ESHAAL, a 12-year-old student in Grade 7, sits in front of her laptop screen attending a 45-minute math lesson online. Her video is on, the teacher can see her, but she is disconnected from the lesson. Instead, she is consumed by a private chat with her friend on another window. Such lack of engagement in online lessons is rampant and many teachers see it as an inevitable hazard of online schooling.

As many schools turn to online teaching during the current crisis, it might be a good time to consider how lessons can be redesigned to capitalise on the benefits of online schooling. Digital learning cannot replicate in-person teaching where the monitoring structure is embedded in classroom interaction. Students are forced to sit through lessons even if they find the content boring. Chats are reserved for break time or after school.

For all the scepticism that surrounds it, online teaching has shown that learning is not confined to four walls, a whiteboard, and a bell schedule. In online classes, learning outcomes are a function of lesson design and engagement strategies leading to measurable outcomes. The engagement mechanism necessitates a fast momentum where students are called upon to talk, explain, question and work........

© Dawn