How do I pause screens in Highlights? Follow
In this article:
How to use the Pause screens feature
Pause screens teaching strategies
Pausing a lesson is a strategy that can serve a number of purposes, including checking for understanding, asking students to discuss with peers, redirecting students who are off track and giving students time to reflect.
But how does it work when you’re conducting an online lesson? When you have a classroom full of students looking at screens, pausing can be more challenging than during other kinds of lessons.
Hāpara Highlights has a feature that streamlines this process and helps you ensure that students are with you every step of the way. This feature is called Pause screens.
How to use the Pause screens feature
In Highlights, you can access Pause screens in Browser Tabs or Current Screens.
To access Browser Tabs or Current Screens:
1. Log in through app.hapara.com.
2. Select your class.
3. Click Highlights at the top of your page.
4. Then click Browser Tabs or Current Screens at the top of your page.
When you’re ready to pause all student screens across your class, follow these steps:
1. Find the white Pause screens button on the top right-hand side of your screen.
2. Toggle the button to the On position.
3. A warning message with a 5-second timer will appear, letting you know that the students’ screens are about to be paused. This will give you a chance to cancel it if you need to.
4. All student screens in the class will then pause. This will last for 15 minutes, unless you decide to end the session earlier.
5. To end the session, toggle the Pause screens button back to the Off position.
Releasing individual students
Sometimes you’ll want to let individual students continue working online while you keep other students’ screens paused. For example, for differentiated learning, some students may be ready to transition back to their online work. At the same time, you may want to continue showing the steps to a math problem to other students in the class.
After you’ve paused screens for all the students in your class who are online, you can release students individually.
To release individual students from the session:
1. Hover over the individual student’s Student Tile.
2. Click Release this student.
Pause screens teaching strategies
There are many ways to apply screen pausing in online lessons. You can use the Pause screens feature for both simple and more complex interventions.
Redirection and reminders
Through the tabs in Highlights (Activity Viewer, Browser Tabs or Current Screens), you may see that students need to be redirected. You can use the Pause screens feature to make a quick announcement and redirect the class. You can also use this feature to get your students’ attention to remind them about a step in the lesson.
Checks for understanding
Before sending students off to complete an assignment in any lesson, it’s crucial to make sure they understand the key concepts and skills you’ve been teaching. Use Pause screens to check for understanding and make sure all students are ready for independent practice.
Spotlighting excellence
You can also use Pause screens to stop the class and talk them through an exemplar of student work. Not only will this make that student’s day, but giving the class an example helps make learning expectations clear.
Think-pair-shares and group discussion
Some students need a chance to discuss concepts and hear different perspectives. You can pause student screens at that point and ask students to talk to a partner about the assignment. You could also lead a quick whole group discussion to break up the lesson.
Behavior management
When your Highlights screen tells you that most of the class is distracted, you can use the Pause screens feature to address the issue and start a conversation about digital citizenship.
Reflection and synthesis
Pause screens is also helpful when you want students to reflect during a lesson. Once you pause the students’ screens, ask students to do a quick-write in response to a prompt or reflect on their learning progress. This can be valuable time for students to solidify their understanding and fit ideas more securely into their existing schemas.