Something Behind You

Activity

Community building activities, Introductory activities

Something Behind You

Rebecca J. Hogue

A fun, low-pressure activity for online introductions where students describe something behind them – real, virtual, or imagined – to spark conversation and connection during the first class. No preparation needed.

Tech needed: Video conferencing

Synchronous

Accessibility: Visual, Camera on

Duration: < 5 mins

Student preparation: None

Educator preparation: None

ACTIVITY PURPOSE

The purpose of the activity is to allow students to get to know each other in an online environment.

USEFUL FOR

Introductions on the first day of class.

PREPARATION

None, but it helps if you put the prompt on the agenda so students can think about it.

INSTRUCTIONS

Ask students to describe something that is behind them on screen (if their camera is on).
For those who prefer to stay off camera, encourage them to just describe something behind themselves; the other students don’t need to see the object.
The goal is to prompt a short story or personal connection via storytelling.
Students can describe a physical object, a virtual background, or even something that’s usually behind them but not there right now.

DURATION

1 minute per student.

ADAPTATIONS AND EXAMPLES

If a student doesn’t want to turn their camera on or use a virtual background you could ask them to share a photo of something by sharing their screen.