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30 Virtual School Activities That Students & Educators Love

Written by Laney Kennedy

Save time, engage your students and offer differentiated learning online with Prodigy Math game!

• Teaching Activities
• Virtual learning games & apps for online learning
• Traditional learning activities to bring online
• Fun virtual field trips to try
• Virtual first day of school activities

More ways to make virtual school fun

As a teacher, you know better than anyone how much the past year has transformed learning. And although our circumstances will continue to change, virtual learning is still a reality for many students and teachers.

No matter what teaching looks like this year, building a sense of community is so important for you and your students, especially if they’re learning at home . 

But with hundreds of virtual teaching platforms to choose from, how do you make sure your students are getting the best resources to learn and grow — and have fun while doing it?

We’ll help you narrow it down with a complete list of 30 virtual school activities for students of all ages. Whether you teach elementary school, middle school or high school, this list has your remote learning needs covered!

Try these virtual learning games & apps for online learning

Learning outside of the classroom can be easy and fun with these virtual school must-haves. Use these free virtual resources to engage students online and make your virtual classroom feel like home.

1. Prodigy Math Game

Price: Free. The optional Premium Membership provides extra in-game features for students and additional tools for parents, starting at $4.99 USD per student, per month. 

In or out of the classroom, math games are a great way to keep students excited about learning math — even when it comes down to tricky concepts. 

With Prodigy Math Game , you can keep math class fun wherever students are!

As your students create unique characters, explore virtual worlds, collect pets and enjoy all the fun in-game adventures Prodigy offers , they’ll also answer curriculum-aligned math questions . Plus, Prodigy’s adaptive algorithm is built to meet students where they are, so they’ll receive questions that match their progress level.  

Use your free teacher account to create a classroom and:

• View in-depth data on student and class progress 
• Create Assessments that align with your lesson plans
• Differentiate in-game content based on individual student needs

Parents can also sign up for their own account to view and support their child’s progress and motivate them even more!

Ready to make math an adventure this year?

P.S. Check out these free resources to help you use Prodigy in your virtual classroom!

• How to use Prodigy to fight summer learning loss
• How to use Prodigy in your everyday virtual teaching strategies
• How to benchmark student progress with Prodigy’s Test Prep tool

Price: Free or paid versions, with education plans for schools and classrooms. 

In the past year, Zoom has become a close friend to many of us. And it’s no wonder! 

Zoom is a reliable and accessible way to engage your class with virtual teaching. Use it to:

• Host online classes with video and screen sharing
• Engage your classroom with online polls, breakout rooms and virtual chats
• Host zoom games where students can join the fun from home or at school!

P.S. Want to add some pizzazz to your next online lesson? Try one of these custom Prodigy Zoom backgrounds !

3. Flipgrid

Price: Free

Come up with discussions that really get your class talking! Flipgrid offers over 35,000 conversation starters to spark student creativity. Students can respond to each prompt with their own videos, which are displayed on the response board for the rest of the class to see.

The best part? It’s filled with fun editing resources so students can add animations, emojis and text to create fun videos they can be proud of.

TEDEd was specifically designed to celebrate student and teacher ideas. 

You’ll find free online lessons in tons of subjects — including Earth School , where students watch videos, answer quizzes and complete quests to learn more about the natural world. 

Plus, the TEDEd program lets students create their very own TED talks to share what they’re passionate about with the rest of the class!

5. Google Classroom 

Encourage virtual teamwork with your one-stop-shop for lessons, assignments and class discussions. 

Google Classroom provides access to:

• Google Meet — Host video lessons and presentations online. 
• Google Forms — Host surveys and quizzes for your class to fill out.
• Google Calendar — Keep track of lessons and give students insight into the structure of their day. 
• Google Slides — Present lessons in a presentation format and include visuals to keep your class engaged.

Price: Free for the basic plan, with optional paid teacher or school plans starting at $10 USD per month. 

Start meaningful conversations and encourage student engagement with the online platform that “creates a powerful learning loop between students, teachers, and families.” 

With Seesaw, students have a digital space to share their thoughts and give you insight on how they’re learning. Plus, you can keep families in the loop with an exclusive space for home-to-school connections. 

7. YouTube Kids 

Price : Free

The good old days of TV stands on wheels are long behind us. Now, students can watch fun, educational videos no matter where they are!

YouTube Kids was built with kids in mind. This means the video content you choose to share with your class will always be safe and appropriate for their age group. 

Have students download the app or watch directly on their browsers, then assign them videos on art, science and everything in between!

Price : Free for the basic plan, with optional subscription plans starting at $8 USD per member, per month. 

See new ideas spark and virtual collaboration happen right in front of your eyes — and add a pop of color to make the day a little brighter.

Miro is an online whiteboard that lets your class collaborate through tables, flowcharts, sticky notes and more. Perfect for brainstorms or team projects ! 

Virtual learning can never be dull when you have this many fun effects and templates to choose from! 

Whether you’re using it for lessons or encouraging students to create their own, Prezi makes online presentations easy and fun with plenty of design resources and a user-friendly interface. 

Create presentation decks, videos, infographics, maps and more. Let student creativity take over and see the amazing results!

Ready to make learning an exciting adventure?

Boost engagement in your classroom with two captivating standards-aligned learning games for math and English!

6 Traditional learning activities to bring online 

In today’s digital world, virtual learning is more prevalent than ever. But that doesn’t mean we should say goodbye to our favorite in-class activities!

Here’s how to transform classic school activities into online activities that are perfect for distance learning. 

1. Digital escape rooms

No room needed! Bring this classic team-building activity online and transform your classroom or students' homes into haunted houses, pirate ships or even the North Pole! 

Try these: 

• Virtual Escaping rooms
• 20+ Free digital escape rooms 
• Build your own escape room through Google Forms

2. Two Truths and a Lie

Put a spin on this classic icebreaker game through online polls, presentation decks, or quiz platforms like Kahoot! . Compile student submissions into a quiz format. Then have them vote on each other’s options and see the submissions on-screen right away.

You can also use this game to supplement lessons. For example, add two truths and a lie questions during activities that review science concepts or historical figures. 

3. Virtual journal writing

Instead of daily journal entries on paper, encourage virtual journal submissions through an online platform like Google Docs. 

Or, take it to the next level and start a classroom blog . Students can compile their entries and reflect on each others’ submissions, then look back on their great work at the end of the year.

4. Virtual Scavenger Hunt

Create a checklist to bring your scavenger hunt online. Then have your students submit pictures to check items off the list.

Your list can include:

• Items they can find around their home ( find 3 items that have stripes )
• Information they can find online ( when was the telephone invented?)
• Information about one another ( find a classmate who is left handed )

Host one big scavenger hunt, or provide one daily checklist item for them to find by the end of the day.

5. Read aloud videos

Record yourself reading a book out loud, then send the video to your students and have them listen during class time. Or find author read alouds that introduce students to the authors of their favorite books, so they can hear the stories straight from the source. 

6. Virtual brain breaks

Brain breaks are an effective way to keep kids energized and ready to learn more. And there are so many options for online brain breaks! 

• Videos that encourage activity (like an action song or yoga video ) 
• Online games (try assigning five minutes of Prodigy time between class tasks)
• Fun discussion topics that prompt online chats (Ex. What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?)

Take one of these exciting virtual field trips

Even if they don’t happen in person, field trips can still be informative, exciting and hands-on! In fact, virtual field trips may be even better, because you can visit places that are hundreds or even thousands of miles away! 

Here’s how to encourage classroom community building and bring your students to brand new places, without ever leaving your home or classroom. 

1. Virtual zoo or aquarium

Lions and tigers and bears … and penguins and sharks and monkeys! Oh my!

A virtual zoo visit is super fun for younger students, or a great way for students of any age to learn more about animals and their habitats. 

• Videos from the San Diego Zoo
• Live cams from the Monterey Bay Aquarium
• 3D animals to turn students’ homes into their own zoo!

2. Virtual national park tours 

Your class can visit some of the most famous parks and learn more about nature without even stepping outside! Use Parks Through Your Screen to explore different parks and see them from a brand new perspective.   

3. Virtual walking trails

Let your class explore mountains, trails, forests or even the pyramids! These virtual walking tours from across the globe provide an exciting online escape along with plenty of learning opportunities.

4. Ellis Island tour

Provide students with a hands-on history lesson through this interactive online tour of the historic Ellis Island . They’ll find stories, photos and notable facts at each stop. 

4. Museums and art galleries 

Some of the most well-known galleries in the world offer amazing online exhibits anyone can enjoy. 

• The Louvre online tours 
• Google arts & culture collections
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art online

6 Virtual back to school activities for the first day of the school year

Back to school is the best time of year! And there are so many ways to make your first day of school activities welcoming and fun, whether they’re online or in person. 

1. Play virtual ice breaker games 

On the first day of school, it’s important for classmates to get to know one another, and for you to get to know them! 

Ask icebreaker questions through online chats, play virtual games (like two truths and a lie) or have students create quick online profiles that feature fun or important facts about them. 

2. Set expectations

Whether learning is remote, hybrid or in-person, it’s important that students know your classroom expectations and where to find everything they need. 

Make sure to: 

• Share your digital class schedule
• Let students know the best way to ask questions online
• Communicate classroom rules (try using Bitmojis to keep things light and fun!)

3. Send fun virtual questionnaires

Give students fun questions that will help them find out what they have in common and build community for the rest of the school year. 

Ask questions like:

• What’s your favorite movie?
• What’s your favorite thing about school? 
• What’s one thing you want to try this year?

Send them through fun online questionnaires through Google Forms, or create storyboards in Miro to display responses. Don’t forget to share your answers too!

4. Design virtual lockers 

Use a fun Bitmoji template and have students create virtual lockers to display their personal style or show off their favorite things. To take it a step further, create a whole virtual classroom where students can customize their own space.

5. Share summer stories

Encourage your class to get creative and talk about what they did during the summer in whatever way they’d like. 

This could be:

• Digital art
• Presentations

Or anything else they can think of!

6. Send out student learning surveys

Once you’ve shared your expectations for them, let students share theirs, too!

Send an online survey to each student asking questions like:

• How do you learn best?
• What’s your favorite way to learn?
• What questions do you have for me? 
• What do you want to learn the most this year?

We couldn’t forget these activities! Here are a few more ways to make your online classroom awesome. 

1. Encourage socialization 

Social emotional learning is critical for student success. 

And the best way to help students practice their social emotional skills? Provide them with plenty of opportunities to socialize and collaborate in fun, easy ways. 

• Assign social emotional learning activities online
• Have frequent breakout rooms for students to socialize in small groups
• Create a collaborative class playlist on Spotify or listen to music as a class
• Hold regular discussions with the whole class and allow students to use chat functions or speak out loud

2. Hold virtual morning meetings

Have a daily check-in with morning meetings where you and your students can share feelings, thoughts and ideas for the day. Then go through your schedule and make sure everyone has all the online resources they’ll need.

3. Host theme days

Have regular theme days where the class wears a certain color or accessory, or dresses as a specific character. 

For example, create a “color of the week” where every Friday, students wear as much of a specific color as they can find. Then let them show off their outfits in your online classroom! 

Get the most out of your virtual classroom

Online teaching can be a tough balance. But with such a wide range of virtual school activities to choose from, there’s no shortage of fun your class can have while they learn! 

Add a few of these activities to your online lesson plans to help students learn, play and collaborate — no matter where they are!

Looking for an online activity to supplement your math lessons?

Prodigy can help make learning math fun! 

Assign curriculum-aligned math questions that match learning progress and grade levels , easily track student data , and provide your students with a fun way to practice math online — all while they embark on new adventures and battle friends to win rewards! 

Create an Assessment for your Prodigy classroom today to keep students on track and differentiate for individual learning needs. 

18 Virtual Classroom Games and Activities

Here is our list of fun virtual classroom games and activities .

Virtual classroom games are fun online activities or events teachers can organize for their students. Examples include Simon Says, Scavenger Hunts, and Hangman. The aim of these activities is to promote student interaction and make online lectures interesting.

Classroom games and activities are similar to virtual games for big groups , Zoom party games , and virtual minute to win it games .

This list includes:

• games to play during online classes
• virtual classroom activities
• interactive online games for students
• online activities for students on Zoom
• online teaching games

Here we go!

List of virtual classroom games & activities

From Charades to Find the Differences to Draw a Monster, here is a list of fun activities for virtual classrooms.

1. The Survival Game

The Survival Game is a thrilling game that promotes critical thinking and helps students build problem-solving skills.

To organize this activity:

• Create a scenario where students must brainstorm solutions to survive. For example, ask students to explain how they would survive in the desert with one stick, a stone, and half a glass of water.
• Each player must give realistic responses to the scenario.
• The player with the best survival solution wins the game.

This exercise is one of the best games to play during online classes because it encourages students to brainstorm and think critically.

2. Name, Animal, Place, and Thing

Name, Animal, Place, and Thing is a fun word game where players come up with words in different categories.

• Meet over a video call.
• Choose an order in which to play.
• The first player will choose a random letter from A to Z.
• Set a timer for 20 seconds.
• All the participants must write words starting with the chosen letter in each listed category. For example, if a player selects the letter B, then all the players must write a name, animal, place, and things starting with B.
• The first player to complete all the categories before the timer runs out wins the round.
• Repeat steps three through six until all the players have a turn picking a letter.

This game is a simple way to create a fun learning environment for students. The players may also get to learn exciting new words.

3. Draw a Monster

Draw a Monster is a simple drawing game that students can engage in during online classes.

• Meet using video conferencing software, like Google Meet or Zoom.
• Use the in-app collaborative whiteboard feature.
• Invite the students to take turns drawing monsters following a set of prompts. The teacher may tell the students to draw the monster using specific numbers and shapes. For example, the teacher might ask the students to draw the monster using only circles and the number four.
• The best drawing wins!

This game is a fun way to test scholars’ creativity and teach them to follow instructions. Participants can also play this game in teams to promote healthy competition. To play in groups, split the players into small teams, and players will take turns adding to the drawing until it is complete.

4. First Letter, Last Letter

First Letter, Last Letter is one of the best interactive online games for students. In this game, participants must think fast to remain in the game.

• Meet on a video call.
• The teacher will choose a random letter.
• The first player must find a word that starts with the given letter.
• The next player must then find a word that starts with the last letter of the previous player’s word. For example, if the first player chooses Cat, then the next player must find a word that starts with the letter T.
• Players must respond quickly. Any player who stalls or does not respond immediately is out of the game.

This fast-paced game is a simple way to promote laughter among students and create a fun learning environment where players must think on their feet.

5. Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger Hunts are fun activities where students race against time to find different objects. In this game, the teacher will give the players a list of items to find within sixty seconds and set a timer.

Participants must rush off to find these items and place them in front of the screen before the time runs out. Examples of objects to find include toothbrushes, red socks, and pink crayons. The first player to find all the given items wins the game. This exercise is an excellent way to keep students active and engaged.

Hangman is a simple word game where players must guess the letters of a word to escape the hangman’s noose.

• Meet using a video conferencing tool.
• Split the players into groups of four or five.
• Each group will nominate a player to think of a word.
• The player will draw blank spaces for each letter in the word using the whiteboard feature.
• Other members of the team must guess what the word is.
• The player will write down every correct letter.
• For every incorrect guess, the player will draw a stick figure body part from a noose.
• If the player completes the drawing of the hanged man, then the team loses that round.
• Each team gets a point for every correct guess.
• The team with the highest points wins the game!

This activity is a great way to encourage teamwork and promote interaction between students online.

7. Find the Differences

Find the Differences is a fun and simple game that teaches students to pay attention to detail.

• Players will take a look at each participant’s space or environment.
• Set a timer for 60 seconds.
• Each player must turn off their cameras.
• Participants will use this opportunity to remove, readjust, or add items to their space.
• When the timer runs out, the players will turn on their cameras.
• The students will take turns noting the differences in their classmates’ environments.
• The players get a point for each correct guess.
• The player with the highest point wins.

This exciting activity is an excellent way to help students develop good observation skills. To make this game even more challenging, players can change clothing, open windows, or remove their glasses to see which of their classmates will notice.

8. Charades

Charades is one of the best virtual classroom activities for students. This game promotes collaboration and teamwork.

• Split the players into two opposing groups.
• Each team will nominate a player to lead the game.
• Team A will send a word to Team B’s designated player via the chat box.
• Set a timer for 30 seconds.
• The player will act out the given word while their team members try to guess it.
• The team members must guess the word before the time runs out.
• The team wins a point if they guess the word correctly.
• The actor will then choose a word for Team A.
• The game will continue in this fashion until each team gets several turns.

This activity is a great way to improve interaction among students online and encourage players to become friends.

9. Virtual Trivia

Virtual Trivia is a great game for students. This activity allows players to learn new facts on a wide range of topics.

• Create trivia questions on topics such as science, history, geography, and literature.
• Meet via video call.
• Split players into teams of three or four.
• Ask students questions and give each team 30 seconds to answer correctly.
• Each team gets one point for every correct answer.
• The team with the highest points wins.

This activity is a great opportunity for teachers to quiz students on previously taught topics or assignments. Trivia questions also help improve cognitive skills and brain performance.

10. Simon Says

Simon Says is an engaging game that tests how well students listen to instructions.

• Meet using video conferencing software.
• The teacher will assume the role of Simon.
• The teacher will say “Simon Says,” followed by any prompt. For example, Simon says close your eyes.
• Each participant must close their eyes.
• Players who do not do as Simon says immediately are out of the game.
• If the teacher says a prompt without the words “Simon Says,” then any player who follows the prompt is out of the game.
• The game will continue this way until only one player remains.
• The last player standing wins.

This simple and interactive game can be the perfect icebreaker activity for online classes. Students can play this game at the start of their online lectures to lighten the mood.

11. Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a fun science game where students guess the name of doctors and scientists in different fields. For example, the teacher may ask, “What do you call a doctor who takes care of children?” The answer is a pediatrician.

This game is one of the best online teaching games because it helps children recognize several scientific fields and appreciate doctors who handle different health-related issues. To make this activity even more engaging, you can give bonus points to students who can spell these words correctly.

12. The Lottery

The Lottery is an interesting game that speaks to players’ characters. In this game, the teacher will inform students that they have won the biggest lottery ever.

The players will get three options, including:

• give half of the money to charity
• buy the best cars and houses in the world
• build hospitals to save lives

The players can only choose one answer and cannot change their options after choosing. You may give players different options to test their wits, character, and courage. You may also create imaginary emergencies to test if players are willing to part with their newfound wealth to help those around them.

13. Virtual Show and Tell

Virtual Show and Tell is a fun activity where students share items with great sentimental value. For this activity, participants will meet on any video conferencing platform. The students will then take turns showing off items, gifts, pets, or stories that mean a lot to them and why. Students can also share their favorite books, poems, songs, or movies and tell classmates why they like them.

This activity is a great opportunity for students to get to know each other better, share interests, and build good relationships.

14. Virtual Mannequin Challenge

Virtual Mannequin Challenge is a fun game where players have to freeze mid-action when a particular song plays. This game is an imitation of the viral mannequin challenge.

• Create a playlist of trendy songs.
• Students will pick a specific song as their “freeze song.” Whenever their freeze song plays, the participants must pause mid-action.
• Play the songs in the playlist in no particular order.
• Have students move around and dance.
• Play the freeze song randomly.
• Any student who does not freeze is out of the game.
• Students who move or shake while the freeze song plays are also out.
• Players can move freely and dance when other songs in the playlist come on.
• Switch to the freeze song at random times when other songs play.

This game will test students’ endurance and patience. This activity is also a great chance for students to listen to and enjoy their favorite music.

15. Funny Days

Funny Days is a hilarious activity where students attend online classes dressed in funny costumes to match a chosen theme.

• Set a theme for different days of the week. For example, funny beard day or weird shirt day.
• Meet on Zoom.
• Students will attend class dressed to match the day’s theme.
• Classmates will then vote for the funniest outfit.

This activity is one of the easiest online activities for students on Zoom.

16. Online Talent Show

Online Talent Shows are fun activities where students can show their best creative performances. For example, participants can paint, dance, or sing.

• Choose an order in which to perform.
• The students will take turns showing off their best talents.
• The best performance wins!

Talent Shows are great ways to nurture students’ creativity and encourage scholars to pursue what they enjoy.

17. Complete the Lyrics

Complete the Lyrics is a fun musical game where players must finish the lyrics of a song.

• Curate a playlist of trendy songs.
• Meet using any video conferencing tool.
• Play a song and pause it at random.
• The player must complete the lyrics from where the music stopped.
• If the player fails, then the next participant must complete the lyrics.

Complete the Lyrics is an easy way to check how well students know their favorite songs and boost engagement between scholars.

18. Countries, Capitals, and One Word

Countries, Capitals, and One Word is a fun and educational game for students to learn about different parts of the world and their cultures.

• Create a list of countries.
• Meet using any video conferencing software.
• The teacher will name different countries, an students will take turns sharing the capital of these countries. For example, Ethiopia’s capital is Addis Ababa.
• The student must then share one word or a few words that best describe the Ethiopian people, culture, or land.
• Students who identify with these countries may share stories about their culture, tradition, and foods.

The students may name local dishes or the colors of the country’s flag. This activity teaches students about diversity and is a great way for attendees to embrace other cultures.

Virtual Classroom games and activities are fun activities that promote learning, boost student interaction, and improve communication between students in online classes. These games keep students entertained and help create a fun learning environment.

Teachers can use these activities as a chance to get to know their students better and also give students a chance to build good relationships.

For more fun ideas for the classroom, check out our lists of virtual group tours and online field trip ideas .

FAQ: Virtual classroom games & activities

Here is our list of frequently asked questions about virtual classroom games and activities.

What are virtual classroom games?

Virtual classroom games are entertaining, educational activities that make online classes fun and engaging.

What are the best games for online classrooms?

The best games for online classrooms include Virtual Trivia, Doctor Who, and Simon Says.

What are some good activities for virtual classrooms?

Some good activities for virtual classrooms include Virtual Show and Tell, Complete the Lyrics, and Virtual Mannequin Challenge.

How do fun activities help online students?

Fun activities help online students engage and interact with classmates, reduce boredom, and ease anxiety. These activities create a fun environment where students can enjoy learning.

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15 Fun Virtual Classroom Games And Activities

One of the challenges that teachers often face is preparing fun and engaging games and activities for their students. With more and more schools transitioning to virtual classrooms, coming up with game ideas has become much more difficult.

The traditional classroom games that teachers are used to playing in class may not be possible while teaching online in a virtual classroom. So, we have put together a list of virtual classroom games and activities to help you out.

All of these games and activities can be played while teaching students online in a virtual classroom, and any materials we mention below can be downloaded and used in your virtual classrooms for free.

Virtual Classroom Games

1. quiz games.

Quiz games are a perfect activity for virtual classrooms. All students need is a pen and paper to write down their answers. There are many types of quizzes, but one quiz game that kids and teenagers really enjoy is the ‘top five’ quiz. In a ‘Top 5’ quiz, each question has multiple possible answers. For example, ‘Name a zoo animal.’. Then, students must write down one answer. Next, ask the students to show their answers using their webcam to the other students in the virtual classroom.

Once everyone has shown their answer, the teacher can reveal the ‘Top Five’ answers. If a student’s answer is the same as one of the ‘top five’ answers, then they get points. If they have an answer which is not in the top five, then they don’t get any points. Students really enjoy this game, especially when they get the number 1 answer. You can download an example quiz, and an editable quiz template to add your own questions, here .

You can also find many fun quizzes on our online quizzes page . These quizzes include interactive general knowledge quizzes, vocabulary quizzes, grammar quizzes, and more.

2. Liar Game

This next virtual classroom game is great as an ice breaker and/or for getting to know your students. To play, first, choose a question to ask all the students. For example, if you’re meeting the students after the long summer break, you might ask them “ What did you do during the summer vacation? “

Next, instruct the students that when they answer they can choose to tell something true or they can lie and make up a story. Give the students some time, say 5 minutes, to come up with their story. When the students are ready, have each student tell their story. After each story, ask each student in the virtual classroom whether they think it is true or a lie.

This activity is a lot of fun and can lead to some hilarious stories. Students especially enjoy it when they are able to make their classmates believe their crazy stories.

