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I am currently a student teacher out of Western Oregon University. The district I am placed at does not require students to turn their cameras on. I have a hard time keeping kids entertained and engaged. I have learned that teaching should be about 20% me talking and 80% students talking and doing. Online, I find that those are flip flopped. It is difficult to get students excited about learning, especially in the first days of the year. I am wondering what strategies/activities/ideas have worked for everyone else. I am teaching three physical science classes. We started the term with metric conversions and experimental design just to give you an idea of where we are. 

Engagement is an important factor of any classroom, especially science. When a child is engaged they are most likely to pay attention to the lesson and class in general. Due to distance learning, most students are meeting with their teachers through a computer screen. Looking at a screen while in class as opposed to being in a class in front of the teacher is person automatically loses a child's engagement. Students should have their cameras on to look for that engagement because there are ways to get them engaged even if they are remote. However, dark screens do not allow for such acknowledgment.