Process: Synchronous learning
Student interest can be more fully engaged in synchronous learning by considering how the class is conducted.
Teams meetings
When meeting in a live meeting, it's important to create an environment that reaches each student in the classroom.
- Establish norms - set clear expectations and review them at the beginning of each class meeting.
- Create an agenda for lessons with consistent flow and/or schedule. Students being able to anticipate what is coming next may decrease anxiety and will help students be organized and stay on task throughout the lesson.
- Turn on captions - students may be in a noisier place, have a hearing disability, or need help with focus.
- Create opportunity for peer collaboration during the lesson, in a chat.
- Present thoughtful timing during meetings - offer students enough time to find and complete materials and provide longer pauses to give students time to process and formulate ideas.
- Provide multisensory opportunities to engage students by watching, listening, talking, and hands-on activities during each lesson.
- Initiate frequent check-ins with the class in different ways, ensuring students are engaged and understanding the content. Provide multiple ways such as a hand raise, a comment in the chat, or coming off mute to talk.
PowerPoint Live
Live Presentations in PowerPoint online allows students to watch a presentation on their devices and read live subtitles in their preferred language. Students can use "pinch to zoom" to view the slides more clearly on mobile devices, give feedback, send live reactions to the educator, and navigate back to review previous slides.
- In the online version of PowerPoint, students can connect to a live presentation where they follow along and move through the slides at their own pace, without impacting the educator.
- In a Teams call, educators can easily share the screen on which they have a PowerPoint presentation by selecting Present Live. A slide with a QR code and short URL link allows students to easily connect to the live presentation from any device, including mobile.
- Students can react in real time, using emojis, allowing for frequent check-ins without interrupting the flow of the lesson.
- Subtitles are available in over 60 languages, each available to be chosen by the student, not the educator. Subtitles make sure that all students are engaged and included in the lesson by breaking language barriers and including students who are deaf or hard of hearing.