3. Word Association Games

Word association games can be easily played in a virtual classroom and they require little to no preparation. If you’re not familiar with word association games, they are simple games in which the teacher would choose a word and then ask students to say the first related word that comes to mind.

A great way to play this in a virtual classroom is to give students a particular topic, for example, ‘animals’, and then ask students one by one to name something from that topic. The first student who can’t think of a word, or says a word that was mentioned previously, must do a forfeit. The forfeit could be that the student has to pull a silly face, do a silly dance, or just lose a point. For some other word association game ideas, check out our other post, Five Fun Word Association Games .

4. Describe And Draw

For this next virtual classroom game, each student needs a pencil and paper to draw on. This activity is a great way to practice listening skills.

First, the teacher should find something they want the students to draw and place it off-screen where students cannot see it. Next, the teacher should start describing the object and the students should listen and draw what they think the object looks like.

Once the teacher has finished describing the object and the students have finished drawing, ask the students to show their drawings to the other members of the virtual classroom. Next, show the students the object that you were describing and see whose drawing resembles it the most. After playing one time you can also let a student be the one who chooses an object and describes it. This game is a lot of fun, and kids especially find it funny when they see all the different drawings from their classmates.

5. Online Activity Videos

In your virtual classroom, if you are able to share your screen, then our collection of activity videos can be used when you want a fun, no-prep, ready-to-use game. On our activity videos page , we have over 70 ready-to-use games on many different topics. All are free and be shown in your virtual classroom from this website or from our YouTube channel.

6. Scavenger Hunt

This activity is a fantastic game to play while teaching online, especially with kids. And the best thing about it is it needs no preparation. To play, simply think of a kind of object that students likely have in their house/room. Then, students should run off and find that object and then return and share what they found with the class. For example, you might ask students to find something blue, or a toy, or find something that is a certain shape, etc. The things students come up with can be really surprising and funny making this activity great for teaching kids online.

7. Guess Who It Is

This next game is a great warm-up or ice-breaker activity. To play, choose one student and ask that student to close their eyes or look away from the computer screen. Next, choose one student to be a ‘secret witch’. That student should then say something like “I am a scary witch! Be very afraid! Wahahaha!”. And then, the student who closed their eyes should then open their eyes and try to guess which student’s voice they heard. This activity is super fun and works perfectly when teaching in a virtual classroom.

8. Would You Rather

Asking ‘Would you rather questions’ is a fun activity to play online with students and a great way to learn more about your students’ personalities. You can ask students to simply answer the question directly, or ask them to type what they would rather do in the chat window. If you need some ideas for these kinds of questions, check out our list of 30 Fun Would You Rather Questions For Kids .

9. Mystery Box Game

This next activity is a fun PowerPoint game that you can easily play online with students. For this game, you’ll need our Mystery Box PowerPoint Game Template . Simply add your own questions and/or pictures to the template before the lesson. To play this game, divide the students into two teams. The teams will take turns answering a question. After answering the question, students can then choose to keep the box or give the box to the other team. Inside the box is good points (e.g +1000) or bad points (-1000). Although this game takes a little preparation, it is worth it as students really love this activity.

10. Simon Says

The classic classroom game ‘ Simon Says ‘ can be easily adapted to play online. Ask students to stand up and stand back from the camera. Next, the teacher should say an action preceded by “ Simon Says.. “. For example, “S imon says touch your head “. If the teacher says “ Simon says… ” first, then students should do that action. If the teacher doesn’t say it first, then the students should not follow the instruction. Students that do, are out.

11. The Chain Game

This game needs no preparation and is great for when you have extra time in your online class. To play, one student should say a word, and then the next student should say a word that starts with the last letter of the previous word. To make it more difficult, you can introduce a category of words (e.g. animals) that students must focus on.

12. The Telepathy Game

To play this game, you’ll need to download our Telepathy Game PowerPoint Template or make your own. The idea of the game is simple. You ask students a question and give them two possible answers. Only one of them is the answer that the teacher chose. So, students must use ‘telepathy’ to read the teacher’s mind and guess the answer. If they guess correctly, they get a point. Students basically have a 50/50 chance to guess the answer. Although this game is so simple, kids really love it and love pretending that they have the power to read minds.

13. Make A Story Game

This activity is very simple but often students will come up with some really hilarious stories. To play, start the story but don’t finish the sentence. For example, “ Once upon a time, there was a .. .”. Then, ask a student to finish the sentence, and start the next sentence of the story. Again that student should not finish the sentence, the next student should. To play this game online, you can ask students to type in their sentences into the chat window and then the teacher can read the story allowed at the end.

14. Word Detective

If you are teaching a particular text or story, this activity is great to play to practice students’ reading and scanning skills. Display the text on-screen, or if students have their own copy of the text at home they can use that. Next, choose a word from the text and ask students to be ‘word detectives’ and find how many of that word there is. To make it more difficult, you can ask students to find a particular type of word, such as nouns, verbs, adverbs, etc.

15. Blooket

Blooket is a fantastic platform for online learning that allows teachers to create and host quizzes and games. After creating a quiz, teachers can share the game with students so they can complete it online on their own devices. Check out this helpful guide on How To Use Blooket for more details.

16. Let’s Dance Game

This last activity can easily be played online by sharing your screen and using our Let’s Dance PowerPoint Game Template . The template has 30 boxes, each with space for one word or number. Simply type in 30 words into the boxes that you want students to practice. Then, the game can begin. Students will take turns reading the words in the boxes. Each time, students can choose to say 1 word, 2 words, or a maximum of 3 words. The student who says the last word must do a silly dance.

Thanks for reading. I hope you found this list of virtual classroom games and activities useful.

40 Fun Games for Online Students on Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet

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Teachers are always looking for unique ways to engage students in virtual classrooms in the ever-changing education world. The transition to online platforms like Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet has sparked innovation in transforming classroom exercises into enjoyable experiences. This collection of fun games for students gives instructors activities to keep them involved in their online learning journey. 

Table of Contents

How COVID Changed Education

As schools wrestled with the requirement of physical closures to contain the COVID-19 spread, the education world quickly shifted to virtual learning options. In this era of distance learning, educators are adapting to a digital landscape that demands technological acumen.

One of the effects of COVID-19 on education has been the increased use of digital tools in remote environments. Traditional classrooms gave way to virtual classrooms overnight, with instructors using video conferencing and mobile devices applications like Zoom meetings, Microsoft Teams app to deliver classes remotely. 

The challenge resulted in the discovery of the best Zoom games and the implementation of fun activities that transcended the boundaries of the classroom. Educators began finding new techniques such as finding the best games for adaptive learning. For educators venturing into the virtual realm, platforms like Google Classroom became essential components of the teaching toolkit. 

The Google Meet platform, coupled with Google Hangouts and other tools, provided a versatile space for educators to conduct classes in both large groups and small groups. These academic games added an element of fun to the virtual learning experience. 

The integration of fun Zoom games not only addressed the need for engagement but also became favorite games among students. There was a rising realization of the best way for education to be more adaptive. The challenges propel educators and older students towards a digital frontier.  

Through the incorporation of the best Google Meet games, Zoom activities, and an educational game tailored for online classes, the education community embraced a fun way of learning. 

Problems with Remote Learning

Remote environments have regularly created obstacles for instructors and students. Not all have equal access to suitable mobile devices and internet connection, which exacerbates inequities. This disparity affects many or a small group of students’ capacity to attend virtual classrooms. 

In distance learning, students’ excitement might wane without face-to-face contact and fun activities. Technical faults also complicate the remote learning experience. Furthermore, the transition to online learning has raised worries about social isolation. Some features of a conventional class meeting are a bit challenging in virtual classes. 

To address challenges in remote learning, educators are exploring unique ways to foster connections in virtual team building games through a video call. Incorporating an interactive game and icebreaker games, such as in Microsoft icebreakers, can turn a routine zoom call into a fun activity that builds a sense of community. 

Utilizing the “Together Mode” in Microsoft Teams meetings to incorporate team-building games can create a more interactive way and engaging experience. For Zoom classes, exploring a great way to integrate activities can also contribute to an interactive environment. Teachers can utilize Zoom breakout rooms and collaborative projects to foster cooperation. 

Considering the prevalence of computers or a mobile device, instructors can explore online energizers and activity ideas that students can participate in. Implementing board games for online platforms is one of the best ways to infuse a lot of fun into smaller groups within the Zoom room. By employing this good idea, educators can create a more enriching educational experience.

Keeping Students Engaged

Keeping students engaged in a remote learning environment is the best part for instructors looking to deliver a successful learning environment. One popular method is the incorporation of virtual games. These icebreaker games serve as tools to break up the monotony of online meetings and encourage an engagement level among students.

Using online games and collaborative games on video conferencing applications like Zoom meeting, Microsoft Teams app, and Google Classroom grab students’ attention and make learning pleasurable. These interactive games also hone problem-solving skills. 

In addition, introducing the best games allows instructors to measure student progress in real-time. Using a fun Zoom game and interactive games generates a feeling of camaraderie. A virtual board game can also promote cooperation and friendly competition.  

Instructors can also explore the best Microsoft Teams games and Zoom games that involve breakout rooms. These virtual games add a fun addition to an online meeting. Utilizing Zoom breakout rooms or the equivalent feature in MS Teams can develop problem-solving skills within small groups.

Another great game idea is incorporating virtual backgrounds to make the experience enjoyable. By encouraging students to use creative backgrounds during a video chat or Zoom meeting, instructors can add an element of fun to the classroom. Additionally, a simple game with a time limit, such as an easy game or short video games, can be an effective way to maintain engagement during sessions.

Educators can also leverage platforms like Google Meet and incorporate Google Meet activities. The use of Google Doc allows students to work together in real-time. Features that use breakout rooms and free games, such as Heads Up, allow for a more interactive experience. 

In conclusion, an engaging game presents a viable solution to the greatest challenge of keeping students engaged in a remote environment. 

Online Class Games

Teachers have discovered inventive methods such as incorporating a list of virtual classroom games to keep students interested on popular platforms such as Zoom, Teams, and Google Hangouts. These academic games introduce a mix of new games and virtual tours alongside a familiar game that keeps the classroom engaging. 

From fun Zoom games for online students to the best Google Meet games, these free games provide a dynamic alternative to the traditional lecture style. This reimagining of a classic game fosters student friendship, an easy way to convert the online classroom into an arena of shared learning. Below is a list of games you can incorporate in your online classes. 

Kahoot is a famous quiz platform that makes learning fun and one of the most favorite games by students. Teachers may construct personalized tests on various topics, and students can compete in real-time to answer questions correctly. It is the perfect virtual game tailored to various topics and ability levels, promoting a dynamic and engaging online learning environment.

#2 Balderdash

Balderdash is one of the best fun word games that rewards creativity and rapid thinking. Students take turns devising fictitious meanings for cryptic terms while others attempt to identify the true meaning. This creative game improves vocabulary and makes players laugh as they come up with amusing definitions.

#3 The A-Z Game

The A-Z Game is a fast-paced exercise and can be one of the best Zoom games to incorporate in your class. Participants take turns identifying objects that begin with each alphabet letter within a given category. This fun alphabet game is readily adaptable to other themes, making it a flexible and pleasant word challenge alternative for virtual classes. 

#4 Compound Word Quiz

The Compound Word Quiz is an instructive word game where students mix words to produce a word. As students work together to understand complex phrases, this simple game develops language and collaborative learning. 

I Spy is the perfect game that connects well to virtual classrooms. One player chooses an item from their surroundings and delivers the first letter, leading others to guess what it is. As students share peeks into their virtual backgrounds, this game enhances attention and foster connections. 

#6 Logo Quiz

The Logo Quiz is a perfect game that challenges students to recognize iconic logos from diverse brands. This easy game improves visual identification as well as general brand awareness. Participants may exhibit logos, while others can guess the brand names. 

#7 Virtual Scavenger Hunts

Virtual Scavenger Hunts are an engaging approach to engage students online. Teachers might give students a list of things or hints to discover and show on their cameras. This game encourages problem-solving skills and active engagement, providing a playful aspect to the Zoom room.

To organize a virtual scavenger hunt, teachers can create a curated list of items related to the subject matter. By incorporating scavenger hunts into Zoom classes, educators can create an opportunity for students to actively participate in a hands-on, easy way. The adaptability of the virtual scavenger hunt makes them a versatile tool for fostering a dynamic learning environment.

#8 Guess the Sound

Guess the Sound is an auditory challenge in which students listen to different sounds and attempt to identify them. The main object of the game is to improve listening abilities and expose students to sounds from their classmates’ surroundings. 

#9 What’s the Question?

What’s the Question is a great game that flips the script on typical quiz forms. Participants are given replies rather than answers; their objective is to develop the appropriate questions. This creative game enables players to think critically, improve their questioning abilities, and better grasp diverse subjects. 

#10 Rock, Paper, Scissors

This virtual recreation of the ancient hand game lends a sense of spontaneity to online classes. Students may choose using emojis and a simple set of criteria selects the winner. The Rock Paper Scissors game is simple to play and it is a fun game that can fill the online classroom with laughter and excitement. 

#11 Finish The Story Game

The Finish The Story Game is a collaborative and perfect virtual game in which each player contributes a phrase to create a tale. This interactive game not only encourages creativity but also improves narrative and writing abilities. Students take turns contributing to the story, building on their classmates’ ideas. 

#12 Tic-Tac-Toe

Tic-Tac-Toe is a traditional game readily adaptable to Zoom activities, Teams, and Google Meet platform. Students may take turns putting their Xs and Os on the virtual whiteboard or using annotation tools to obtain a three-in-a-row triumph. This classic game stimulates strategic thinking and pleasant rivalry in a familiar and approachable style for online learning.

#13 Mad Libs

Mad Libs is a humorous and one of the best interactive language arts games that perfectly converts to virtual platforms. Participants take turns filling in the spaces of a pre-written tale using nouns, verbs, etc. The Mad Libs game encourages creativity and adds a surprise aspect by reading the finished tales aloud. 

#14 Odd One Out

Odd One Out is an excellent observational and deductive brain teaser for virtual classrooms. Teachers may offer a group of things or ideas, and students must determine which one does not belong. This game enables students to clarify their reasoning skills. 

#15 Charades

Charades is a popular traditional game that connects to virtual learning settings. While others attempt to guess, students act out a word or phrase without speaking. Virtual charades may be enabled through motions on camera, providing a funny and participatory component to online lessons. 

#16 The Name Game

The Name Game is a fantastic game in virtual classrooms to improve memory and friendship. Participants take turns pronouncing a name, and the person who comes next must come up with a new name that begins with the last letter of the previous one. This memory game adds a fun factor when kids find similar hobbies or learn new names. 

#17 Jeopardy

A popular game, Jeopardy, may be converted to virtual classrooms utilizing presentation tools. Teachers may construct personalized Jeopardy game boards with varied difficulty levels. As students compete alone or in large groups to answer questions correctly, this word game promotes information retention and friendly competitiveness. 

#18 GeoGuessr

GeoGuessr is a compelling geography game that uses Google Maps to send students to random places throughout the globe. It is an immersive and informative choice for virtual classrooms, offering virtual tours that piques students’ interest and encourages them to explore.

#19 Pictionary

Pictionary is the best way to encourage collaboration and friendly competition in virtual classes. To enhance the virtual Pictionary experience, teachers can make use of the whiteboard feature available in online platforms. 

Additionally, incorporating a quick draw round where participants have a limited time to guess adds an excitement to the fun activity. Teachers can also extend the benefits of Pictionary by transforming it into a collaborative art project. 

Boggle is a fun word game that seamlessly moves to virtual platforms. Teachers may display a grid of letters and give students a time limit to discover as many words as possible by linking neighboring letters. This game helps with vocabulary, pattern identification, and time management. 

#21 20 Questions

20 Questions is a traditional guessing game in which students must determine an item or idea from a succession of yes/no and a list of questions. This game improves logical reasoning, critical thinking, and questioning techniques. 

Top 5, like Family Feud, is a fun icebreaker game where students take turns naming their top five favorite list of items from a specified category. It might be anything from favorite movies to fantasy holiday spots. It is a simple method to break the ice and create a friendly environment in virtual classes.

#23 Two Truths and a Lie

Two Truths and a Lie is a traditional get-to-know-you game that works incredibly well in virtual classes. Each person gives three claims about themselves, two of which are true and one false, and the others must determine which is untrue. 

This fun game motivates kids to think imaginatively about how they deliver information. The utilization of a piece of paper or sheet of paper also allows for a tactile aspect, as students can physically write down their statements. 

#24 Countdown

The countdown is a challenging game in which students complete arithmetic problems or unscramble words against time. Teachers may ask a list of questions, and students compete to be the first to enter the proper answers. 

#25 Quizizz

Quizizz is an interactive trivia games platform that makes learning fun. Teachers may construct quizzes on various subjects, and students compete in real-time to answer questions correctly. This adaptable virtual trivia platform allows customization to meet various topics and ability levels. 

#26 Zoomed In Picture Game

The Zoomed In Picture Game is a visual challenge in which players estimate the identity of a list of things based on a close-up photograph. This fantastic game improves visual perception while adding interest and intrigue to virtual classrooms. It is an adaptable and engaging game that can be tailored to various topics and themes. 

#27 Continue the Story

This game is one of the most collaborative and interactive language arts games in which each player adds a last word or phrase to an expanding tale. Students contribute to the tale, resulting in a shared narrative journey. 

#28 Mad Gab

Mad Gab is a vibrant and fun word game in which students must interpret statements from apparently incomprehensible syllables. In the rules of the game, participants engage in a turn-taking activity where they read aloud a set of words, collectively forming a well-known phrase or saying when spoken rapidly. 

#29 Follow the Letters

Follow the Letters is an instructive game in which kids use a given word’s letters to create new phrases or sentences. It is an adaptable exercise tailored to various topics and skill levels. To add a variation, teachers can introduce the greatest challenge like focusing on the first letter or last letter of each word. 

Mafia is a social deduction game that may be played in virtual environments. Participants play several roles, including mafia members and townspeople. This game improves critical thinking, communication, and collaboration abilities. To ensure a smooth experience, it is essential to establish the rules of the game clearly. 

Gimkit is a configurable quiz game for online learning settings. Teachers may construct quizzes with a variety of questions, and students get bonus points for accurately answering questions. Gimkit’s money system enables students to spend and invest their profits intelligently. 

Memory is a traditional concentration card game that adapts well to virtual platforms. Players take turns flipping cards and attempting to locate matching pairs. This memory game improves focus and adds a pleasant competitive aspect to virtual settings. A card game is a simple yet effective method for engaging students and reinforcing learning ideas. 

#33 Interest Inventory

Interest Inventory is an engaging and informative virtual classroom game that allows students to discover and discuss their interests. Teachers might construct a questionnaire or conversation questions to learn about students’ interests, passions, and preferences. 

#34 Hit It in Five

Hit It in Five is a time-limited game in which students have five minutes to study and deliver a subject. As students compete to convey crucial ideas within a time limit, this game improves critical thinking skills. To have fun addition, teachers can introduce bonus points for creativity or additional relevant information in the presentations for the highest score. 

#35 Pyramid

Pyramid is a word-guessing game that works well on virtual platforms. Participants work in pairs, one supplying hints or virtual trivia to their companion to assist them in identifying a specific word or phrase and get the highest score. The problem is that the clues get more difficult with each round. 

Taboo is an interactive word-guessing game that smoothly adapts to the online version. While others guess the target word, participants take turns defining a word without using particular “taboo” words. Word games like this game are an excellent alternative for boosting online interaction. 

Bingo is a popular game that connects well to virtual classrooms. Teachers may make digital bingo cards with the lesson’s phrases, ideas, or visuals. This familiar game reinforces learning and adds excitement to virtual courses. For a twist, teachers can utilize game boards such as Microsoft Teams Bingo to create an interactive experience. 

#38 Math True or False

Math True or False is an interesting game in which students judge the correctness of mathematical problems. Students must assess whether a set of math questions teachers present are true or untrue. This game fosters speedy decision-making and teaches mathematical fundamentals. 

#39 Ambassadors

Ambassadors is one of the best world play games that promotes collaboration and communication in virtual classrooms. Students act as “ambassadors” for a certain subject and convey it to the class. World play games such as this emphasizes leadership among students.  

#40 The Survival Game

The Survival Game is an interesting game in which students must work together to solve a fictional survival crisis. This game is a great way to improve problem-solving abilities and stimulates creativity and cooperation in a virtual setting.

Whether you are a teacher working with kids online or in a classroom, our team has the best ideas and lists for you! Check out other ideas in these articles:

• 20 Fun Online Sight Word Games For Kindergarten Students
• 35 Fun Music Games For 1st Grade Through 4th Grade (Classroom or Home)
• 50 Fun Puzzles and Puzzle Games for Preschoolers

Kiezela Quiz once whizzed through clouds as a flight attendant, but her love for books and penning down thoughts lured her back to solid ground. Now, she is a full-time writer, and every week she dishes out articles on education, gaming, and pretty much anything that sparkles under the sun.

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12 Best Virtual Games for Classroom Fun & Learning

1. Dance and Pause

2. first letter, last letter, 3. pop up quiz , 4. complete a story , 5. guess who, 6. twist your tongue , 7. know your friends , 8. pictionary, 10. what would you do if you were.

As things get back to normal after almost two years, students are back in classrooms, and teachers are now teaching without screen barriers. However, teachers still need to be careful, and one way to ensure that is through virtual games. 

Teachers avoid taking students to field trips and indulge in extracurricular activities to mitigate the chances of spreading any infection. It is necessary for safety, but it impacts students’ engagement and social interactions.

Fortunately, virtual games are a simple solution to this problem. Teachers can host virtual game periods in classrooms to provide students with an engaging and fun environment. They can easily play and learn new things on a Zoom call, Google Meet, or online multiplayer games. 

So, let’s check out cool virtual games that you can play with your students today. Looking for more Math games and ELA games to educate and engage your kids? Here are more online educational games to check out!

12 Fun Yet Educational Virtual Games for Students

Games help create an informal classroom environment to develop better bonds between students and teachers. Playing virtual games can help students learn new things and interact with other students and teachers without stepping outside their homes. Here are some cool virtual games that you can play in your online classroom:

This game is a virtual version of musical chairs. You can play some music in this game and ask your students to dance their hearts out. You can suddenly pause the music, and then all your students have to stop dancing. However, students who keep dancing even after the music stops will get eliminated from the game. You can keep playing this game until a student remains in the game. 

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This is an exciting word game that can help you improve the vocabulary and spelling of your students. You have to give an alphabet letter to your student, and they have to name an animal starting with the letter, like D for a dog. After that, the next student will have to use the last letter of the word to name an animal, for example, G for the giraffe. The circle keeps on moving until the student can’t name an animal from the given letter. 

The best way to analyze your students’ performance in a fun way is by organizing a virtual pop-up quiz game. You can give a theme to your students for a quiz-like Disney, Math, Harry Potter, etc. You can use different props to make the quiz more interesting, like buzzers, timers, and costumes. Just try to make your virtual quiz as fun as possible for students. 

This virtual game can help you stimulate creativity and passion for reading among your students. You can give a line or prompt to students to create a story around it, like a man walking in the city or a girl dancing in the rain. For this game, you can divide your class into smaller groups so that each group can compete with one another to create a beautiful story.

If you want to test your students’ history knowledge, you can create riddles around famous historical personalities. This way, you can make your students learn about famous historical personalities and their achievements. For example, who is a naturalized-French physicist and chemist who researched radioactivity? The student who answers correctly will get a score, and the person with high scores will win the game. 

If you want to improve the pronunciation skills of your students, you can host virtual tongue twister games for them. You can give five chances to each student to say a tongue twister ten times as fast as possible. You can create a fun environment in your virtual class and make your students’ speeches clear. Some of the popular tongue twisters are:

• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
• Betty Botter bought some butter
• She sells seashells by the seashore
• I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

This simple virtual game will help you build relationships with your students. With this game, your students can learn new things about one another. To play this game, you should ask questions like — “name the friend who has a birthday this month,” “name the friend who likes red colors,” etc. 

