Engaging learners is simple and easy. Below are some tips and examples of best practices.
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Tip #1: Professionalism
- Respect: Treat students with respect and courtesy, using appropriate language and tone.
- Attire: Dress for your role.
- Professional Setting: Be conscious of your background and the setting you are in for your live presentation. If you are not in a professional setting, such as a vehicle, be sure to use a Zoom background.
- Refrain from the following: Vaping, Smoking, or use of tobacco products during your live session.
- Language: Avoid using inappropriate language, and remember to keep your words at the age and grade level of the learners with whom you are interacting.
- Boundaries: Avoid sharing personal information and inappropriate conversations.
- Role Modeling: Remember, when speaking with students, you are a role model of behavior and values.
- Student cameras: Do not be offended if students log in and do not turn on their cameras. They may not want their classmates to see their surroundings.
Tip #2: Structure Your Time
It typically works well to break down your 30-45-minute session into these 3 parts:
- 1-2 Minutes: Introduce yourself and your work
- 5-15 Minutes: Explore the session topic
- 5-10 Minutes: Q&A
Tip #3: Speak on Students' Level
Be mindful that students' knowledge and vocabulary will vary by age.
- Provide Context/Examples: Share background info, experiences, pop culture references, etc.
- Connect Learning to the Real World: Highlight how classroom learning relates to real careers.
- Simplify Language: Consider students' vocabulary levels and background knowledge.
- Keep it Short: Share small chunks of information at a time. Brevity is best for younger students.
Tip #4: Use Visuals
- Introduce Your Environment: Share tools, equipment, etc., or even walk around.
- Demonstrate a Process: Let students see step-by-step how you do something.
- Share Your Screen: Show websites, photos, slides, and memes, or draw on the Zoom whiteboard.
Tip #5: Explore Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Inspire Feelings of Belonging: Use inclusive language and encourage students to utilize their own cultural capital as a tool while pursuing areas of interest and joining/influencing work environments.
- Consider diversity: Consider representation on slides, etc., you share so that, when possible, students see adults representing the diversity they may see in their classrooms.
- Talk About Your Background: Share some ways it may have influenced your trajectory. Has your pathway seemed typical (or not) in its direction?
- Be Mindful of Accessibility: Since learning needs differ, consider your rate of speech, lighting, visuals, etc. to support all participants’ experiences during the session.
- Reach out to the Educator(s): Especially if you’ll be speaking with students from a different region of the country, consider messaging the teacher(s) to see if there’s anything to keep in mind when speaking with their class(es).
Tip #6: Engage Students While in Live-Steam Mode
- Mix it Up: Every 2-5 minutes, use a new sound effect, video clip, question/poll, visual, etc.
- Be extra visual: Keep students’ attention with lots to look at—holding up tools, exploring your work environment, sharing a screen to do a mini-demo of a task, etc.
- Be Relatable: Help students connect with you by sharing your mindset and photos of yourself from along your career journey.
- Use the Live Q&A Feature: Keep asking questions and discussing responses - yes/no, multiple choice, short answer (depending on ages), etc. Use emojis for responses, too!
- Share Your Passion: Students can tell when you are excited about what you share, and enthusiasm can be contagious.