To prepare for this activity, teachers would consolidate student work into a single class slideshow and remove any students' names. 

During the seminar, students would scroll through the gallery of student work and answer guided questions. 

Guided question suggestions:

• What’s something new I learned about this topic? What’s something that surprised me about this topic? What’s something I liked about this presentation?

• What’s something I noticed? What’s something I wonder? 

Submission suggestions: 

• Students can type their responses in the speaker notes (they would need editing access for this)

• Students can submit their thoughts via Google Form. As the teacher, you would have a record of the student submission. If you want to share the feedback with the students, hide the name column and download it as a PDF

Students can explore different activities related to course topics and collaborate throughout the slides 

Can be completed in Google Slides or a Jamboard, depending on the purpose of the stations or the preference of the teacher 

As a class, review the slides to end the activity 

Google Slides example 

Station rotation can also be used with Jamboard!

Having students fill out a Google Form exit ticket is a great way to end a session and allows you to have a record of the information 

Clearly shows which students attended the seminar, an easy way to track participation 

A way to gauge understanding and helpful feedback for creating the next seminar 

Example Google Form Exit Ticket 1

Example Google Form Exit Ticket 2 

Post a question in the chat and have students respond before leaving the Zoom session 

An easy way to take attendance at the end of the session to see which students were still present

Good way to check for understanding gauge where students are with the content at the end of the session  

PearDeck can turn any slideshow you create into an interactive experience for students! 

Access PearDeck slide templates through “Add-Ons” → “Get Add-Ons” → Search “PearDeck” → “Allow Access” Then PearDeck should open on the right side of the screen - VIDEO TUTORIAL 

View the content library. Here you will see sections for 

• Beginning of Lesson, During Lesson, End of Lesson

• Critical Thinking and Social-Emotional Learning

• Subject area specific templates- Math, Science, SS, World Language, and ELA

You can start from scratch, or add PearDeck templates to a slideshow you already created - VIDEO TUTORIAL 

When you are ready to use PearDeck with your students, you click Start Lesson. It generates a code for students to join. PearDeck will then store all student responses in your teacher account for later review. This is super helpful when grading student participation! 

Create a free basic account 

Can be used as an opening activity, a way to share lesson information/ have a discussion, or to review content 

Many awesome decks are already created, or create your own!  

Have each student flip their camera on for the first minute of class

Wave hi to classmates and the teacher

Answer a fun, personal question– Where are you today? If you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? What recent accomplishment are you most proud of? - Present questions on a welcome slide. Could offer multiple questions for students to select from, or one question for the whole class   

Option to leave the camera on for the session or turn it off 

Active Learning Strategies for Interactive Lecture from the University of Nebraska

Lecturing Strategies & Teaching for Engagement from UC Berkeley

Good for younger ones because it sustains their attention, since they won’t know when one will pop up

• Hide small findings in your slides or virtual classroom (a meme, quote, can be anything!).

• Tell students there are 3–5 hidden per week. They can “claim” them in chat when found.

  • You can give them points, put their “digital badge” on a leaderboard using Padlet. 

  • Check standings at the end of the month with them for fun

The teacher asks the class a question and gives students time to think of their response.

The teacher asks the students to type their responses in the chat, but DO NOT SUBMIT until the teacher counts down and gives the signal to submit.

When all students have been given enough time to type their responses, the teacher then counts down “3 - 2 - 1 - Chat Waterfall!” and all the responses simultaneously show up in the chat like a waterfall.

 Students are given time to read and respond to the responses. 

Breakout rooms create space for student voice, collaboration, and application of ideas.

Ideas of When to Use:

• Think-Pair-Share activities

• Small-group text analysis or problem-solving

• Peer feedback on writing or projects

• Role-plays, debates, or simulations
  
  

Tips for Success:

• Keep groups small (2–4 students)

• Provide a clear, simple task or prompt (post in chat or on slide)

• Set a time limit and give a 1-minute warning

• Assign roles: facilitator, note-taker, reporter

• Bring everyone back for a whole-class share-out

• Remind students that you can see if they’re participating! 

FigJam is an online collaborative whiteboard.  

Students can work in groups to generate and organize ideas using features like sticky notes, shapes, and drawing tools.

A good replacement for Google's Jamboard

Example