Pictionary is a traditional game that can help to improve students’ creativity and drawing skills. You can make your students share the screen and open the Paint application to draw. You can make the game even more enjoyable by dividing your class into small teams. This will boost team coordination and communication skills among your students. 

This game can help you improve your students’ cognitive and acting skills. You can send guessing prompts to your students via personal chat for this game. And ask a student to turn off his microphone and use gestures or lips to narrate the word to other students. The student who guessed the word right will get a score. You can also divide your class into groups to create a healthy competition. 

This classic game will help improve your young students’ imagination and decision-making capabilities. In this game, you will give an imaginary position to your students and ask them what they would do if you were in a particular situation, such as what would you do if you were president for one day? These questions will make your students think about new things and situations, leading to a logical and problem-solving mindset. 

You can develop observation skills by sharing puzzle pictures with your students. You can find several puzzle pictures online with different objects and colors. In this game, you have to ask your students to find an object or color in the image. The student who will identify more things mentioned on your list will win this game.

12. Sharp Memory 

As the name suggests, this virtual game will help you sharpen your students’ memory. You need to collect a few things and show them to your students via your camera to play this game, like a pen, paper, chocolates, etc. But only show the items for 20 seconds, and then ask your students to list down all the items you have just shown them. Finally, students who write down the most things will win the game. 

Parting Remarks

Virtual games are the best way to improve cognitive skills and develop bonds between your students. Especially if lockdown is still prevailing in your country, virtual games can help you create a stress-free environment for your students. So, let’s not hold back any longer and host a virtual game period today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are virtual games important.

Virtual games are essential for character development and skill growth among young students. Students learn to communicate and work in a team by playing online games. They also learn to express their emotions and be creative without any judgment. For overall mental and physical development, virtual games are beneficial. 

Are online games beneficial to students?

Online games can provide different learning and improvement opportunities to students. Through games, students can learn to write, better pronounce words and express themselves. They can also come out of their inner shell and freely communicate with teachers and other students during a fun game environment.

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Five Fun Virtual Activities for Students

Explore this list of fun virtual activities for students to create an engaging and insightful school year.

Another remote school year has teachers preparing online activities that engage, excite, and educate growing minds eager to absorb new information. However, an abundance of online activities makes finding the right activity for a remote classroom difficult.

Even though thousands of virtual activities claim to be accessible, fun, and entertaining, only some measure up. Not to mention, it's common to feel drained after rummaging through hundreds of search results for virtual activities. To spare you time, energy, and a potential headache, I'm sharing five fun virtual activities for students that promote learning. Let's get started!

National Geographic Kids

Take students on a virtual adventure exploring deep sea creatures, mammals, reptiles, and more with National Geographic Kids. This site includes slideshows, games, and videos that share weird and fascinating facts about different animals. Teachers can share their screen as the video plays to ensure everyone is watching, then have a pop quiz to review what was covered.

Virtual Read Aloud

Reading aloud is one of the simplest ways to educate, entertain, and bond with students. Teachers can pick a short book that corresponds with a lesson, find a place to read, then open the virtual call for students to slowly trickle in.

Keeping everyone's attention is trickier when remote amongst other things, so to remedy this, make sure every student has a hard copy of the book. This way, students can follow along and see the colorful illustrations on every page. You can add soft background music to amp up the mood and move around to add action as the story progresses. If the read-aloud is solely to educate students, you can always record yourself so they can consume the story at their own pace. You can edit the recording to include photos, supplemental material, and questions at the end to review the book.

Compare and Contrast Exercise

A virtual compare and contrast exercise can be used to test students knowledge on similar topics, while helping them develop arguments, ideas, and positions on their findings. After a lesson, students can break out into groups and virtually fill in a Venn Diagram while sharing their thoughts. A tool offering real-time collaboration, like Kapwing to fill in the diagram keeps everyone on the same page as the brainstorming progresses.

Virtual Map Challenge

Test your students geography knowledge with an interactive world map that works on all devices. With this online map, students choose from grades 1-6 then decide to play a game or start an activity to test their knowledge of the nations. There are timed challenges to sharpen their skills and multiple choice quizzes to develop a comprehensive understanding of continents, landmarks and more.

Virtual Bingo

Bring the bingo game to your virtual class with a free bingo card template . Have every student print off a bingo card and gather chips to use for the game. To make the game sweeter, you could suggest using candy, nuts, or dried fruit as markers. If a student doesn't have a printer, they can upload the template to Kapwing and mark off each number with a shape or GIF! Vocabulary, chemical elements, and states are examples of theme ideas to use for bingo games.

Bonus: Turkey in Disguise Project

The Turkey in Disguise project is a great way to bring holiday festivities to a virtual class preparing to leave for a break. Students can get crafty and share ideas with others while helping this innocent turkey escape from hungry guests. To kick this project off, teachers can read Turkey Trouble , the book that inspired this project, then use this free template to provide helpful instructions as they build a clever disguise.

In the end, I recommend creating a slideshow with pictures of each turkey, then following up with a group discussion to share the creative process behind each disguise.

If this article was helpful or you have a topic suggestion, feel free to each out Twitter and and subscribe to our YouTube channel for trendy tutorials! Check out the articles below for more back to school content.

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28 Virtual Breakout Activities To Engage Students

March 17, 2023 //  by  Seda Unlucay

In the current era of remote learning, virtual breakout rooms have emerged as a popular tool to engage students in interactive learning activities. However, it can be challenging for teachers to come up with innovative and exciting virtual activities that keep students motivated. To address this issue, we’ve compiled a list of 28 virtual breakout activities that are designed to promote critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork while making learning fun and effective. 

1. Play an Ice Breaker Game of Scattergories

To play Scattegories, begin by presenting a list of categories, such as “types of vegetables” or “countries in Asia,” and a letter of the alphabet. Each player will have a set amount of time to come up with a unique answer that fits the category and starts with the given letter. It’s a fun way to promote creative thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. 

Learn More: Bustle

2. Reading Comprehension Activity

Ask students to discuss a reading passage of their choice before answering comprehension questions related to it. Encourage each group member to participate actively and contribute their ideas and opinions. Sharing their perspectives provides an opportunity for children to engage with diverse viewpoints, fostering empathy and understanding.

Learn More: Teachaboo

3. Silly Spelling

Silly silent spelling is a fun virtual activity that involves children taking turns spelling out words without making any sounds. apart from helping kids develop their communication and collaboration skills, it encourages them to think outside the box and use their imaginations to convey a message. 

Learn More: Brain Wave Instruction

4. Play a Game of Would You Rather

To play “Would You Rather” in a breakout room, one student asks a question with two options, such as the one above, and everyone chooses which option they prefer. The benefits include fostering connection while promoting critical thinking skills as kids weigh their options.

Learn More: Visionary Teaching

5. Host a Virtual Scavenger Hunt 

To play a virtual scavenger hunt with kids, provide them with a list of common household items to find within a set time. The first child to return with all the items wins. This easy, low-prep game is a fantastic way to promote problem-solving skills, teamwork, and meaningful communication. 

Learn More: Happy Mom Hacks

6. Try a Timed Writing Activity

Begin by giving students a creative writing prompt and adding a timed element to make it more challenging. Apart from improving writing skills, timed writing tasks promote quick thinking while boosting confidence in students’ ability to write under pressure. 

7. Host a Virtual Classroom Show and Tell Activity 

Show and tell is a classic classroom activity for a reason – kids can’t help but share what they’re excited about while eliciting questions from their classmates. Why not conduct a session online to promote communication skills, confidence, and creativity?

Learn More: Dad Fixes Everything

8. Fun Activity with Origami

Origami is a wonderfully enriching activity in person or online. Following detailed folding instructions can help develop fine motor skills, spatial reasoning, and focus. Children can also learn about Japanese culture and history while benefiting from the relaxing aspect of paper folding.

Learn More: Krafty Lab

9. Play Two Truths and a Lie in a Virtual Setting

Two Truths and a Lie is a game where each player shares three statements about themselves, two being true and one false, and others have to guess which is the lie. It’s an easy way to develop critical thinking skills while building trust and connection. 

Learn More: It Geared

10. Play a Game of Never Have I Ever 

“Never Have I Ever” is a game where players take turns saying something they’ve never done. Those who have done it lose a point. This fun activity can promote self-reflection, communication, and critical thinking, while also encouraging social interaction among classmates.

Learn More: Mom Loves Best

11. Play a Game of Pictionary

Pictionary is a fun drawing and guessing game where one person draws a picture while the others try to guess the word or phrase. It helps kids develop their creativity, communication, and critical thinking skills while developing their vocabulary. 

Learn More: All Things How

12. Play Charades with Participants in Breakout Rooms

Charades is a classic game where players act out a word or phrase without speaking while others guess. It improves communication skills, and creativity while promoting teamwork. 

Learn More: Nerds Chalk

13. Play 20 Questions 

20 Questions makes for a fun and engaging virtual activity where players take turns asking yes or no questions to guess an object thought of by one player. The game helps to improve creativity, and memory skills while giving kids a chance to get to know their classmates.

Learn More: UMC Young People

14. Play a Game of Boggle

To play Boggle, set up a virtual game board with a grid and give kids a set amount of time to find as many words as possible by connecting adjoining letters on the grid. After the time is up, kids can compare their word lists and score points based on the length and complexity of their words. 

Learn More: TPT

15. Host a Silent Disco 

To host an active silent disco, have dancers wear headphones and dance to their favorite music without disturbing others. Why not enhance the fun by offering dance move challenges? Apart from improving coordination, dancing is a great mood booster and brain break!

Learn More: Opus Agency

16. Play Simon Says

Simon Says is a classic game that makes for plenty of online fun!  The leader will act as “Simon” and give instructions such as “Simon says touch your nose and the kids in the room must follow the instructions only if “Simon says” is said before the instruction.

Learn More: Team Building Hub  

17. Try An Escape Room

After selecting a challenging but grade-appropriate virtual escape room, encourage the kids to work together and communicate effectively to solve the puzzles and escape within the given time frame. Benefits include increased teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving skills. 

Learn More: Virtual Escape Rooms for Kids

18. Play Desert Island

To set up this creative activity, divide kids into small groups and assign them the task of being stranded on a deserted island. Each group should work together to come up with a list of 10 items they would bring with them to the island to help them survive. They can then present their list to the rest of the group and explain why they chose each item.

Learn More: Session Lab

19. Share Six-Word Memoirs

Six-Word Memoirs is an inventive game that encourages kids to reflect on their lives and create a concise story in just six words. This unique challenge fosters increased self-awareness and self as kids learn how to distill their thoughts and emotions into a few impactful words.

Learn More: Six-Word Memoirs

20. Emoji Pictionary

For this virtual activity, have students act out an assigned group of emojis for the other participants to guess. This simple and fun activity is a great way to break the ice and foster teamwork, making it an ideal activity for building group connections. 

Learn More: Team Happily

21. Play Bingo

After sharing the virtual bingo cards with students in their breakout rooms, have them mark the numbers as they are called out. This classic game makes an easy go-to for encouraging healthy competition while developing memory and concentration. 

Learn More: Tech Cult

22. Play a Trivia Game

After dividing students into teams, assign a captain for each team who will be responsible for communicating their team’s answer to the host. The host can ask questions related to various subjects such as science, history, literature, etc. Not only will kids learn new information, but they will also develop cognitive skills and a greater sense of curiosity for learning. 

Learn More: Watson Adventures

23. Host a Lip Sync Battle

To begin, divide the kids into small groups and provide them with a list of popular songs to choose from. Each group can then pick a song and create a lip-sync performance for it. Why not invite them to dress up in costumes, use props and choreograph dance moves to make their performance more entertaining? 

Learn More: Song Division

24. Try Mad Libs 

Mad Libs is a word game where players take turns filling in blanks in a story with random words, resulting in silly and surprising ap outcomes. Apart from increasing language skills by teaching them parts of speech and vocabulary, this classic game also enhances their creativity and imagination. 

25. Play Virtual I Spy

To start, a designated player selects an object from their surroundings and describes it without revealing what it is. The other players then have to guess what the object is. This activity is beneficial for kids as it promotes critical thinking, vocabulary development, and social interaction. 

Learn More: The OT Toolbox

26. Play an Online Detective Game

To play the detective game in a virtual breakout room, first, divide the kids into breakout rooms and assign each team a case to solve. The teams then work together to gather clues, analyze evidence, and ultimately solve the mystery. By working together, kids learn to collaborate and respect each other’s opinions. 

Learn More: Detective Games

27. Cook Up Something Delicious

Online cooking classes provide numerous benefits for kids, such as enhancing their cooking skills and healthy eating habits, encouraging creativity and innovation, and boosting their confidence, all while promoting teamwork and communication. 

Learn More: Very Well Family

28. Play Battleship

In this breakout room version of Battleship, two players take turns trying to sink each other’s hidden ships by guessing their coordinates on a virtual grid. It’s a fun way to develop strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, and improve communication between teammates.

Learn More: Washington Post

• Our Mission

13 Virtual Games to Play in Your Elementary Classroom

From scavenger hunts to Pictionary, we’ve gathered a batch of virtual games to get students talking, laughing, and engaging with peers.

While most educators feel too worn out to take on anything else this year, classroom games—old and new—can provide a much-needed respite for students and teachers who are burned out on video lessons and miss social connection.

We found some easy-to-use virtual games that elementary teachers are playing with their students this year, along with tips on how to incorporate them into the classroom.

Gaming With Google Slides

After noticing how much her students missed informal socializing during hybrid learning, Liz Henneberry, a third-grade teacher in Franklin, Massachusetts, transformed Connect Four , Trouble , Chess , and Checkers to Google Slides; the latter two are adaptations from Eric Curts' templates , and all of Henneberry's templates can be downloaded and immediately used in your virtual classroom. During recess breaks, students click a board game shelved in a virtual recess room, which creates their own copy of the game. Students can then share the game with their friend using Google Drive so that the two can play a round together. If students are new to sharing Google Slides, Henneberry recommends modeling the step-by-step process first.

Similarly, Robin Nahhas says her third-grade students have loved playing Multiplication Tic-Tac-Toe , a downloadable game she created on Google Slides so that they could practice their multiplication facts. Before playing, Nahhas goes over directions and the code of conduct with students, reminding them of protocols such as not interfering with classmates’ games or else having their gaming privileges revoked.

Then, she pairs up students and places them in breakout rooms on Zoom. Each student in the pair selects a set of color pieces, and when it’s their turn, they roll two digital dice, multiply the numbers shown, and place a piece onto the virtual board with the corresponding number. To play again, they move their pieces back to the side of the board. If students need help solving a problem, they can rely on their partner or click the “Ask for Help” button after trying one of the strategies they learned in class with pencil and paper first.

Games to Boost Creative Thinking

During morning meetings, fifth-grade teacher Sarah Wood says she incorporates games like scavenger hunts that the whole class can play together while learning from home. When it’s time to play, Wood projects a word like blanket and a matching image on a slideshow, and then students run to find the item in their homes. When they find the object, they can share it on video or by typing in the chat box.

Wood has even focused the game around particular learning goals, like having students find objects that reinforce vocabulary or putting together a project with the items. Once, they were asked to find a broom, a blanket, and a few heavy objects, and then they had 10 minutes to build a reading fort. During asynchronous time, they used Flipgrid to give a tour of their forts.

She says her students have also enjoyed directed drawing exercises—when students are directed to draw something without seeing it. Wood gives directions like “Draw a large oval with a smaller oval inside; on the left side, attach a triangle,” based on images from a drawing book or a directed drawing YouTube channel . When her students are done drawing, they turn on their cameras, put their artwork up to the screen, and guess what they drew. Wood then reveals the actual drawing and it tends to bring out a lot of laughter, she says.

Wood’s students also love games where they take a more active role. Using Blackboard Collaborate  for Pictionary, students take turns drawing on a whiteboard—prompted by a word generator —while students call out their guesses. The next time Wood plays, she’ll use Whiteboard.fi instead of Blackboard Collaborate, a free virtual whiteboard. When playing Taboo , her students take turns trying to describe a word like crack , for example, while being prohibited from using related words like drop or glass while the rest of the class guesses. And her students are obsessed with competing against their peers by being the first to name Disney movies, for example, in the ever-popular quiz platform Kahoot .

Viral Sensations

Initially, during remote learning, it was hard getting students comfortable with face-to-face interactions over Zoom, but the viral video game Among Us —a kid-friendly murder mystery—has stimulated engagement and conversation in Vickiela Wright’s fifth-grade class, she says.

In the game, each student is a crew member on a spaceship and is given a task to keep it running. One or more students are impostors, and their mission is to kill the crew members without getting caught. In between each round, students use Google meets to try to guess the impostors and form alliances to identify the killer.

“The conversations, problem-solving, engagement, and teamwork were robust and surprising. One student said it was the best part of her life,” says Wright.

Similar to Among Us, Werewolf is a game of deduction where students take on the role of villager or werewolf. Students collaborate and problem-solve to kill the werewolves before they become werewolves themselves. And the hugely popular Minecraft: Education Edition can serve as a hangout for students’ pixelated avatars to socialize and even partake in English language arts–based station rotations.

• BookWidgets Teacher Blog

30+ Ready-to-use lesson activities that will spice up your Google Classroom

You can do so many things to spice up your teaching when you’re a Google Classroom teacher. But, most of the time, we all return to the safe lesson where nothing can go wrong.

Today you’ll learn how to create safe lessons in Google Classroom. And nobody said they can’t be fun too! We’re going to spice things up! And the best is yet to come: you can use these lesson ideas for free and share them with students in your Google Classroom! Cue… confetti! 🎉

I’ll split this post into 3 parts:

Spice up your Google Classroom with the BookWidgets add-on

30+ ready-to-use lessons for in your google classroom, the endgame: live monitoring, auto-grading, and feedback in google classroom.

If you want to skip a part, just click the title you want to check out, but remember: I’m explaining everything for a reason. 😉

Every digital lesson idea you’ll find in this post is created in Google Classroom with BookWidgets . There’s more. You can also monitor the activities live when students are working on them, review the work and give comprehensive feedback.

There are two ways to get started:

1. With the BookWidgets add-on

⚠️ Only for schools with a Teaching and Learning upgrade or Google for Education Plus account.

You can attach BookWidgets content to your assignments using this newest addition in Google Classroom. Go to Google Classroom, create a new assignment, choose the BookWidgets add-on, and you can start creating digital exercises and evaluations right there!

Learn everything about the add-on in this free 1-hour webinar . Register now and take your chance to win BookWidgets for your entire school!

Check out this tutorial or this short video on getting started with the BookWidgets add-on in Google Classroom. Then, reach out to [email protected] so we can enable it for your entire school.

2. With the BookWidgets Chrome extension

⚠️ If you’re using the free Google Classroom version, the BookWidgets Google Classroom extension is the right way to go.

Download the Chrome extension , open your Google Classroom and go to Classwork. Now, hit the “ Create ” button and choose BookWidgets.

Here’s a step-by-step tutorial and webinar for beginners to get you started.

I’ve divided these free Google Classroom lessons or activities into 10 categories so you can find what you need in one click. Remember, you can use them for free make a duplicate. I explained how you can do this here .

• Ready-to-use ice breaker activities and classroom energizers

Ready-to-use lessons to explain and introduce classroom rules

Ready-to-use lessons to start a lesson in a creative way, ready-to-use lessons to end a lesson in a creative way, ready-to-use lessons for students to ask for help, ready-to-use lessons for student self-assessments, ready-to-use lessons for creative book reports, ready-to-use lessons about special days in the year, ready-to-use lessons with rich media: tiktok, short films, and podcasts, ready-to-use lessons featuring emojis.

Here we go!

Ready-to-use icebreaker activities and energizers

Use the following free lesson plans in Google Classroom to spice up a dull moment or to get to know each other better. If you can create a good team spirit and classroom where all students know each other on a deeper level, they will be more motivated to learn.

1. The Icebreaker Bingo

When you share this digital back-to-school bingo activity OR fun energizer with your students in Google Classroom, every student will get their own scrambled bingo sheet. Then, you only have to stand in front of the classroom and shout, “I’m looking for students who…have brown hair”.

All students who, for example, have brown hair can stand up and immediately tick off that box on their bingo sheet. Pro tip: ask those students standing up to tell a bit more. That way, everyone gets to know each other better.

Another way to use this digital bingo sheet is to have your students walk around and look for another student that fits the box. When they find that student, they introduce each other and have a small chat. Then, the student returns to his place to tick off the box.

2. Icebreaker questions

If you’re out of creative questions to ask your students, this icebreaker activity for high school students is the solution. It was created and brought to our attention by Guido Merry , a teacher in the Netherlands.

There are two ways to play this question icebreaker game:

Project the question wheels on a large screen in your classroom and ask a student to come forward and spin the wheels. The first question is always for the teacher. The second question is for the student in front of the classroom and the last question is for another student. The student in front of the classroom, can name a fellow student. In turn, that student must answer the question and come forward to spin the wheel. Just continue like this. The game ends when every student has answered 2 questions.

Divide your students into groups of 5. Let them take turns spinning the wheels. Each student has to answer all three questions in their spin-turn.

3. The Facebook profile

The good thing about social media channels is that you have to make a profile and fill it out with information about yourself. It triggers students to think about who they are and how they want to present themselves.

So… it’s a perfect first day of school activity. Below, you’ll find a digital (fake) Facebook profile form your students have to fill out. When they’ve submitted all the forms to you, you pick out a few profiles anonymously and read their likes, intro, or interests out loud. Then, other students have to guess to which student the Facebook profile belongs.

Pro Tip: You can also use this as an ESL lesson and let students practice writing.

4. Two Truths, One lie

A fun classic. This will get your students to know each other on a deeper level. It’s a lesson activity you can use on the first day of school and when a dull moment hits as a classroom energizer.

All your students submit 2 truths and 1 lie to you, and you turn it into a fun game! You can read the truths and lie out loud in front of your class, without telling who it’s from AND without revealing what the lie is. Your students will have to guess the name of the student, and they will have to guess the lie. Then, that student may tell them if they guessed correctly and elaborate on his or her story.

5. The M&M game

When there’s candy involved, students are suddenly all ears.

This free activity will help your students get to know each other in a group, playing a fun game. They have to pick an m&m and complete a challenge or answer a question in order to be allowed to eat the m&m.

Just share the game with your students in Google Classroom. Each group just needs 1 computer or tablet for the game board. Make sure to go over the rules before they get started.

When you want to introduce your classroom rules, or maybe re-introduce them if needed, you can do this in a fun way or in a way where students have a say about your rules too. Go check out a few ready-to-use lesson ideas on explaining classroom rules. There are more free lessons in this blog post about classroom rules .

6. Emoji rules

This pair-matching game about your classroom rules is perfect for younger learners. Using emojis will help mediate meaning. Students have to find the classroom rule and pair it with the right symbol, or in this case, emoji.

7. Collaborate on classroom rules

Ask your students to fill in this form to get a clear view of the rules that students find important. Giving them a choice means that they will be more willing to obey your classroom rules. In Google Classroom, you can always attach the final version of your rules to this assignment afterward. A final version can be something like this digital classroom poster explaining the rules .

8. Classroom rules checklist

Here’s another way to give students a voice when it comes to introducing your classroom rules. List your classroom rules in a checklist and let students check the boxes. You can review their answers and discuss the rules that students indicated they didn’t understand or they didn’t agree with. Go check out the lesson plan below, adapt it with your rules, and share it on Google Classroom. 👇

9. Classroom rules memes

This is the one I’m using every year again, and my students love it! I teach older students, so I need to keep my cool when introducing my classroom rules. As my students are basically adults, they should know what is allowed and what is not, but they also need to know what I find respectful behavior without distancing me from them too much.

Go check out this fun carousel with memes. Click on the dots on the images to get a better explanation.

Use the next lesson plans to start a lesson in a fun way or to introduce a new concept. Ask your students to go to Google Classroom at the start of the lesson, fill it out, and submit the lesson. The activities below vary from digital whiteboard lessons to interactive worksheets.

10. (Fore)knowledge hashtags

When you start a new lesson or teach a new concept, ask your students about the topic before explaining it. This way, they activate possible foreknowledge and you can see what your students already know.

