4 Benefits of Using Lumio in College Classrooms

• Lumio is a free EdTech tool that can help engage students with learning.
• With Lumio, you can perform social-emotional check-ins with students.
• You can also conduct assessments, play games, and brainstorm ideas together.

You've probably used PowerPoint to create a presentation before, but what about Lumio? A popular educational technology (EdTech) tool, Lumio is often used in classrooms to engage students on their devices.

Instead of relying on standard, slide-based presentations, professors should consider adding some formative assessments and understanding checks to their presentations with Lumio. This way, students can actively and enthusiastically engage with the material they're studying.

But first, what is Lumio exactly? And how can you use it?

What Is Lumio?

Lumio is an EdTech tool that aims to engage students in the learning process through interactive presentations. It gives students the opportunity to interact directly with the content you're presenting.

Your live presentation can incorporate questions, interactive content, games, and virtual manipulatives.

Active participation in a lesson makes the students responsible for their own learning. You can use Lumio to check if students have any questions and to confirm they understand the concepts being taught.

Top 4 Benefits of Using Lumio for College Classes

If you've never used Lumio before, now's a great time to get started. Here are the biggest benefits of incorporating this popular tool into your college classes.

1. You Can Perform Social-Emotional Check-Ins

It can be helpful to do a quick check of the room before you begin teaching to see how your students are feeling.

With Lumio, you can set up a poll or drawing activity for students. They can participate and choose different responses. Here are some examples of check-in answers you could use:

• "I'm feeling good and focused."
• "I'm having some trouble today but can still focus on the task at hand."
• "I can't concentrate at all."

If students are feeling unsure about the topics or are not in a good mental state to learn, you can check in with them directly after class.

2. You Can Conduct an Assessment

Adding in assessment options with Lumio is effective and easy. For example, you can add in a formative assessment so students can immediately begin taking a more active role in their learning.

Formative assessment options in Lumio include the following:

• Multiple-choice questions
• True-or-false questions
• Multiple-answer questions
• Polls
• Short answers

One of my favorite types of assessments is the shout-out response in which students use a virtual bulletin board to share ideas on digital sticky notes.

I like using this option for an exit ticket or as an anticipatory set. For example, as students enter the classroom they can document what they already know about the topic we are discussing in Lumio. This way, you can address any misconceptions of information prior to teaching.

3. It Has Tons of Graphic Organizers

Lumio offers a variety of ways for students to present their learning through mind maps. A mind map, or brainstorming document, links what you're learning to what you've already learned. On a mind map, students can type, draw, or insert images to make connections.

With Lumio, you can choose from sequence templates, cause-and-effect templates, story maps, and columns to sort content into groups or categories. Students can also use these mind map templates to take notes.

4. You Can Play Games

Many college students — including nontraditional learners — enjoy a good game as a learning tool.

Lumio offers students several ways to engage with their learning through game-like elements, such as quiz shows, flashcards, sorting, team quizzes, etc. All you need to do is provide the content for the games.

Consider using a game-based activity if you're reviewing a chapter. This will allow you to determine what the students already know or what they remember from your previous lectures. A game can also be used to review for a midterm or final.

Not only does Lumio offer innovative ways to engage students, but educators can download data that shows how students answered or responded to questions and activities. After going over student data, you can decide whether to review content with the class or continue on with your curriculum.

How to Get Started With Lumio

Lumio is easy to work with. The program provides free training through its official site that you can access at any time. When putting together a presentation, you can start from scratch, search the online library, or upload an existing presentation.

Once you have the content of your presentation ready, you can add a formative assessment or interactive and collaborative components. Lumio presentations can include things like:

• YouTube videos
• PhET simulations for physics, science, and math
• Graphing calculator demos
• Formative assessment activities, such as ranking prompts, multiple-choice questions, virtual bulletin boards, and quizzes

Overall, Lumio is a useful tool that can enhance your lessons. It's also a great example of the different ways in which technology is being incorporated into education. By increasing student engagement, teachers are better able to present information for students to learn.