How to Motivate Students for Online Courses: 5 Strategies for Teachers

What is a teacher's role in student success? The success of an online teacher depends directly on how well students understand the program and can put these new skills to work. And, unfortunately, not every student will feel equipped to overcome all the challenges to complete the online course. When teaching, you’re bound to face some difficulties. A common struggle amongst educators is that not all students will be diligent in devoting time to study materials. So how do you keep students motivated and engaged? Read this article to find out.

Why do students lose motivation?

Let’s go through some of the most typical reasons students lose motivation online.

• It’s hard to break habits. Students are so used to in-person classes; the transition to online learning requires more effort, on top of the work they’re already doing.
• Students may feel they don’t have the same support system as traditional classes. The lack of interaction can make it difficult for students who usually get support from their classmates who are also struggling.
• Sometimes online courses require more independence than the student is used to and this can be overwhelming.

So what should an educator keep in mind? Here are a few things to consider when teaching online courses:

1. Atmosphere. Creating an atmosphere where students can learn from each other and see how others succeed can be beneficial to their success. Knowing they’re all going through the same struggles and being able to communicate this can boost morale. As an educator, it’s part of your responsibility to make this transition for students as seamless as possible. Do your research in finding easy-to-use online tools to help your students stay on track.
2. Goals. Online learners will feel more motivated when they have a sense of accomplishment. Structuring your course in a way that lets students achieve little goals along the way will keep them pushing forward.
3. Support. Supervision is one way to help students feel supported in an online setting. Having to be accountable for themselves will help them stay motivated.
4. Authority. It is important to be an authority on your subject matter. If students don’t feel like they’re learning from you, they won’t feel motivated to learn.

Now that you have these points to consider, here are 5 tips for online teaching to help boost student motivation.

Get students involved

What motivates students to learn and improve? Keeping students engaged is one strategy to get them interested in learning. Find ways to get students involved such as making use of games, or even building communities for them to share their experiences with you and each other. When students feel involved in the process, it makes the learning experience more immersive.  

Reward success

Track student progress and reward them for knowledge learned. After each topic has been covered, test your students’ knowledge on the subject matter and give them recognition when it’s deserved. This incentive will keep them eager to learn more.

Set achievable goals

Giving students a set of goals to hit over the duration of the course will allow them to track their own progress. That way, they can assess how much they’ve understood from a particular lesson and feel accomplished once a goal is reached.

Choose easy-to use online platforms

User-friendly interfaces play a big role in keeping students motivated. If the design isn’t intuitive, students will find themselves constantly frustrated. A good platform should enhance the learning experience, not hinder it. With LiveCarta, you can find tools and features that will supplement teaching in a way that traditional models can’t. Create materials from scratch or adapt another creator’s work. Use Bundles to package content together into course packs and easily share them with your class. Learn more here.

Use a personal approach

Last but not least, don’t forget to take into account the personality of the students. Everyone is different so what works for one person may not work for the other. Try to assess each student’s experience to address their needs. Your online students will thrive if they feel they have your full attention. Being able to provide your students will personalized feedback will really help them progress.

Summary

Online education has become increasingly popular over the years. And with this ongoing pandemic, it has been pushed to front and center for educators and learners alike. While online learning has a lot of advantages, the value still lies in how you, as an educator, are able to wield this technology. Use these tips as a guide to come up with your own systems to make online experiences accessible, educational, and transformative.