11. Change the world

Ready for a fun writing exercise at the start of your lesson? You can also use the next lesson to start a conversation. Or use it as a good lesson starter to make the jump to your next big topic: SDGs! Pick out a few of your students’ answers that fit the transition to your lesson topic.

Share this digital worksheet with your students in Google Classroom, and they can start writing. When finished, they hit the “submit” button so you can gather their responses.

12. Sunshine & sunbeams

Share this digital whiteboard lesson in your Google Classroom when you’re introducing a new topic. On your blackboard, draw a big sun, with the new subject in the middle of the sun. Ask your students to write down what they already know about the new topic on their digital whiteboard. When finished, ask some students to come to the whiteboard in the front of your classroom and note one word that they have on their whiteboard.

Go check it out. Students can use different tools in the bar below to complete their whiteboard.

Go out with a BANG 💥 … or a fun exit ticket or exit slip. Exit tickets are quick activities at the end of your lesson. Most of the time, you check your students’ understanding of the lesson they just got. It also helps them summarize and remember better. Here’s a post with 60 digital exit tickets . I’ve listed a few of them below.

13. Popcorn exit ticket

Share this digital exit ticket worksheet with your students in Google Classroom at the end of your lesson. Ask your student to write down words that they learned today or that connect to today’s lesson topic. When they submit their work, you have everything together in the reporting dashboard and can check if some students didn’t write down much. Make sure to give extra instructions to those students. Remember: it’s a formative lesson activity - no grades!

14. Exit in 3, 2, 1

Trigger your students to think about the lesson they just got. Let them name 3 things they just learned, 2 things they want to learn more about and 1 question for the teacher about the lesson. It’s a good way to rehearse and see if there are more questions.

15. Three times different

In this exit slip, students have to explain the lesson in three different ways. They have to write a summary, draw the lesson, and give an example. Students can use the whiteboard tools in the bar below. They can use the types tool, drawing tool, and they can even add an image by clicking on the photo icon. This tool is perfect for when your students want to make a drawing on paper and upload it to your digital whiteboard.

Go check out this free lesson plan below 👇

“ Are there any questions? ” If you’re a teacher for a long time already, you know that no student will ever answer this question. 🤦‍♀️ Check out the next ideas that will prompt your students to ask questions or ask for help.

16. 3 stars and 1 wish

This is the perfect example of an exit ticket and a way for students to ask for help combined in one lesson activity. Students indicate what they understand perfectley after your lesson, and they also get the chance to ask for help in their “wish”.

Click the example below to take a look. As it’s a digital worksheet, students can add their answers using their keyboard.

17. Mood meter

This mood meter activity for primary school students is the perfect lesson starter. It’s a subtle way to know what is happening in your student’s minds. As you know, it’s not always easy to have an understanding of what is going on. So use this lesson once in a while. Students can talk about their fun weekend, holiday, and evening. And sometimes, the meter will alert you to open up a conversation with students that are not feeling well. There are also students that will indicate that they don’t understand your lesson and need help.

18. Traffic light

This interactive whiteboard activity offers students a creative way to ask for help. They color the traffic light and explain their choice. Students send their answers to you in Google Classroom, and you can check immediately which students need help. In the next lesson, you gather all students that indicated a red traffic light and give them instructions again.

You don’t always have time to give personalized feedback. One way to go around this is by letting your students assess themselves. You’ll also see that students are often more critical about their work than you are…

19. Self-assessment rubric

One of my favorite question types in the BookWidgets quiz or (split) worksheet widget is the rubric question type. I know you can create rubrics in Google Classroom too, but these rubrics can be part of your students’ assignments, and they can be used as a self-assessment tool.

In the lesson example below, students have to assess themselves on the task or project they just completed. You can see all the results in your reporting dashboard in Google Classroom. Here, you can indicate whether you agree with the students or not, by filling out the rubric too. Return your feedback without grades (or with grades - that’s possible too).

Click here to learn more about creating digital rubrics .

20. Emoji self-assessment

A fun and quick way to check metacognition is by letting them complete a self-assessment form… with emojis! And you can immediately see which students need more help on which learning goals. Ask your students to fill it out after a task, project, or homework about the topic.

Ask your students to go back to the worksheet in Google Classroom just before a test about the topic. Their answers will still be there. It will help them focus on the parts that are a bit challenging.

This is a resource students can use anytime before they submit their homework or a task. It will help them elevate their work to a higher level. And it’s fun!

Go check out how this SELFIE assessment works 👇

22. Tops and Tips

This is a very interesting self-evaluation for students and can also be used as a peer evaluation. After a presentation or task, students need to think about 3 tops - things that went great - and 2 tips - things they could do better next time -. Students can submit their self-assessments to the teacher, or they can download what they’ve filled out. They can also just leave their answer like that and come to Google Classroom again. Their answers will still be there.

The peer assessment goes like this. All your students open the assignmnet in Google Classroom and fill it out for the student that is presenting. Using the share button, students can send their tops and tips to the student (e-mail address). When that’s done, they delete their answers (dustbin button) and fill them out for the next student.

There are so many fun assignments to do when students have read a book. Think out of the box and get creative. Here are 15 digital book report activities . I listed my 3 favorite activities below. 👇

23. Letter to the author

Here, students have to write a friendly letter to the author. When shared in Google Classroom, they can easily submit their work to the teacher and share it by e-mail with the author (if they can find the fanmail address). So much fun!

24. Story timeline

In this creative book report lesson idea, students have to create a timeline of the story. When did what happen, chronologically? They have to add the biggest events in the story to the timeline.

25. Comic story

This fun whiteboard activity has the grid of a comic. Students can create a comic story out of their book and add drawings and text balloons.

There’s a special day in the year for about everything that exists on this planet! Go check out this awareness days folder in BookWidgets with fun, ready-to-use activities. Share them with your students to introduce the fun days in a creative way. It’s a work in progress! We’ll keep sharing new lesson activities about the awareness days every week!

26. April fools’ day around the world

Here’s a fun lesson about culture and traditions around the world. How can one fun day be so different? Let your students go through this frame sequence widget or project this lesson on the big screen and start a conversation.

27. World Honey Bee Day

Don’t worry, 🐝 happy! In this lesson activity about honey bees, your students will become excellent bee experts. They even get a certificate in the end! They will learn everything about the bee from scratch. Share this interactive worksheet with your students in Google Classroom, so they can open it and get started! Now, it’s your turn! 👇

28. Summer Solstice

How much do your students know about summer solstice? This ready-to-use lesson explains the concept very well. Students can go through this lesson that you’ve shared in Google Classroom step-by-step, and they will learn about summer solstice in an interactive way.

Integrating rich media like TikTok , film , and podcasts in your lesson will engage your students even more. Click on the links to find even more lesson plans and inspiration!

Use rich media in your lessons to introduce a new lesson topic, start a discussion or conversation, evaluate language skills, and much more!

29. Learning English with TikTok

I wanted to include this lesson that integrates the very popular TikTok app within a lesson about pronunciation. I hope it inspires you to broaden your mindset and think out of the box. Share this lesson in your Google Classroom, and students can start recording their voices. They can easily submit the answers to you so you can listen to their pronunciation and return feedback. Go check it out! 👇

30. Short film - Coin Operated

This amazing short film lesson - Coin operated - lets your students see “through” a film. They have to discover the meaning of the story and write it down. As it’s a short film without speech, you can still edit this lesson for another language. Just make sure to find the BookWidgets group folder here, duplicate the activity, edit the language and share it in your Google Classroom.

31. Learning science with a podcast

The poop collector episode of the “ Tumble Science Podcast ” is a fun episode you can use as a lesson starter for your science lesson. You can even start your first lesson with it, so students understand the word “ science ” better. Go check out the lesson activity below!

Emojis are basically a new way of communication. Everyone uses them to express feelings, to emphasize written words better, and even as a replacement for written words. As emoticons really tickle your students’ interests, it might be a fun idea to incorporate them into your lessons. Here are some of my favorite lesson plans using emoticons or emojis for all kinds of subject areas. 💪

32. Emoji introduction

This is a fun lesson starter for the first day of school. Ask your students to indicate their interests and other aspects of their life using the given emojis. Students can just drag and drop the emojis and send their answers to the teacher in Google Classroom. Later on, you can ask your students to explain the emojis they have chosen and tell a little bit more about themselves. Access the lesson plan preview below and try it out!

33. Emoji artwork

You’re absolutely going to love this ready-to-use lesson plan! Students have to spin the wheels and use the three emojis that come up to make a creative painting. They spin the wheels a second time as well. Now, they have to write a story! This lesson is all about inspiring students’ creativity and dreams. Bonus: you can immediately check their writing skills too. Go check it out! Which 3 emojis did you spin? 👇

34. Emoji sight words crossword

Just when you thought you’d seen it all, there’s another fun lesson plan. Use this digital crossword puzzle for teaching languages to young learners. When you duplicate this widget from the BookWidgets Blog group here and edit the activity in your account if you want to change the language. Now, it’s an English lesson. Can you complete it? 💡

35. Emoji exit ticket

Always go out with a bang! Last but not least: the exit ticket or exit slip widget. This activity takes you only 3 minutes to create, and it has so much value! At the end of a lesson, your students have to indicate whether they understood your lesson or how they are feeling. They have to do so by indicating an emoji. As a second part, you can ask your students another open-ended question. This can be a content question about the lesson, or you can ask students to write down any questions they still have.

How to share these activities on Google Classroom?

We’ve gathered all the free lesson plans in this BookWidgets Group . Click on the link. If you don’t have a BookWidgets account yet, it’s now time to create one for free. The best way is to sign up using your Google Single Sign-On - The Google Account you’re using in your Google Classroom .

You might get redirected to your BookWidgets account’s homepage once you’ve signed up. If so, just click on this group link again when you are signed into your account.

You will see a list with all the widgets ( a.k.a. activities created in BookWidgets ) in this post.

Now, follow the next steps:

• Click on the cogwheel icon,
• Choose “ Select all widgets ” (or just indicate the widgets or activities you want).
• Click on the cogwheel icon for a second time,
• Choose “ Duplicate selected widgets ”.
• A pop-up window opens. Click on the black arrow ⬅️ next to the title - two times - until you don’t see the arrow anymore. Now click on “My widgets” in the pop-up.
• Finally, choose “ Duplicate here ”.

All these widgets are now yours to adapt and share in Google Classroom with your students. Now is the time to go to your Google Classroom and open BookWidgets from there as I’ve described above - using the add-on or Chrome extension.

Once you’ve opened BookWidgets in Google Classroom, adapting and sharing these exercises or widgets is easy. Go to the “My widgets” folder. You’ve just duplicated everything here. Next to the activity - on the right - you will find a tiny arrow pointing down ⬇️. Click on it and choose “ Edit ”. The widget’s configuration screen opens. When you’re done editing, you can click “share” and choose a Google Classroom course.

When you’ve shared these lessons with your students in your Google Classroom, BookWidgets allows you to follow up on them. Reviewing a lesson activity created with BookWidgets can be done in two ways: via “Live Widgets” or/and within the reporting dashboard . Both possibilities are available from your Google Classroom account.

Live widgets

Monitor students, live, in Google Classroom when they are still working on your activity. You can immediately discover struggling students and give them a helping hand. You can also find students that need bigger challenges. And… when your students forget to submit, you can still push the button and submit for your students.

Even when it’s a fun practice exercise that students don’t have to submit, like flashcards, you can see if they did some practicing at home or in class. You can see Live Widgets activity for up to 30 days.

The reporting dashboard

When your students have submitted their work, you can start reviewing it. Most of the activities and question types within a quiz or (split) worksheet get auto-graded. This will save you so much time!

There are some important teacher features that will make reviewing student work much easier:

• You can grade student by student or question by question,
• You can still change the grade in auto-graded questions,
• You can add comments below questions and in your students’ answers,
• You can use a filter to already hide correct answers and focus on the ones that need your attention,
• You can use a filter that groups all student answers on one question that are precisely the same. Your feedback will go to all those students;
• You can configure the feedback that your group of students (or individual) students will see. With or without grades, with or without the correct answers, and more.

As you can see, there are lots of handy ways to review student work more efficiently in Google Classroom with the BookWidgets reporting dashboard.

That’s it! I can understand that your head is exploding 🤯 with new ideas right now!

Remember, you can duplicate all these Google Classroom lesson plans created with BookWidgets in this group . I explain how you can do this here . Duplicate them to your account so you can start editing and sharing them with your students in your Google Classroom. It’s very important that you do this and don’t use the link to the lesson . That way, your students’ answers can’t find their way to you.

Help us inspire many more teachers by sharing this post with them. Hooked on BookWidgets? Join our Teaching with BookWidgets Facebook community and follow us on Twitter .

And me? My name is Lucie. Let’s connect on Twitter !

Join hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and get the best content on technology in education.

BookWidgets enables teachers to create fun and interactive lessons for tablets, smartphones, and computers.

53 Virtual Activity Ideas to Keep College Students Engaged During COVID-19

Most student affairs professionals pursued this field because we adore connecting with students.

We imagine hours spent chatting on campus and planning programs together. But for many folx, that’s simply not possible right now. (I’m glaring angrily at you, COVID-19.)

Yet, given our patented tenacious #SApro spirits, we won’t let little things like campus closures and the complete disruption of our daily lives spoil all of our activities.

Instead, we adapt. SA pros nationwide are looking for activities that can be run virtually. Although our students cannot physically enter a set campus space together, we want them to log on, plug in, and engage with one another remotely. 

So, to get you started, my coworkers and I put our brains together and came up with 53 suggestions of activities that can be run and enjoyed through the magic of technology. Enjoy!

(Ah, but first, be sure to read up on tips — like these from the University of Maine — on facilitating online discussions. Sure, you’re likely an unofficial expert at in-person facilitation, but online chats and webinars require additional skills and insights.)

Mainly for fun

1. playlists.

Get your students in tune with one another by encouraging them to contribute to a collaborative playlist . You could even have a Playlist of a Day, inviting everyone to listen to a set of songs curated by students or staff. 

Perhaps you’d like to create a playlist with song titles that cleverly allude to digital technology or dealing with change . Rita Wilson made a great “Quarantunes” playlist that I’ve been jamming out to. 

2. Dance Parties

Speaking of jamming out, you can dedicate some time each day or week to virtual dance parties. In the morning, energize students by tweeting out a video of a catchy pop tune. Or in the afternoon, help students stay awake with a quick digital dance-off to the best boy bands, show tunes, or your institution’s fight song.

Note: No ballet barres, tap shoes, or the slightest bit of dance talent required. 

3. Movie discussions

Go ahead; make students’ day. Pick a film or TV show that can be streamed for free from Vudu or Tubi . Give students a few days to watch it, then gather them online to discuss their favorite bits and the storyline’s relevance to their lives.

4. Paint classes

Get your Bob Ross on! Perhaps an art instructor or a talented student can host, guiding students through a fairly simple landscape or object to paint.

True, most students probably won’t happen to have paint supplies at home, but the video can be relaxing in and of itself. You could also make it interactive, with students making suggestions to the painter. (“Use bright blue!” “Add an owl to the tree!” “More glitter!”)

5. Youtube Video of the Day 

Pick a staff, faculty member, or student of the day to showcase their favorite YouTube video. By setting a time limit of five minutes or less per video, you can encourage folx to savor a quick laugh, a bit of inspiration, or some animal cuteness — without much of a commitment. (I’ll start off with this contribution .)

6.Video performances

You may have acting majors or theater troupe performers who had been rehearsing for weeks, only to have their shows canceled or indefinitely postponed due to the coronavirus. So, reach out and see if they’d be interested in performing via video conference. 

They may not be able to pull off a full-scale production, but a comedic monologue or broadway show tune can still be highly entertaining. Perhaps a band or a capella group would like to perform, with each member doing their part from home. 

7. Improv games

Whose line is it anyway? Your students’!

Many improv games can be slightly adapted to work well virtually, including One Word Story , Convergence , and 5 Things .

8. Door decoration classes

Who says you need a residence hall to put up door decs ? 

Enlist some RAs to show off how they crafted their most masterful door decorations. Students watching the recording or livestream can follow along, making decorations to hang up in their homes.

If possible, try to focus on decorations that require only limited supplies, as students are unlikely to have a whole art supply store stored away at home.

9. Weird holiday celebrations  

Every day is a holiday. Obscure ones like National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day (April 2), International Juggler’s Day (April 18), and Lost Sock Memorial Day (May 9) can inspire quirky digital celebrations or simply daily notifications that’ll make students smile.

Ah, and of course may the force be with you to celebrate May 4, aka Star Wars Day. You could organize a tournament of Star Wars games , ask students to vote on a character bracket , or host a trivia show . Disney even has a free downloadable activity sheet .

10. Hobby Webinars

Are you a pro at origami? Have a coworker with a knack for crocheting? Know a student who always manages to take the perfect mobile phone photos?

Consider passing these hobbies on to students through 101 webinars. Participants will learn something new and the experienced hobbyists will get some fun teaching experiences.

Alternatively, you can search YouTube for tutorials to watch together. Embrace how bad you’ll be at it initially; it can be relatable and hilarious.

Now excuse me while I learn how to make towel animals .

11. MTV Cribs

Remember MTV Cribs , through which celebrities showed off their homes? Well, your students likely don’t have pure gold staircases, exotic pets, or eight-car garages, but they still may love showing off the decor in their homes. 

Be sure to emphasize the creativity of their home stylings and the fun of the videos, rather than the wealth put into their homes. 

12. Word searches and crosswords

Word puzzles are a great mix of rewarding and challenging. You can find numerous premade ones online, or better yet, create your own word search or crossword puzzle . Consider incorporating words related to your institution, classes, or, for a smaller group of students whom you know well, inside jokes.

Friendly Competition

13. pet photo competitions.

Who wouldn’t smile at a dog in a tutu? A hamster with a bowtie? A cat in a hat? Ask students to post their photos on social media with a hashtag like #PresenceUniversityPets or #PetsOfPresenceU. 

You could even have daily contest themes, such as moods or characters for pets to convey. Add in a capture contest for some extra engagement!

14. Charades

With a video platform, charades can be fun, energizing, and challenging. You can generate charade prompts here or use the free Charades! app . 

15. Live game shows

Use a tool like Kahoot or Quizziz to challenge students to a fun round (or two or 50) of trivia. You could get creative with themes that are either serious (such as national news, politics, and institutional history) or wacky (like types of pasta, famous Instagram cats, and memes.) Each day’s top scorer can earn the privilege of creating the next day’s questions. 

16. E-Sports tournaments

E-Sports are one of the few activities that COVID-19 can’t put a damper on. Many institutions already have varsity e-Sports programs. But for the less e-athletically inclined, consider creating intramural teams . Enlist some veterans to teach newbies how to play.

17. TikTok competitions

This could be like a film festival, minus the red carpet. Even if you are far from proficient in the art of TikTok-ing, many of your Gen-Z students are likely experts and can take the helm on creating and managing a competition.

18. Internet scavenger hunts

Scavenger hunts always involve, well, scavenging. But it doesn’t have to be conducted through a physical realm; you can go digital. Think of your institution’s various webpages and social media accounts as the locations that participants have to search through. Incorporate cryptic clues, graphics with double-meanings, and embedded games or videos to lead students on a wild internet chase.

Here are some scavenger hunt ideas . To digitize it, simply instruct students to take screenshots or find clues within web pages, rather than taking photos or collecting physical items.

19. Board game tournaments

Get board, not bored. Students can join multiplayer board games through Pogo , Tabletopia , or Poki . Score!

20. Bad joke contests

“I like elephants. Everything else is irrephalant.”

I also like bad jokes like that one… and I bet many of your students do, too. So, ask your students to submit and/or perform their best so-bad-they’re-good jokes live via video conference.

Students who are parents can also have their kids join in on the fun!

Both laughs and groans are guaranteed. 

21. Karaoke or lip-sync 

Use an online karaoke catalog like Karafun , SingSnag , or Smule for an off-the-charts competition. Or, you can simply search for karaoke versions of popular songs on YouTube. 

22. Make-Your-Own Holiday competitions

Remember those eccentric holidays I mentioned in idea #9? It seems like just about anyone can dream a holiday into existence, so why not your students? 

Have them propose an original holiday, complete with traditions, mythology, and associated foods. The entire student body or select judges vote on the winner, which your entire campus community can celebrate together a few days or weeks later.

Co-curricular learning

23. recordings of previous guest speakers.

Don’t let the words of wisdom that were previously brought to your campus from guest speakers disappear into the abyss. 

If you recorded video or audio or transcribed their speech, share it again. You could follow it up with a group discussion. Perhaps the speaker will even be available and willing to video conference in for a Q&A session or follow-up speech.

24. Short story, poem, quote, or TED Talk of the day

Share a piece of art or learning each day, perhaps nominated by a different student, professional, or faculty member each time.

The person who nominated it can explain, via a short video they record or a letter they write, what their selection means to them.

25. Hot Drinks and Hot Topics

Dive into discussions around hot news topics or longstanding issues, while students sip coffee, tea, hot cocoa, or another drink of their choice. You could also title it “Hot Cookies and Hot Topics” or “Hot Wings and Hot Topics,” though I’m betting that students are less likely to have fresh baked cookies or hot wings sitting around their homes.

Not sure what to discuss? The University of Michigan-Flint has dozens of ideas . 

26. Breakfasts in Bed, Lunches and Learn, or Discussions Over Dinner

These programs can be similar to the Hot Topics idea but with a lighter touch. You could discuss strange Wikipedia articles , laugh over memes, or simply encourage students to enjoy unstructured time catching up with each other. 

Oh, and since this is college, I have to suggest a program involving pizza. So, I propose to you: Pizza and Prose.

27. Podcasts

Move over, Serial and This American Life ; it’s time for your own podcast to shine. Podcasts are great ways to mix up engagement, as listeners can enjoy it while cooking, doing laundry, or really any passive tasks.

Here are some content ideas for your ‘cast:

• Interviews with the institution’s president, SGA members, beloved faculty, or underappreciated staff members who do amazing work (such as chefs, librarians, cleaning staff, or grounds crew).
• Advice for online learning
• Short lessons from faculty on fascinating topics
• Recordings of live institutional game shows (see tip #15)
• Short stories (fiction or non-fiction) submitted and read by students

You can also encourage students to listen to any of these podcasts produced by institutions nationwide. Perhaps you’d like to schedule a massive listening party, wherein students can type in their reactions live.

Oh, and be sure to read these recording tips so you’ll sound great.

28. Alumni career connections

Your alumni may be sympathizing with the difficult situation your students currently find themselves in and wondering how they can help. 

One way they could do so is through career networking. Consider asking alumni to discuss their careers with students via video chat, conduct video tours of their home offices, or give students a glimpse into their work via screen share.

29. Videoconferencing and webinar hosting tutorials

Many of the ideas here involve students taking the lead by hosting videoconferences or webinars. But they might have no idea how to do so and would appreciate a lesson or two.

So, consider conducting a videoconference on… videoconferencing! You can share some of the tips for engaging webinars here and facilitating awesome videoconferences here . 

30. Online learning tutorials

Relatedly, you can help students learn how to, well, learn. Consider hosting a webinar that incorporates some of the tips found here or here . 

31. Adulting 101 workshops

We offered 105 ideas here . Oh, the joys of adulthood!

32. Cooking demonstrations

With so much time being spent at home, now may be the perfect time for students to learn how to cook. I recommend sticking with fairly simple recipes, with ingredients that students are likely to already. 

You could get inspired by these microwaveable creations , livestream yourself cooking of a favorite meal that’s even loved by picky kids, or ask your dining hall chefs to reveal how a beloved campus staple is made. Bon appétit!

33. Online saving workshops

It’s more than just Groupon ; amazing sales abound on the world wide web.

Here are just some saving sites and tools, which you can help students get acquainted with (and, of course, enjoy yourself):

• Camelcamelcamel
• Target Circle
• Coupon Sherpa

34. “Morality and The Coronavirus” chats

Speaking of online shopping, is that ethical right now, given the work required of distribution centers and delivery people?! Perhaps it’s safer than going to a physical store? 

