Online learning hasn’t just “stuck around” after the pandemic; it’s become a central part of higher education. In fact, about 30% of U.S. college students now study exclusively online, and online enrollments have grown nearly 90% since 2017, according to Education Dynamics. That means the online classroom isn’t a side channel anymore. It’s where a huge portion of student success (and institutional reputation) is being shaped.
At the same time, retention is still a real challenge in virtual courses. When students feel disconnected from the content, instructor, or peers, they’re more likely to disengage. The good news: engagement isn’t a mystery to solve; it’s a design decision to make. And one of the most reliable ways to boost it is to add meaningful interactive moments inside the learning flow.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
Why Interactives Matter for Retention
Engagement isn’t just a “nice-to-have” experience upgrade. It directly affects how well students learn and how long they stick with a course.
A 2024 impact study from Engageli and the Learning & Performance Institute found that active learning environments drove 16x higher engagement and improved knowledge retention by 54% compared with passive formats. Interactives are one of the easiest ways to make online lessons active, not spectator-based.
When students do something with the material: click, sort, label, practice, reflect, they stay present longer and absorb more.
If you’re ready to turn passive content into active learning, start here: SoftChalk Interactivity & Engagement.
Incorporating Interactives (Without Extra Workload)
It’s common for course designers to assume interactive elements are time-consuming or require technical skills. In reality, with the right authoring tool, they’re quick to build and even quicker to reuse.
With SoftChalk Create, educators can embed puzzles, quizzes, games, and group activities directly into lessons, no coding required. SoftChalk includes 20+ interactive activity templates and 10 quiz question types, so you can add engagement without rebuilding your course from scratch.
Below are a few favorite interactives for higher ed.
Accordion Activity
Accordion activities let learners click on parts of an image to reveal layered information.
Example use cases:
- Anatomy (click a system or organ for details)
- History (click a map region to explore events)
- Language learning (click objects for vocabulary)
- Grammar (click a sentence part to see explanations)
This format is simple, visual, and works extremely well for concept labeling without overwhelming a screen.
Memory Activity
Memory activities help students retain vocabulary, key concepts, formulas, or definitions. Learners flip virtual cards to find correct matches, a small “game” moment that keeps attention high.
It’s especially effective for:
- language courses
- medical/health programs
- introductory STEM labs
- exam prep reviews
Interactive Quizzes
Quizzes are essential for both instructors and students to measure progress, but they don’t have to feel like interruptions. SoftChalk quizzes can be automatically scored and embedded inline, so they feel like part of the learning journey.
You can build:
- Matching
- Multiple choice
- Ordering/sequencing
- Short answer
- True/false and more
Want inspiration for how other educators use these in real courses? Browse 30+ Sample Interactives.
Other SoftChalk Interactives to Mix into Lessons
SoftChalk supports 30+ interactive lesson elements, including:
- Image maps
- Slideshows
- Timelines
- Flashcards
- Labeling activities
- Crossword puzzles
- Pairs / Seek-a-Word / Connections
- Drag-and-drop sorting
- Jigsaw puzzles
- Annotated text
When these appear throughout a lesson, students stay engaged longer and reinforce crucial ideas as they learn them, not just afterward.
Reaching All Learning Styles with One Lesson
Most educators know students come in with different learning preferences. Interactives help you meet multiple needs in the same module:
- Visual learners benefit from diagrams, labeled images, timelines, and drag-and-drop exercises.
- Auditory learners benefit when lessons include short videos, narration, or linked audio resources.
- Kinesthetic learners thrive with “do something” activities like sorting, labeling, and puzzles.
- Reading/writing learners stay engaged when interactives complement the text with reinforcement.
A well-designed online course can support all four learning styles at once, and do it without feeling cluttered.
Addressing Common Online Learning Concerns
Some instructors are skeptical about online formats. The most common complaints include:
- Lack of face-to-face interaction
- Social isolation
- Limited feedback
- Higher self-discipline requirements
- Concern about instructor tech skills
This is where well-placed interactives help. They create checkpoints for feedback, reduce isolation through group activities, and make the content feel more like a two-way experience. SoftChalk keeps the build process simple, so instructors don’t need to be “tech wizards” to deliver a strong course.
Final Thoughts
Students won’t stay engaged if their online experience is nothing but reading and scrolling. When lessons feel repetitive, learners disconnect, and retention drops.
The fix isn’t complicated. Add interactive moments that keep students thinking, practicing, and participating. A course that feels active and human builds confidence, improves outcomes, and keeps learners coming back.
Want to build more engaging lessons this semester? Contact us today to see how easy it is to create interactive, higher-ed-ready content in minutes.
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