Giving Compass' Take:

• In a brief for Education Dive, Lauren Barack provides successful anecdotes on how to ambitiously engage students remotely, many of which include ramping up the rigor.

• Why is it so integral to engage students remotely during coronavirus? What will it take to find the right approach to do so? How can we help educators find new ways to diversely engage students in remote settings?

• Look for funds to guide you in supporting remote learning and students in difficult COVID-19 situations.

The online summer camp Dinner Club, taught by chef Pascal Simon, is challenging young students to learn how to cook while being in a virtual environment, NPR reports. Simon previously ran the program in person, mostly focused on baked goods, but shifted after the pandemic hit to virtual classes and the more practical task of preparing dinner for the family.

The students respond to the rigor of cooking a full meal every night, even if they’re tired, Simon said, because it’s a chance to push themselves and discover what they’re capable of doing.

Simon's shifting of her summer learning course from a focus on cupcakes and baked goods to full dinner prep demonstrates that virtual approaches to learning can be ambitious.

After schools closed due to coronavirus in the spring and forced a rapid immersion into online learning, many scaled back classroom expectations to ease students and teachers alike into a new model. However, as NPR notes in its reporting, challenging students may be one of the best ways to engage them and potentially improve the educational takeaways from classroom lessons.

Hands-on activities such as cooking, for example, can be clearly transitioned to an at-home, remote-learning environment. And while these options may look daunting, with some planning they can be set up for the coming school year.

There are steps to help make online learning as successful as possible. A June policy brief from Unicef, for example, suggests educators create understandable learning goals. It also recommends "articulating clear, relevant and realistic continuity of learning objectives, even if they are simplified and scaled back,” to help achieve goals.

Read the full article about strategies to engage students remotely by Lauren Barack at Education Dive.