Encouraging Student Connections in a Virtual Setting

Teaching virtually is hard. It stinks. I wish I had a magical fix for you so that we could all have our students online, engaged, and to never, ever see those little black “camera off” boxes ever again. Unfortunately, I don’t have a magic wand to make that happen, so instead, I’m going to share the next best thing! Here are 4 activities focused on encouraging student connections in a virtual setting to help you get to know your students AND help them get to know each other!

Encouraging Student Connections in a Virtual Setting

Activities Mentioned:

• Start of Class Check In: Blog Post / Google Slides / Google Form / Google Jamboard
  
  I do this every day at the beginning of class! When we’re in person, I usually just use the slides, but every now and then the Form is a nice “break”. For distance learning, the Form is a nice option to allow the students to submit their check in individually. Some students share things in the Form they wouldn’t share in a whole class check in, so it’s a nice option!
  
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• Weekend Chat: Blog Post / Google Slides / Conversation Cards
  I love weekend chat! I always do this on Mondays as a slow roll out of the past tense with my novices. Sometimes I include it Fridays, but it’s more often just a quick “Tell me something you’ll be doing this weekend!” as they are dismissed.
  
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• Special Person: Blog Post / Bryce Hedstrom’s page / Amy Marshall’s page / Will Langely’s page / Google Slides and handouts

What tips do you have to share?

How are you encouraging student connections in a virtual, distance, or hybrid setting? Are you finding anything in particular that works for you? Comment below!

You may also like:

• Distance Learning Weekend Chat Ideas
• Virtual Class Games