Communication Strategies

My communication techniques with students have changed over my last 19 years of teaching to meet the needs of the students, changes in what is exceptable and updates in technology. One thing that has worked really well recently with a class that has multiple generations of students is a private group chat. It is an easy way to communicate with the entire group and for students to communicate and also support each other. We also share pics when we have been out on excursions, of what we have done in class that day and practical activities.

I have been teaching online since 2015 and seen a huge improvement in technology platforms and the ease of connecting with my students. I use the platforms that my students use regularly, e.g. Facebook and Instagram. It is easy to make FB groups and even What’s App groups to share information and update students. Currently I am just about to move to online learning for my ESL students which will be challenging as many of them have low levels of English. However, most of them use technology to communicate with family overseas so it’s a case of leveraging these technologies… Read more »

The corona virus has forced change upon my training. We are now moving to a connected learning classroom. This is something I have resisted for some time but am now looking forward to the new challenges this represents. I believe connected online learning classrooms is the best way to connect with Gen Z. However there will always be room for the personal touch that comes with teaching. The 21 st century teaching environment. Here I come

Staying connected and interested is an integral part of relationship building. Asking questions and remembering responses so that information can be revisited to build rapport or incorporated into delivery helps with engagement. Over time, I have noticed that students now utilise their mobile phones to assist with their learning – I now encourage students to use this resource where once I would have spent an enormous amount of energy fighting it!

I’ve used online classrooms which are much more responsive than Moodles. I find students will engage more hen they are in a familiar format and feel like it is a friendlier environment.

I also love Microsoft Sway as as a simple but effective way to express ideas

We use kahoots in the classroom, it not only engages them in a friendly competitive environment, but they learn at the same time. It shows them what they do and don’t know about a topic. they enjoy the kahoots time, interestingly, the older students are competitive, the younger ones aren’t but they all enjoy it. My work colleague who shares the class with me told me after her teaching the class that the students were disappointed they didn’t have a kahoots with me that week. it is a weekly component of my classes and some of the students actually study… Read more »

I have used Photo Story to deliver presentations to learners. It is a free program that allows users to create a visual story from their digital photos. The software allows adding narration, effects, transitions and background music to create a Windows Media Video movie file with pan and zoom effects. For me it has proved effective across many generations.

Kaboodle has fun, informative activities requiring students to use their phones to choose responses to questions. Also armored penguin is great for creating find-a-words relating to a specific topic

Many of our students are Generation Z, and I’m a Baby Boomer. Having my own children (now young adults) has kept me in touch with the communication norms (including technology versions), attitudes and values. However, as years have progressed and as each new teaching year commences the gap widens between between the tools and strategies I feel comfortable with and those I need to learn to communicate with and engage learners in the learning space. Much greater evidence now of ‘need to know now’ and tailored to specific need. Therefore – being accessible using different communication tools seems to be… Read more »

In the classroom I use online programs and apps that track student progress in English and maths as well as You tube and Click view. As a part time teacher in regional NSW there are few opportunities offered for professional development in digital teaching platforms. Generation Y students talk about social apps they use and I am amazed by the myriad of ways they think about making money using Instagram and Youtube.There is no interactive whiteboard on campus. We have a new connected learning centre nearby that offers state of the art technology to communicate with students, but the scope… Read more »

Getting to know the students is essential in building a connection with them. Showing that your human, with faults is a great way to do this, and by sharing personal anecdotes that relate to the subject content can be a powerful tool.

I teach a lot of software products and try to get students to add a personal spin to the practical activities. For example when teaching the basics in Google Forms I get learners to create and send out a survey to other students to learn more about the other them as individuals. It may be something as simple as asking what their favourite food is or what pets they have. Although the subject matter of developing the software is quite technical and dry, by allowing them to connect it to personal experiences I find they remember the processes more easily.

