Teachers have been incorporating technology into the classroom for years. Many schools are even beginning to teach from home on snow days but we were all thrown “into the unknown” (in my best Elsa voice…) when schools shut down during the Covid-19 pandemic. Teachers were left to scramble to get their online platforms up and running with very little notice. Many are still struggling to make this their new normal. If you are, do not feel bad! I’m going to share my 5 tips for for teachers during distance learning in the hopes of helping you go from struggling to thriving this week!
Find 1 platform that fits your needs and run with it.
Do not think that you need to be a master of all platforms. Make a pros and cons list for the benefits and deficiencies each platform you are considering. Once you have decided on which one to use, do some research. Most of them have tutorial videos right on their sites. Other teachers are also wonderful at sharing tips and tricks for each one. Here are some resources I have found for you:
Pros and Cons lists by platform
Create a website to house all of your important information for parents.
I am currently using Weebly to create my classroom website. It has all of the information that students and parents need in order for them to be successful while learning at home. Linking popular websites, online resources, and even videos of you teaching. I chose to use Weebly because I could create a page for each elementary subject that students had lessons for. Each of those pages is set up like a blog post. I chose to do it this way because then students can comment on each day’s posts and I can schedule them to post ahead of time. It helps keep both my students and me organized. I also love that I can upload my videos to YouTube as unlisted and then embed them right into the blog post for students to view. This way they don’t get redirected to YouTube when they go to find my lessons.
Engagement is key.
The number one complaint I’m hearing from teachers is that it is so much harder to engage students during this time. The teachers I know that are getting the most engagement are the ones who are putting effort into earning that engagement. They aren’t spending hours prepping or recording lessons, they are just showing up consistently and asking their students to do the same. Even if you’re only getting 2, 5, or even 10 students—that’s a win! Show them they are loved and they will keep coming back for more!
Other ways to increase engagement is to offer activities like virtual scavenger hunts, or online escape room tasks. You can even have students create stop motion videos at home (if they have their devices) to show their learning.
Students want to see you.
Students are going to crave the interaction they once had with you and their classmates. Give them opportunities to interact with you one on one. Send an email, record a special video, send a message through your online management system.. however you do it, stay consistent. Students need to see you and know that you’re making the effort. It will help lead you into my next tip for teaching during distance learning.
Build community- even if you can’t physically be with each other.
Find ways to have students collaborate. And I’m not talking responding to journal questions that their peers have answered or the normal format of how a college professor has you interact. Think outside the box. Offer up projects and assignments that allow students to call, email, video chat back and forth in order to complete them. They could even peer review assignments for each other- make sure you set boundaries for this and provide a rubric to guide their discussions. The key to this is to be creative.
I hope these tips for teachers during distance learning help you navigate the uncertainty of education right now. Just remember that we are in this together. We are strong and amazing educators that have been put to the test these past couple of months and guess what- We are persevering! Your students and families are lucky to have you. Keep your head up and know that you are making a difference each and every day that you show up!
If you are looking for different ways to handle the stresses of distance learning be sure to check out this post.