I don’t have a simple answer. But your students might be wondering about these sorts of quandaries. Consider facilitating a discussion around it, perhaps with a philosophy professor. You could also discuss this article or pose some of the questions within it.

The Good Place (available on Netflix) is also an excellent show to inspire conversations about ethical decision-making.

35. Personality tests

Students don’t need to leave their homes to find out their Myers-Briggs Type indicator , CliftonStrengths , or True Color .  

Or, for pure laughs, have students share their results from any of these 50 personality quizzes on Buzzfeed . (Knowing what your taste in frozen yogurt flavors “says about you” is clearly as important as knowing if you’re an introvert or an extrovert.)

36. Volunteering

Your students can still put some good out into the world from their couches. Multilingual students can serve as webpage translators , empathetic listeners can volunteer with 7 Cups , and sighted students can download Be My Eyes to lend a hand — er, eye — to blind and visually-impaired folx. 

You can find more opportunities here and here .

Plus, the local non-profit groups that your campus usually partners with and the philanthropies that student orgs support may also appreciate virtual help. Reach out to see how you and your students can continue supporting their work.

37. Digital Student Org Management Courses

Just as you’re having to learn how to engage students digitally, your student leaders are having to figure out how to maintain their co-curricular organizations from afar. Help them out. Host webinars to assist them in running board elections online, facilitating video conference meetings, recruiting new members through social media, and more.

38. Pride Celebrations

Although Pride Month festivities in June will likely be disrupted due to COVID-19, they don’t need to fade from existence completely.

Consider facilitating discussions on books related to LGBTQIA+ topics or written by queer-identified authors , inviting speakers to address students virtually, creating a Pride-themed virtual scavenger hunt, sharing this guide on Coming Out as a Supporter , retweeting LGBTQIA+ activists from your office’s account Twitter account, or hosting a virtual Pride parade .

Connect with your institution’s LGBTQIA+ support center or student groups to see what other ideas they have.

39. Museum Tours

You don’t have to literally step foot inside a museum to enjoy a museum. Check out these virtual tours offered by some of the world’s most famous museums. Encourage students to take these tours at the same time or at their own convenience, then host a discussion.

Health & Wellness

40. journaling.

Journaling can be deeply therapeutic . You can support students in their journaling habits by suggesting daily prompts or hosting group journaling sessions during which you livestream relaxing music.

41. Gardening videos

Help students experience the joy of gardening… by osmosis. A student or staff member could film a cute video of themselves watering their houseplants or you could show off some gardening documentaries . 

Better yet, if your campus has a garden or greenhouse, you can help students still enjoy the beauty of it via livestream or a watering demonstration.

42. Meditation

Help students relax and focus via online meditation sessions. You or a student can lead the sessions yourself, using the tips here , or you can encourage students to check out these guided meditation recordings from UCLA . Namaste.

43. Workout videos

Channel your inner Richard Simmons! Record or livestream your yoga poses, weightlifting practice, or cardio routine.

These desk-friendly exercises can inspire students to get their heart rates’ up and stretch their tired limbs, even if they don’t have a desk.

Students can also make their own videos, showing off the creative workouts they’ve come up with. Who knows; maybe they’ll engineer the next fitness craze.

44. Connect with incoming students

Your next crop of first-year students are surely anxious and filled with uncertainty now, too. So, encourage your current students to connect with them — through writing letters filled with jokes, encouragement, or insight into your institution. 

Perhaps you can set up email pen pals, host group video sessions, or arrange for current students to lead virtual tours for accepted students who are deciding whether or not to enroll.

45. Puppy cam

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then live video footage should be even more valuable. If a staff member has many pets (perhaps through fostering), ask them to set up a video stream through Facebook Live or your institution’s website. 

Alternatively, you could partner with your local animal shelter to show off the adorable antics of their animals that are up for adoption. Maybe this will even inspire some students and families to adopt!

Or you can turn to Explore for live cams of not just puppies and kittens, but loads of wild and exotic creatures, too. ( Lions , tigers , and bears — oh my!)

Digitize campus services

For other campus opportunities and services, you don’t need to completely reinvent the wheel; just rearrange it. (Is that the proper metaphor for wheels? Clearly I’m not a mechanic.)

Here are just some of the offerings that you can work with your colleagues to digitize:

• Study groups taught by TAs
• Resume and cover letter reviews with career counselors
• Writing appointments with the writing center
• Tutoring sessions with peer tutors
•  Academic advising, especially for fall course registration
• End-of-year award ceremonies
• Support groups facilitated by the counseling center
• Religious services lead by chaplains and student groups

What other program ideas do you have? We’d love to hear them. Connect with us @themoderncampus . 

About the author: Jodi Tandet (she/her) is Modern Campus's Content Marketing Strategist. She's a proud graduate of Emory University, where she majored in Creative Writing, and of Nova Southeastern University, where she earned her master's degree in College Student Affairs. She previously worked for Hillel: the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, where she engaged students in co-curricular programming at Cornell University and The University of Pittsburgh. Learn how we can help get your students involved .

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17 Fun Interactive Games For Students in 2024

Here is our list of the best interactive games for students.

Interactive games for students are fun activities and games in which students participate in groups. These games also offer a fun and hands-on learning experience. Examples include Charades, Four Corners, and Pictionary. The purpose of these activities is to help students absorb educational material and make them feel comfortable in school. These activities are also known as “classroom games.”

These ideas are similar to interactive games for kids , study game s, team building games for students , online classroom activities and team building exercises . Two examples of these activities are vocabulary games and communication games .

This list includes:

• interactive games for college students
• interactive games for kids
• interactive games for high school students
• online interactive games for students
• interactive classroom games
• interactive quiz games for students
• education games for students
• school appropriate games
• school friendly games

Here we go!

List of interactive games for students

Interactive games for students are necessary for schools because they provide a new learning experience while giving a break to the students from the mundane school routine. These games also develop skills and competencies in children. To help you engage students in the classroom, here is our list of the best interactive classroom games for students.

Hangman is a fun and interactive game for students, which you can play in the classroom or online. When playing in the classroom, you will need an interactive display or a whiteboard. When playing online, you can use a virtual whiteboard app.

Every student participates and takes turns guessing while the teacher draws on the board.

The rules of the game are simple. The teacher will think of a word and draw blanks according to the number of letters. For example, if the word has six letters, then you draw six blanks. To make the game easy, you can also tell about the category, like if it is the name of a singer, a movie, or a famous place.

The students will think of some letters, and for every wrong letter, the teacher will draw a portion of the hangman. When the drawing is complete, the game is lost. However, if players guess the correct letters, then they save the hangman.

2. 10 Questions

10 Questions is one of the best interactive games for college students because it uses collective critical thinking.

In this game, you will divide the class into two groups. One group will think of an item. Then, the other group will prepare ten questions to ask to guess the object. Since the group has a limited number of questions, they must choose strategically.

You can set a rule that every group member will ask one question. The group can decide on the questions, and their answer will be either yes or no. The groups cannot ask for explanations or details.

After getting all the answers, the other group will think of an object and give their guess. The group will get a point if they make the right guess.

This game highlights the importance of group discussion and indicates how the groups must analyze the information and develop a unified answer.

Check out more question games .

Get our free team building toolbox

• icebreaker games
• bingo cards

3. 101 And Out

101 And Out is a fun game that will test your students’ math skills. This game is also easy to play, which makes it among the best interactive games for kids.

Here is how to play:

• Divide the class into two groups.
• Give a die to each group.
• Each group gets two dice rolls.
• With each dice roll, they can either keep the exact number or multiply it. So, for example, if one group gets a five on a dice roll, they can keep the same number or multiply it and keep 25.
• The groups will keep adding numbers with each dice roll.
• The goal is to reach 101 or close to it to win the game.

If you are playing this game with children, then you can set easy rules and ask them to add the numbers only and eliminate the multiplying rule.

4. Don’t Answer

Don’t Answer is a fun and engaging game that will check how well your students know each other.

In this game, you will make the class sit in a group. It is better to make good friends sit with each other because it will make the game easier.

Each student will randomly pick another student from the crowd and ask a question.

For instance:

• What is the name of your favorite superhero?
• Which is your favorite dish?
• When was the last time you got scolded?
• When is your birthday?
• How many siblings do you have?

However, this game has a twist. The addressed student cannot directly answer. The asked-about student cannot speak and can tell the other players whether an answer is right or wrong by a thumbs up or thumbs down. If the initial response is wrong, then they can ask follow-up questions to get the correct answer.

Trivia can be a great choice if you are looking for interactive quiz games for students. These challenges can disguise learning as a fun and spirited competition. Facing off in feats of knowledge can bring lessons alive and help students better retain information.

To make this game interactive, you can divide the class into groups. Then, when children discuss the answers in groups and decide mutually, it will strengthen their bond and friendship.

The best idea is to tell the kids about the trivia beforehand. Then, when they give the correct answers after coming fully prepared, it will boost their confidence and morale as well.

Here is a list of starter trivia questions and a guide to team Jeopardy .

6. Simon Says

Simon Says is a fun game that will get groups laughing. The fact that you play it both in-person and online makes it among the best online interactive games for students.

This game also builds a friendly relationship between the teacher and students.

How to play:

• Make all the students stand while keeping a distance between them.
• When everyone is ready, the teacher will say a sentence.
• The rule is that if the sentence starts with “Simon says,” the students must do it. If it does not begin with “Simon says,” then the students will not act. For example, the teacher will say, “Simon says, jump on both feet,” In this case, the children will jump.

To make the game more challenging, rattle off commands quickly. Rapidfire instructions will test and sharpen students’ focus. You will be surprised at how the students will act without listening for the particular phrase.

7. Charades

Charades is an interactive game you can play at any event. In this game, you will divide the class into two groups.

Each group will decide on a word for another group. Then, one member from the other group will come to act that word for their team. However, the member who acts cannot speak the word.

The team members will keep guessing until they reach the correct answer.

You can also set a time limit to make the game enjoyable. You can also make it more fun by asking the students to do activities specific to the classroom. For example, you can ask them to act like their favorite teacher.

8. Blindfold Conversation

Blindfold Conversation is an engaging game that will make your students interact and collaborate during the activity.

In this game, you will make your class stand in a circle. Then, one student will come to the center, and you will blindfold them. Next, a few students will make the blindfolded child spin in a circle. When stopped, he will point to one student. That student will speak in a funny voice, and the blindfolded student will guess their name.

9. Scrambled Eggs

Scrambled Eggs is the best game for a large classroom. The more participants you have, the more fun this game will be.

In this game, you will choose one student and make them leave the classroom or blindfold them. Then, you will pick one student to hide. You can hide them under the chair or make them leave the class to be out of sight. Then, all the other students in the class will change their places.

Then, the blindfolded student will enter the class and guess which student is missing.

This game boosts students’ powers of observation, which can come in handy while studying.

10. Pictionary

Pictionary has been the favorite game of children and adults alike. Pictionary can be a great choice if you are looking for some interactive games for high school students.

This game involves drawing a picture on the board without speaking the word. One student will come to the board and draw the image of the word given. Then, the whole class will participate in guessing the picture.

You can also play Pictionary online if you have online classes. The online version offers the same level of fun as the in-person version of this game. You can play online Pictionary on Drawize or conduct a Zoom meeting and use the digital whiteboard.

Learn more about Drawize.

11. Geography Puzzles

Geography puzzles are a great idea to make the geography class fun and engaging for students. Children often get bored in such classes. You can bring a twist with a class activity.

To do a geography puzzle, first, divide the class into groups. Then, you will give blank maps to each group. Finally, ask the class to fill out the maps and write the names of the countries.

You can also make it specific and include the topics in the puzzle taught in the class.

12. Ad Making

Making an advertisement is a unique and creative activity that students will enjoy. As this activity requires critical and creative thinking, it best suits high schoolers and teenagers.

First, give a product to your students. For example, soap, pencil, or notebook. It is better to hand out familiar, everyday objects to make the activity easy.

Then, ask the students to make an advertisement in groups to sell the product. The students can take inspiration from the ads they watch on television. Then, the students will perform in the class, and the team with the most creative idea will win.

13. Minute To Win It

Minute To Win It is a beloved game show. This exercise consists of different activities and games that participants will only have one minute to complete. The player who gets the most points in one minute will win the round. The best part about this game is that multiple players can participate, making it ideal for the classroom.

It is better to have the theme and decor of the original game show to improve the competitive skills of the students. Some examples of activities are:

• Stack plastic cups on each other without making them fall.
• Get a biscuit from your head into your mouth without using your hands.
• Keep three balloons in the air.
• Using a straw, such up skittles from one plate and transfer them to another.
• Throw ping pong balls into a basket from a distance.

These activities will make the students focus, and due to the limited time, they will try their best to be as quick as possible. The best part of this activity is that you can play multiple games, as each challenge takes under a minute.

Check out more Minute to Win It games .

14. Invent A Solution

Inventing a solution requires critical thinking, as students will work together in groups to fix a problem.

In this game, you will give an imaginary scenario to your students. For example, an alien spaceship has attacked the world, and the aliens want to invade your hometown. How will you make a deal with them or kick them out?

You can also use examples from everyday life, like giving a scenario of your friend who is in trouble and you have to save them.

Then, the students will get five minutes to discuss the answer in the group. Once done, one student from each group will come on the stage and explain their solution to the class.

Check out more problem-solving activities .

15. GoNoodle

GoNoodle is the favorite online platform of teachers. This website contains many fun games and interactive activities that help students participate and boost their confidence. If you are looking for some online interactive games for students, then GoNoodle can be the right platform.

The website gives you different categories of games to choose from. You can play games according to specific subjects and topics and do activities like stretching in video sessions.

Learn more about GoNoodle.

16. Debate Competition

A debate competition is among the best interactive games for high school students. Such competitions and activities improve students’ critical thinking skills, boost their confidence, and improve their communication skills.

To ensure interaction, you can divide the class into two groups and give an argumentative topic for discussion. One group will focus on the cons, and the other will highlight the pros. For example, you can provide globalization as the topic for discussion and ask the class to have speeches and arguments on it.

17. Four Corners

Four Corners is among the best interactive classroom games. This challenge involves four groups of students. You will also blindfold one student.

The rest of the students will run to four corners of the room. The blindfolded student will point to one corner, and students at the other corners will be out of the game.

Then, the remaining four students will run to the four corners again. Finally, the blindfolded child will again point to one corner, and the student there will win.

This game is easy to play, takes limited time, and only has one winner in each round.

Interactive games for students are necessary to boost their focus on their studies and keep them active in class. These games also build trust and friendly relationships as students play in groups to win.

Our list of interactive games for students includes in-person and virtual games that can keep students engaged and boost their confidence. For best results, match activities to the subject and your class’ age group, learning styles, and personalities.

For more fun with students, check out virtual field trips and family day activities .

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FAQ: Interactive games for students

Here are answers to questions about interactive games for students.

What are some interactive games for students?

Here is a list of some interactive games for students:

• Scrambled Eggs
• Making an advertisement
• Debate competitions
• Solving puzzles

In these games, students participate in groups or help one student with a problem. Such games also boost the thinking skills and confidence of children.

How do you get students to interact through games?

The best idea to get students to interact through games is by making them participate in groups. The students will use their abilities and work will full confidence. Also, they will be anxious about not letting their teammates down with poor performance, which will help them focus on the game. Also, the students will discuss the solutions before taking action. Discussing in groups and putting forward their points will also help them build trust and eliminate shyness.

Why are interactive games important for students?

Interactive games are important for students to help them learn better and develop or improve their skills. Interactive games also take the students out of the standard classroom routine and provide a new learning path.

Interactive games also build confidence, improve communication, and help students determine what to do in situations using their critical thinking.

Author: Grace He

People & Culture Director at teambuilding.com. Grace is the Director of People & Culture at TeamBuilding. She studied Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, Information Science at East China Normal University and earned an MBA at Washington State University.

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• Teaching Tips

20 Interactive Classroom Activities for College Students [Plus: Free List of 45+ Activities]

Planning to use interactive classroom activities intentionally can really transform the learning dynamic. Here are 20 activities to get you started.

Top Hat Staff

How interactive are your classroom activities? Do you have less energy for class than you used to? Do you find student grades declining? And are the teaching methods you’ve always relied on not working as well as they once did? We spoke to two college instructors, Chris Merlo and Monika Semma. Their strategies for interactive classroom activities will energize your class and get the discussion moving again.

Table of contents

• Why are interactive activities important in college?

6 community-building activities

5 communication activities for college students, 3 motivational activities for college students.

• 6 team-building activities for college students

Interactive classroom activities, in short

Why are interactive classroom activities important.

Merlo, a computer science teacher, says that interactive classroom activities are not new to students, and one main reason why teachers have trouble connecting is that they fail to adapt to their students’ perspectives.

“My six-year-old son doesn’t find iPads amazing; to him, they’ve always just existed. Similarly, to a lot of students today, experiences like team exercises and flipped classrooms, while foreign to many instructors are not new.

“If we care about reaching today’s students, who seem to have a different idea of student responsibilities than we had, perhaps we have to reach them on their terms.

“In my thirties, I could still find a lot of similarities with my twenty-something students. But now, in my forties? Not so much. What I’ve started to realize is that it isn’t just the little things, like whether they’ve seen Ghostbusters. (They haven’t.) It’s the big things, like how they learn.”

Semma, a humanities TA, found that the chalk-and-talk approach failed on her first day in front of a class. “It was a lot like parallel parking in front of 20 people,” she said. “I looked more like a classmate. I dropped the eraser on my face whilst trying to write my name on the board. One of my students called me ‘mom.’”

“I chalked it up to first day jitters, but that same quietness crept its way back into my classroom for the next tutorial, and the next tutorial and the next. While nearly silent in class, my students were rather vocal in the endless stream of emails that flooded my inbox. That way I knew they wanted to learn. I also knew that I had to find a way to make tutorials more engaging.”

From these experiences, Merlo and Semma now share some interactive classroom activities for students and for teachers that can turn a quiet classroom full of people unwilling to speak up to a hive of debate, making the student learning experience more collaborative for everyone.

Energize your college classroom and get discussions flowing. Download The Best Classroom Activities for College Courses to engage and motivate students.

1. Open-ended questions

Chris Merlo: Open-ended questions don’t take any planning. All they take is a class with at least one student who isn’t too shy. I remember a class a few semesters ago that started with nine students. Due to a couple of medical conditions and a job opportunity, three of the students had to drop the semester. The problem was that these three students were the ones I counted on to ask questions and keep the class lively! Once I was left with six introverted people, conversations during class seemed to stop.

By luck, I stumbled on something that got the students talking again. I said, “What has been the most difficult thing about [the project that was due soon]?” This opened the floodgates—students love to complain, especially about us and our demands. This one simple question led to twenty minutes of discussion involving all six students. I wasn’t even sure what a couple of these students’ voices sounded like, but once I gave them an open-ended opportunity to complain about an assignment, they were off to the races. A truly successful classroom activity.

2. What’s wrong with this example?

Chris Merlo: Students also love to find a professor’s mistakes—like me, I’m sure you’ve found this out the hard way. When I teach computer science, I will make up a program that, for instance, performs the wrong arithmetic, and have students find the bug. In a particularly quiet or disengaged class, you can incentivize students with five points on the next exam, or something similar.

If you teach history, you might use flawed examples that change a key person’s name, such as “King Henry VIII (instead of King John) signed the Magna Carta in 1215,” or match a person to an incorrect event: “Gavrilo Princip is considered to have fired the first shot in the Spanish Civil War (instead of World War I).” Beam these examples on the whiteboard, and let the students’ competitiveness drive them to get the right answer before their classmates.

3. Let students critique each other

Chris Merlo: This can go badly if you don’t set some ground rules for civility, but done well, classroom activities like this really help open up collaborative learning. One of my colleagues devised a great exercise: First, give students about half of their class time to write instructions that an imaginary robot can understand to draw a recognizable picture, like a corporate logo, without telling students what will happen later. Then assign each student’s instructions to a randomly chosen classmate, and have the classmate pretend to be the robot, attempting to follow the instructions and draw the same logo.

After a few minutes, introduce a specific student who can share their results with the class, then ask their partner to share the initial instructions. This method gives students a chance to communicate with each other (“That’s not what I meant!”) and laugh and bond, while learning an important lesson.

This exercise teaches computer science students the difficulty and importance of writing clear instructions. I have seen this exercise not only teach pairs of such students meaningful lessons but encourage friendships that extended beyond my classroom.

Get students participating with these 45 classroom activities

4. Pass the “mic”

Monika Semma: As an instructor, it’s amazing how much information you can gather from a student-centered review session. Specifically, if you leave the review in the hands of your students, you can get an easy and thorough assessment of what is being absorbed, and what is being left by the wayside. The more you encourage participation, the more you’ll see where your class is struggling and the more comfortable students will become with course material. Here’s how to transform a standard review into one of your more popular classroom activities:

• A week before the review, ask students to email you two to five key terms or theories that they feel they need to brush up on. Take all that data and compress it until you have a solid working list of what students want to review most.
• In class, provide students with visual access to the list (I found writing all the terms on a chalkboard to be most effective). Instruct the class to have their notes out in front of them, with a pad of paper or blank Word document at their fingertips, and encourage them to take notes as the review is in progress.
• A trinket of sorts (I highly recommend a plush ball), used as a “microphone,” helps to give students equal opportunity to direct the review without putting individuals on the spot too aggressively. The rules are simple: she or he who holds the “mic” can pick one term from the list and using their notes, can offer up what they already know about the term or concept, what they are unsure of, or what they need more elaboration on.
• Actively listen to the speaker and give them some positive cues if they seem unsure; it’s okay to help them along the way, but important to step back and let this review remain student-centered. Once the speaker has said their piece, open the floor to the rest of the class for questions or additional comments. If you find that the discussion has taken a departure from the right direction, re-center the class and provide further elaboration if need be.
• Erase each term discussed from the list as you go, and have the speaker pass (or throw) on the “mic” to a fellow classmate, and keep tossing the ball around after each concept/term is discussed.

Students will have a tendency to pick the terms that they are most comfortable speaking about and those left consistently untouched will give you a clear assessment of the subjects in which your class is struggling, and where comprehension is lacking. Once your class has narrowed down the list to just a few terms, you can switch gears into a more classic review session. Bringing a bit of interaction and fun into a review can help loosen things up during exam time, when students and teachers alike are really starting to feel the pressure.

5. Use YouTube for classroom activities

Monika Semma: Do you remember the pure and utter joy you felt upon seeing your professor wheel in the giant VHS machine into class? Technology has certainly changed—but the awesome powers of visual media have not. Making your students smile can be a difficult task, but by channeling your inner Bill Nye the Science Guy you can make university learning fun again.

A large part of meaningful learning is finding interactive classroom activities that are relevant to daily life—and I can think of no technology more relevant to current students than YouTube.

A crafty YouTube search can yield a video relevant to almost anything in your curriculum and paired with an essay or academic journal, a slightly silly video can go a long way in helping your students contextualize what they are learning.

Even if your comedic attempts plunge into failure, at the very least, a short clip will get the class discussion ball rolling. Watch the video as a class and then break up into smaller groups to discuss it. Get your students thinking about how the clip they are shown pairs with the primary sources they’ve already read.

6. Close reading

Monika Semma: In the humanities, we all know the benefits of close reading activities—they get classroom discussion rolling and students engaging with the material and open up the floor for social and combination learners to shine. “Close reading” is a learning technique in which students are asked to conduct a detailed analysis or interpretation of a small piece of text. It is particularly effective in getting students to move away from the general and engage more with specific details or ideas.

If you’re introducing new and complex material to your class, or if you feel as though your students are struggling with an equation, theory, or concept; giving them the opportunity to break it down into smaller and more concrete parts for further evaluation will help to enhance their understanding of the material as a whole.

And while this technique is often employed in the humanities, classroom activities like this can be easily transferred to any discipline. A physics student will benefit from having an opportunity to break down a complicated equation in the same way that a biology student can better understand a cell by looking at it through a microscope.

In any case, evaluating what kinds of textbooks, lesson plans and pedagogy we are asking our students to connect with is always a good idea.

