If you type “Enhancing Student Engagement in the Classroom” into your search engine, you’ll find many dozens of articles covering hundreds of ideas that real teachers use to achieve and maintain student engagement – because they know that engagement is key to learning. Of course, there are certain themes that recur, but no teacher could implement a fraction of the advice to be found. Maybe a realistic strategy would be to choose one robust and manageable idea to trial over a term.
A further strategy could be to select an online learning platform that ticks as many boxes as possible to leverage the techniques that only a human can implement – like being responsive to individual interests.
Not all online teaching websites are created equal
There are helpful things that online learning resources can do extremely well if they are properly designed – but be aware that not all online teaching apps are created equal. In terms of student engagement, know what to look for:
- Automatic adjustment to individual level – automated adaptive learning for the perfect balance of challenge and reinforcement for each student
- Immediate feedback
- Reward successes small and large, and reward persistence
- Convey a sense of academic progress
- Enriched content such as:
- Humour
- Quirky characters
- Clever word plays
- Curious facts and intriguing information
- Game scenarios that are enticing and entertaining and also varied
- Foster collaboration through multi-player games
- Build confidence in the subject matter
- Enhance motivation and attitudes to learning, inspire curiosity and liberate the joy of discovery
- Reduce stress around learning
Why having fun learning assists students’ engagement
Educational psychologists are in agreement that students learn and retain more information when the learning is associated with strong positive emotion. It has been established that when students are engaged and motivated and feel minimal stress, information flows freely through the affective filter in the amygdala and they achieve higher levels of cognition, make connections, and experience fun learning. This authentic learning leads to the development of long-term memory that is readily accessible. Such learning is pivotal to the way in which children develop physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally and is a key part in the way children learn to process the world in which they live and develop the life skills they need to prosper. All of this allows education to move way beyond the learning of facts to incorporate
exploring, and problem-solving, encouraging the development of their identity and self-esteem, and building an understanding of the world and the student’s role within it.
The EdAlive Online Learning websites engage students through fun
EdAlive’s suite of online learning resources have been
designed by experienced educators and tested rigorously to ensure that the design elements match the established learning theory, and that the classroom reality lives up to the theory. Teachers can be confident that EdAlive products will deliver for their students, and also contribute to the great learning environment of their classroom.
Great Fun Learning is truly apt
As a result of the exacting science behind the design of EdAlive learning apps, our slogan “Great fun learning” has become truly apt. Students enjoy their time on our apps and are eager for more. They become more secure in their consolidated learning and more positive about their ability to learn.
The EdAlive Great Fun Learning websites
The EdAlive websites cover all of maths, maths fact fluency and mental maths agility, reading, spelling, punctuation, grammar and typing. Our great fun learning titles include: Typing Tournament Online, Maths Invaders Online, Words Rock Online, Baggin’ the Dragon Maths Online, Volcanic Panic Reading Success Online.
Dr Lindsay Brash
Great fun learning!
