Top tips for promoting online collaboration by Bette Bowling

Short research and present tasks

2024-10-22 16:49:51 UTC

I love active, collaborative learning and use it every week so students become very used to it. It seems to really boost their engagement and belonging. Examples include: 1) discussing a "Discover" task and briefly presenting the main learning points 2) researching a topic from the week's curriculum and suggesting favoured ways learn it (metacognition discussion) 3) researching and presenting real world applications of the curriculum topic to boost motivation and engagement 4) reflective discussions on best practice for writing/researching/ planning work- anything really. Sometimes this leads to a quiz or poll to present the answers.

Zoom Whiteboards

2024-10-22 17:09:59 UTC

I used these a lot in PM602 last year and the students liked accessing everything they needed for a topic in one place. You can easily embed PowerPoints, images, references, GIFs/emojis, and create quick diagrams (especially using the pre-set formats). Students can all upload their work in one place and I can quickly add feedback (as can peers). Being able to zoom in/out infinitely allows all materials to be quickly explored. Example here https://zoom.us/wb/doc/FnincCQPTeSV7Zqrv3XmfA

Microsoft Forms

2024-10-22 17:12:32 UTC

Helpful to guide groups through more complex activities in breakout rooms. Can insert images, videos, quizzes, text, links to short articles to read etc. I insert regular polls/quizzes and the app generates good real-time graphics for me to follow progress and compare results between groups in plenary.

Free Lab Simulations and Interactive tutorials

2024-10-22 17:24:36 UTC

I use these a lot in my science teaching, but I'm sure there are other great free options for other subjects on the internet.

Especially online, students zone out when being taught complex subjects or trying to visualise experiments when they are not in a lab. Other people have created great graphics for interactive tools that I can't make. Students can "learn by doing" even in an online format. More advanced students are given a follow-up task while early-stage learners can take the time they need to complete at their own pace.

Some examples:

https://www.biomanbio.com

https://www.labxchange.org/library/items/lb:LabXchange:65a83b28:lx_simulation:1

Nurturing Engagement

2024-10-22 17:30:50 UTC

Students often find active collaborative learning uncomfortable at first- although I have found most do gain confidence and enjoy this type of learning if it is used regularly. Scaffolding for me involves teaching students the skills of collaborating, explaining the benefits and setting clear instructions for tasks that start easy/fun and become more challenging/applied. I drop into breakout rooms often to clear up any uncertainties and find that students open up much more in small, friendly groups. This type of teaching does need some energy and activities don't always work out as planned, but I think the rewards are worth the effort.

Ice-breakers/Warmers

philippatitley3 — 2025-02-14 13:33:22 UTC

In FC310, I sometimes start/finished the lessons with logical problems, which students had to solve in groups.

Zoom/Padlet

2025-02-26 16:50:55 UTC

I have used Zoom Polls at the end of the class to see how comfortable the students are on the topics covered and also to gauge what topics they would like to revise. I have done Quizzes in Padlet and also allowed them to write their answers in Padlet. During the class, I encourage students to use the Whiteboard to write their answer for the class to see.

Power Point Presentation

2025-02-26 16:55:14 UTC

For some chemistry topics, I encourage the students to work in groups to produce a one slide presentation to the class. This encourages the students to perform some tasks outside the class and then work in Breakout rooms with their team members.

Class size/Technical Problems

2025-02-26 16:57:42 UTC

Sometimes the class is very small to form groups or too big and have the tendency to have some disengaged students.

Occasionally students have mentioned they are unable to access some sites which then makes is hard for them to be part of the exercise.

Digital tools

sarahhopwood4 — 2026-02-16 11:14:25 UTC

I use Padlet and VLE forums for collaborative learning, giving groups a specific task and outcome. Quizlet gives an option for a collaborative activity with vocabulary which works well. I use Bamboozle - students are in small groups and work together to discuss questions.