Brainwriting

Group size: 10 students (minimum)

Course type: Online (synchronous), in-person

This activity helps build rapport and respect in your classroom. After you tackle a complex lecture topic, give students time to individually reflect on their learnings. This can be accomplished through guided prompts or left as an open-ended exercise. Once students have gathered their thoughts, encourage them to share their views either through an online discussion thread or a conversation with peers during class time.

Concept mapping

Collaborative concept mapping is the process of visually organizing concepts and ideas and understanding how they relate to each other. This exercise is a great way for students to look outside of their individual experiences and perspectives. Groups can use this tactic to review previous work or to help them map ideas for projects and assignments. For in-person classes, you can ask students to cover classroom walls with sticky notes and chart paper. For online classes, there are many online tools that make it simple to map out connections between ideas, like Google Docs or the digital whiteboard feature in Zoom.

Group size: Groups of 5–10 students 

Propose a topic or issue to your class. Group students together (or in breakout rooms if you’re teaching remotely) according to the position they take on the specific issue. Ask the groups of students to come up with a few arguments or examples to support their position. Write each group’s statements on the virtual whiteboard and use these as a starting point for discussion. A natural next step is to debate the strengths and weaknesses of each argument, to help students improve their critical thinking and analysis skills. 

Make learning active with these 45 interactive classroom activities

Compare and contrast

Group size: Groups of 5–10 students

Ask your students to focus on a specific chapter in your textbook. Then, place them in groups and ask them to make connections and identify differences between ideas that can be found in course readings and other articles and videos they may find. This way, they can compare their ideas in small groups and learn from one another’s perspectives. In online real-time classes, instructors can use Zoom breakout rooms to put students in small groups.

Assess/diagnose/act

This activity will improve students’ problem-solving skills and can help engage them in more dynamic discussions. Start by proposing a topic or controversial statement. Then follow these steps to get conversations going. In online classes, students can either raise their hands virtually or use an online discussion forum to engage with their peers. 

• Assessment: What is the issue or problem at hand?
• Diagnosis: What is the root cause of this issue or problem?
• Action: How can we solve the issue?

Moral dilemmas

Group size: Groups of 3–7 students 

Provide students with a moral or ethical dilemma, using a hypothetical situation or a real-world situation. Then ask them to explore potential solutions as a group. This activity encourages students to think outside the box to develop creative solutions to the problem. In online learning environments, students can use discussion threads or Zoom breakout rooms.

Conversation stations

Group size: Groups of 4–6 students 

Course type: In-person

This activity exposes students’ ideas in a controlled way, prompting discussions that flow naturally. To start, share a list of discussion questions pertaining to a course reading, video or case study. Put students into groups and give them five-to-ten minutes to discuss, then have two students rotate to another group. The students who have just joined a group have an opportunity to share findings from their last discussion, before answering the second question with their new group. After another five-to-ten minutes, the students who haven’t rotated yet will join a new group.

This or that

Course type: Online (synchronous or asynchronous), in-person

This activity allows students to see where their peers stand on a variety of different topics and issues. Instructors should distribute a list of provocative statements before class, allowing students to read ahead. Then, they can ask students to indicate whether they agree, disagree or are neutral on the topic in advance, using an online discussion thread or Google Doc. In class, use another discussion thread or live chat to have students of differing opinions share their views. After a few minutes, encourage one or two members in each group to defend their position amongst a new group of students. Ask students to repeat this process for several rounds to help familiarize themselves with a variety of standpoints.

6 team-building classroom activities for college students

Snowball discussions  .

Group size: 2–4 students per group

Assign students a case study or worksheet to discuss with a partner, then have them share their thoughts with the larger group. Use breakout rooms in Zoom and randomly assign students in pairs with a discussion question. After a few minutes, combine rooms to form groups of four. After another five minutes, combine groups of four to become a larger group of eight—and so on until the whole class is back together again.

Make it personal

Group size: Groups of 2–8 students

After you’ve covered a topic or concept in your lecture, divide students into small discussion groups (or breakout rooms online). Ask the groups questions like “How did this impact your prior knowledge of the topic?” or “What was your initial reaction to this source/article/fact?” to encourage students to reflect on their personal connections to the course concepts they are learning.

Philosophical chairs

Group size: 20–25 students (maximum)

A statement that has two possible responses—agree or disagree—is read out loud. Depending on whether they agree or disagree with this statement, students move to one side of the room or the other. After everyone has chosen a side, ask one or two students on each side to take turns defending their positions. This allows students to visualize where their peers’ opinions come from, relative to their own.

Get more interactive classroom activities here

Affinity mapping

Group size: Groups of 3–8 students 

Course type: Online (synchronous)

Place students in small groups (or virtual breakout rooms) and pose a broad question or problem to them that is likely to result in lots of different ideas, such as “What was the greatest innovation of the 21st century?” or “How would society be different if  _____ never occurred?” Ask students to generate responses by writing ideas on pieces of paper (one idea per page) or in a discussion thread (if you’re teaching online). Once lots of ideas have been generated, have students begin grouping their ideas into similar categories, then label the categories and discuss why the ideas fit within them, how the categories relate to one another and so on. This allows students to engage in higher-level thinking by analyzing ideas and organizing them in relation to one another. 

Socratic seminar

Group size: 20 students (minimum)

Ask students to prepare for a discussion by reviewing a course reading or group of texts and coming up with a few higher-order discussion questions about the text. In class, pose an introductory, open-ended question. From there, students continue the conversation, prompting one another to support their claims with evidence from previous course concepts or texts. There doesn’t need to be a particular order to how students speak, but they are encouraged to respectfully share the floor with their peers.

Concentric circles

Group size: 20 students (maximum)

Students form two circles: an inner circle and an outer circle. Each student on the inside is paired with a student on the outside; they face each other. Pose a question to the whole group and have pairs discuss their responses with each other. After three-to-five minutes, have students on the outside circle move one space to the right so they are standing in front of a new person. Pose a new question, and the process is repeated, exposing students to the different perspectives of their peers.

Making your classes more interactive should help your students want to come to class and take part in it. Giving them a more active role will give them a sense of ownership, and this can lead to students taking more pride in their work and responsibility for their grades.

Use these 45 classroom activities in your course to keep students engaged

A more interactive class can also make things easier for you—the more work students do in class, the less you have to do. Even two minutes of not talking can re-energize you for the rest of the class.

Plus, these six methods outlined above don’t require any large-scale changes to your class prep. Set up a couple of activities in advance here and there, to support what you’ve been doing, and plan which portion of your class will feature them.

The reality remains that sometimes, students do have to be taught subject matter that is anything but exciting. That doesn’t mean that we can’t make it more enjoyable to teach or learn. It may not be possible to incorporate classroom activities into every lecture, but finding some room for these approaches can go a long way in facilitating a positive learning environment.

And let’s not forget, sometimes even an educator needs a brief departure from the everyday-ordinary-sit-and-listen-to-me-lecture regimen.

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14 Fun & Interactive Presentation Games for Teams and Students

So you've got an audience to energize, students to engage, or a team that needs a little extra fun — playing an interactive presentation game is an easy way to do just that.

We've done the research and found the best of these games for you: we looked specifically for games that are simple to set up, fun to play, and flexible enough to be used with a variety of presentations and audiences. Most of these activities work virtually with Zoom/PowerPoint and can also be used in person.

Which of these 14 presentation games do you like best? Take a look and let us know your favorites:

1. Live Trivia Competition

A great way to ramp up the excitement and engagement is to enable a little bit of friendly competition. Trivia is an easy way to do this—plus, it can be whole-group inclusive and large-audience friendly (if you use the right tools).

Here's a great trivia game you can run with your team, students, or any large audience. It's already created for you with questions and scoring built in to make it even easier:

Here's how to play:

• Make a free account here: https://slideswith.com/  
• Click the slide deck and copy it. 
• Launch the trivia game by clicking "Start Event."
• Invite your group to join in and submit answers using their mobile devices (show the winners automatically).
• Interact and play during your presentation!

This trivia game has questions on many topics to keep your audience's attention and appeal to everyone. It only takes 10-15 minutes to play, so it's a great game for long discussions! Also, this interactive activity is free for up to ten participants and is totally customizable.

2. Sing and Swing 

To really liven up your group, encourage your listeners to play Sing and Swing. This activity is best for long presentations because it boosts energy, creates a fun, light-hearted environment, and makes people laugh a lot. 

Here's how to play: 

• Before your presentation, pick a well-known song and rewrite the chorus (replace parts of it with words and phrases from your presentation) 
• When you're ready to play, show the song on your screen. 
• Invite your audience to sing it with you!

If you have a fun group or a class of energetic students, consider adding choreography to engage your audience even more. 

3. 20 Questions

If you want a presentation game that requires your listeners to talk more than you, 20 Questions is the one to play! A classic and simple activity, this game immediately boosts engagement and gets people laughing. 

Here's how to play: Have someone put an appropriate image or word on the screen behind you (this can be an audience member you trust or a colleague or co-presenter). To make things more fun, put on a blindfold so that everyone knows you can't cheat. From there, ask 20 "yes or no" questions to guess what's displayed on the screen. Your group should respond "yes" or "no" to guide you to the correct answer. 

4. Scavenger Hunt Challenge

To get your audience out of their seats, a scavenger hunt challenge is one of the best interactive games for presentations. It'll immediately energize your audience , team, or students while giving them a fun way to learn.  

There are tons of in-person and virtual scavenger hunt ideas you can use to dive deeper into your topic or help everyone learn about one another. But if you want a ready-to-play game that you can instantly launch without having any tech skills, here's a fun one to play: 

• Use an email address and password to create a free account here: https://slideswith.com/ (a free account guarantees up to ten people can play at no charge). 
• Click the game and press "Copy and use this slide deck." 
• In the top right corner, click "Start Event."
• Ask listeners to join the game by using their mobile devices to scan the QR code. Players should continue using their mobile devices to submit answers to questions.
• Have everyone start hunting for items! 

This activity is a particularly fun game because it's a photo-hunt, show-and-tell challenge! That means your audience will not only get out of their seats to find items, but they'll also get to take pictures and share and discuss photos of what they find. This conversational element will help engage your group! 

5. Group Word Clouds

Whether you're speaking to team members, students, or conference-goers, this activity lets you ask questions and get your listeners' thoughts on specific topics. 

This game is the perfect way to start your presentation, especially if you're discussing something with a wide range of opinions or are unsure how much your listeners know about a certain subject. Group Word Clouds is also beneficial if you want to do a quick meeting pulse or know how your listeners feel going into your presentation—understanding their energy levels and mood can help you adjust (if necessary) to get maximum engagement and excitement.

To enjoy this activity, keep things simple by using a tool that already offers a ready-to-play Group Word Clouds game. Here's a popular one you can launch immediately: 

• Create a free account by entering an email and password here: https://slideswith.com/  
• Click the game and then copy it (the button to do so is right underneath the slide deck).
• Press "Start Event" in the top right corner. 
• Tell participants to play by scanning the QR code. 
• Create word clouds and have fun!

This interactive game only takes 5-10 minutes to play, so it's a fast, fun way to engage your audience and feel out the room. Players can use their mobile devices to answer questions. This activity is also free for up to 10 people and is easy to personalize.

6. The Get to Know You Game

This activity is one of the best presentation games if you have a small group that doesn't really know each other. The Get to Know You Game is a creative way to do introductions, and it's really simple.

Here's how to play the game: Before the event, ask group members to bring a favorite song or item to the presentation (you can do this by emailing them). When you're ready to play, ask each person to introduce themself, present their song or item, and explain why they picked it. For those sharing a song, have them play it on their phones before they explain why it's their favorite. 

7. Live Poll Questions 

When you have a large group, it's not easy to find ways to boost engagement—but poll questions are the solutions, especially when they're live and interactive. With this unique setup, large groups engage by answering questions and seeing their answers displayed in a fun way. 

Your job is to make sure you actually find a game that showcases responses uniquely to captivate your group. For a quick and great option, here's a popular icebreaker activity that promises to display responses using fun formats like word clouds, donut charts, live graphs, and per-player: 

• Create an account for free to access the game:  https://slideswith.com/  
• Click the slide deck and press the button to copy it. 
• Look in the top right corner of the deck and press "Start Event."
• Invite your group to play the game. They only need to use their mobile devices to scan the QR code. 
• Start polling your audience!

This activity is one of those fun presentation games everyone will want to enjoy, so invite all of your team members and students to participate. This game can accommodate up to 250 players and takes 5-10 minutes to complete. Tell your group to use their mobile devices to submit their responses. 

8. Assumptions 

This interactive game is a great way to break up your presentation to see who's paying attention and who can answer questions pertaining to your topic. 

• Ask your audience to stand up (for virtual presentations, make sure everyone's video is on). 
• Show true or false statements on the screen one by one. 
• Tell people to raise a hand if they think the statement is correct and sit down if they think it's incorrect.
• Continue until one person is left standing.
• Award the winner. 

This activity can be as short and challenging as you want. Also, if your presentation is long, you can play multiple rounds to break up your speaking time and test your audience throughout your discussion.  

9. Controversial Questions 

Want to see where your audience, students, or team lands on controversial topics? Then, energize your presentation with a fun, creative game called Controversial Questions. This activity has prompts that inspire lively debates, so it's a great way to get your group excited and chatty. 

However, to maintain a positive environment, make sure to find a tool that offers an office-friendly, classroom-friendly, and conference-friendly game. You don't want to sour the mood by creating uncomfortable division during your presentation. To make sure this game is fun and light-hearted, here's a popular one that's suitable for all audiences and ages: 

• Sign up for a free account by inputting an email address and password here:  https://slideswith.com/pricing  
• Click the game and press the button that says, "Copy and use this deck." 
• Press "Start Event" (the button is in the top right corner). 
• Have participants join the fun by asking them to scan the QR code with their mobile devices. 
• Get controversial and play! 

This interactive game for presentations asks fun (but appropriate) questions like:

• Does pineapple belong on pizza?
• Does the person flying in the middle seat get both armrests?
• Should the toilet roll go over or under? 

Players should use their mobile devices to submit answers. Up to ten people can play for free, and you can customize the game by updating the questions!

10. Word of the Day 

With this activity, you can keep your audience, team, or students engaged throughout your entire presentation. This  game requires listeners to be alert and recognize whenever you say the word of the day. 

Here's how to play: At the beginning of your presentation, tell your group the word of the day (it can also be a phrase if you'd prefer). Say that you'll weave the word into your presentation and that your audience must shout it out whenever you mention it. 

11. Mini Activity: Group Icebreaker

Whether you're doing an in-person or virtual presentation, you need to warm up your audience to get things started on a positive note. The best way to do that is with a quick icebreaker game. 

However, make sure your questions are fun, positive, and engaging. You can easily do this by finding a game that already has the best icebreaker questions included. Here's one that's ready to play (and requiring no tech skills to launch): 

• Input an email address and password to make a free account here: https://slideswith.com/  
• Click the deck and copy it (press "Copy and use this deck). 
• Click the button in the top right corner that says "Start Event."
• Invite participants to play by asking them to scan the QR code. 
• Break the ice to warm up your audience!

Your group should use their mobile devices to submit responses to poll questions. Also, this game accommodates up to 250 players, but only ten people can join for free.

12. Process of Elimination 

This activity is one of the best games for presentations because it's simple yet fun and great at helping listeners get to know each other. You can play it at the beginning of your presentation or in the middle to give your group a chance to stretch their legs. 

• Before your event, create a list of "yes or no" questions. 
• Once you're ready to play, tell your group to stand up (if you're doing a virtual presentation, make sure everyone's video is on). 
• Ask each question one by one. 
• Tell attendees to stand if their answer is "yes" and sit if their answer is "no." 

The questions can relate to your topic or be totally random. Also, if you'd prefer to thin out the number of people standing, you can take a creative twist and ask your questions by saying something like this: "Stay standing if (insert scenario)." When phrasing each question this way, the game will end with one person standing. To acknowledge the winner, you can give them a round of applause or award them a prize. 

13. Conference Opener Icebreaker 

If you're speaking at a big conference, you need an interactive game for presentations that can get everyone involved and ensure every voice is heard. To achieve these goals, you should create an icebreaker game that works for large groups . 

Using an easy, intuitive template is the best step to take. That way, you don't have to start from scratch or spend hours making your game. For a template that requires no code or tech-savviness to build on, here's the best option: 

• Sign up by making a free account here: https://slideswith.com/  
• Click on the game. On the next page, click the button to copy and use the deck. 
• Customize the template using the instructions HERE . 
• During your presentation, press "Start Event" in the top right corner. 
• Ask the group to use their mobile devices to scan the QR code and join the fun. (Also, make sure participants use their mobile devices to submit answers.) 
• Play and engage your audience!  

This template has fun, interactive features built in to keep your large audience engaged. Those features include polls, word clouds, and ratings. Just make sure you sign up for a paid plan to accommodate the large number of people in your group—the free account only works for up to ten players. 

14. Two Truths and a Lie 

This classic game is a fun, energizing way to help your listeners get to know one another. It's perfect for small in-person or virtual groups and is an ideal activity for the beginning of your presentation. 

Here's how to play: Pick any topic (for the purposes of this article, the topic will be "movies"). In no particular order, say two movies you've really watched and one you haven't watched. Ask your audience to guess which statement is the lie. The winner picks the next topic and says two truths and a lie. 

Be Memorable With Presentation Games

Oftentimes, people forget presentations within a week or even days, and that's because the discussions are boring. But you don't work hard preparing a presentation for it to be forgotten. If you want your message to stick, all you have to do is make it enjoyable without being corny.  

If you want to be remembered and actually get people engaged, you need to make your presentation fun and enjoyable, without coming off as corny or desperate to please. Ivan Dimitrijevic, 10 Secrets of Making Every Presentation Fun, Engaging, and Enjoyable

Luckily, the interactive presentation games in this article are unique and exciting—they're far from corny. So, use them for your upcoming presentations to make your messages compelling and memorable. 

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Virtual Games Your Middle School Students Will Actually Enjoy

Find ways to have fun and actually LAUGH with my students is a most. So, consider this a collection of the best “Fun Friday” activities the internet has blessed me with through this time of virtual teaching. If you’re like me and really working to power through March, try to sprinkle them in every now and then throughout the week. Play a couple minutes of YouTube games to start class or try out one acronym a day for students to guess. I promise, these games will “light up the chat” even in your quietest classes. In fact, sometimes you’ll realize a student you thought wasn’t even at their computer, is there and capable of participation!

YouTube Videos

These games have worked well for my students, but please make sure to preview them ahead of time to make sure you find them suitable for your students! (Try watching at 2.0x speed if you’re in a rush!)

• Emoji Games (Playlist): Emoji combinations provide clues to the actual word! My students love playing and also making these! 
• Guess the Gibberish  (Playlist): Just like that fun Instagram filter–unrelated words/sounds give a hint to the actual word!
• Memory Games : These visual memory tests are fun to play and apparently can also help train the brain!
• Spot the Difference : A fun way to get students interacting and typing in the chat! This one is Among Us themed.
• Odd Object Out : I ask students to describe (in the chat, privately) where they find it so that if they’re right, others still have a chance to find it! 
• Guess the Logo : Determine which logo is the correct one!

Group Games

• Virtual Bingo – exactly what it sounds like! There are a lot of directions, but it is easier than it looks!
• JigsawPuzzles.io – A free website where you the teacher can create an account and host shared puzzle opportunities!
• Finish the Drawing (Whiteboard.fi or Nearpod): Download these doodles I made to add as backgrounds for students to finish the drawing! The more time you give students, the more elaborate the drawings!
• Skribbl.io – Kind of like group Pictionary! Note: Not all students were able to access it from their Chromebook, some were able to better join from another device
• Taboo – Last year, my students kept their cameras on, so they would turn around and I’d share my screen for other students to see (I do preview all the ones we’ll play before we play, just in case!). Without cameras, you can send the target word and forbidden words to a student in the chat and challenge them to get other students to guess the target word!

Teacher Created Virtual Games

• Finish My Word : Even though @adventures_in2nd made this for her students, my 8th graders had so much fun with this one! It also opened up the conversation to syllables and allowed others to be the ones giving clues too!
• @HelloMrsHarwic k ‘s “Class Meeting Activities”: Watch her stories with this title for ideas and freebies! My 8th graders enjoyed 4 Corners and I LOVED their responses for “Guess the Acronym.” Sure some of them looked up the true meaning of the acronym, but their ideas were way funnier! I had them share in their answers on mentimeter , but they can easily be shared as a “waterfall chat” (Thanks @caffeinateandeducate !)
• Jamboard Games (paid resource): These Jamboard templates from Sensational Teaching did not disappoint. Connect 4, Checkers, 4 Corners, and Tic-Tac-Toe! At the end of this month, I’m hoping to have a “March Madness” themed Connect Four tournament!

Other ideas...

My students are accustomed to the different types of games we play here and there. I’ve also given them an opportunity to choose what they wanted to do — breakout rooms with different activities, and also a class vote. The class vote consisted of Games, Hot Seat, and Talent Show. Different class periods voted differently, so I ended up doing all three one day.

• Hot Seat–I let them ask me whatever question they wanted via a Google Form (I didn’t do this anonymously just in case the nature of their question required me to seek help for them–that has happened during in-person instruction, but thankfully handwriting helped me get them what they needed). The “Show Me a Picture of…” was also trending at the time, so I told them I’d scroll my camera roll.
• Talent Show — This was a combination of a few students showcasing their singing or artwork, followed by Show and Tell by those that were feeling inspired.

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75 Must-Try Virtual Event Ideas For College Students

By: Author Nicole Booz

Posted on Last updated: June 25, 2023

Categories College

These virtual event ideas for college students are engaging, educational, and fun all while helping students learn and meet professional goals.

Virtual events are a great way for college students to stay connected with each other.

Whether you want to host them over the summer months, breaks, for more people to attend, or for health reasons like social distancing, they offer a great way to provide college students and community members with resources they may not be able to get in person . They are a great alternative to in-person college events .

Virtual events also provide an easy, affordable way to keep up with friends and even make new ones.

Additionally, many virtual event ideas are interactive and provide innovative ways to bring people together in the safety and privacy of their own homes.

I’ve split these up into three main categories, use these links to easily navigate this post:

• Professional Virtual Events
• Fun Virtual Events
• Educational Virtual Events

Now, let us take a deeper look at 75 virtual event ideas for college students.

25 Professional Virtual Event Ideas For College Students

1. webinars and workshops:.

Host educational sessions on various topics, bringing in industry experts as speakers. Encourage audience interaction through Q&A sessions and polls.

The topics you can do these on are virtually endless. Have professors from across subjects give different webinars on new research and interesting things in their fields.

2. Virtual Conferences:

Create an online conference with multiple sessions, keynote speakers, and networking opportunities .

Include breakout rooms for smaller group discussions and interactive activities that can take place over zoom. Make it valuable for students by offering a mentorship aspect as well.

3. Virtual Trade Shows and Exhibitions:

Set up a virtual exhibition hall where participants can explore booths, interact with exhibitors through live chat or video calls, and access product demos and downloadable resources.

An  event staffing agency  can provide the necessary personnel to ensure smooth interactions and assistance for attendees. 

This can be useful especially for trade schools or students in business to get an idea for how to network and to learn about new technologies.

4. Online Panel Discussions:

Organize panel discussions on relevant topics, inviting industry professionals and thought leaders to share their insights.

Allow attendees to submit questions in advance or participate in live Q&A sessions.

5. Virtual Hackathons:

Host coding or problem-solving challenges, providing a platform for participants to collaborate remotely.

Set clear objectives, offer mentorship, and award prizes for the most innovative solutions. This is especially fun for students in computer science!

6. Virtual Networking Events:

Facilitate networking opportunities through virtual speed networking sessions, breakout rooms, or dedicated networking platforms.

Consider using icebreaker activities to foster connections.

7. Digital Fitness or Wellness Classes:

Arrange virtual fitness or wellness sessions, such as yoga , meditation , or dance classes.

Partner with experienced instructors who can guide participants through interactive live sessions.

These might be especially attractive to students who don’t have time to make it to the gym between classes but can do a yoga session in their dorm room.

8. Online Virtual Tours:

Offer virtual tours of museums, landmarks, or unique locations, providing participants with an immersive and educational experience.

Include live guides or prerecorded videos to enhance engagement.

