Wonder Tools — Engagement Tactics for Impactful Teaching by Jeremy Caplan

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Sharing your experiences, both positive and negative, in order to paint a realistic picture of what the field could be.

Device Time/No Device Time

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Having set times for no devices about 30 minutes to an hour. And the rest of the class they can use their device for assignments and/or research.

Share a relevant time (times!) I failed/handled a situation poorly/didn't meet my own expectations

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Likely would tell them that the only person they’ll be doing a disservice to would be their future sel and the future of their employment.

Find ways to have the student lead a portion of the class.

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Maybe I can experiment with some new approaches

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

I'm curious about using audio memos to help people experiment with audio

Bring candy

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Truly, folks love sugar. It makes whatever you're talking about seem sparklier.

Go for a walk about some topic of the class

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Sharing My Own Student Work

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Using my experience as a former student to connect with the class my showing them my own student work and having them critique it

Begin the class with hot take

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Share a piece of media or art you consumed recently and why it was bad

Invite students to discuss in class 1

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Make the discussion about devices open at first, and then explain why you've chosen a particular policy

Be open to pivoting - including adjusting the syllabus. In one case, I did this when students craved more and longer pitch sessions to learn more about each other's work.

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

I'm really looking forward to engaging with students in person again. The eye contact, smiles, gestures, movement in the room -- all so crucial to engagement, learning, fun, and humanity.

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Have a class playlist

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Having a Spotify playlist that students can add to that we play during in-class exercises

Start the class with an open "what's in your mind moment", a chance to share how the group is doing, what they're reading, feeling, thinking, etc...

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Dealing with a challenge

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Give them a PDF with a lot of national information and have them figure out how to boil it down to the information for one region or market

I set expectations from the start and reinforce through the course that student opinions, insights matter -- into what they're hearing in audio journalism, what works, what doesn't and why.

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Have phone breaks

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Give 60 second breaks for students to check their phones maybe once an hour.

Early in class 1, I play Pictionary on the white board to get students moving, laughing, getting to know each other, and learning the themes of the course ahead.

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Guest appearances from respected professionals to engage with students.

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

In Class 1, I ask student to write down their hopes and expectations for the class. I collect and share with the class.

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

A Whack on the Side of the Side of the Head - by Roger Von Oech

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

A creative way to begin the speech class

Chance to Vent

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Begin the class the... first10 min, to speak to their week, both personal and school. A chance to vent, both good and bad.

ALWAYS CREATE A FUN AND POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Isn't it nice sometimes to NOT give students a framework so they can come up with something better than I would have?

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Start with a provocative quote or question related to the day's topic.

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Devices

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Remind students that devices are supposed to be used to enhance our lives and not to "drive" our lives. I often remind them that they have made a choice to be in class and have shown that furthering their education is important to them. They need to remind their contacts that it is important and to support them in the effort instead of distracting them from it.

Do a centering exercise or breathing exercise to calm anxiety and get focused on class.

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Request that the student adds a different title or changes the main character of a passage or story

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Watching the recording. Thank you for help with student engagement!

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Appreciation

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Thanks a lot for sharing this wonderful digital toolkit. 😇

Relate topics to current media — streaming, movies, documentaries, etc.

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Laugh at you own humanity and show students mistakes are productive.

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

I've seen high school classes where they have a charging station for students to plug in phones during class. They often choose to do this.

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Backgrounds

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Create or display interesting virtual backgrounds that stimulate conversation.

Relevant personal experiences

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Share, when relevant, the personal challenges you have addressed or fails that you experience to show that teachers are human!

Tell Your Story

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Say a little bit about why you care about this subject matter

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Have music playing as students enter/sign on. Can be related to the teaching content or not

Make mistakes

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

make space for students to see your learning and to give and receive feedback. Facilitate that community in your class.

Use McGoogan Library Historical Collections to add humanity

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Use historical or unique artifacts to use for active teaching.

Case studies

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Give a case study and ask them to problem solve

Encourage positive use

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Have them using their phones to post for class

Let students do what they need to do, but only outside of the classroom to avoid distracting others

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Put Down Your Phone

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

kinesthetic learning- like Jeremy showed

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Pre-class hello

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Use the time before class starts, during a break, or right after class to have at least one warm hello with a student and pose a question about how they're doing

Invite guest speakers who are not reporters: sources, organizers, experts, "regular people" (community leaders), etc.

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Visual storytelling tools for creating great materials

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Hello

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

This is great info!

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

This is totally cool!

Fantastic tool

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

These engagement tools make me excited to try in class.

Bring in objects related to what I am teaching

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Thanks for info!

Math Quiz!

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Find the prime factors of 3072.

Ask dynamic questions

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What do you like doing over the 4th of July holiday?

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Use Kahoot

Use cartoons

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Asynchronis engagement

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

First time using this. It's cool.

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

An inspiring teacher in an engaging classroom

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

humanize

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

bring my dog/cat/chicken to class

Have them share personal examples of Grice's Conversational Maxims and violations

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Gallery Walk

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Start with a gallery walk about a topic of interest....

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Learning Tools

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Learning new tools for this baby boomer is exciting!!

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Add an idea for encouraging students to use their video online.

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Spice things up in class

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Pose a puzzling question to get people wondering

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Pose a question that has been puzzling people in your field. Explain why it's puzzling and why it's a notable question, and relate it to something in your course. Cultivate curiosity.

Use an eye-catching visual

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Pick something eye-catching that will draw students' attention — a surprising image, stat, drawing, cartoon, gif or whatever else relates to your subject matter

Create a 1-page draft community approach to devices & distraction for students to add to, edit & sign

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

James Lang's Distracted recommends talking with students about how devices can be useful in certain contexts (research activities) and distracting in others (discussions). Then you can present a 1-page summary of the approach and allow students to have a way before signing.

Share stories from your own experience early on to help the students understand who you are

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Engage students with live AI demos

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Play the Trade Device Game

jeremycaplan1 — 2026-02-13 03:45:03 UTC

Invite students to trade phones with someone else - this magically gets them to stop using their devices.

2026-02-13 18:44:28 UTC

Get to know their families and what experiences and expertise their families have

TRY USING HUMOR

2026-02-13 18:51:41 UTC

Inject bits of humor into your presentations.

3d printers

2026-02-21 08:50:43 UTC