For many faculty, the vibrancy of class discussions is an important indicator of engagement. While some of your online students may feel eager to share their ideas, others may feel hesitant. To bring in more voices, help your online students develop their discussion skills:

• Offer students a menu of ways that they can contribute to discussions, such as making a comment that connects two classmates’ ideas or asking a classmate to elaborate on their comment (see this example from Stephen Brookfield).
• Ask your students to assess their own participation (Brookfield, n.d.). At the end of each class meeting, ask them to spend 1-2 minutes writing a summary of the ways they contributed, or ask them to write a summary of their contributions at the mid-point and end of the semester. Also ask students to identify any changes they want to make in their participation, moving forward.

If some of your online students turn off their cameras during a Zoom meeting, how will you know whether they are still engaged? Leverage technology to provide students with a range of opportunities to show that they are present, attentive, and learning:

• Have students respond to multiple-choice polls you create in Zoom.
• Ask students to use the chat feature to ask questions or respond to discussion prompts.
• Assign students to breakout rooms for small-group activities.
• Ask students to use the nonverbal feedback options in the Participants window in Zoom (for example, yes/no, thumbs up/thumbs down) to respond to “temperature checks” and other spontaneous activities.
• Use Poll Everywhere to enrich interaction with open-ended survey questions, competitions, and other activities.
• Encourage students to update their Zoom profiles by uploading profile pictures that will display when their cameras are turned off.
• If students prefer to obscure their surroundings, encourage them to explore using virtual backgrounds in Zoom.

Research suggests guiding principles that can help you design engaging online learning activities (Meyer, 2014):

• Design activities that are collaborative, active, and authentic. In other words, ask your students to work together to apply their learning in ways that mimic real-world scenarios.
• Tell your students why you are asking them to participate in the activity. Clearly explain the learning objectives. For collaborative activities, explain how collaboration supports the learning objectives (for example, the value of multiple perspectives or different skill sets).
• Provide clear, user-friendly instructions so students will understand how the activity will work. Pair any verbal instructions with a written version.
• Make sure students are prepared for the activity. Identify the subject-area knowledge—as well as academic or technology skills—that will enable all students to feel ready and included. Provide resources and low-stakes practice to develop these skills. Include time for students to think or write about their ideas before sharing with a group.

Your students—and you—may experience feelings of fatigue during long Zoom meetings, and this can be a real obstacle to engagement (Fosslein & Duffy, 2020). If you plan to teach via Zoom, take proactive steps to address Zoom fatigue:

• Build in plenty of breaks so that everyone can take their eyes off their screens and move around.
• Consider limiting the use of features like chat that can contribute to feelings of overstimulation.
• Explore the possibility of reducing the time spent on Zoom by moving some course elements—such as discussions or pre-recorded mini-lectures—to asynchronous delivery in Canvas.

Use discussion boards in Blackboard to engage your online students in asynchronous learning experiences:

• Craft a discussion prompt that invites a diverse range of responses. Questions with straightforward “right” answers will quickly run their course.
• Provide clear instructions about how and when students should contribute to the discussion, including how and when they should respond to peers.
• Ask students to engage in a structured exercise. For example, “In your initial post, share an example that illustrates concept X. Respond to a peer’s post with an analysis of their example using theory Y.”
• Encourage high-quality contributions by developing a discussion rubric and making it available to students in advance.
• In large classes, consider organizing students into small groups for discussion.

If you notice that a student is not present or participating in your online class, reach out immediately to show that you care (Pacansky-Brock & Vincent-Layton, 2020):

• Write a personalized note to the student that communicates a message and tone of support.
• Describe what you observed—for example, you noticed the student was absent from class—and so you are checking-in to see if the student is okay.
• If possible, offer flexibility to help the student get back on track with the class.
• Connect the student to resources for academic or personal support as needed.

• Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M. C., & Norman, M. K. (2010). How learning works: Seven research-based principles for smart teaching. Jossey-Bass.
• Brookfield, S. D. (n.d.). Getting students to participate [PowerPoint slides]. Stephen D. Brookfield.
• Fosslein, L., & Duffy, M. W. (2020, April 29). How to combat Zoom fatigue. Harvard Business Review.
• Fredericks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., Paris, A. H., (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74(1), 59-109.
• Kuh, G. D. (2009). The National Survey of Student Engagement: Conceptual and empirical foundations. New Directions for Institutional Research, 141, 5–20.
• Meyer, K. A. (2014). Student engagement in online learning: What works and why. ASHE Higher Education Report, 40(6).
• Pacansky-Brock, M. & Vincent-Layton, K. (2020). Humanizing online teaching to equitize higher ed. ResearchGate.
• Slagter van Tryona, P. J., & Bishop, M. J. (2009). Theoretical foundations for enhancing social connectedness in online learning environments. Distance Education, 30(3), 291–315.