9. Resume Critique:

Organize a resume critique session for students and recent graduates.

Invite recruiters or career experts to review resumes, provide feedback, and answer questions from participants. Research online tools to make the process easier.

10. Alumni Meet and Greet:

Create an alumni meet-and-greet event to encourage networking and camaraderie among former students.

Invite speakers to share their stories, provide career advice, and offer mentorship opportunities.

11. Meet Your Major:

Organize a virtual meet-your-major event to introduce students to different majors and minors.

Invite professors or industry professionals to discuss career paths, internships, and other opportunities related to the field.

This is a great idea for prospective students or new students too. Have a faculty member host q&a sessions to give college kids a better idea of what each major is like.

12. Alumni Q&A Session:

Host an alumni Q&A session, inviting former graduates to share their experiences and answer questions from participants.

Allow attendees to submit questions in advance or participate in live Q&A sessions. Encourage audience engagement by offering prizes for the most creative questions. ​

13. Career Day:

Organize a virtual career day to help college students with their career exploration .

Invite recruiters, industry experts, and entrepreneurs to discuss career options, job search strategies, and more.

Consider using an online platform like Zoom for panel discussions and one-on-one mentorship sessions.

14. Carer Styling:

Facilitate career styling sessions for students and recent graduates.

Invite recruiters or fashion professionals to provide advice on interview attire , grooming tips, and other professional stylistic skills.

Consider offering discounts on clothing or makeup products as a token of appreciation.

15. Budgeting Workshop:

Arrange a budgeting workshop to help college students learn about financial management. Invite experienced professionals to discuss budgeting, saving, and investing strategies.

Provide tips on how to manage money better and use online tools for tracking expenses.

16. Tax Workshop:

Organize a tax workshop to help participants understand the basics of filing taxes and claiming deductions.

Invite accountants or tax professionals to answer questions and provide advice on how to save money by filing taxes correctly. Consider offering discounts for filing software as an incentive.

17. Scholarship Workshop:

Hold a scholarship workshop to help college students understand the process of applying and winning scholarships.

Invite guest speakers to discuss test scores, resumes, essays, and other requirements for various scholarship programs.

Provide resources and guidance on where to find scholarships and how to apply successfully.

18. Mock Interviews:

Organize mock interviews for college students who are seeking jobs or internships.

Invite recruiters or career experts to simulate interview scenarios and provide feedback on how to improve their communication skills.

Consider offering prizes for the best performance or most creative responses.

19. Career Fair:

Put together a virtual career fair for students and alumni seeking job opportunities.

Invite employers from various industries to participate in panel discussions and individual networking sessions.

Consider using an online platform like Zoom to facilitate the process and provide a virtual space for recruiters and job seekers to connect.

20. Networking Night:

Host a networking social night for college students to meet professionals in their field or industry of interest.

Invite speakers from various industries to discuss career paths, job search strategies, and other topics related to success and career development.

21. Idea Pitch Competition:

Arrange a virtual idea pitch competition to help college students sharpen their presentation skills.

Invite guest speakers or entrepreneurs to judge the pitches and provide feedback on how to improve their crafting and delivery.

Consider offering prizes for the best ideas or most creative concepts.

22. Resume Workshop:

Organize a resume workshop for college students who are preparing to enter the job market.

Invite experienced recruiters or HR professionals to provide advice on how to craft an effective resume and answer any questions participants may have.

23. Study Abroad Q&A:

Host a study abroad Q&A session for students interested in international learning.

Invite guest speakers from universities or organizations that specialize in global education to answer questions and provide advice on how to apply for scholarships, find internships, and select the best program for them.

Consider offering discounts on travel or educational resources as an incentive.

24. Mental Health Workshop:

Put together a mental health workshop to help college students manage their stress and anxiety.

Invite professionals from the healthcare or educational fields to discuss topics such as coping strategies, self-care techniques, and how to access resources for support.

Consider providing free online sessions with mental health experts as a token of appreciation.

25. Investing Workshop:

Organize an investing workshop to help college students learn the basics of money management and long-term planning.

Invite guest speakers from the financial industry to provide guidance on how to utilize online investment tools, identify proper asset allocation strategies, and develop a comprehensive retirement plan.

35 Fun Virtual Event Ideas For College Students

These events are designed to be fun way for current students to attend social events online!

1. Virtual DIY Craft Workshop:

Conduct a do-it-yourself (DIY) craft workshop, teaching participants how to create unique crafts or art projects.

Provide a list of required materials in advance, and guide participants step by step through the creative process.

2. Virtual 5k Run/Walk:

Organize a virtual 5k race with friends.

Track participants’ progress using an app and celebrate their achievement together. Consider offering prizes or donations to charity for extra motivation. ​

3. Meet My Pet:

Invite participants to showcase their pets in a virtual pet show. They can share stories, show off their pets’ tricks, or participate in fun pet-related challenges.

Consider awarding prizes in different categories, such as cutest pet or most talented pet.

4. Virtual game night:

Play classic board games or video games with students over Zoom, Skype, or other online platform. You can place members in teams to keep groups small.

5. Online movie party:

Watch a movie together via Netflix Party and chat about it as it plays.

6. Virtual cooking class:

Take turns hosting a cooking class to teach each other how to make something new, or recreate a favorite dish.

7. Virtual book club:

Read the same book and discuss it online as you progress.

Pick a new book each week and discuss it with friends while sharing tips and opinions on different topics.

Different student clubs can host these to increase social engagement in various clubs and majors.

8. Online karaoke night:

Sing along with friends from your own homes! Sing along to your favorite songs and challenge each other to see who can hit all the notes.

9. DIY craft night:

Host a beginner-friendly craft class with supplies you can find around the house.

10. Virtual paint and sip party:

Follow along with an online tutorial to create your own work of art while sipping on your favorite beverage.

This is a creative way for the student body to relieve some stress and have fun!

11. Virtual escape room challenge:

Work together to solve puzzles and riddles in an online escape room.

This is one of those fun virtual activities that will engage your student body a way that college kids love! Limit each session to a handful of participants.

12. Virtual trivia night:

Test your knowledge with questions from various categories and compete against each other for the highest score.

13. Online museum tour:

Take a virtual tour of famous museums, art galleries, and landmarks from all around the world. Consider it to be a virtual field trip!

14. Virtual cooking competition:

See who can make the best dish with the same ingredients.

15. Online scavenger hunt:

Create a list of items or tasks to find online and work together to complete it in the fastest time. See who can find the most items on a virtual scavenger hunt and get points for each item found.

16. Virtual board games tournament:

Play against one another to find out who’s the best player of your favorite game.

17. Social media challenge night:

Pick a challenge from TikTok or Instagram and try it out with friends.

18. Virtual music festival:

Listen to music from different genres and artists, dance along, and share favorite tunes with each other.

19. Online movie marathon:

Over the course of a few weeks, host virtual movie watching events and allow participants to contribute to a virtual chat box to discuss in real time.

20. Virtual spa night:

Set up a relaxing home spa experience with face masks, bubble baths, and candles.

21. Virtual talent show night:

Have participants showcase their talents or creative pursuits and see who can put on the best performance. Have various student organizations host these so you can do them in different majors and with different themes.

22. Online comedy club night:

Find clips of stand-up comedians online and rate them for an added challenge.

23. Virtual the price is right:

Test your knowledge with a fun game of the price is right and get points for correct answers. This helps them get to know the true pricing of items in the real world, too.

24. Online fashion show:

Dress up in your favorite clothing and accessories from home, then have a virtual fashion show with friends.

25. Virtual escape room night:

Compete against one another to see who can complete the most puzzles or scavenger hunts online.

26. Online game night:

Pick a game from various gaming apps and platforms, then get points for winning.

27. College game viewing party:

Watch your favorite college teams go head-to-head on the big screen. Host a zoom where students can chat live in a chat box about the game.

28. Online gaming tournament:

Challenge each other to see who can get the highest score in a chosen game.

29. Virtual dress up night:

Choose a theme and dress up accordingly, then show off your creations to the group. This would be fun for fashion majors, especially.

30. Online celebrity gossip night:

Discuss current events, scandals, and gossip surrounding famous people.

31. Virtual dance class:

Learn new moves from an online tutorial or challenge each other to a dance battle.

32. Virtual cocktail making class:

Learn how to make different cocktails from an online tutorial and test them out together.

33. Online shopping challenge:

Shop for the same item online and see who can get the best deal.

34. Virtual concert night:

Listen to live music performances from various artists each week.

35. DIY video project night:

Work together in teams to make short videos and compete against one another for the best results.

15 Educational Virtual Events For College Students

These educational online event ideas event ideas should bring an educational component while still being fun!

1. Virtual art workshop:

Learn a new painting technique, drawing style, or other type of art and share your creations with each other.

2. Guest lecturer:

Invite a professor or guest speaker to chat about their expertise and experiences. Make this extremely valuable by bringing in someone working on exciting research or technology.

3. Online language class:

Offer an online language class that teaches the basics of a language.

4. Virtual baking class:

Teach participants a baking recipe that they can impress other wish for years to come.

5. Online cooking class:

Similar to the baking class, have a professional chef teach participants how to make a unique dish and help them learn new techniques.

6. Virtual music listening party:

Create a Spotify playlist and listen to music together with a group to discuss the history of the genre.

7. Online stand-up comedy night:

Watch clips of different stand-up comedians and discuss the funniest jokes and their meanings and implications.

8. Travel planning seminar:

Teach participants how to plan the perfect trip somewhere. Many college aged students have never done this themselves and are unaware of resources available to them to make trips more affordable.

9. Code-a-thon:

Have students work together to create a program or app and compete against each other for the best design.

10. Online art gallery:

Have art students participate in an online art gallery allowing them to display their art while receiving helpful and thoughtful feedback anonymously.

11. Poetry slam:

Have students perform their poetry in a virtual poetry slam. Offer constructive criticism to help each other get better.

12. Writing sprint:

Spend a set amount of time writing and see who can write the most during that time. Exchange your work with each other and get feedback from the group.

13. Show and tell:

Each person has to share something interesting they love and talk about why it’s special to them. This could be anything from books and music to sports memorabilia and craft projects.

14. Science Fair:

Have students in the science present their science experiments virtually to an audience of their peers. This will help them be comfortable presenting.

15. Virtual Happy Hours

Invite students to a happy hour – bringing the age appropriate drink of their choice – and discuss new things happening in certain programs or majors.

This gives students in similar majors time to connect while learning about more opportunities available to them.

5 Tips For Hosting a Virtual Event:

To make your virtual event go smoothly, try following these tips.

1. Choose the right platform:

Select an easy-to-use platform that allows attendees to access your event quickly and with no technical difficulties.

A virtual setting can come with technical difficulties, so it’s a good idea make sure you’ve tested the software ahead of time!

2. Create a schedule:

Provide a detailed agenda of the event and make sure everyone knows what to expect before it begins.

3. Promote your event:

Spread the word about your virtual event through social media and email campaigns to engage more participants.

4. Give incentives:

Offer prizes or discounts to motivate attendees and increase virtual engagement.

This could be gift cards to local businesses, a tuition credit or free food. These types of events are a great opportunity to engage your student body off of the college campus.

You can also cap the number of seats allowed to create a feeling of scarcity.

5. Follow up:

Send a follow-up email to thank everyone for attending and share any feedback you’ve received from the event.

This will help provide valuable insights for future events and show appreciation to your guests. A successful virtual event is one in which students and

By following these tips, you can ensure that your virtual event runs smoothly and is enjoyable for all involved.

With a little bit of planning, you can create an unforgettable experience for your college students in a new way! So go ahead and get creative with your next virtual event! It’s sure to be a hit.

Final Thoughts on Virtual Event Ideas For College Students

By hosting one or more of these virtual event ideas, college students can not only stay connected but also have some fun!

These activities allow for creative expression, learning new skills, and most importantly, spending quality time with friends or making new friends.

Whether it’s a virtual music festival or a game show night, there’s something for everyone! So get ready to have a blast at your next virtual event.

If you liked this post on virtual event ideas for college students, we’d love if you’d share it with your team!

About the Author

Nicole Booz is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of GenTwenty, GenThirty, and The Capsule Collab. She has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and is the author of The Kidult Handbook (Simon & Schuster May 2018). She currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two sons. When she’s not reading or writing, she’s probably hiking, eating brunch, or planning her next great adventure.

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• Student Resources

10 fun virtual team building ideas for students

February 09, 2021 •

6 min reading

All groups needs a spirit of collaboration in which to thrive. In the midst of the current pandemic, maintaining close relationships has proven especially challenging, including on the higher education level where students often have to juggle between numerous group projects throughout the year. With classes taking place online and a limited access to campus, feeling isolated from friends and colleagues has become the norm among students rather than the exception.

With this in mind, we all need to rethink ways to keep the team spirit alive in a remote context. How can we bring students together mentally, if not physically? 

Without further ado, here is a list of creative team-building activities for groupmates looking to add some sparkle to their virtual meetings.

1. Team-building Bingo

Life at home seems rather dull and uneventful compared to the daily ritual of coffee breaks between classes. As a result, when a virtual meeting comes up, no one possibly knows what anecdote to share with their teammates. This bingo will help break the ice and spark funny conversations among colleagues:

Did someone admit to wearing pajama bottoms to a video meeting? Cross it off the list. Was your meeting interrupted by your teammate’s delivery man or barking dog? Cross it off too! A remote work bingo will help dedramatize the situation and make working from home seem more eventful, and eventually fun too.

2. Guessing the Emoji board

You are probably used to include emojis practically anywhere, from personal texts to work emails. But have you ever wondered which ones your colleagues use most often and why? To start off the activity, each teammate should take a screenshot of their phone or computer keyboard and share it with the group. Then ensues the burning question: Why does your colleague Kelly use a “clueless” emoji so much?

Here is how to play the “Guess the Emoji board”:

• Create a list of all players and distribute it to each colleague.
• Within 5 minutes, each player should guess the top 5 used emojis by each person on the list.
• When time is up, reveal the answers and award points based on accuracy, similarity of emojis and getting them in the right order.
• If time remains, spark a discussion to find out the reasons behind using the funniest or most intriguing emojis.

3. Virtual Pub Trivia

Meeting up with classmates to have a drink after work seems like a distant memory. But who said the experience can’t be replicated at home? 

Here is how to organize a virtual pub trivia quiz: Invite participants to a call and ask them to bring their favorite drink. The designated event host then divides participants into smaller groups and reads out questions. As for a traditional trivia game, the fastest team to give the right answer wins.

Trivia questions are endless, but you can find a few ideas organized into categories to get started here.

To make the activity more work-related, you could also thematize the trivia game and ask questions related to your industry, company or specific department.

4. Tiny Campfire

What better setting than a campfire, marshmallows and scary stories to form bonds? While meeting in a forest to camp is not very realistic for now, nothing stops you and your teammates from camping at home.

Arm yourself with tealight candles, matches, and s’mores ingredients (marshmallows, crackers and chocolate), prepare some spooky stories and you will be ready for a virtual camping night with classmates!

For more of a Swiss touch, don’t hesitate to convert this tiny campfire into a fondue or raclette evening – different ingredients, same teambuilding effects!

5. Exciting Sponge

Has the title caught your attention yet? Exciting Sponge  consists of a storytelling game where each team member tells a story about an object within arm’s length. If no object is available, or if inspiration is lacking, one can default to telling a story about a sponge.

The goal of this slightly absurd game is to make a seemingly uninteresting object exciting and worthy of attention. Who knew a post-it or a USB stick could be so fascinating?

6. DIY Craft Challenge

An effective way to spark creativity among teams can be found by organizing a DIY challenge. DIY activities come in various shapes, for instance, participants could craft the same object at the same time by following a step-by-step instruction manual. The choice of DIY craft is not the most important here. What matters is for colleagues to perform the activity simultaneously, help each other out and have fun together.

Another, more creative approach consists of organizing a crafting competition where each person builds an object from material available at home within a certain time limit. A great opportunity to test your creativity and empty drawers of unused materials at the same time! When everyone is done, votes are attributed to the most creative project – prizes optional.

7. Virtual Book Club

Reading is mostly a solitary activity – but it doesn’t always have to be. In fact, it could very well be turnedinto a social endeavor. The principle of a virtual book club is rather similar to an in-person one: a common book is read at a similar pace by all members who regularly meet to express their opinion about it.

Not everyone is an avid reader, and literary tastes tend to vary. Therefore, it might be wise to start with short stories, novellas or even graphic books. Each week or so, club members could meet and share their thoughts on their current reading. Then, every month, members could vote on which book to read next.

To make it more “work-oriented”, you could also decide to read non-fiction books specialized in your field of study. This way, group members would have the opportunity to share their thoughts on books while increasing their knowledge in a particular field.

8. Remote Team Dinner

Sharing food is not only a delicious activity, it is a great opportunity to spend time with other and foster relationships. At a time where sharing lunch with co-workers and organizing team dinners proves difficult in person, remote dinners are a viable option.

Gather your team for an online dinner: you could choose to cook the same meal or ask each person to prepare their favorite dish. Another fun activity could be to start the meeting a bit earlier and go through the recipe together - laughs guaranteed!

Here as well, a contest could be organized and a prize awarded to the best-looking or most creative dish. This will also give everyone a sneak peek into which teammate is the best cook, to keep in mind when in-person dinners are allowed again.

9. Virtual Dance Party 

In these times where working at home equates with sitting down for 8+ hours each day, shaking off physical and emotional tensions is crucial more than ever. For those who are not afraid to show off some moves, a virtual dance party could well be the solution.

Feel free to make it a quick activity at the start of a meeting to loosen the atmosphere or make it a designated event. Don’t worry if you don’t know any fancy dance moves, the important part is to have fun! Here are some ideas of engaging songs to make your team dance to:

• Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars
• Heavy, California  by Jungle
• Kiss  by Prince
• Get Lucky  by Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams
• Money by Michael Kiwanuka & Tom Misch

Of course, the list of songs is endless and subject to your team’s preferences.

10. Rose/Thorn virtual icebreaker

In this activity, each person will get the chance to share how they are feeling at the moment, in terms of work and/or personal life. One after another, each team member shares his or her “rose” (a positive thing that makes them feel happy, proud or grateful) and a “thorn” (a challenge which made them feel down and that they want to overcome).

This activity will act as a short icebreaker and can be used at the very beginning of a meeting to strengthen communication and support within the group.

These are just a few activities among many more which can be used to make classmates feel closer during difficult times. Are you convinced yet? Then do not hesitate to try some of the suggestions on this list and let us know how they worked for your team! 

• Bizbash.com: 10 new foodbased activities for virtual team building
• Museumhack.com: virtual team building for remote teams

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8 Fun And Fulfilling Virtual Activities For Special Needs Students

If you have a student with special needs in your class, virtual activities can be fun, engaging, and beneficial. Through virtual activities, special needs students can improve their social skills, self-regulation, cognitive development, and language skills.

This article will explain the various virtual activities that are suitable for special needs students, as well as offer tips on how to engage these students in a virtual setting. Whether it’s through music therapy or creative writing, get ready to explore how virtual activities can bring special needs students joy, stimulation, and success.

Article Contents

• 1 Simple Virtual Activities for Special Needs Students
• 2 1. Virtual Tours
• 3 2. Music Therapy
• 4 3. Creative Writing
• 5 4. Sensory Stimulation
• 6 5. Music and Movement Games
• 7 6. Virtual Field Trips
• 8 7. Interactive Storytelling
• 9 8. Online Art Projects
• 10 Benefits of Virtual Activities for Special Needs Students
• 11 1. Improve Social Skills
• 12 2. Promote Self-Regulation
• 13 3. Encourage Cognitive Development
• 14 4. Reinforce Language Skills
• 15 Tips for Engaging Special Needs Students Virtually
• 16 1. Incorporate Visuals
• 17 2. Keep Sessions Short
• 18 3. Establish a Routine
• 19 4. Create a Positive Environment
• 20 Final Thoughts

Simple Virtual Activities for Special Needs Students

Virtual activities are a great way to keep special needs students engaged and entertained while learning from the comfort of their homes. While there are many complex activities available online, we offer a selection of simple activities that can easily be implemented and enjoyed by special needs students.

One activity that special needs students may enjoy is audio meditation. Audio meditation is a great way for special needs students to relax, focus, and de-stress. Audio meditation can be as simple as asking the student to pause, close their eyes, and listen to peaceful music or a guided voice. As they listen to the audio they can focus on their breathing and allow their mind to relax.

Another great activity is an interactive story. Interactive stories allow special needs students to explore and engage with stories, characters, and worlds in a safe environment. By engaging with the characters and scenes in the story, the students are able to practice their reading and comprehension skills while having fun.

One more fun activity is drawing. Drawing can provide a great outlet for students to express their creativity while developing their fine motor skills. Students can draw a variety of things like simple shapes, animals, or even people. They can then use the drawing as inspiration for a story, a poem, or even a song.

Overall, there are a variety of simple virtual activities available for special needs students. These activities are engaging, fun, and can be easily implemented. By giving special needs students time to enjoy these activities, teachers can help to provide them with an enjoyable experience while also engaging with their studies in unique and creative ways.

1. Virtual Tours

One fun and engaging activity for special needs students is to explore the world with virtual tours. With virtual tours, students can travel to places they may not be able to go physically. This can open up their minds to new cultures and experiences without ever leaving the safety and comfort of home.

Depending on the student’s particular needs, virtual tours can be tailored to the individual with audio descriptions, photos, and videos of specific landmarks and destinations. Virtual tours can be educational and exciting, providing an interactive learning experience for special needs students.

Read also: Special Needs Kids Activities That Will Keep Them entertained!

2. Music Therapy

Music therapy is an incredibly powerful and fun activity for special needs students. Through the use of music and creativity, music therapy can provide an outlet for those with different physical and developmental needs.

With an experienced music therapist, special needs students can learn how to read music, play instruments, and write their own songs. Music therapy also helps to improve their communication and social skills, as they partake in musical activities with their peers.

Music therapy can be adapted to work in virtual sessions, allowing students to receive the same benefits from home. Music therapy is a great way for special needs students to express themselves and have fun.

Read also: Effects of Music Therapy for Special Needs Teens with Autism

3. Creative Writing

Creative writing can be a fun and fulfilling activity for special needs students. From writing short stories and poems to creating plays and scripts, students can use their imagination to express themselves in unique and creative ways.

Engaging in creative writing challenges can help students improve their communication skills, allowing them to express their ideas in a creative and organized way.

By providing guidance, special needs students can find a creative outlet to express themselves, while discovering their own strengths and interests. Creative writing activities can provide a sense of accomplishment, building confidence and self-esteem.

4. Sensory Stimulation

For special needs students, sensory stimulation can be an important part of their learning process. Virtual activities can provide a safe and engaging way to help students explore and express their sensory needs.

From interactive art programs to sensory-rich virtual reality simulations, there are plenty of options for students to explore and find what works for them. The  use of technology-based activities can provide the opportunity for students to learn and explore in a secure, supervised environment. By providing activities that appeal to their individual sensory needs, special needs students are able to engage in activities that are stimulating and enjoyable for them.

5. Music and Movement Games

Music and movement games can be a great way to engage special needs students in virtual activities. Games that combine music and physical movement can help to promote physical activity, mental stimulation, and stress relief.

Fun and interactive music-based games can also help encourage problem-solving and social interaction. Popular activities include virtual dance parties, musical “Simon Says” activities, and singing karaoke.

These activities can easily be adapted to different learning styles and can be tailored to the individual student’s interests and skills. Music and movement games can provide students with hours of fun and assist in furthering their development.

6. Virtual Field Trips

Virtual field trips are an excellent way to make learning fun and engaging for special needs students. These trips can take students to locations around the world, allowing them to explore different cultures and environments without ever leaving their homes.

With the help of modern technologies like virtual reality, virtual field trips provide an interactive, immersive experience that can facilitate real learning and understanding. Programs such as Google Expeditions, zSpace, and Discovery Education offer plenty of opportunities for students to explore historical sites or visit different countries and landmarks.

These field trips can be tailored to the individual needs of the student, making them a great way to foster an understanding of the world and broaden horizons.