I taught basic computers to deaf students through a TAFE overreach programme. It made me rethink everything I had thought important in classroom communication. It helped me to realise that the students drive the most appropriate way to present information and share thoughts.

I have been teaching Mathematics and Technology with TAFE for over 25 years. However, I start every session with a new group of students the same way. I tell them a little about myself. Then I ask them to tell everyone about any interests they have and their experience in the subject we are studying. I make sure I learn every students’ name before the end of the first lesson. The biggest change I have made over the years is to explain why I am asking the class to participate in a particular activity and what I want them to… Read more »

Working in the Far West of NSW most of my teaching uses technology to deliver, Video Conferencing, Moodles, Skype, Adobe Connect, Google hangouts, Facebook, email – anything that will engage the learner.

I am an off site online assessor who marks assessments from a broad range of students. It is evident the different technology levels in just the style and format of how they present their assessments – how they attach documents or if they can attach documents and use different tools. As I never ‘meet’ the students the ‘relationship’ is all 2 D with comments etc. You can still get a sense of who they are and their generation. Their is a large cross section of generations between the students and markers. Those influences can be strong.

We are beginning to use a moodle platform. I also use video conferencing and online meetings, this is not only for cross generation but to pull down location boundaries

Technology is incorporated where possible in my teaching sessions. As I deliver career preparation it is essential students have an understanding of the technologies they will encounter in the workplace. However, many gen Z students are capable gamers which leaves them somewhat weary in class, but know little about the IT knowledge needed to navigate programs such as Word.
In every session I do include a research component requiring a google search, and a youtube clip to keep the students motivated.

When i taught overseas a few years ago the students were really tech savvy more so than in Australia. Now we seem to have caught up and can use technology and social media etc to form a core part of our learning in the classroom. Students might not respond to an email but send a text and you get an instant reply!

I teach ESOL to a range of students, especially gen X and gen Y; but I have had a few baby boomers and gen Z students as well and I’ve observed many of the characteristics that were discussed in the training videos to be spot on. Teaching a diverse range of students in the same course could be quite challenging and it is difficult to please all the students all the time. I seemed to manage gen X and Y well in the same class, although some gen X students preferred whole-class activities using the digital whiteboard and also enjoyed… Read more »

I work in an online environment where we have students from each of the generations. It is interesting to notice the different levels of ability students have to navigate and work with devices. There seems to be the greatest differences in generation x, some quite confident and some with little knowledge of how to use the device. Sometimes it is hard to describe what needs to be done over the phone so suggesting they find someone to assist them. Sometimes I will do screen shots to email me o students so they can see what the screens might look like… Read more »

I have found that it is important to treat each student on their merits. Many X & Y students are quite respectful and courteous, conservative in their approach to VET learning. Their has never been a problem with phones going off in class. Likewise some quite mature age students have excellent IT skills and keen on challenging themselves with new ideas. The compartments that the media and sociologists like to create should be viewed carefully and not adhered to blindly.

Recently there was an incident just near the TAFE where the police were removing residents for safety, setting up perimeters and the students knew more about what was going on and what the issue was way before security had been around to ask us to leave. All because their social media was going off.

I use digital technologies to engage students and they respond to it. As mentioned they have grown up in this digital environment and it is a normal from them. I use online tools such as Edmodo to communicate and disseminate information. The equipment used in audio and lighting production has moved to software platforms and I am on a steep learning curve. The students are responding positively to software based learning rather than using hardware

I also have the benefit of being able to teach students in a practical environment as well as a class room, I find that live sessions and demonstrations are a really good way to engage Gen Y&Z while keeping the information I’m giving them and wanting them, to absorb. Standing up the front of a classroom and talking in front of a whiteboard they lose focus and go to sleep. I remember Michael talking about how their generation looks at things and nothing is definite, its always just an opinion, I completely agree. Because of this I find myself adding… Read more »

A real benefit to using technology is not only in the educational outcomes but in the development of the class dynamics, the structure and organisation of the classroom and in saving wads and wads of paper and physical resources being used that aren’t environmentally sustainable. I like using onenote to keep my students accountable for their own work and progress in class and to create a clear structure and flow to the class and unit. I like to use google docs for real time class collaboration on a document, I will also get involved and write comments and question statements… Read more »

There is so much technology available for use in class and sometimes it getting the student to use what they have. This might be ipads for reading, laptops for research or use of smart boards for discussion or even technology for virtual class rooms.

