Try to make sure your kids know you are thinking of them, care for them, and miss them. Let’s say you’re practicing character analysis, make different columns such as personality, appearance, thoughts, and interactions with others. and hopefully hear a new author, genre, and book. Social media, phone calls, Skype, Google Hangouts and FaceTime are tried and true methods of staying connected but there are a few new and innovative ways to catch up and have fun together. Using the Google Form allows me to add in some social and emotional learning aspects into my remote teaching, while also providing my students with a way to easily ask me a question. The regular workday still applies, so colleagues should respect when you end your day virtually and log off — the same way as when you leave the office. You can also include academic lessons or SEL strategies to try at home. Differentiation idea: You can check out this blog post for more links and resources for distance learning that are creative and require little prep/Internet access. Give students with limited access the opportunity to create questions that students on Padlet can answer. They may have restrictions or additional guidelines to follow. Innovate and Collaborate . Communicate regularly with students. 3 best ways to connect with your students outside of the classroom. Compile these notes in a slide deck or on your classroom website to share with students, caregivers, and staff. This includes ensuring managers can access a full range of tools for connecting with virtual … For example, ask students to share work or responses every Tuesday and Thursday. Treat it as a course characteristic, not a standalone item. Let your students know that you’re finding remote teaching a challenge, too. Consider recording and uploading a video to include in the email. Keep reading to find out how you can use Kahoot! Staci Lamb from. Has your school tried a digital spirit week? You can read more of her ideas, Differentiation idea: Use Audible or Sora for students who need or prefer audio books. These are just a few fun ways to stay connected in a time where we need to teach people a little more and focus a bit less on academics. While these strategies are relevant in a virtual setting, teachers can also use this throughout the year when incorporating digital elements to in-person instruction. With this option, you’ll have to setup individual Google Meets and label them for each group so the students know which one to attend. She received emails asking her to read aloud. Give feedback: FlipGrid makes it easy to leave quick video feedback. For students who have limited access to books, Sora also has eBooks that can be borrowed for free. For students with few books at home or limited Internet access, print and share paper copies of short stories from the public domain. This Form is fully editable, and you can customize it to suit your own needs! ), to jump on new bandwagons and explore every new free edtech resource being offered right now. Second, Lauralee is still completing First Chapter Friday. Students join (this is not required!) Get to know your student’s names. The would you rather activity asks students to evaluate choices and explain their thinking These questions are a great way to get a conversation started in a fun and interesting way. A time-stamped list of participants is exported to a spreadsheet, making it easy to log and reference later if needed. Recipe Roundup Here are several great ways to build connections with and among your new students! Would You Rather Debates – Virtual learning with students can be activity-based. Knowing that you value team members on a personal level makes them feel more involved. You can learn more and read about Shana’s favorite Chrome extensions for teachers and students here, here, and here. As a wonderful bonus, reading aloud has helped her to connect with her students online. Can you provide a pen-and-paper option for a virtual activity?". Career Village is a website where students are able to connect with experienced professionals in their field and learn more about their roles. March 16, 2020 at 10:15am. You’ll be surprised at how many students respond to each other. Almost all of my kids showed up, and we don’t even officially start virtual learning until tomorrow!” -Frankie. In fact, with a few free tools, Jenna from. - Kristopher Jones, LSEO.com. We love Tricia Dougherty’s creation for her kindergarten students in Scranton, … Give students the opportunity to answer similar questions on paper. Can you call a family to deliver a morning announcement if they don't have access to high-speed internet? These tools won’t work for every class or in every district. Then, ask students to complete the sentence. Therefore, you can start in a full class meet by explaining directions and expectations, and then break up students into their assigned groups. Low-tech option: Pick an order, and each student adds one sentence to the story. Virtually go somewhere together. In real time, try out different methods for things like group discussion and see what works best. A low tech option is to tell everyone to start it at the same time and use the Facebook group feed to share comments. Differentiation idea: Send home a paper copy or email a copy for families to print. Keep reading to find out how you can use Kahoot! Allow your unique personality to shine … 8 Strategies for Building Connectedness Virtually, What the Research Says About In-Person and Virtual Connectedness. Here are Emily's best tips for using FlipGrid in the online classroom: Create fun, creative prompts: Emily's students post one FlipGrid each week in response to their reading. 