter 2

5 Ways To Promote Student-Driven Engagement

Now that we know what it is, let’s look at 5 ways you can
encourage your students to implement student-driven
engagement.

1. Encourage Collaborative Activities

During team activities, students get the opportunity to move
away from the traditional classroom interaction that is limited
between the educator and the learner. Instead, they get to
collaborate with their peers in a setting that demands little to no
intervention from the teacher. All the educator has to do is divide
the class into small groups, give minimal pointers, and let learners
make academic discoveries and learn through creativity and
teamwork. You can further help students cultivate their autonomy
by assigning them roles and responsibilities. For example, instead
of relying on you to check their work and provide answers, you
can empower them to check each other’s work, encourage equal
participation, and turn to each other to find answers to their
questions.

2. Set Clear Goals And Expectations

Although student-driven engagement allows teachers to take
a step back, that doesn’t mean that their contribution doesn’t
remain important. For students to take the lead, they must know
what they are working towards. Therefore, it’s important for
teachers to set clear learning goals that demonstrate which skills
students are expected to have acquired by the end of the lesson.
If your students are younger, it would be helpful to break down
the final goal into smaller achievements that would function as
guidelines. Once you have created a clear and comprehensible
framework, you’re ready for the next step.

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3. Promote Student Accountability

Having clear goals in mind, students can collaborate to
achieve each intermediate milestone by combining their skills
and existing knowledge. The freedom of learning through
personal discovery and not passive listening not only motivates
students but also helps them understand concepts more
thoroughly. As learners become more acquainted with the goal-
setting process, they can even start creating a goal structure
themselves, thus taking real ownership over their learning
progress. This way, their development becomes a personal
matter they genuinely care about rather than a mindless
process of completing tasks with no purpose.

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Chapter 2

4. Utilize Productive Struggle

Boredom is a factor that can greatly affect learner engagement
and subsequent progress. A common cause of boredom is
the use of unchallenging learning content that doesn’t invite
students to push their academic boundaries. Therefore,
educators who aim to foster student-driven engagement often
utilize productive struggle. In other words, they assign learners
progressively difficult tasks that, at their final stages, stretch
beyond their current abilities. Thus, students must explore
brand-new thinking avenues and make the most of their
collective skills to reach an answer. Although it might be hard,
try not to intervene and help out. This technique will boost your
students’ self-confidence and make them more creative in the
future.

5. Monitor Progress And Make Adjustments

Even though your students might seem engaged in the learning
process, it’s important to assess whether this translates into
better performance. Keep track of your students’ self-tracking
data and compare it to their actual work. Do they coincide,
how fast are they achieving their goals, and which activities are
bringing in the best results? Remember to check this data at
regular intervals to make sure that your students are not only
having fun but also learning. A solid assessment plan makes it
easier for you to know what’s working and make adjustments
when necessary.

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Chapter 3

Tips To Make Your

Remote Classroom
Teaching Plan More
Efficient

A teaching plan is the roadmap a teacher needs to identify

what students need to learn and how they’re going to learn it. It
involves teaching material, resources, activities, time plans, and
more. Although the planning process itself remains pretty much
the same for on-site and remote teaching, you’re still going to
have to adjust a few things to make sure that you’re achieving
adequate engagement through the computer screen. To help
you accomplish that, we’ll walk you through the essential steps
of creating an effective remote classroom teaching plan.

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Chapter 3

1. Establish Learning Objectives

For a lesson to add value to your students’ development, it
must have a purpose. This is why the first step when building
a teaching plan is determining your learning objectives. What
is the basic concept of the lesson? Which skill do you want
learners to have acquired by the end of it? What’s something
you can omit if you’re pressed for time? These and other
questions will help you not only outline all aspects of your
lesson but also rank them by importance so that you can make
changes depending on interest level and time availability.

“One thing that’s crucial to add to your

remote classroom teaching plan is adequate
space and time for student discussion.”

2. Ensure Engagement With Your Introduction

The beginning of the lesson is what’s going to set the tone
for the rest of the learning experience. Therefore, prepare
a thought-invoking introduction that will engage remote
learners in the learning process early on. For example, instead
of presenting the day’s subject and diving into lecturing, take
some time to ask students about their previous knowledge
on the matter. Give them a related topic to discuss or use an
engaging anecdote or short clip to draw them in. If you can
grab everyone’s attention in the first few minutes, you will have
much better results by the end of the lesson.

