With many people doubting the importance of education and the value of information, it’s never been more important to encourage curiosity, enthusiasm, and a hunger for knowledge. And the best way to do that is through interactive learning experiences. Interactive learning is more than just online games and click-and-point activities. It’s about ensuring students actively engage in everything they do – from watching videos to taking quizzes.
For many students, the excitement and transparency of online learning can be irresistible. Many of them have been using the Internet as a resource for years and take it for granted, but that doesn’t mean they always put what they’ve learned into practice. You can turn a passive audience into active learners by providing students with engaging and active learning experiences. Here are eight online resources to make learning more engaging.
1. Study Island
Study Island offers a free virtual classroom to host videos, games, activities, and more. Students can learn by playing games, interacting with their peers and teachers, collaborating in groups, and creating content. Teachers can customize their lessons to suit the needs of their students by including some or all of the available features.
2. Khan Academy
With over 4,000 videos on almost every subject imaginable, Khan Academy is a great place to start when you want students to master a subject before moving on. Videos are broken down into ten-minute segments perfect for classroom and educational uses. Khan Academy has also created a JavaScript game to help kids engagingly practice their math skills.
3. Actively Learn
Actively Learn is an interactive, online learning community that allows students to explore and learn from each other. Students can take part in multiple-choice quizzes, read books, share resources and join online discussions. Teachers can create custom lesson plans for their students by uploading relevant work created in Google Docs.
For instance, a teacher could have students create a presentation on the “My Dream Job” topic and then use Actively Learn to analyze the process. While the engagement aspect makes it unique, the teacher must still provide any necessary materials and presentation or activity resources for this interactive method to work.
4. Audible
Audible offers over 145,000 audiobooks to choose from. Not only can you listen to them, but you can write reviews and make notes while listening. You can download audio files on your computer, connect your MP3 player, and get audio via the Internet. You can save a book in a “to read” list for later use.
5. ReadWriteThink
ReadWriteThink is a website dedicated to promoting literacy and academic excellence. Students can read articles, take quizzes, and interact with audio, video, and charts. Teachers can create custom activities for classes by uploading their resources. For instance, if you want to use graphical abstract, you can create and upload your images or use ReadWriteThink’s collection of graphics.
6. Edmodo
Edmodo is primarily a collaboration platform for students and teachers, but parents can also use it. Students can share resources and assignments with their parents in a secure manner. Teachers can also create and manage their classes or student groups. Teachers can see all the new content added by students and respond to messages while they are online.
7. TeacherTube
TeacherTube provides a free educational community where teachers can share videos, lesson plans, and strategies. Most videos are focused on teaching strategies, but there are also many examples of student work. Teachers can upload their work and work submitted by their students.
Teachertube is an effective resource to show your students how you teach. You can demonstrate your techniques and let students see how others do things differently. It’s also a great way to share examples of student work with parents.
ShareMyLesson is a website that allows teachers and students to collaborate on projects. Teachers can upload lesson plans, resources, and work to be used by the students. Students can rate the quality of their teacher’s lessons and leave comments on those lessons. The site helps teachers connect with other teachers worldwide, scout for new ideas, and analyze their teaching techniques.
Conclusion
Educational technology is one way to promote learning that’s interactive, engaging, and effective. All of these sites provide a variety of resources for teachers and students. They encourage collaboration and participation, an essential part of any lesson plan. Connecting the material to what students already know is important when working with interactive learning resources. You can do this by asking questions rather than telling them what the answers should be.