When it comes to (online) learning...ownership is what matters.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, our lives have completely changed. The lessons now take place at home, alone, on the Internet. With all the distractions around us like the notification rings on our phones, the noisy TV our family members turn on, the lack of social interactions with the teacher and peers, technology fatigue, all of these factors make our learning and teaching all the more difficult. It is so hard to keep an eye on students' learning progress as teachers cannot see how students respond nor can the teachers walk around the classroom to help those who look confused or are inattentive in class.

We really think hard about how we can motivate students and keep their attention (which obviously is shrinking with all the bombardment of pop-ups on the phone). I mean I do try to use different interactive strategies to arouse students' interest, but it really is hard. I think one of the pressing issues that teachers should be more aware of when it comes to online learning is not to restrict their use of gadgets. It's not like sitting in a classroom where students' behaviour is closely monitored by the teacher. When teachers cannot physically be in the same place with the students, it is no use telling them turning on the camera from time to time to check on their behaviour. "Come on, if I don't want to listen to what you say, I am not going to take in a word even if the camera is right in front of my face." Obviously that is what a student thinks.

Instead of restricting students' behaviour, I think it is more useful and practical if teachers can now start thinking about how to utilise the apps and interactive platforms readily available to them on the internet. The same content needs not be explained by the teachers at a one-way direction. Students are more engaged if they have ownership of what they learn.

Below is an example of how I used a platform called Stormboard. This is a great website for not only educational purposes, but also for work. Users can work collaboratively under the templates available on the platforms. Though I haven't tried out all the templates, some of them are really useful when you want to organize ideas. In this exercise, I asked students to brainstorm ideas on the three topics related to the unit that they are learning. Instead of me spoon-feeding them with ideas, they came up with some really good ideas which I further explain and support afterwards. For those visual learners, the colourful sticky notes are definitely more interesting and eye-catching than the black-n-white worksheets. Also, teachers can resize the sticky notes on the page so as to make certain points more important and some less important.

Anyway, what is more important when it comes to online teaching and learning is to diversify the means of learning. If I were student, I would imagine myself find it really hard to engage if I were to just sit and listen...