7. Interactive Storytelling

Interactive storytelling is an especially fulfilling activity for special needs students. This type of activity is a great way for students to engage in creative expression, practice their communication skills, and connect with others. It also encourages problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration.

By collaborating with peers and creating stories, students with special needs can work together to create truly unique tales. Interactive storytelling can also be a great way to teach social and emotional skills such as storytelling, active listening, and sharing.

With this activity, special needs students have a fun and safe space to practice different skills, develop their confidence, and feel connected to the world around them.

8. Online Art Projects

Online art projects are a great way to engage special needs students and provide them with an opportunity to explore their creative side.

There are many online platforms that provide lessons and activities to help special needs students learn how to create and express themselves through art.

These activities can be tailored to the student’s ability level, allowing them to work at their own pace. Art projects can also help improve fine motor skills and allow students to build confidence in their own artistic abilities. With the right tools, any student can learn to express themselves in a safe and fun environment.

Benefits of Virtual Activities for Special Needs Students

Virtual activities are becoming increasingly popular among special needs students as they offer a fun and engaging way to engage in activities with peers.

Virtual activities can offer many benefits to special needs students that are beneficial to their learning and development.

Not only can virtual activities provide students with an interesting and stimulating environment, but it can also provide them with the opportunity to work on their social and communication skills with peers.

One of the biggest benefits of virtual activities for special needs students is the ability to access them from anywhere in the world. This gives students more freedom and flexibility when it comes to learning and engaging with peers.

It also gives parents and teachers more control over the activities that the student participates in, which helps to ensure the student is participating in activities that are appropriate and beneficial to them.

Another key benefit of virtual activities is that they are often designed specifically with special needs students in mind. This allows the activities to be tailored to the individual needs of each student, which helps to ensure that the activity is engaging and meaningful.

Furthermore, virtual activities often allow students to work on personal goals, such as developing better problem-solving and communication skills, which can greatly improve the quality of their learning experience.

Finally, virtual activities are a great way for special needs students to practice the skills they are learning in school or in therapy. By engaging in activities with their peers in a virtual setting, students can better understand and practice the skills they are learning, which can help to prepare them for real-world situations or other activities.

Engaging in activities with peers provides students with an opportunity to build relationships and develop interpersonal skills, which can help them to feel more supported and secure in their environment.

Overall, virtual activities are a great way for special needs students to engage in activities with peers that are both fun and fulfilling. Not only do they provide students with an interesting and stimulating environment, but they also allow them to develop their social and communication skills and practice the skills they are learning in school or therapy.

Virtual activities are an ideal way for special needs students to stay connected with their peers and develop life-long skills.

1. Improve Social Skills

Today’s technology offers a variety of virtual activities that are fun and fulfilling for special needs students. These activities can help special needs students develop social skills, such as communicating through text, video conferencing, and interactive educational games.

Virtual activities such as educational games, conversation groups, and virtual field trips can provide special needs students with a stimulating, enjoyable learning experience. Activities such as these can help special needs students to build stronger communication and socialization skills.

Participating in these activities can also help special needs students to better understand and relate to peers, leading to more meaningful, socially meaningful interactions.

2. Promote Self-Regulation

One important way to ensure that special needs students have an engaging and rewarding virtual learning experience is to promote self-regulation strategies. Self-regulation builds a student’s ability to manage their emotions, behaviors, and attention.

These are all essential skills for successful virtual learning. To promote self-regulation, teachers can use a variety of strategies in their virtual classrooms, such as providing designated online working space, setting short-term goals and achievable tasks, offering frequent feedback and positive reinforcement, and providing breaks and relaxation activities.

With the right guidance, special needs students can learn to self-regulate while having fun and feeling fulfilled with their virtual learning experience.

Read also: Implementing Special Needs Education: Essential Strategies

3. Encourage Cognitive Development

In addition to providing much-needed social interaction, virtual activities can also help special needs students develop their cognitive skills.

By engaging in activities that challenge them to think critically, work creatively, and problem solve — all while having fun — special needs students can gain valuable cognitive skills that can prepare them for future opportunities.

This can include activities such as playing educational games, engaging in virtual field trips, completing virtual puzzles and mazes, and even having discussions related to the material they are learning. All of these activities can help special needs students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as creative and analytical abilities.

Read also: Special Needs Moms: Why We’re Stronger Than You Think

4. Reinforce Language Skills

Language skills are essential for success in school and life. Fortunately, virtual activities for special needs students not only can be fun and satisfying but can also help to reinforce language skills.

Utilizing virtual interactive tools such as video chat, interactive whiteboards, and online storybooks can help bring language alive for students. Games like Mad Libs and interactive activities like virtual field trips can help engage students and make learning enjoyable.

Parents and caregivers can also find online resources to create personalized activities for their students with special needs to help reinforce language learning.

With the help of these virtual activities, special needs students can find joy in learning and practicing their language skills in a safe, comfortable, and fun environment.

Tips for Engaging Special Needs Students Virtually

Engaging special needs students in virtual activities can be a challenge, especially when dealing with limited technology tools and resources. However, with a few tips and tricks, educators can create fun and fulfilling experiences for their students.

The first step in creating an effective virtual activity for special needs students is to set realistic goals. This can help provide structure and focus for the activity and will help the educator stay on track with the objectives. Make sure to consider the students’ abilities and needs when setting the goals, as this will help ensure the expectations are met.

The second step is to make the activity enjoyable. Choose activities that the students will likely find enjoyable, such as interactive games or creative projects. It’s also important to make sure the activity is accessible for all students; for example, if incorporating visuals, make sure that all students will be able to view them properly.

Make sure to provide adequate support and guidance throughout the activity. This can include providing verbal instructions, offering encouraging words, and having more experienced students help their peers. It can also be beneficial to have a live “coach” or mentor available to offer assistance.

Creating fun and fulfilling virtual activities for special needs students doesn’t have to be difficult. By setting realistic goals, making the activity enjoyable, and providing guidance and support, educators can successfully engage their students virtually.

1. Incorporate Visuals

When engaging in virtual activities with special needs students, incorporating visuals can help create a more engaging and fun experience.

Visuals like images and videos can help students with special needs better understand the activity, as well as help them stay focused and involved. Visuals can also make it easier for the teacher to explain instructions and give feedback.

There are a variety of visuals that you can choose from, like slideshows, infographics, and interactive tools. They can also create visuals of their own to help reinforce the virtual experience.

2. Keep Sessions Short

When planning virtual activities for special needs students, it’s important to keep each virtual session short. This helps to maintain the students’ enthusiasm and focus, as well as ensure that their energy levels are kept at a manageable level. Aim for sessions of around 15 to 20 minutes for maximum results.

Physical activity breaks should be included as often as possible, allowing the students to move around and relieve pent-up tension. Exercise is also known to release endorphins, which can further help to increase engagement and motivation.

3. Establish a Routine

Establishing a routine is one of the most important steps for special needs students in order to have a successful virtual learning experience. If possible, create a schedule that keeps your child’s schedule similar to their normal school day.

Aim to have dedicated time for completing schoolwork, taking breaks, and participating in extra-curricular activities. This will help your child establish a regular routine, create clarity and structure, and give them something to look forward to.

Providing a consistent space and dedicated supplies for virtual learning can help students stay organized and focused.

4. Create a Positive Environment

Creating a positive environment for special needs students is essential to the success of virtual activities. Having the right tools, such as technology, relaxation, and sensory activities, can help your students feel comfortable and supported.

Encourage your students to take breaks throughout their day and to take part in regular physical activities. Setting healthy boundaries and creating a space of trust and respect can help your students feel confident and safe in their virtual environment.

Providing positive reinforcement and meaningful rewards can help foster motivation and engagement. Finally, take time to connect with your students and listen to their needs.

These efforts will create an atmosphere of openness and collaboration that will help promote your virtual activities and bring them to life.

Final Thoughts

It is clear that virtual activities can be a fun and fulfilling way to provide learning opportunities for students with special needs. Not only can they benefit from the activities in terms of learning and development, but also in terms of social skills, self-regulation, and language skills.

While virtual learning is not the same as in-person learning, the tips to engage special needs students virtually can go a long way in fostering an efficient, fun learning environment. Virtual activities such as music and movement games, virtual field trips, interactive storytelling, and online art projects are just some of the many options that can be used to keep students with special needs engaged and challenged. With the right virtual activity, special needs students can receive the education they need while having fun at the same time.

About The Author

John Hookway

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A place for purposeful online collaboration

Efficient Student Collaboration: 10 Essential Tools for Educators.

It’s been a while since this blog was last updated, but let’s dive back in with an engaging discussion on collaboration tools that offer invaluable support to newcomers across various industries. In the realm of education, collaboration stands tall as one of the most effective ways for both students and educators to thrive. In today’s digital age, where connectivity knows no bounds, online collaboration tools have become essential for fostering teamwork, enhancing communication, and driving collective learning experiences. Let’s explore the diverse landscape of online student collaboration tools and discover ten essential platforms that are revolutionizing modern education.

Understanding Online Collaboration Tools for Students

Online student collaboration tools encompass a wide array of platforms and applications designed to facilitate various tasks while providing students with a shared space for creation and communication. These tools offer functionalities ranging from note-taking and task management to document sharing and virtual classrooms. Whether geared towards general audiences or tailored specifically for educational purposes, these platforms empower students to collaborate seamlessly, irrespective of physical boundaries.

Key Features to Consider

When selecting the right online collaboration tool, it’s crucial to prioritize features that align with the unique needs of students and educators. A distraction-free environment, affordability, inclusivity, integrations with popular tools, search functions, and cloud-based storage are among the essential elements to look for. These features ensure seamless collaboration, effective communication, and enhanced productivity within the educational ecosystem.

Top 10 Student Collaboration Tools in 2024

• ClickUp : A versatile platform offering a centralized space for assignment organization, task management, and collaborative document creation. With features like ClickUp Docs and virtual Whiteboards, students can work together effectively while enjoying advanced functionalities such as AI-powered assistance.
• Microsoft Teams : Combining real-time collaboration with personalized educational tools, Microsoft Teams for Education facilitates seamless document sharing, virtual classrooms, and skill-building activities tailored to student needs.
• Slack : An intuitive communication hub allowing students and faculty to engage in discussions, share content, and host collaborative sessions. Channels and direct messaging streamline communication, while features like Canvases and Huddles enhance collaboration.
• Kahoot! : Transforming learning into a gamified experience, Kahoot! offers interactive quizzes and games that promote engagement and knowledge retention among students, making it an ideal tool for reinforcing curriculum concepts.
• Google Classroom : As part of Google Workspace for Education, Google Classroom provides a comprehensive learning environment with features like interactive assignments, personalized instruction, and robust analytics for tracking student progress.
• Classcraft : Embracing gamification principles, Classcraft incentivizes learning through rewards and quests, fostering collaboration and positive behavior among students while offering seamless integration with other educational tools.
• Pear Deck : Empowering educators to create interactive presentations and assessments, Pear Deck enhances student engagement and participation through multimedia learning experiences tailored to individual needs.
• Seesaw : Designed for younger students, Seesaw offers a user-friendly platform for creating portfolios, assessments, and multimedia-rich assignments that promote skill development and active learning.
• Miro : Although not specifically designed for education, Miro’s visual collaboration tools facilitate brainstorming, project management, and group activities, empowering students to collaborate creatively and visualize concepts effectively.
• Nearpod : Offering a vast library of pre-made lessons and interactive activities, Nearpod enables educators to deliver engaging learning experiences tailored to diverse learning styles, fostering collaboration and comprehension.

In today’s interconnected world, online student collaboration tools play a pivotal role in shaping the educational landscape. By embracing these innovative platforms, educators can cultivate collaborative learning environments where students can thrive, communicate, and create together. From document collaboration to gamified learning experiences, the possibilities are endless. Embrace the power of online collaboration tools and unlock new avenues for student growth and success in the digital age.

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• Undergraduate Students
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• Fall Welcome

8 screen-free activities for students

Does it ever feel like your student is glued to their phone? That’s probably because, well, they are. And they may be experiencing negative health effects as a result. 

Spending excess time on digital devices, like phones and laptops, can negatively impact things like sleep quality, mental health, belonging and connection, self-esteem and even academic performance. 

Taking time to intentionally step away from their devices can help students mitigate these effects. In fact, going screen-free, even for a few hours, can help your student relax, boost their creativity, connect on a deeper level and enjoy meaningful experiences.  

If your student has been feeling in a rut or simply wants to take a break, here are a few screen-free things they can do to get away from technology. 

1. Go geocaching  

Encourage your student to join the world’s largest outdoor treasure-hunting community! Millions of clever containers, known as geocaches, are hidden around the world, including some right here in Boulder. Your student can join the search by downloading the free Geocaching app, which will walk them through their first treasure hunt. Geocaching is not only a fun challenge, but it can be a great way to get outside, add adventure to your student’s routine and have fun with friends. 

Don’t let the snow stop you  If your student wants to go geocaching in snowy weather, remind them to dress in layers. They can also rent snowshoes, winter boots, insulated pants and jackets from Outdoor Pursuits at The Rec . 

2. Dive into a DIY project  

DIY projects are a great way for students to express their creativity and their space on a budget. Your student can start their projects by joining Center for Student Involvement for free DIY Nights every month. All supplies are provided, and they can easily register online . Upcoming projects include candle making, sock animals, tie blankets, soap making, succulent origami and much more! They also have sessions that allow students to choose your own crafting adventure. 

3. Zen out over lunch 

Does your student need to take a break from their busy schedule? Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) offers a free Feel Good Friday meditation each week from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. at the CU Art Museum. This meditation workshop features a piece of artwork on display that relates to mindfulness. 

4. Take a day trip 

Did you know that students can visit museums and other attractions for free? The Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) , which covers most Denver Metro counties, offers free admission to art and science museums, cultural heritage sites and more on specific days throughout the year. This means your student can visit places like the Denver Zoo, Botanic Gardens, Butterfly Pavilion, Denver Art Museum, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Molly Brown House and much more for free. Encourage them to check out the full Free Day schedule online to plan their trip. 

Free Cultural Passes  Did you also know that many libraries also offer Cultural Passes? These passes are available to check out for free entry to local cultural attractions. To reserve a Cultural Pass, students must have a valid library card. Library cards are available for free to all Colorado residents. They can even sign up for a library card within neighboring counties or regions.  

Participating libraries include the Boulder County Public Library, Denver Public Libraries, Demis Public Library (Littleton), Douglas County Libraries, Louisville Public Library, Jefferson County Public Libraries and more. 

5. Get together for games 

Whether your student wants to be inside or outdoors, there are plenty of ways for them to get together for games with friends on campus. Here are a few to try: 

The Recreation Center offers free equipment checkouts for members to enjoy. Packages are available for various games and sports, including soccer, football, frisbee, spike ball, volleyball and more. 

Pickup basketball

Encourage your student to head to the Rec Center to join a pickup game of basketball with their fellow Buffs. They can also invite friends to play against another group or team. 

Board games

Visit The Connection at the UMC to enjoy bowling, billiards and board games! They offer a variety of weekly programs, including extreme bowling, poker tournaments, live music, trivia nights and more. 

6. Volunteer 

Volunteering doesn’t just make our community better — it can help students feel better, too. In fact, studies have shown that volunteering can help us all feel better, improve our connection with others and provide a sense of meaning and purpose. The best part is that there are volunteer opportunities for every interest, skill set and schedule available. 

Encourage your student to check out the Volunteer Resource Center for a full list of opportunities around Boulder. Don’t have time to commit to a regular volunteer schedule? That’s okay! Many organizations have flexible scheduling options and drop-in opportunities available to students. They can even sign up with friends as part of a group volunteer project. 

7. Declutter their space 

Okay fine, this one isn’t as fun, but it’s still likely to have an impact on your student. When we live in spaces that are cluttered by excess belongings, it can influence stress, sleep, mood, relationships, self-perception and productivity. Removing excess items can help your student feel better and support their well-being. 

Remind them that they don’t even have to do it all at once. In fact, it’s usually better to start small to avoid getting overwhelmed by the process. Here are a few ways to practice small-scale decluttering: 

• Start with a smaller area. Remind your student to avoid tackling their entire home or even their entire closet at once. Instead, encourage them to choose a small area to focus on, such as a single bathroom or kitchen drawer, their nightstand or a single category of clothing like socks or pants.   
• Pick a set number of items. Sometimes decluttering can be difficult because there are bound to be items that end up in our ‘maybe’ pile, which can be overwhelming for some people. A good way to avoid this is to choose a set number of items they’d like to get rid of in one day or one weekend. For instance, they may choose to donate or discard 10 items. This allows students to more easily pick out items they know they don’t want to keep without spending too much time deliberating.   
• Set a timer. Encourage your student to take their time when it comes to decluttering. Instead of dedicating a whole day to the activity, consider setting a timer for 15 to 30 minutes and get as much done as they can. Your student can easily pair this with one of the strategies above to help them limit how much time they're dedicating to a specific area or number of items. This can also help them choose between decluttering projects that are manageable within a set amount of time. 

Declutter with the environment in mind  If your student has items they don’t want, remind them to consider whether they can sell them, donate them or just trash them.  

Selling. Selling items can take a lot of time and energy. This is because students need to take photos, write descriptions, post them online and potentially haggle with buyers. Encourage your student to consider how much they're willing to put into selling an item. For instance, if they plan to sell a shirt for $5 or $10, it may be less stressful to let it go to a donation center. 

Donating. There are a variety of donation centers in and around Boulder, including national chains like Goodwill and smaller non-profits like A Precious Child. Before they donate items, remind them to check online to see what kind of items donation centers accept and in what condition. Encourage your student to avoid donating items that are stained, ripped, broken or missing parts. 

Trash. While it’s not ideal, some items simply can’t be sold, donated or saved. In these cases, it may be best for your student to look into ways to dispose of them in the trash or recycling. 

The Environmental Center on campus is a great resource to help you figure out how to best repurpose or discard items and live more sustainably by avoiding overconsumption. This is also a great time to start planning what your student will do with their items if they plan to move out of a residence hall or change their living situation off campus before move-out day comes. 

8. Get creative in the kitchen 

Cooking can be a great way for students to express their creativity. It can also be a fun way to hang out with friends. One low-stress option is to host a build-your-own pizza night. Students can invite friends to bring a variety of ingredients to share and make personal sized pizzas.  

Do they want to be extra creative in the kitchen? Here are some out-of-the-box pizza ideas they can try: 

• Taco pizza: Taco Tuesday just got more interesting. Your student can try this out by topping their pizza with queso sauce, seasoned ground beef and cheddar cheese. They can also add toppings like pico de gallo, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream after baking. 
• Breakfast pizza: Who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner? Your student can enjoy a delicious breakfast pizza by topping their dough with thawed hashbrowns, cooked breakfast sausage or ham, eggs and cheese. They can also add omelet toppings like bell peppers, tomatoes, spinach and more. 
• Baked potato pizza: Potatoes are delicious in any form, including on pizza. Students can simply top their crust with a few wedges of baked potatoes (they can make these in the microwave), butter, cheese and seasonings. Make sure they don’t forget to add their favorite loaded toppings after baking, like sour cream, crumbled bacon and even more cheese. 
• Hummus pizza: Is your student looking for a vegetarian or vegan option? Encourage them to try out a hummus pizza by pre-baking their crust and adding hummus, seasonings, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and olives once it has cooled. 

Connect with resources 

Is your student looking for more screen-free ways to destress and feel better? Encourage them to check out these resources on campus. 

Wellness events

Health Promotion offers a variety of wellness events each week. Events cover a variety of topics, like stress, self-care, suicide prevention, safer sex, skincare and more. 

Figueroa Family Wellness Suite

Students can visit the wellness suite on the third floor of Wardenburg Health Center to rest and reset after a busy day. Students can stop by to try out a nap pod, pick up free wellness supplies or find a quiet space to hang out. 

Student events

The Division of Student Affairs hosts hundreds of free events and programs every semester. With so many events, your student is bound to discover new ways to connect on campus and enjoy hobbies with fellow Buffs. 

Center for Student Involvement (CSI)

CSI is the primary hub to help students get connected to student organizations, cultural centers, events and other ways to get involved on campus. 

Recreation Center

The Rec Centers on campus offer free events and paid programs for student members. Your student can join a variety of activities, including fitness classes, outdoor trips and courses, intramural and club sports, inclusive recreation and more. 

If your student is struggling with excess stress, anxiety or just feeling down, Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) is here to help. They can drop in to meet with a CAPS counselor one-on-one for a consultation to learn how they can connect with services and address their concerns. 

Peer Wellness Coaching

Would your student benefit from meeting with a fellow student to get back on track? Trained peer wellness coaches provide free sessions to help other students. They are familiar with common issues like stress, relationships, time management, academics, self-care, sleep, finances and more. 

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Local News | Santiago Canyon College event aims to show that…

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Local News | Santiago Canyon College event aims to show that science can be fun

Engaging students with steam projects.

In celebration of all things science, Santiago Canyon College is hosting its annual Community Science Night from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. April 19. Open to the public, this free event offers the opportunity for students to explore ways to engage with STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math.

The on-campus event will feature more than 50 planned exhibits, demonstrations and hands-on activities that incorporate a variety of interactive STEAM concepts. While the activities are primarily geared for elementary and middle school students, SCC’s Community Science Night is open to all ages.

“We want the community to know that anyone can do science,” said SCC associate professor and Earth Science Department chair Angela Daneshmand. “It’s really great to see grandparents, parents and children engage with the activities at our event together. There is something for everyone in the family to enjoy.”

Santiago Canyon College’s annual Community Science Night will feature a “Star Wars” theme. (Courtesy of Angela Daneshmand)

The annual event will feature more than 50 exhibits, demonstrations and hands-on activities for all ages. Photos from a previous Science Night. (Courtesy of Angela Daneshmand)

Santiago Canyon College’s upcoming Science Night encourages students to engage in STEAM – science, technology, engineering, art and math. (Courtesy of Angela Daneshmand)

Last year’s theme was “Science Night Strikes Back” as the event returned for the first time following the COVID-19 pandemic. The “Star Wars” theme was such a success that Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and the Stormtroopers will be back again this year to welcome students and their families, with a possible appearance by Darth Vader himself.

From marshmallow launchers and optical illusions to Lego building and boat design contests, each activity and demonstration featured at Community Science Night is geared toward introducing students to STEAM disciplines in fun and interactive ways. Many of the activities include items for the kids to take home, all with the goal of demystifying science and making it more approachable.

“Elementary school is really when students either love science or they get scared of science,” Daneshmand said. “This could be due to the teachers or just their experience with the content, and so I think that it’s so important to engage their interest (in science) at a young age in a fun way.”

Longtime partners with SCC in Community Science Night, Orange Unified School District will host several of the activities and demonstrations. In a newer partnership, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District will be in attendance as well and will host several activities to inspire students to design and innovate.

Student volunteers from SCC and Cal State Fullerton will be on hand to help facilitate various interactive experiments, with many of the students on the path to becoming future science teachers.

“This is a great service learning event for (the college students),” Daneshmand said, “and it serves as one of their capstone projects for the year.”

Local community partners that will host activities and demonstrations include the Orange County Sherriff’s Department, Irvine Ranch Water District, Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary, Amigos de Bolsa Chica, Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy and the UCLA Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences.

In addition to all things science, the night will include live music and food trucks on site for guests to purchase and enjoy dinner and beverages while they explore.

Introducing students to STEAM concepts at a young age can not only spark curiosity but can also lay the groundwork for critical thinking, problem-solving and the development of analytical skills, all of which are essential for success in any career field, Daneshmand said.

But there is no doubt that STEAM education remains at the forefront, as real-world applications in the areas of technology, environmental sustainability and health care continue to be in high demand in today’s job market, she said.

Whether the kids want to explore the greenhouse and plant some seeds, try their hand at animal dissection or learn more about planets, stars and galaxies far, far away, Community Science Night aims to instill a love of learning and make science fun.

“Some students think science is scary, and they put off taking science until the very end,” Daneshmand said. “So, we hope we can reach out to those students sooner and show them that it’s not scary, it’s actually a lot of fun. I think that makes a huge difference in the number of science majors that we see and goes toward filling those open positions in STEAM careers and industry fields in the future.”

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