4 simple ways to make online learning more fun and engaging

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The rapidly changing technological scenarios touch every part of our lives today and education is not far behind either. Online learning as a service is going through a massive transformation worldwide as the educators look at expanding their reach to the students in a way that is accessible and affordable. The impetus provided by technology in the growth of online learning has been phenomenal and has thus made education readily available to all. According to a Forbes report, the global e-learning market is expected to reach $325 billion by 2025. This itself speaks volumes about the growing demands in the online education sphere.

This has further led to the educators looking for better and more fun ways to engage their students while making sure they impart the knowledge they intend to provide. They are also looking at bringing more subject matter experts on board for enhanced dialogues and even at organising virtual field trips etc. However, the traditional distance learning methods have its limitations-

  • The PowerPoint presentations, screen-shares and static imagery used is not an engaging form of communication and is often found to be unimpressive and boring
  • The video conference options deployed make streaming videos quite irregular and patchy making it impossible to stream videos uninterrupted and obstructing the whole viewing experience
  • The most prominent disadvantage is the lack of human touch and dynamic one-on-one interaction that may involve live demonstrations

Mark Edmundson, an English professor at the University of Virginia, described online education as an experience that creates a monologue rather than a real dialogue (Time). We say, that could be true but may well be a truth of the past because CPaaS is here to transform the way online education is perceived and conducted. It can push the boundaries immensely and provide an incredible learning experience for the students by making it much more engaging and interactive.

CPaaS is a cloud-based platform that enables developers (or anyone, for that matter) to embed real-time communication features (i.e. voice, video, messaging) directly into applications to create customised workflows. This is made possible by using open software development kits (SDKs) and open application programming interfaces (APIs) that developers can use. EnableX brings to fore a feature-rich platform that not only enables a high definition multiparty call but also helps in enhancing the learning experience while addressing the abovesaid issues

Enablex thus enables the students and educators to now draw shapes/images, run animations and even display/process video content. Below are the smart and engaging features CPaaS brings to fore-

1.Multiparty video calls/Broadcasting

Not to say that these are not being done already, but the quality of multimedia streaming CPaaS brings with it is unparalleled. It enables you to embed video calls into the online training from one-on-one virtual tutoring to live broadcasting to multiple students across geographies, professions and age-groups.

A relevant mention here would be of the Active talker feature that automatically sends the video streams of the most recent speakers to the display window. By giving prominence to the current speaker, it further helps your video streaming with a more contextual interaction wherein the student can clearly understand the dialect and body language of the speaker. In addition to the above said, this feature also helps you in optimising the bandwidth usage by prioritising the video quality of the lead talker over the other speakers.

2.Video feed

EnableX API allows you to play video content without any glitches. Playing video feed on the usual video conferencing solutions, even though quite widely used, can be grainy and sporadic. EnableX API creates incredible user-experiences that are rich with live multimedia feeds and also enable the educator to create content while streaming. This provides the students with first-hand live experience and makes the teaching experience highly interactive. The educator can even pause, fast forward or rewind the video thus providing them with the full control.

Furthermore, educators can even add notes or imagery to the videos being streamed to make it more fun and thorough. For example, to explain a relatively harder part of a tutorial, the educator can pause the video and highlight the relevant sections or draw further diagrams to explain it better.

3. 3D imagery

3D images are one of the most essential tools that the traditional online learning methods care devoid of. In many spheres like medicine or even archaeology, 3D imaging can not only be useful but necessary. For medicine, in particular, 3D animations can assist students to understand the anatomy of a body or diagnose results basis the 360 degrees view.

EnableX API allows you to insert and activate 3D modelling so that the teaching lessons can, therefore, be more effective. Add to this, the above said capability of adding imagery to the video and you have a learning environment as good as a real one.

4. Advanced Whiteboarding

Whiteboarding is one of the most traditional methods of teaching. With the EnableX twist to it, it takes the concept to another level by creating an interactive white background in virtual classrooms that are used by both educators and students to add files, text, images etc; basically, everything that can be done on a usual whiteboard in a classroom.

We, at EnableX, aim to transform the way communication is perceived and take it to a highly contextual and real-time level. The network and hardware expenses are not yours to be borne and our services can be availed on a pay-per-use model. For more details on the education API, please click here.

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