3 tips to engage students in your online course
Ghost students are a reality in every kind of teaching.
In a physical classroom, they're right there in the room. But either their eyes are glued to their phones or they're asleep in the middle of class. In an online course, if there's a certificate, they watch lessons at 2x speed, skip parts, or even go through the content but never leave comments or feedback.
The truth is, it's not a good experience for the expert doing the teaching.
After all, how do you know what to improve without feedback? How do you grow sales without social proof? Class interaction matters, even online. And there are tools that help boost that engagement. In this article, Cademí's specialists will explain:
How to engage students in your online course
First and foremost, you need good content. And that covers a few important points:
Quality audio and video: your students won't engage if they can't understand the content. So invest in producing quality lessons. That doesn't necessarily mean a big production, just good lighting and a good microphone.
Lessons that aren't too long: understand your persona and how much time they have available. But, in general, it's best to go with bigger modules made of shorter lessons.
The expert's teaching style: how you explain things also matters a lot. Whenever you can, give examples and review the content. The more dynamic, the better. And remember to speak clearly and slowly.
Interactivity: on top of examples, add images and slides to make your content more interactive.
Your students need to connect with the content, want to watch it, and not get sleepy in the first five minutes. So invest in real examples and illustrate what you say, whether with images or even by recording your screen while you write or draw, like a whiteboard.
Beyond these basics, delivery is also important and deserves attention. The team at Cademí - Brazil's first Member Hub - highlights these as the main ones:
A clear platform with simple access
The first thing to watch is access.
Students often skip lessons because of technical issues: a login error, trouble finding their way around the platform, or other problems. So make sure your platform communicates clearly, your videos uploaded without errors, and your links work.
A tip: keep a login of your own and test the experience from time to time.
Support and community
If something goes wrong, how can your students fix it?
Fast, efficient support is important to prevent dropouts. But it also helps keep students engaged. Besides solving problems, your support can be a hub for questions.
Point this out in the lesson: where to send questions and who will answer them. That way, students feel close to you and are more motivated to pay attention to the content. It's also worth moderating and answering comments publicly. If students are ignored, they won't interact. But if they see replies, you'll tend to get more and more comments.
It's also a good idea to build a sense of community among participants. That can happen right in the comments! Encourage them to exchange ideas.
Gamification to engage students in your online course
A leaderboard or points system that guarantees some kind of reward is a simple way to get students to complete the assigned activities. It could be discounts, exclusive lessons, group mentorship with your team... the prize can vary depending on what you have to offer.
What matters is making it clear that participating is worth something. On Cademí you can make the leaderboard public, which turns it into a friendly competition among participants and boosts engagement even more. Click here to learn more and book a call with one of our specialists.
