First of all, learning is hard, especially when learners are distracted. Learners learning at home – challenged by the COVID-19 Pandemic – are especially distracted.
Distractions While Learning at Home
Distractions are like voices in your head. Everybody hears them, some more than others. At home, however, those voices are much louder than in school or in the office. At home the voices in learners’ heads sound like, “Ugh, let me do the dishes while I listen to this lecture.” and “Laundry! Do I have a clean top for tomorrow’s meeting?” (Don’t need bottoms in a Zoom Room!) These concerns can distract even the most willing learner.
The Tech
And then there’s the tech. Having to depend on your home WiFi can be a distraction. When I’m in a Zoom Room and the app throws up a message about how my “Internet may be unstable…” Noooooo! I’m embarrassed at the prospect of entering the meeting again.
The Stress
The littlest thing can appear to be a huge anxiety. Take the weather, for instance. A passing cloud can distract you: “Is it raining? Should I bring in the patio furniture?” or “My God, it’s a beautiful day! I should be outside.”
Get and Keep Learners’ Attention
So many distractions. Learning takes sustained concentration; no wonder remote learning is so hard. To teach distracted learners, you’ve got to make an extra effort to get and keep their attention.
Get their names
Keep a class list handy and use learners’ names like tags on Fb. I will go to Fb when I see an email that someone – even someone I don’t know – has tagged me in a photo. I can’t resist. Can you? People feel special when you say their name, so…
The Virtual Hot Seat
Try this. Every three minutes ask a follow up question. But say someone’s name first, before you ask the question.
And when you ask the question, lead the witness, i.e., set them up for success. You can even answer the question in the asking, like “When narrowing your search with tools located in a contextual ribbon, where do you look to find those tools?”
When asking a question, count to 15 slowly to provide ample time for the learner to organize their thoughts and formulate a response. Rule Number Two: Protect the dignity of your learners.
Rule of One: 1 image, 1 comment, 1 teaching point per slide
Just in case you were wondering, Rule Number One is: Limit the content of each slide in your presentation to a single image to illustrate a single teaching point. If you must use words, make them bullets. Graphics and images do a better job of getting and keeping learners’ attention than words do.
The Rule of One is the same whether you’re conducting a remote or an in-person session, but variety is the key to get and keep learners’ attention. So…
Keep the following activities in mind.
In between slides use the tools available on most remote learning platforms: respond to the Chat, launch a new poll, break out the Whiteboard, or invite learners to annotate content…every three minutes. That’s another rule: Change it up every three (3) minutes. Who can do that? You can.
Chat
If your learners are Millennials, you won’t even have to mention Chat; they are on it. Chat can reinforce learning as learners share reactions to your content. Your response to the Chat engages learners. Remember, people feel special when you say their names, so use Chat to tag learners.
Polls
Plan your polls around your content. Poll results can replace the body language and facial cues you naturally pick up in-person to verify that you are getting and keeping learners’ attention. Keep an eye on the number of responses compared to number of participants; the difference may serve as a barometer of learners’ attention.
Whiteboard
Ever try to write on a whiteboard? Impossible. Perhaps the best use of the whiteboard is to play Pictionary. Games can be very engaging in the virtual space. They are competitive and emotional, i.e., can be fun. Brain science says fun is conducive to learning.
Annotation
A highlighter helps with a close reading of a text. An arrow is a less distracting pointer than a cursor; and a virtual laser pointer can be very helpful to direct learners’ attention. If your preferred platform does not have a way to annotate content being shared on the screen (yours or a learner’s), have a look at OpenBoard.
Always Work with a Host
Hosts are indispensable for trouble shooting technical difficulties, like muting learners before background noise or feedback becomes an issue. The Host can also participate in presenting content.
At the very least, you want someone else talking every 5 minutes to get and keep learners’ attention. You can accomplish this with a follow up question, but you can always rely on your Host to provide that new voice on cue.
Always End Strong
One great way to end your remote learning session is to give learners the answers to the following questions:
- What did you learn?
- What really stood out?
- What’s next?
Put yourself on the Virtual Hot Seat. That way, learners can give an elevator speech that will reinforce what they learned and inform others.
Rise to the Challenge
During the Pandemic daze, remote learning can be an antidote for distractions at home if you rise to the challenge of getting and keeping learners’ attention.
Good luck and be well.