Sometime ago I had a group of learners with iPads, so I decided to use Adobe Spark (was free at a time). Simple app allowing quick creation of movies – just take a photo, find a relevant/ funny image online, film a short clip, change titles, add text/ colours/ themes, voice-over, choose music, easy to re-arrange – all in minutes and no training. I arranged everyone in groups around the person with the iPad and the technological expertise – they really enjoyed researching allocated topics, then designing short clips, presenting them in class and posting to social media

As teachers, we need to understand how to use technology to engage your students, especially those of generation X, Y and Z. I often found that students of generation have different needs, and the use of technology needs to be matched with those needs. Sometime, I would refer to different web sites such as You Tube, or Slideshare to illustrate learning points. What are some of those technologies that work with your students?

As a component of assessments in the vocational learning environment it is common now to conduct role plays with learners. This requires an actual one on one discussion with the learner relating to a particular topic. These individual discussions have definitely helped to create a connection between the facilitator and the learner.

One of the challenges we face as teachers today is not long after you have mentioned something in class, some students have already googled the topic as if to check you aren’t full of s**t. I’m fine with this as I never imply to my students that what I say is gospel, I actually think it can be very beneficial as it engages class room discussion which I encourage. Just need to remind students that Wikipedia isn’t the most reliable source of information.

Use of the smart board and then as a communication skill close the eyes, listen to what is being asked so not to be distracted. What do they remember

Listening is an awesome communication skill that I use with my students.

The strategies will help me to deal with generation X and Y. Thank you for helping me understand the influences and characteristics of the different generations.

Oops — just realised I hadn’t addressed the first part of the question…. I communicate with students in a range of ways to try and ensure a connection with them on an individual basis. I will chat, phone, email, we use ‘get to know you’ games, sticky notes for feedback (left for me at the end of class) and both formal and informal discussions.

I deliver and assess on a Flexible delivery progam – so try to use tech to engage and ‘provoke’ my students into research and learning. I have used Padlets,Kahoots, the internet, you tube, podcasts and music to prompt discussion.

As students of today are already interested and engaged in using technology, as teachers, we have a tool that creates amazing opportunities for the classroom. Here is a link which talks about the top 6 benefits of using technology in the classroom.
https://www.webanywhere.co.uk/blog/2016/02/top-6-benefits-technology-classroom/

I think that the last two paragraphs of this article sum it up so well. Social media in particular has changed the communication landscape. It’s difficult to separate reliable information from spin and propaganda. Teaching the skills of evaluation, discernment and critical thinking could perhaps be widened to include not just our younger learners.

I really enjoyed reading “Lessons for the gullible learner” as there are many comments Michael shares here that resonated with me. In my experience teaching Business studies at TAFE, I was often surprised at how many students believed whatever they read/watched on the Internet was true. The strategy that is suggested in this article is very helpful eg Teaching students to use the method of CSI – (Context, Source and Intent) when researching on the Internet. I will be using this in my future teaching practice. As Michael says, Teaching young people the skills of evaluation, discernment and critical thinking… Read more »

I think all teachers will have their own preferred style with teaching but I gained a valuable new insight after listening to Michael

I try and chat to each of my students and create a rapport with them and show a genuine interest in what they’re doing.

I know that every Teacher has his or her own ideas for Lesson Plans. However, I have found this resource valuable and I have incorporated some of the suggestions into my own lesson plan preparation.