The novel coronavirus has fundamentally changed our American education system for the foreseeable future. For hard working teachers and professors, the sudden shift to remote learning presented many challenges they had to overcome. On top of adjusting future lectures, however, is the issue of how to keep students engaged so that they can succeed in your class. We know with Zoom it can be hard to keep tabs of things like this, so I've come up with some ideas that you might find helpful in driving up engagement during class. So without further ado these are:

1. Send Out an Agenda with Key Information Beforehand

An important way to drive engagement during your virtual lecture begins even before the actual lesson. You want to send out talking points or readings and have your students go over it beforehand. This will allow them to head into class more confident and aware of what to expect, and can even drive higher participation and discussions. Have them keep notes in a journal, for example, to help them remember what questions or comments they had previously.

2. Make Video Mandatory

Okay, so why is this so important? The Harvard Business Review conducted a study between face-to-face meetings and virtual meetings and found that 86% of people reported higher engagement in face-to-face meetings. While virtual lectures can never be a face-to-face, you can get closer to that by making video mandatory. Students having camera and audio off may as well be a death sentence for engagement. Video will encourage more people to stay focused on the lesson and actively participate in discussions. Which leads us into the next point...

3. Dress to Impress

You know the saying: look good, feel good. But it really is true! Making video mandatory will ensure that most people will come looking better. Hopefully no one is rolling out of bed in pajamas and hair all over the place into the meeting. When dressed well, it increases people's confidence and willingness to participate in virtual meetings go up. The overall atmosphere has a huge effect on the productivity of the virtual workplace, no matter how simple it may seem.

4. Take Breaks

Have you been talking for a while? Are questions and comments steadily declining? Well, take a break! Get up, stretch, get some more coffee in your tumbler, do whatever you need to do to get everyone back on track. Having access to stress relievers like exercise bands and stress balls can be a quick and easily accessible way of recharging. Figure out a system that works for you when you need a break. Who knows, even something like a Fidget Spinner can do the trick.

5. Get Everyone Involved

Obviously, you can't be the only one talking during the lesson. It's important to stop for a minute and see if people have concerns that they would like to express. The opinion of others is extremely valuable, and should be taken note of. Also make an effort to reach out to those less vocal people. Some may have no trouble speaking out, but by reaching to those that don't normally participate, you could garner even more valuable insight. Start by asking them a question to make them feel more comfortable, for example.

These are just some handy tricks that you should implement for your next virtual lesson. Increasing student morale and engagement is crucial for overall productivity of your environment. The Ad Answer specializes in designing promotional products that you should definitely check out to help jazz up and ace your next session! Furthermore, feel free to leave some comments below and let us know some of your favorite tactics to keep engagement, or just ask us a question!