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Chapter 3

3. Plan Out Your Activities

However, to achieve these great results, your remote classroom
teaching plan will have to include the activities you’re going
to use. You can’t expect to hold your students’ attention if you
log in and start improvising. Thankfully, there are plenty of
ideas and resources available on the web, some of which will
be perfect for your online classroom. Therefore, don’t hesitate
to get creative and swap slides and textbook reading for more
interactive activities. Remote learners are known to respond
particularly well to interactive games, videos, quizzes, and
virtual whiteboards that allow them to actively participate in
the lesson.

4. Make Time For Reflection And Discussion

One thing that’s crucial to add to your remote classroom
teaching plan is adequate space and time for student
discussion. Although this comes more naturally when students
are in the same room, discussion and reflection time will have
to be planned ahead for remote learning. Specifically, you
will have to designate some time for it and offer learners the
necessary tools, such as chat options, forums, or breakout
rooms. Even though the discussion should be organic, make sure
to have some prompts at the ready, which will help students
think outside the box and hone their critical thinking and
collaboration skills.

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5. Make A Realistic Timeline

Time is essential in the classroom, especially when we’re talking
about remote learning. Considering that connectivity issues,
unstable internet connections, and slower communication are
going to rob you of some precious time, the rest of the session
must be well thought out and timed. A technique that can help
you here, as mentioned earlier, is choosing the main points of
the lesson and prioritizing them. You can also estimate how
long each activity is going to take and note it down in your
plan. Nevertheless, remember to be flexible depending on your
students’ engagement and productivity levels.

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Chapter 3

Communicating Your Teaching Plan To Remote Learners

Once you have completed your plan, it’s going to be very helpful
sharing it with your remote classroom. Knowing what to expect
during the course of the lesson helps students be more engaged.
You can present your plan in the form of a brief agenda or
a checklist that you tick off as you complete activities and
assignments. This technique allows learners to understand the
purpose of the lesson, the rationale behind the activities you
have chosen, and the goals they are supposed to achieve.

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Chapter 4

Stress-Free Tech
Tips To Improve
K-12 Student
Engagement

Reduced student engagement is a struggle that all K-12

educators face. Unfortunately, students have to overcome
many distractions to be focused during class, and with
attention spans getting shorter, it’s not looking very promising
for educators. However, it is possible to take one of the biggest
distractors and turn it into a tool that will help you improve
K-12 student engagement. We are talking about technology,
of course. Since students are already growing up in a digital
world, why not exploit the advantages technology offers and
adapt learning material accordingly? In this article, we share
6 stress-free tips to boost learner engagement using readily
available technology.

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Chapter 4

1. Promote Personalized Learning

It’s important to remember that every learner has their personal
learning style. And if you want to achieve high academic
performance, you’ll have to accommodate it. Technology
allows learners to access knowledge in many different forms.
For example, for auditory learners, you can turn lectures
into podcasts or utilize recordings to work on reading skills.
Respectively, visual learners will benefit from videos or
infographics that visualize data. And let’s not forget that
technology can make learning accessible for students with
learning disabilities, with tools such as screen readers, advanced
font settings, speech-to-text captions, and more.

“Traditional teaching methods usually

require students to take a back seat and
passively listen and/or take notes.
But when you incorporate technology in your
everyday lessons, you can turn learning into
a fun and interactive experience.”

2. Make Learning Interactive

Traditional teaching methods usually require students to take a
back seat and passively listen and/or take notes. But when you
incorporate technology in your everyday lessons, you can turn
learning into a fun and interactive experience. There are many
ways to achieve that. From interactive videos and online games
that require user participation to visually appealing quizzes that
make knowledge assessments fun, it only takes a little research
to make technology your most useful engagement tool.

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Chapter 4

3. Create A Collaborative Community

Technology can also improve K-12 student engagement by
bringing them together in a knowledge-sharing community.
Using tools such as forums, chats, and shared file access
gives learners the ability to tap into the classroom’s collective
knowledge to receive answers to their questions and
comprehend topics more effectively. Additionally, it’s easier for
them to communicate regarding assignments, team activities,
announcements, etc. Above all, they hone their collaboration
and problem-solving skills in and out of class hours.

4. Utilize Productivity Tools

A great way to help students remain engaged is to provide them
with organization and productivity tools. Using apps to stay on
top of assignments adds an element of fun while also helping
students stay on track. If tech-savviness is not a strong suit for
you or your remote classroom, you can always keep it simple.
Basic features such as timers, checklists, and notifications
can get the work done. And as students get older and
academic work gets more complex, you can move on to more
sophisticated solutions, such as project management apps.

