Although online learning has its challenges, it does have its benefits as well. One of the greatest benefits of online learning is all of the different resources that are available. Over the past few years, there have been more online learning resources developed for K -12th grade and higher education than ever before.

We know for a while now, in order for online learning resources to be effective, the lessons must promote engagement with the students as a group, relevant to both the material being taught and the age of the students, and interesting enough to keep student’s minds from wandering, and fun enough so the students want to learn. As you can tell, software and materials that contain all of these factors are not easy to develop and when it comes to time teachers are already stretched thin.

What Can A “Theme Day” Include?

Now that the pandemic has hit us full force and schools worry if the Delta variant will close many schools across the country all the while, teachers, principals, and online learning directors are looking for more methods to make online learning fun. One way to make learning fun is to have specific dates with a fun theme.  This method works especially well with first to sixth-grade classrooms, but it can work for all ages if done the right way. A theme day is simply a day where the teacher assigns a certain theme to the class. Then the students can prepare for the day by wearing outfits, drawing pictures, creating costumes, and designing their background to reflect the theme (Quality Matters, 2019)

 If a student has multiple teachers, then the teacher can request each student to prepare something that they want with the theme. A literature class may host an 1850s Victorian theme, an astronomy class can host an ancient Greek theme, and so on.  Another method to make learning more fun is to implement a brain break or a fun transition after at least 30 minutes of learning. No matter who you are or how old you are, everyone needs a break from learning to readjust, get a glass of water, and revitalize for the next section. The implementation of a brain break by getting the entire class's attention, telling all to stand up and stretch, a job in place, and recap what they learned. Recapping in the middle of the section lets the teacher know that they are ready to go on to the next section.

Create New Ideas with Online Access in MIddle and Highschool!

Online learning is a much more effective way to teach middle and high school students about different perspectives and a few points when teachers invite other experts into the course it can be a unique twist. We have access to content and curriculum at the click of a button! Teachers are now able to design a lesson for their students that considers different methodologies, viewpoints, perspectives, and philosophies, which helps to foster different perspectives to improve emotional intelligence (Sevilla & Vallarie Josephine, 2019).

References:

“Class Size in Online Courses: What the Research Says.” Quality Matters, 20 Aug. 2019, www.qualitymatters.org/qa-resources/resource-center/articles-resources/research-on-class-size.

J., & Filewood, M. (2015, July 6). {IMAGE} French Day at Hunters Hill Public School. THE WEEKLY TIMES. https://www.weeklytimes.com.au/french-day-at-hunters-hill-public-school/.

Sevilla, Vallarie Josephine. “Teaching Empathy in An Online Class.” eLearning Industry, 20 June 2019, elearningindustry.com/empathy-development-teaching-online-class.