11. What are ways to maintain strong teacher-student relationships and keep students engaged? To provide a little choice, she allows students to reflect using 2 of the 3 templates provided in this FREE Creating a Digital Community resource. Staci Lamb from The Engaging Station coordinated a week-long Digital Spirit Week, and students could send in their pictures daily for the different themes like pajama day, school spirit day, and crazy sock day. A. Just like in-person learning, a predictable structure makes students feel stable and less anxious. When you ask a question, students can not only reply, but they can also see their classmates’ responses and comment on them. Along with each idea, we provide ways to differentiate for students with limited access to resources. If you find this post helpful, please share it with your friends! Fifth graders sit in a circle as their teacher leads them in a mindfulness exercise to start the day present and focused. One of these assignments is to have students. Staci also uses the above mentioned Padlet layouts to help students respond to a picture prompt. 1. Build a Story. One of my girlfriends is in the United Kingdom, and the other is in Florida. A higher tech option would be something like netflixparty.com. Make sure your leadership development includes strategies for managing remote workers. Differentiation Idea: Use the print screen feature on your computer keyboard to screen shot a Padlet conversation to share with students through email if their Internet access is limited. If you aren’t familiar with Chrome extensions, they’re basically little programs that enhance the functionality of Google Chrome. Perhaps you can host a spirit week for your ELA classroom. 5 Virtual Learning Resources to Build Connectedness with Students and Families (via Panorama), 7 Ways to Maintain Relationships During Your School Closure (via Edutopia), Best Messaging Apps for Students, Teachers & Parents (via CommonSense), Helping Educators and Students Stay Connected (via Google), Connecting with Students (via Greater Good in Education), Connecting with Colleagues (via Greater Good in Education), Helping Students Feel Connected to Each Other (via Greater Good in Education), The Importance of Connecting With Students & Families During School Closures (via Transforming Education), Free At-Home Learning Resources and Study Packets (via, Guidance on Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Remote Education (via CRE HUB), New Strategies in Special Education as Kids Learn from Home (via Edutopia). The videos were so much fun, and kids loved the idea of sharing character gossip. A virtual learning environment also allows students to work at their own pace. Students join (this is not required!) It might also be helpful to schedule the group presentations at different times so you can attend all meetings. Since the books are in the public domain, students can immediately access the books. Daria Golubeva February 28, 2020. The responses were so relevant and creative. Type a sentence starter in the Zoom chat or share your screen and present a slideshow with a sentence starter on each slide. But if your students do have access, I hope you are able to use one of these tools. Learn it., uses. Ashley Bible atBuilding Book Love created thisFREE and editable Creativity Choice Board for distance learning. By Gisela Valencia. I hope these ideas inspire you to find the magic in your online clasroom. Students love learning (and are often surprised) by how much they … Be sure to have multiple students and adults involved so there isn’t any awkwardness with a one-on-one video chat. Many educators recommend rotating through groups of students each day to make the phone calls manageable. FlipGrid is highly accessible to students through chromebooks, phones, or desktop computers. Getting your group together to watch a show or a movie and chat through it is an awesome and fun way to stay connected. Here are three simple tips to help students make the transition from traditional to online easier: Tip #1: Create a Community … The other platform she’s used is a Google extension called Kami. Create... 2. If you’re struggling with this disconnect and missing your students, try incorporating some form of online discussion. ... Connect students with authors and the stories behind their books via the session archives of the Everywhere Book Fest and other virtual book festivals. I can export the data to Google Sheets to easily sort the information. We hope that these ideas will refresh your online teaching and help to bring joy to you and your students. We know that our kids (and maybe...admittedly, ourselves haha) are getting more and more into TikTok. To provide a little choice, she allows students to reflect using 2 of the 3 templates provided in this FREE. How can educators continue to foster a sense of belonging with students while schools are closed and learning has shifted online? For three years, the program has been working with professors across the university to connect students at FIU with students all over the world through online tools, using a method called Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). She is intentional in providing students opportunities to interrogate their core beliefs about an ideal (e)learning environment, and developing life-long career habits. Share the mailing address with your group and challenge everyone to send one card/letter. Set aside some time each day or each week to address student questions and follow up with them. Using Google Classroom, Google Sites, WordPress, or other free services, you can create a class website or blog for your students to access. resource so that students can share book recommendations and inspiration with peers. In another prompt, students had to create a FlipGrid from their character’s point of view. I refuse to give up hope that we can still bring magic to our classrooms, even from a distance. Just remember, build a foundation, create stability, and then start to introduce new tools to students. Connect students with either other students or with adults who can tutor them in different subjects over the phone or on video chat. A picture prompt s media field suggests that technology can, indeed, facilitate meaningful connection that day ’ favorite. 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