Use synchronous feedback tools

‘Interactivity’ can be broken down to mean a variety of things. One of the ways that a request for interactivity is often read is as ‘I want something to do because I don’t want to solely listen/sit and absorb’. This engagement angle can also be considered as a reason to pay attention, to be invited into active consideration of the content.

If there is a mechanism in place for you to gauge student understanding, there is then the possibility to respond in real time. Students ask for interactivity because they can feel the difference when this sort of flow provides the opportunity to feel that their voice is being heard, that the learning provided is responding to their needs, rather than continuing wholesale without regards to them. 

While tools like H5P can be used to create stand alone feedback experiences (through the use of branching pathways and other features), using some synchronous input from students and responding to it in a organic way balances effort for things that need to be designed in, things that can be adjusted ‘on the fly’.

Some may find that flexing their teaching content in response to the real time needs of students is a step away from their natural teaching practice, but through anticipating different pathways of potential action there is less of a need to ‘improvise’ and there is still the opportunity to respond in a real way to learners’ needs.

Utilising different types of quiz questions

There are a range of tools that you can embed into a learning experience to ask questions of students (Mentimeter and Zoom polls being just a few), in addition to the functionality of the particular tool used, the nature and positioning of the question also defines the way that it can play a part in the feedback loop.

While you might use quiz type questions to test understanding on content just delivered (largely for student self-validation), consider the other ways you can use questions to gather information about student understanding.

• Ask students a question before unpacking content. This allows them to indicate their level of understanding and gives you feedback that you can use to adjust how you might need to unpack this particular concept. Be direct (‘How would you rate your level of understanding around X?’), or pose a question designed to capture whether they have a particular misconception. Because these questions aren’t tied to assessment there is the freedom to make them quite difficult or ambiguous; there may not be a single entirely correct answer. Have follow-ups to gain an understanding of the student thought process and to decide your next steps.
• Pose a problem and ask students about the approach that they would take. This gives you an idea of whether students are on the right path from the beginning or whether more grounding is required in the initial decision making. 
• Ask a question when there is still the opportunity to unpack the concept further, or come at it from another direction.

Visible work areas

Digital idea sharing tools, shared documents or shared whiteboard tools (such as Mentimeter, MS Word, MS Powerpoint or MS Whiteboard) provide an overview of what students are thinking in real time and consequently provides quick feedback for a range of users – either through typed comments or verbal responses to observations. 

Ask an individual student who entered a particular comment to clarify their statement. It gives a platform for other voices in a space where it is difficult to solicit responses by universally opening the mic for comment.