jagovino Teachers across the United States were morphed into online educators seemingly overnight last Spring. We were expected to take all of our teacher tools and make them work online, it was difficult. Teaching is inherently a social occupation. Teachers thrive off of the atmosphere of their own classrooms and the responses from their students. Once that changed to staring at a bunch of boxes on a screen, the entire vibe of a teacher’s engaging classroom environment was gone. However, teachers are resilient and we stepped up to the plate and took on this “new normal” headfirst and did what we do best- we taught our students! We learned how to use new technology, new platforms and new assessment tools and it wasn’t easy. Now we are faced with the possibility of being back behind the computer screens instead of in front of our classes this upcoming school year. Even if your school takes on the hybrid method, there will still be a lot of online instruction for your students as the new protocols require distance and do not allow for collaboration. I learned a few things from what we called “E-learning”, or “Emergency Learning” in the Spring and through some research and inspiration from other teachers like Thehipstoryteacher, Readitwriteitlearnit, Peacefieldhistory and socstudiesteacher, I have a new teacher toolbox that I hope will make the transition into this new school year a bit easier.
Bitmoji and Google Slides
The Bitmoji app is taking over the teacher world and I think it’s a great way to introduce yourself to your students in a fun, modern way. Setting up a Bitmoji is as easy as downloading the app on your phone or computer and then creating your avatar, which is the best part! Once you have the app extension installed on your computer, you can copy and paste images to include them in presentations, worksheets, graphics, or slideshows. I plan on using my Bitmoji as a way to introduce myself to my students in the first few days of instruction, whether we are in person or online. I used the socstudiesteacher Bitmoji classroom templates to create an online syllabus and “Meet the Teacher” graphics for the first day of school. I also created a Virtual Locker to introduce myself and then will have students complete their own as a way to introduce themselves to the class.
I also created a Scavenger Hunt with clickable links where students will be introduced to historical topics and themes that we will study this year in a fun, interactive way. Students will explore Ford’s Theatre, test their geography knowledge, watch a clip from “Remember the Titans” that references Gettysburg, and learn which dog type is right for their zodiac sign! All of this is to engage students in the content while also making it fun and interactive.
Canva and Digital Classroom Expectations
Many classrooms utilized the online platforms of Zoom or Google Meet this Spring. Teachers learned these programs overnight and students were expected to show up. Needless to say, there was a learning curve. This Fall, I am preparing to be on Zoom at least part of the instructional time and therefore will use the first few days of class explicitly instructing students on digital classroom expectations. I got this idea from the talented Thehipstoryteacher, and using Canva with her template, I created this graphic using my Bitmoji avatar. This graphic will be included in my online syllabus which we we will go over in class together on the first day of school. Hopefully, laying the ground rules for what is expected of the students online from the get-go will alleviate some of the pitfalls these online classroom platforms have.
Enrichment Boards and Student Choice
One thing all middle school teachers know about their students is that they are all on different levels of maturity and self-regulation when it comes to their schoolwork. Some will finish their work early and find ways to continue learning while others will finish and sit at their desks and stare into space. Some students are done with an assignment in 10 minutes, while others take an entire period. In our new normal of hybrid classrooms, it is even more important for students to have choices and options of things to keep them busy, whether they are live in class or at home. I got the idea for enrichment boards from Peacefieldhistory, where I get a lot of my great ideas from! I will be using this format as a place to have students go when they are done with the class assignment or they find themselves at home thinking, “I have nothing to do….” I have not decided yet whether these activities will “count” towards a grade, be required or be included as extra credit. I am waiting to see how the year begins and where my students are at in order to determine a game plan.
Online Group Activities and Interactive Games
With students now being put in front of a computer screen for a lot of their learning, they are missing out on some of the collaborative work that would take place in most classrooms. Luckily, there are online platforms that allow students to interact with each other while staying at their desks or being at home. Nearpod is a way for teachers to present information and have students answer questions and take polls throughout the lesson. Peardeck is another option from Google that allows students to draw their answers on the screen and to answer questions live. Quizziz and Kahoot are fun interactive games that can be played in the classroom or at home. I also purchased a bundle from Readitwriteitlearnit that includes group activities that can also be done online. For instance, one of my favorite activities to do in the classroom is a Gallery Walk, where students visit documents or images and write a reaction to what they have seen or read on post-it notes as they walk around the room. Readitwriteitlearnit has created a google slides version of this activity where students are still responding to documents or images, just digitally. I love how teachers have found ways to incorporate good teaching practices into the world of online teaching.
Whether you are going back to the classroom full time with students or teaching online, there are ways to incorporate new techniques and ideas into your teaching that will enhance the learning for our students and make their online classroom experience more engaging. With the inspiration from so many talented teachers, I plan to incorporate many of the options I have included in this post and will report back once I have some feedback from my students on how it all went. Good luck to everyone going back to school in the upcoming weeks!
