Encouraging Student Engagement

by Suzanne Thompson
Speech bubbles in vibrant colors
There are many ways to check in with your students or meeting members to gauge their understanding of content, gather opinions, and ask for ideas.Options can be as simple as asking for a show of hands,  having students hold up color-coded index cards with yes / no on them, or having participants type their ideas in the chat area of Zoom, Google Meet, or Webex Meetings.
But there are other methods that can provide more robust question types, anonymous responses, and creative representations of the results.Skim the list below to learn more about these WFU-supported tools, and let your ITG know if you need more information.

Zoom in blue letters / icon

Zoom: Reactions and Non-Verbal Feedback 

Zoom Reactions and Non-Verbal Feedback provide a quick and easy way for you to check to see how your students are doing.
These are now combined in the Zoom interface — they are all now under the Reactions button:
Zoom Reactions panel
  • In the Dec. 21, 2020 Zoom update, Nonverbal Feedback options (yes, no, go slower, go faster) were moved to the Reactions button and are now listed with Reactions (emojis like clap, heart, thumbs up…).
    Raise Hand is also located under the Reactions button.
  • All participants can see the icons that everyone else has chosen. The icons appear on the participant’s video square and also next to their name in the participant panel.
    The host will also see a summary total count for each icon at the bottom of the participant panel.
  • On the Zoom desktop client for Windows and macOS, participants can select a skin tone for their hand / thumbs up icons. (On the desktop app, click the gear wheel at the top right > General tab).
As host, you need to enable Reactions and Non-Verbal Feedback before you start the Zoom session. Here’s how:
Log into your Zoom web portal wakeforest-university.zoom.us
Click SETTINGS on the left, then turn on “Meeting reactions” and “Non-Verbal feedback”:

Non verbal feedback zoom slider

Tip–On a long webpage like the Zoom SETTINGS page, hit CTRL and F on your keyboard (Mac users: CMD and F) to get a “Find” box, and type in a keyword, such as reactions.
Every instance of that word will be highlighted on the page and you can click to jump to them quickly. (This tip also works in PDFs).
Reminder–Zoom improves frequently, and buttons and features change. Be sure to update the  Zoom client on your computer regularly so you’ll have the latest interface.
You can see details about upcoming changes before they are released here:
Windows   Mac    iOS    Android

Zoom in blue letters / icon
Zoom Poll

Polls live in the session owner’s Zoom web portal ( wakeforest-university.zoom.us )

To view / edit them, log into the WFU Zoom web portal, click MEETINGS on the left, choose your meeting.
For example:
–Click Meetings on the left > click the Personal Room tab > you’ll see a tab for Poll at the top of the area:

Zoom portal showing polls in personal room

Or

–Click Meetings on the left, click the Upcoming tab > then click the name of an upcoming meeting you have scheduled.
At the bottom of the upcoming meeting options, you can choose to add / manage polls:

Zoom meeting options to add a poll

As host, you need to enable Polls before you start the Zoom session. Here’s how:
Log into your Zoom web portal wakeforest-university.zoom.us
Click SETTINGS on the left, then turn on “Meeting Polls”
Zoom Meeting Polls slider button in web portal

You will then see the “Polls” button in your Zoom interface:

Zoom Polls interface

Reminder–Zoom improves frequently, and buttons and features change. Be sure to update the  Zoom client on your computer regularly so you’ll have the latest interface.
You can see details about upcoming changes before they are released here:  Windows   Mac    iOS    Android

Learn More: Zoom Polls

Cisco Webex Logo

Webex Meetings: Animated Reactions,  Recognize Hand Gestures 

Cisco Webex Meetings has animated “Reactions” icons — participants can click to express themselves or give input. 
And starting in January of 2021 users can toggle on a setting so Webex recognizes your hand gestures and automatically turns them into animated images for you…

webex gestures interface
Learn more: Webex Meeting Gestures

Cisco Webex Logo
Webex Meetings: Polling


Try Polls in Webex Meetings!
First add the Polls option to your Meetings interface:
Open a meeting, select View > Panels > Manage Panels.
On the Manage Panels page, select Polling from the Available panels and click Add. Then click OK.
Then you can use it to create multiple choice, single choice, or short answer questions.
Webex Meeting Polling interface
(Webex Meetings have Breakout Sessions now, too!)
Learn More: Polls in Webex Meetings

Google Meet icon
Google Meet: Polls

Click the “Activities” button (looks like a triangle, square, circle) > choose Polls.
Google Meet activities button circled, arrow pointing to Polls
Learn more: Google Meet Polls

Google Forms icon
Google Forms 

A quick and easy example…

Make a quick Multiple Choice question:

Google form of "muddiest point" asking students what verb tense is still "muddy" for them

Then view/share the results:

Google form results graphic from survey

Learn more: Google Forms

Google Slides icon
Google Slides: Accept / Present Audience Questions

While you are presenting in Google Slides, you can ask students to submit questions

Google slides presenter view with Q and A button circled at bottom, URL circled at top

You can review and present their questions for discussion

Q and A window of Google Slides

Learn more:  Accept and Present Audience Questions in Google Slides

ITG Logo

These are just a few ways you can leverage existing WFU tools to encourage engagement.
Try these features in the tools you are already using.  You can gauge your students’ knowledge and gather input,  and give them an opportunity to be more engaged and heard.

Let your ITG know if you need assistance or would like to discuss which tools might best suit your needs.

Categories: Classroom Tools, Google, Online Teaching, Polls, WebEx, Zoom

Recent Posts

Archives