I wish my school had tech like Scholar, but it doesn't so I've been trying to adapt what we have to the principles being discussed in this class. Last week I did a backchannel chat with my preloaded discussion prompts in a class that was passive, bored, and discussion relied on maybe three people. I am happy to say that everyone was speedily typing away and engaged and they all reported liking the activity. So I can say for sure that giving students something to do like this demanded and encouraged participation (it was kind of fun for them to actually talk to each other in a safe way) and focused on their ability to write effectively enough, which was a bonus.

Update: If I had had Scholar, I would have posted a video clip from the movie version of the novel, suggested things they research to help them understand it better (class structure in Victorian England, ideals of womanhood, changes in technology and taste and the debates about that) instead of my presenting them with the context. I am sure that the information they shared with each other would have been remembered after they walked out of the classroom, which is not the case in the old school format as I see when I ask them a question about something we went over the day before. Since Covid, my students have become much more passive learners and so they aren't learning much. Making them part of the knowledge production would be so much more engaging, teach research skills, writing skills, collaboration, and give them ownership over their learning.