Tomorrow University Liggett School will start our Remote Learning Adventure. I spent my Spring Break with our Admin team to create a system that will allow teachers and students to connect in synchronous and asynchronous ways. It was a very busy couple of weeks, but I feel we have a solid system to connect students and teachers using Zoom, GAFE, and SeeSaw. We are an Independent School that is BYOD, so all students have devices and we are very lucky to have all of our students have access to wifi at home.
There has been lots of digital talk about the expectations of teachers, parents, and students for learning at home. I have broken down the expectations I am going to have more my classes and think that other teachers/parents should consider if they are involved in Remote Learning.
1. Wellness
The first and most important thing for me to do is to check in with my students and see that they are doing well. Mental wellness CANNOT be overlooked by teachers during this time. Do not spend every class period you have with kids focused on racing to the finish line to complete your curriculum. Spend some time talking to the students and seeing how everything is at home. Talk about whatever the students want. Let them know they are more than just a small video screen to you.
2. Engagement Over Busy
One of the things that I am going to focus on is engaging my students in thought and work for my class. Project Based Learning is perfect for the current remote learning setup because students will be the ones that drive their engagement by creating artifacts to demonstrate their understanding of various topics they choose. It might be 3D design, playing in AR, coding, drawing, sculpting, or anything else they have access to at home. I am not worried about trying to accomplish everything I had set up to do this trimester. I want kids to be engaged and learn.
3. Feedback = Assessment
One of the things that does not worry me about the move to remote learning is the worry over tests. Some people are frantic over how they are going to give students tests. Huge eye roll from me over those concepts. You cannot expect to recreate the classroom digitally. Grades are not important right now. That is easy for me to say because I was running a gradeless class, but it is still fundamentally true right now. If you do not think students will do your classwork without grades, that should tell you something about the work, not the students. Students in my class will submit their projects and I will provide detailed feedback through SeeSaw and 1:1 Zoom meetings. The feedback is more important than any letter grade or number I could enter into a gradebook. Kids smile a whole bunch more when they hear how much you loved something as opposed to seeing a letter grade in a box on a grade sheet.
4. Compassion
Kids have so many things going on at home that we do not know about when they sit in our rooms every day. Now, those students are trapped in their home. School was sometimes their only escape from the anxiety of a complex home life. Imagine those students being home, managing that anxiety, and then trying to engage in remote learning. Some kids are not going to be able to step up as we might hope, but that is why wellness is so important. If you have a strong idea of how your students are doing, you will have an easier time showing compassion if students are a little behind or are struggling. Be compassionate all of the time, but now more than ever.
5. Have Fun
Have some fun with your students. Surprise them with an amazing Tik Tok dance or wear a funny hat and act like nothing is different. Just be a little goofier and sillier than normal to lighten the mood. The kids need reasons to laugh and have fun like they would in the classroom. Don't take your video class meetings too seriously. Release your inner dork and have fun. My kids might just see some hardcore karaoke to TSwift in the near future.
I do believe that school is going to be like this for the rest of the year. You might be in a state where that decision has already been made. If that is the case, these 5 things can make the rest of the year a little bit easier for you, parents, and most importantly they students.
If you have tips or suggestions, please feel free to comment them here or shoot me a message on Twitter.
Virtual Hugs and High Fives,
NP
There has been lots of digital talk about the expectations of teachers, parents, and students for learning at home. I have broken down the expectations I am going to have more my classes and think that other teachers/parents should consider if they are involved in Remote Learning.
1. Wellness
The first and most important thing for me to do is to check in with my students and see that they are doing well. Mental wellness CANNOT be overlooked by teachers during this time. Do not spend every class period you have with kids focused on racing to the finish line to complete your curriculum. Spend some time talking to the students and seeing how everything is at home. Talk about whatever the students want. Let them know they are more than just a small video screen to you.
2. Engagement Over Busy
One of the things that I am going to focus on is engaging my students in thought and work for my class. Project Based Learning is perfect for the current remote learning setup because students will be the ones that drive their engagement by creating artifacts to demonstrate their understanding of various topics they choose. It might be 3D design, playing in AR, coding, drawing, sculpting, or anything else they have access to at home. I am not worried about trying to accomplish everything I had set up to do this trimester. I want kids to be engaged and learn.
3. Feedback = Assessment
One of the things that does not worry me about the move to remote learning is the worry over tests. Some people are frantic over how they are going to give students tests. Huge eye roll from me over those concepts. You cannot expect to recreate the classroom digitally. Grades are not important right now. That is easy for me to say because I was running a gradeless class, but it is still fundamentally true right now. If you do not think students will do your classwork without grades, that should tell you something about the work, not the students. Students in my class will submit their projects and I will provide detailed feedback through SeeSaw and 1:1 Zoom meetings. The feedback is more important than any letter grade or number I could enter into a gradebook. Kids smile a whole bunch more when they hear how much you loved something as opposed to seeing a letter grade in a box on a grade sheet.
4. Compassion
Kids have so many things going on at home that we do not know about when they sit in our rooms every day. Now, those students are trapped in their home. School was sometimes their only escape from the anxiety of a complex home life. Imagine those students being home, managing that anxiety, and then trying to engage in remote learning. Some kids are not going to be able to step up as we might hope, but that is why wellness is so important. If you have a strong idea of how your students are doing, you will have an easier time showing compassion if students are a little behind or are struggling. Be compassionate all of the time, but now more than ever.
5. Have Fun
Have some fun with your students. Surprise them with an amazing Tik Tok dance or wear a funny hat and act like nothing is different. Just be a little goofier and sillier than normal to lighten the mood. The kids need reasons to laugh and have fun like they would in the classroom. Don't take your video class meetings too seriously. Release your inner dork and have fun. My kids might just see some hardcore karaoke to TSwift in the near future.
I do believe that school is going to be like this for the rest of the year. You might be in a state where that decision has already been made. If that is the case, these 5 things can make the rest of the year a little bit easier for you, parents, and most importantly they students.
If you have tips or suggestions, please feel free to comment them here or shoot me a message on Twitter.
Virtual Hugs and High Fives,
NP
thanks so much
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