Engagement Tools

Effective course activities move the student from passive content to active learning, therefore engagement becomes imperative (Crosslin et al., 2018). We must consider that the online environment needs to be more multimedia driven and abandon the dependency on text, while at the same time extending engagement in the course beyond the "online discussion" (Gannon, 2020; Bates, 2019). Students all have mobile devices that can be used to create engagement content without need to search out new technology (Crosslin et al., 2018).

FlipGrid is an excellent video platform that allows the students to record video commentary to a specific prompt ie. "Introduce Yourself" or to another video posted by a classmate. In my classes we use FlipGrid both to "meet" each other and to "discuss" current course specific article. Both posting and video replies are assessed for participation and understanding of the material, with the discussion assignment aiding the students in taking initial steps to become self directed and allowing them to engage in peer learning and evaluation as well as higher order thinking, thus supporting Constructivist pedagogy. FlipGrid will use the SAMR technology integration framework at the augmentation level.

Digital Story delivers engagement in a novel way for the student by the "use computer-based tools, such as video, audio, graphics, and web publishing, to tell personal or academic stories about life experiences relevant to course themes". Digital stories engage the student at a personal level with the course by bridging Instructivist and Constructivist pedagogies by nudging them from a passive "surface learning" approach to an active "integration" and out of the box thinking approach. Students will be assigned a topic within the course and asked to complete a 5 minute video of how their life experience relates to the topic. The video story assesses their application of course material as well as their understanding, and engages them in a reflective activity of significant learning. Digital Stories use the TPACK and Triple E technology integration framework at all levels.