Student engagement apps – Check out these 3 solutions!

Today, we will dive deeper into the Engagement Apps that are available within our whiteboard. These  apps are designed to engage your students even more during your classes. But before that let’s get back to basics.

What’s student engagement? 

Student engagement refers to the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught. High levels of student engagement are often linked to positive educational outcomes, including better academic performance and improved social and emotional development.

Student engagement is a challenging task for every teacher. A typical student’s attention span is about 10 to 15 minutes, yet most classes can last from 30 minutes to an hour. How then can you increase student engagement?

Here come the Promethean Engagement Apps! 

If you are not familiar with the Explain Everything whiteboard, you can create your free account here. Student engagement apps work on mobile devices (iOS) and the web (US only) for anyone with an Explain Everything Advanced or Explain Everything Pro account. 

Spinner

Select the center of the Spinner to spin the wheel. Select the Spinner again to get back to the list.You can have up to 4 Spinners in your project. You can have up to 50 items in your lists. 

Materials Needed:

Assignment step and preparation:

• Teacher: Create a list of review questions or topics based on recent lessons. Divide these questions into categories (e.g., Math, Science, History, etc.).
• Setup: Open the Explain Everything whiteboard and create a new project. Insert a spinner into the project and label the sections according to the categories or specific questions.
• Introduction: Briefly demonstrate how the spinner works and how it will be used to select questions or topics randomly.

Example questions: 

• “Who was the first President of the United States?”
• “What event started World War II?”
• “Explain the process of photosynthesis.” 
• “What is the main theme of the book we are currently reading?” 

This assignment not only makes learning interactive and fun but also fosters teamwork and critical thinking. It leverages the Explain Everything Spinner app to create a dynamic classroom environment.

Timer

This app allows educators to set precise time limits for tasks, fostering better time management skills and enhancing productivity among students.

Assignment steps and preparation:

• Teacher: Prepare a list of tasks or activities that students need to complete. These can be related to different subjects or general skills, such as reading, writing, problem-solving, or creative tasks.
• Setup: Open the Explain Everything whiteboard and create a new project. Insert timers corresponding to each task’s duration. 

Example assignments using Timer

• Creative Writing (20 minutes). Ask students to write a short story or essay on a given topic.
• Reading Comprehension (15 minutes). Provide students with a short passage to read and a set of questions to answer.
• Art Project (15 minutes). Provide materials for a small art project, such as drawing or crafting.

This assignment helps students practice managing their time effectively while engaging in a variety of tasks. Using the Explain Everything Timer app makes the process interactive and visually clear, aiding in the development of essential time management skills.

Polling 

Polling is an interactive tool designed to engage students and enhance classroom participation through real-time polling. There are different types of polls starting from blank, multiple choice, text response and creative poll. 

Assignment steps and preparation:

• Teacher: Choose a lesson topic for student’s recap Prepare sets of poll questions to check their understanding and knowledge. 
• Setup: Create the polls in the Explain Everything app. Make sure each student has access to a device to participate in the polling. 

Example assignments using Polling

• 20 new words in Spanish: review and recap
• 10 questions on the renaissance artists and its paintings
• 15 facts on the US history and national events 

Student engagement for Back to School 

Back to School season is around the corner. This is a great moment to learn what kind of solutions might help you meet your teaching goals next semester. Explain Everything is an award-winning whiteboard for delivering engaging lessons. Create interactive presentations, record instructional videos, and lesson recaps to enhance students’ learning. 

Sounds interesting? 

Start for free now and create your account. (No credit card required).