LibGuides: Faculty Guide to Active Learning: How to Implement

Implementation

Using active learning strategies does not require abandoning the lecture format. Rather, adding small active learning strategies can make lecturing more effective for student learning. These activities give students just a minute or two to check their understanding of recent material, practice a skill or highlight gaps in their knowledge before giving an explanation.

Technology Tools to Support Active Learning

Flipgrid
a video discussion tool that allows for the easy creation of short videos students can share with each other. The ability to create and share quick videos on a mobile device is a powerful tool for social presence in online learning.
Padlet
a web tool that allows users to build and share collections of links and media. Padlet can be used individually or in groups to quickly share collections of resources with commentary that can be organized and presented in a variety of ways. The free version of Padlet limits you to three Padlet “boards.”
Poll Everywhere
is a polling or classroom response system. Instructors can pose a question or series of questions to students that are then collected and results displayed in real time. Polls can be used for knowledge checks or surveying. Poll Everywhere might be worth investigating for those who feel limited by WebEx or Zoom’s built in polling tools.
Kahoot
allows for the creation of game like quizzes/surveys that could be used as part of a synchronous Zoom session. Kahoot attempts to make assessment more informal by award points and playful graphics for multiple choice style quizzes. The free version of Kahoot is rather pushy about getting you to upgrade to a paid version.
AnswerGarden
a “minimalist” tool for collecting student responses. AnswerGarden poses a prompt to students and then collects and displays responses in a word cloud visualization. AnswerGarden could be used in both synchronous and asynchronous ways for “muddiest point” style surveying of students.
Google Docs/ Sheets/ Slides/ Drawings
one of the earliest collaborative editing tools. Whether done collectively as a class or within student groups, Google Docs are a powerful and flexible place to collect notes, questions, links, and other text into a central shared space that can be collaboratively edited. Google Sheets, Slides, and Drawings offer other ways to collaboratively create and share media.
Canva.com
a graphic design platform that allows users to create social media graphics, presentation, posters and other visual content.