It is important to develop strategies to keep students engaged whether we are helping students grasp concepts remotely or face-to-face. I use interactive technology to promote active-learning individually and in groups. Please see examples of how I use interactive technology to create communities of inquiry and engage my students below!

I use PollEverywhere technology to engage students in a variety of ways. Overall, students can provide anonymous feedback as a class in response to multiple polling-type questions (F2F & synchronous). I bracket topics with word clouds to provoke thought and reinforce learning.

Learning gains can be seen by comparing the word cloud vocabulary at the beginning (left panel) and end (right panel) of a lecture on planar cell polarity and cellular signal transduction.

I use H5P to provide an interactive component to teaching materials, such as recorded videos and slide presentations. I also embed H5P e-learning opportunities into my institution’s learning management system to provide students with opportunities for flipped sessions (pre-lab, pre-lecture and pre-tutorial) as well as to provide self-check opportunities.

I use group Google jamboard exercises to promote an interactive community of learning and to engage visual learners. Jamboard is an interactive whiteboard application offered by Google Workspace (Google Workspace, n.d.). I like using this technology because students can learn visually while working interactively and anonymously on the same jam to share, organize and develop their ideas. It can be used in real time and remotely to connect students worldwide, thus, providing the ultimate in inclusivity. I also use Jamboards to actively demonstrate basic concepts during lectures. (https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/techinthecurriculum/chapter/google-jamboard/)

Click here to see how I used jamboards during a 1st-year laboratory tutorial (BIOL 1110 TRU 2021)

https://media.tru.ca/id/0_wblvelvx?width=608&height=402&playerId=23451100