Could you run 100 miles? Or climb Mount Everest? Or pass college algebra online? These tasks might seem overwhelming and possibly insurmountable, yet with components of social interaction and fun distractions, more can be accomplished. For any task that feels impossible, adding pieces of social engagement and active learning can be a significant variable toward success.
For many university students, participating in an online math course brings about the distressing emotions of a monumental chore. Within the Purdue Global’s Math Department within the School of Multidisciplinary and Professional Studies, many innovative and inspiring ideas are combined with active learning tactics to promote high-presence teaching in the online classroom.
1. Anything but Text
Personalize your communication with avatars, emojis, Animojis, Memojis, Bitmojis, whatever it takes. If there is a way to convey a message using something other than text – try it out! The variety of media will likely hold attention and engagement more than any text string of characters could.
- bitmoji.com – Create your own personal emoji with expressive cartoon-like poses and sayings. They are easily integrated as a Chrome extension and with mobile and desktop Gmail. Images can be saved and then used in any number of other contexts such as announcements or DB posts.
- emojicopy.com – A searchable way to copy/paste emojis easily accessed via Chrome extension or website. Their emoji library includes a range of accessible-related emojis as well as embedded alt text making them Unicode ADA compliant.
- Animated Memojis – (Apple devices only) – Create and save short memoji video messages, called clips. Short phrases such as “Great job.”, “Thanks for your hard work!”, “Good effort.”, can be recorded and saved for easy distribution via messages, emails and course announcements. More details at https://support.apple.com/en-gb/111115
- Genmoji (iOS 18.2 only) – The latest and greatest of the emoji world. Now, you are able to create your own emoji based on a description – the sky’s the limit. As they say…Imagine it. Genmoji it.
2. Bring on the Game
Everyone likes to play games. There are many ways to mix up the monotony of skills practice using games. Many websites have free online game makers/templates.
- Bingobaker.com – Create a bingo game using your own pictures, and formulas, (even bitmojis!) to review terminology, concepts or even make it a formative assessment quiz.
- roomescapemaker.com – Create point-and-click games with puzzles, riddles, and clues. A fun escape room experience for an online course of any subject.
- triviamaker.com – Create games of jeopardy, trivia, wheel of fortune or tic-tac-toe. Easy way to grab your students’ attention during live seminars
3. Chat it up
It is imperative to meet your online students where they are at, reaching out to them through communication channels that are currently used rather than requiring them to… well, check their email (specifically their university-assigned student email!)
- Google Voice is a great way to connect with students through a phone number whether it is a phone call or text message. Google Voice allows you to share a professional phone number that will be routed through your personal device (thus hiding your personal info from students.) Since students are more apt to reach out with questions using their mobile devices, the messaging option is important. Google Voice additionally has a desktop interface (great for typing – or copy/pasting – longer text messages!)
- Google Spaces (Gmail users only): This is a fantastic group chat that can be used as a study chat with file sharing and easy photo/video sharing, whereby the whole class can benefit from questions and answers. Instructors can monitor the chat but allow a student-driven community to converse and share. Furthermore, given Spaces is accessible outside of learning management systems (included in the Gmail interface), it may seem more visible to the – creating an informal space of class community.
4. Make it Mobile
Mobile devices may not be optimal (or encouraged) for completing every assignment in a course, but there are benefits to matching course activities to mobile use. Given that 85% of Blacks and Hispanics own smartphones as opposed to only 69%/67% (respectively) owning a desktop or laptop (Pew Research Center, 2021), non-traditional students are more apt to access their courses via mobile devices (Galanek et al. 2018). Mobile learning is best for:
- Delivering microlearning content such as short videos/animations, how-to-guides, games, and low-stakes tasks (i.e. checklists, calendars, exit polls, or pulse check quizzes.)
- Social learning / human interaction pieces such as discussion forums, social networks, or interviews with experts in the field.
- Any task that is conducive to time efficiency. Allowing students to be productive by taking advantage of small learning moments whereby they can “sneak in” learning tasks during a busy day.
“Research has shown that we learn more (and retain it better) when we study in short, focused bursts than when we’re forced to sit through hour long classes — but of course your younger self that was bored to tears at school knew that already.” (Andriotis, 2015)
5. Collaborate, Collaborate, Collaborate
Online learning is inherently isolating, so whatever can be done to build community and help students make connections will be worthwhile.
- Small group discussions – Many learning management systems allow for groups/teams to be built within the discussion. Making use of small group (5-8 students) vs. whole class (30 students) discussions has the opportunity to close the geographically-isolating quality of online education.
- Collaborative software – Many websites/apps allow for multiple parties to work together at the same time. The simplest (for Gmail users) is probably any within the Google Suite – Doc, Sheets, or Slides, since most students are familiar with the interface and functionality. Additional sites include collaborative whiteboards such as FigJam (figma.com/figjam/), padlet.com, and mathwhiteboard.com.
These suggestions provide a superficially simple, yet practical approach to learning where the social and interactive components are important engagement tactics and inhibitors to learning difficult math concepts and skills. Let the fun begin!
Credit – Many thanks go to contributing members of Purdue Global’s Math Department within the School of Multidisciplinary and Professional Studies including, but not limited to, Leslie Johnson, Peg Hohensee, Nancy Reck, Nikki Williams, Michael Heeren, Rebecca Calahan, Tiffany Eaton, Nicolae Borota, and many College Algebra Instructors.
Kirsten K. Meymaris earned her MS in Mathematics with an emphasis on Educational Technology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She earned a BS in Mathematics and BS in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology. These degrees provide Kirsten with the foundation for experience across the entire spectrum of online education including content development, management and maintenance of online courseware and direct course facilitation. She joined Purdue University Global (PG) in 2009 as an adjunct, and in 2014, became full time for the Mathematics Department within the School of Multidisciplinary and Professional Studies. Kirsten has been recognized numerous times for her high standards and teaching practices at Purdue Global including 2024 nominee for Outstanding Fulltime Faculty and 2018 Curriculum Revision/Innovator. She has published works in scientific journals for innovative citizen science work and a contributor to recent mathematics and educational texts. At Purdue Global, Kirsten teaches many of the undergraduate courses from Survey of Mathematics to Business Statistics and Quantitative Analysis. Specifically, she manages the high-enrollment course College Algebra, emphasizing the integration of technology and active learning tactics for accessible mathematical understanding in the online world.
References:
Andriotis, N. (2015, September 01). Everything you wanted to know about micro-learning [Web log post]. Retrieved from
https://www.efrontlearning.com/blog/2015/09/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-micro-learning-but-were-afraid-to-ask.html
Ben-Eliyahu, A., Moore, D., Dorph, R., & Schunn, C. D. (2018). Investigating the multidimensionality of engagement: Affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement across science activities and contexts. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 53, 87– 105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2018.01.002
Borup, J., Graham, C. R., West, R. E., Archambault, L., & Spring, K. J. (2020). Academic communities of engagement: An expansive lens for examining support structures in blended and online learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 68(2), 807–832. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09744-x
Galanek, J. D., Gierdowski,D. C., Brooks, D. C. (2018). ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology. EDUCAUSE.
https://www.educause.edu/ecar/research-publications/ecar-study-of-undergraduate-students-and-information-technology/2018/introduction-and-key-findings
Gardner, K., & Leary, H. (2023). Online learning for first-generation and underrepresented minoritized students: A literature review using a model of student engagement. Online Learning, 27(1), 263-291. DOI: 10.24059/olj.v27i1.3392
(April 7, 2021). Mobile Fact sheet. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/
