I enjoyed reading this first blog post by Dawson Charles:
The engagement strategies really stood out to me, as its something I have definitely experienced but never considered. Those times teachers in the past pushed me and others to speak infront of the class was a great way for me to get more comfortable with doing so, and to work on public speaking as a skill.
One thing I want to highlight is how tough this can be for teachers to do in an online setting. Sitting behind a screen, its easy to write anything or speak when you can hide behind your screen. I think its important to build on some soft skills, and to encourage students to actively engage synchronously. Having their cameras on is not only beneficial for the students to see whos speaking, but also for the speaker to connect and see exactly who they are presenting to.