Getting students emotionally engaged in any lesson is a challenge, whether in the classroom or in the synchronous video setting. One method that works in the classroom is to break students into pairs or groups to do an activity. The result is often a class, buzzing with conversation or students productively working together, collaboratively.
The same can be created in the synchronous video setting by using breakout rooms. This option, available in all three platforms of Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, allows a teacher to virtually put students into a “room” so they can interact separated from the main room, and from other rooms.