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5. Eliminate Distractions
You read that right. Although technology is usually viewed as
a distractor, it can also be used to eliminate distractions in the
learning environment. Think about this scenario: you assign your
students a classroom activity that requires some quick research.
In the physical classroom, that would signify rustling papers,
scratching pens, discussions among students, and questions
to the teacher. That definitely doesn’t make for a quiet
environment that promotes concentration. During an online
class, though, students can mute the sounds of their classmates
and complete their research in a quiet environment.

6. Collect Feedback
Setting up a student response system that gathers feedback
quickly and discreetly is a great way to improve student
engagement. The reason for this is that students are more
likely to work towards improving their performance when their
opinion is valued. You can collect feedback using online surveys
to assess the overall learning experience or instant polls that
allow students to provide feedback during class. Remember
that anonymity will probably ensure feedback is indeed honest.
Then you can use the information you have gathered to make
essential changes that will improve the learning experience and
boost engagement.

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Chapter 5

A Guide to
Introducing
Gamification
to your Remote
Classroom

Gamification and learner engagement are two terms that

go hand in hand. For quite a few years now, K-12 educators
have discovered the many benefits that come with enriching
learning with gamification elements. To name a few of
those benefits, gamification makes students more focused
while helping them hone their critical thinking and problem-
solving skills in an entertaining way. In addition, it promotes
information retention through experiential and active learning.
Considering all that, it only makes sense that you would want to
introduce gamification to your remote classroom. In this article,
we share 4 essential steps that will help you form a successful
gamification strategy and a few gamification examples you
can try out.

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Chapter 5

1. Know Your Audience

For your gamification strategy to be successful, you need to
take into consideration the specific needs of your students. So,
before getting started, take some time to define their preferred
learning styles, interests, and personal goals. Knowing these
things will help you pick out the right gamification techniques,
which will motivate them and help them learn more effectively.
For example, during this stage, you might discover that your
students enjoy a particular video game and use some elements
from it to attract their attention.

“Keep in mind that your students must

always be able to express their opinions
regarding the gamification of the learning
process. Hand out surveys or simply discuss
with them to gauge if the theme, activities,
or rewards are to their liking.”

2. Map Out Your Adventure

Once you have all this information, it’s time to start forming your
gamification plan. Using what you have learned in the previous
step, choose a fitting theme that will spark enthusiasm in your
remote classroom. That could be anything, from dinosaurs to
a video game or a movie your students are interested in. Then
plan the story that will take your students from task to task until
they achieve the final learning goal. It’s helpful to visualize the
various stages of your adventure on a storyboard so that you
can ensure the correct order and flow of tasks, achievements,
and rewards.

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3. Choose Game Mechanics

There are many ways to bring your adventure to life and immerse
your remote classroom in the world of gamification. Our advice is
to keep it simple at first, using only simple gamification elements
such as points and badges until students get the hang of it.
As the story progresses, you can add more elements, such as
complex games, competitions, or more involved story lines. In any
case, remember that the game mechanics you use must match
the interests and abilities of your students.

4. Collect And Provide Feedback

Keep in mind that your students must always be able to express
their opinions regarding the gamification of the learning process.
Hand out surveys or simply discuss with them to gauge if the
theme, activities, or rewards are to their liking. This way, you
can make necessary adjustments that will result in even greater
learner engagement. At the same time, you must be consistent in
your feedback in the form of tips, recommendations, or rewards
so that learners are always aware of their progress.

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Chapter 5

Ideas To Introduce Gamification To Your Classroom

There are various ways to introduce gamification to your
students. All of the examples we present below can be modified
to be simple or complex depending on factors such as tech-
savviness, equipment availability, or the age of students. We
hope you can use these ideas as an inspiration to create your
own gamified lesson that will suit the needs and interests of your
students.

Leveling up requires students to complete tasks of increasing

complexity so that they can proceed to the next level.
Leaderboards introduce a sense of friendly competition
among students. By comparing their points and
achievements, they are motivated to work harder to earn a
higher spot.
Collectibles can be experience points or badges that
learners accumulate to prove their progress. They can be
acquired by completing a predetermined number of tasks.
Competitions, whether short- or long-term, can motivate
students to complete as many tasks as possible and learn
effortlessly. Use them to reinforce positive behaviors or
acquire certain skills throughout the duration of the school
term.
Games are the ultimate form of gamification and the best
way to engage a class. Translate a learning goal into a game
and watch your students progress while having fun.

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Conclusion
As teaching becomes more learner-centric, educators
are looking for new ways to motivate their students. In
this eBook, we talked about student-driven engagement
and how educators can boost learner performance by
allowing students to lead the way. Use the tips we shared
to implement it in your (virtual) classroom and see for
yourself the benefits of a classroom that actively takes
control of the learning process.

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Christopher Pappas
Founder of eLearning Industry Inc.

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