Invite your students to ask questions during a digital lesson
Thomas Courtley
Education Specialist
Yes, of course you can ask questions during a digital lesson! But how does it work? In this article we will tell you all about it.
With the ‘ask questions’ function, students are invited to ask questions that will appear on the central screen during a digital lesson. This is very handy in order to remain connected, especially if you give a hybrid lesson, during which part of your students are attending from home. All students can see that a question has been asked, no matter where they are. That’s one of the advantages of this function.
To activate the function ask questions, first of all present your lesson in teaching mode. At the bottom, left-hand corner you will see a hand with a no-entry sign. That means that for the moment the ‘ask questions’ function is not working.
By clicking on the hand you can activate the function, and students may ask questions once they are logged into your lesson with their PIN code. The first 3 questions appear on the screen. If there are more questions, they will appear only when answered.
Students' questions can be displayed on the central screen
When one of your students asks a question about your lesson, and the asked questions-screen is closed, the name of the student will appear at the bottom of your screen. A badge, containing a number, will be displayed next to the raised hand.
If you click on it, the question will appear on the central screen.
Adjust the settings of "asked questions" as you see fit: 4 options
Option 1: Settings (wheel symbol ⚙️)
With this option you can adjust the settings as you see fit, for example:
- Show notifications - the name of who is asking the question will appear for a couple of seconds while the ask questions-screen is closed.
- Hide names - who asks the question remains anonymous
These options are related to the current lesson. Yet there are some other options that become permanent. You can choose to make your choices temporary or permanent.
By clicking on the option to Pin panel immediately when opening lesson, the ask questions-screen will always appear open, on the right side of your screen.
Option 2: Delete questions (bin symbol)
With this option you delete all the asked questions in one click. To delete single questions, click on the cross next to the question.
Option 3: Turn off the question-asking function (no-entry sign)
With this option you turn off the possibility for students to ask questions. You can turn it back on by clicking on the raised hand underneath your screen.
Option 4: Postpone (pin symbol)
With this option you pin the window with questions to the right side of your screen. We will explain how this works in the following sections.
How can your students ask questions during your digital lessons?
During your lesson students can ask questions by clicking on the raised yellow hand in their LessonUp environment. To do so, they first have to participate in your lesson with their PIN code. Each student can type one question of max 140 characters. Students may always decide to change their question, or delete it.
By clicking on the question, it appears on the central screen, for everybody to see. Whether physically present or not, all students can visualise it. Once answered, the question can be closed and you may proceed to the next one.
Pin the asked-questions screen
If you click on the pin symbol, the asked questions-screen will appear at the right side of your main screen. Questions will pop up on this side screen. First of all you will see your students’ names, but you can decide to visualise the questions instead. For an overview of all questions asked, feel free to check the lesson report.
3 practical ways to apply this function in your class
With the application of this function students may always ask questions during your lessons. When does it come in handy?
1. When they are asked to work independently on a lesson, in a silent class, this is the perfect way to raise a question without disturbing the rest of the class.
2. This can also be a way for you to monitor student attendance during an online lesson. You could ask students random questions during your lesson.
3. This could be another way to implement an exit ticket at the end of a lesson, an interesting alternative to the open-ended question.
Curious? Try this functionality during one of your digital lessons. Sign up for free or login!
