Online Engagement is Crucial to Learning
I’ve been teaching online for the better part of two decades. I was what you might call an early adopter. Back in those days, things were mostly text- and audio-based (video was just so difficult to stream), and engagement with students was usually very high. Over the years, with all the new technologies out there to enable more effective communication, I have seen a shift away from engagement to passivity, and to what I can only call online absenteeism. This has become particularly noticeable since the COVID pandemic when so many modes of communication were not possible outside of online interactions.
Let me give an example. I was holding an online session recently to present on study tactics for a standardized test. At the beginning of the session, only one person was present, and I asked that person to tell me what they needed from the session so I could make sure to target that person’s needs. When asked the question, that person immediately logged out. Five minutes later, another person joins the session (but is again the only person in the session), I ask what they needed from the session, and that person immediately logged out. Five minutes later, one more person and the same result. This went on for a total of six people that had joined the session, were asked to tell me what they needed from the session, and then each one had dropped from the session.
Because this happened six separate times, I can’t imagine it was that each of those people had technical difficulties; it is possible that for some of them it is true, but people with technical difficulties tend to try to rejoin the session in my experience. Here’s what I think was happening. First, over the pandemic, people were having less and less time interacting with others in real life. I believe this has led to people having more difficulty interacting with others one on one; anxiety isn’t anything new, but anecdotally, I feel like I am seeing more and more people having this difficulty. Second, in this world of ubiquitous online recordings, I believe we are seeing a shift towards tardiness and passivity because the belief is “I can just watch the recording if I miss anything.” As a longtime teacher and presenter, I will admit I find this extremely frustrating.
Some of this is on me because as a professional I need to evolve with the times and adapt to the current online landscape. With that in mind, I am working on some new projects involving short form content like YouTube shorts, TikToks, and Instagram reels. I’m not going to lie… this intimidates me since I don’t feel like I really know what I am doing, but I am going to try to meet people where they are! Some of this, however, is also on the people attending these online sessions. Here are a few ways you as an attendee can become more of a participant and get more out of online classes, webinars, etc.
Early is on time, on time is late!
Arrive to the session a few minutes early or at the very least right on time. From the presenter’s side, it becomes a chore to continuously monitor the attendee list and let late arrivals in through the first 15-30 minutes of a one-hour session. The reason most of us keep the session locked from people just popping in is because of the threat of Zoom bombing, which is a real and present danger. In addition, if you arrive late and the session is not being recorded, you are going to feel behind and are going to miss presented information. Missing this information at the beginning of the session makes it harder to participate for the remainder of the session.
Let us see your inquisitive faces!
Turn on your camera if that is an option. As a presenter, it is difficult to know whether you are connecting with the attendees when you can’t see their faces. You will connect much more effectively with the presenter when they can see you and you can see them (so, presenters, turn your cameras on as well). Confusion or questions can be anticipated much more effectively when the presenter can see the look on your face. And, honestly, it just feels better to the presenter when they can see you are there in the camera and not wandering around the house.
Be prepared to interact!
Join the session in a quiet, distracting-free environment. Not only will you be able to hear what is being discussed more clearly, but you can also interact more effectively when you can use your microphone when possible. Typing questions, comments, and answers is slow and the presenter often cannot tell if you are typing something (many of the common online clients do not show active typing from the participants). This often leads to the presenter assuming no one is answering a question or asking a question, so they may move on to the next topic and then when the question actually makes it to the screen, they may have a difficult time smoothly addressing the question. This makes presentations very choppy and much more difficult to follow. If it is possible, interacting via a microphone is always going to be more engaging on all sides.
Plan to be a participant and not just an attendee!
When you attend a class or webinar, know what you want to learn from that session before you arrive. There is an unwritten contract between a presenter and a participant. The presenter is there to convey important information to the participant, while the participant is there to consume that information. However, active participants can help the presenter understand what the needs are of the participants, and a good presenter is willing and able to pivot to meet the specific needs of the participants in their sessions.
As I wrote those four items, it seems to me there might be one more problem occurring, and it is definitely the fault of many presenters. It is certainly possible that presenters are training participants to simply be attendees. I have personally attended many classes and webinars as a participant only to feel that I was not allowed to participate. The cameras and microphones were disabled, the chat box was disabled, the content on the screen was simply being read verbatim, and the statement “we will be sending out the recording immediately following this session” is one of the first things I hear. This is a perfect example of a presenter not wanting to interact in a meaningful way, and it has become far too common.
For the record, I believe that most teachers and presenters desperately want (need) to interact with their students and participants, so I simply ask this… do your best to assume this and only default to being an attendee if the presentation warrants.