Engagement Strategies

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Last updated: Oct 15, 2021 by Amy Williford
2 min read

Planning your communication strategy:

  • Before / on the first day of class, tell students how you plan to use the LMS, especially if you only plan to use it in an emergency.

  • Use all communication channels – email, voicemail, in-class and LMS announcements, and messaging available through the LMS.

  • Maximize your reach! Be prepared to use at least two types of asynchronous and synchronous tools to maximize your options for communicating with students:

    • Asynchronous: LMS (Announcements, Messages, Discussion Forums) as well as college email

    • Synchronous: Collaborate

Preparing students:

  • Survey students at the beginning of the semester and ask:

    • What kind of personal technology students use regularly (desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone)

    • If students depend on campus computer labs or a library to access your course

    • What kind of internet connection they use (home internet/wifi,  on campus, mobile hotspot, public library, public wifi)

  • Encourage students to sign up for BlueRidge Alert, if they have not done so.

  • Clarify your response time and communication preference during an emergency. Will you want students to use email, phone, or text? Will you respond within 24 hours?

  • Notify students of contingency plans for academic continuity (e.g., information on syllabus and through your MyCourse shell)

Engaging students:

  • Discussion forums can support course participation when class cannot meet. Assign specific prompts to guide student responses and require students to respond to peers for further engagement.

    • FlipGrid is free and allows you to record a video and have students respond using video and audio through their computer or mobile phone.

  • Use LMS Workshops or Turn-it-in to create opportunities for peer review feedback when students cannot meet in person to respond.

  • Collaborate is another good resources to use to meet with students in virtual, real-time sessions.

Going mobile:

  • The Moodle and OpenLMS app or mobile access via cellular network might be the only way students connect to your course. Students can view content from a course via the app; Ultra courses can be viewed on both a mobile browser and the mobile app.

  • Be flexible with synchronous tools.

    • Collaborate has dial-in options so students can still listen and participate in your virtual session without the high-bandwidth demands required of video streaming. Record your sessions and students can download or watch them later.