It has long been recognized that educational technology has the potential to improve student engagement. However, teachers should keep in mind that it is not as simple as technology plus students equals engagement. Without careful planning and sound pedagogy, technology can promote disengagement and impede rather than aid learning, which we do not want to occur among our students. In the time of remote distance learning where students’ engagement is a challenge, it is important for teachers to adhere to innovative and adaptive instructional strategies that will support student learning and support their engagement.

Engagement is a complex concept. It has behavioral, cognitive, and emotional components. The behavioral dimension is concerned with how frequently and for how long students interact with the course materials. In the meantime, the cognitive dimension refers to how students think about and connect what they are learning. Finally, emotional engagement refers to students' sense of connectedness and caring in their learning community.

Furthermore, there are various levels of student engagement. The lowest level is rebellion, which occurs when students refuse to complete the assigned task, act disruptively, and try to substitute alternative activities. Students at the retreatism level are disengaged from assigned work and make no effort to comply, but they are not disruptive to the learning of others. Students see little or no value in the assigned work and only put forth effort to avoid negative consequences. The work has little or no immediate meaning to students at the passive compliance level, but there are extrinsic outcomes of value that keep them engaged. The highest level of engagement is authentic engagement, which is defined by students immersed in work with clear meaning and immediate value to them.

As teachers, we want to tap into all of the engagement dimensions and encourage authentic engagement in our students. But how does this work in a distance learning setting? In light of the importance of TPACK, the use of lesson/learning playlists can be of great help in answering this question.

A lesson playlist is a set of resources and/or activities that students must complete. It could be assigned for a portion of a class period, a full day, a week, or even the entire course; include content for one skill, one standard, one lesson, one unit, or even cover multi-disciplinary content; and be assigned to one student, a group of students, or all students.

How to start building your own lesson playlist?

1. Select the topic/lesson.

2. Identify the learning objectives.

3. Gather the resources and plan the activities students should explore/complete.

4. Sequence the resources & activities in a logical way.

5. Layer personalized learning strategies to ensure each student’s needs are met.

Here are some examples of lesson playlists created by myself and my science teacher education students using Google Forms and Google Slides:

The following lesson playlist examples demonstrate the importance of integrating content, technology, and pedagogy. It is hoped that students will become more effective and efficient independent learners by using these playlists.

What do you think about lesson playlists?

Do you think it would work in your class as well?

Why not give it a try?