Is it possible to make online learning interesting? Spoiler alert – yes

If charismatic lecturers are enough to hold students’ attention in an offline setting, this approach works less effectively online. The secret to making online learning both interesting and beneficial has been discovered by Daria Malutina, a methodologist in Russian and foreign EDTech projects.

Now we are going to share the main life hacks with you, and in March, we will demonstrate them in practice in the course «Practicing Anti-Corruption».

Besides direct interaction, online learning has several important aspects that set it apart from offline learning. Firstly, a lecture cannot fully engage students to the highest degree. Secondly, when learners study from home or a cafe, the surrounding atmosphere can be distracting, and the potential for interruptions is higher. Thirdly, there are external problems with connectivity.

To overcome these challenges and make classes interesting not only for the lecturers but also for the listeners, special methods are employed.

One of the key aspects is understanding the audience and asking educational questions, which helps grasp the emotional context of the class. The choice of format depends on various factors, such as the amount of time available, the value of the class, the context in which the listeners are located, and the novelty of the material. Based on this information, classes can adopt formats such as tests, debates, case studies, or group work (learn more about these formats from our cards). When conducting a lesson, it’s important to note engagement points to ensure interaction with the audience before major practical exercises. 

These steps allow for the evaluation of educational effects, which in turn helps to formulate recommendations for future improvements: 

• Evaluating students’ learning outcomes.
• Calculating metrics for a specific cohort (how many people complete the training and how likely students are to recommend your course to others).

Gathering feedback on learning outcomes from both students and instructors.

This overview is brief but comprehensive. We hope it proves helpful in designing your educational activities.

In our educational courses, we adhere to the methods described above and strive to make learning engaging for students throughout their entire study period. In March, the first group of students in the «Practical Anti-Corruption» course, focusing on tools for increasing transparency in the public and corporate sectors, will witness this firsthand. If you didn’t manage to apply, don’t be discouraged. Subscribe to our Telegram channel and be the first to know about new courses.