This summer, educators were asked to prepare for many scenarios and possibilities, and because of the state of the world, we knew we'd have to be ready for anything. I found myself on more Zoom calls than I could count, creating professional development that met teachers' needs across disciplines and technology skill levels. To make working conditions and family life more effective, we converted our basement into a bedroom and my son's room into my new office. This office quickly became my daughters' favorite place to play as they came in to borrow the good pens and notebooks. Preparing my almost kindergartener for online learning was a priority this summer, knowing that her school would decide to start the year with e-learning or that we would elect for her to learn remotely. She often joined me while I worked, coloring at my side or, even better, creating and editing videos with me.
While connectivity obstacles and technology limitations have created occasional challenges, we are collectively learning so much. No, experiencing a global pandemic is not how any of us want to live life. Still, I genuinely believe that we will have learned so much about technology, education, and empathy by the time we reach the other side. 21st-century skills often shared on slides at the beginning of the year during a professional development meeting are being thrust into practice this year. While we might sometimes fall a little sort (or have to shut down the computer and restart Zoom during the middle of a lesson - it happened to me on Friday), being able to apply the 4C's with our students will set them up for success far beyond our virtual walls.
Communication
Communication during a pandemic is not easy. In years past, I have struggled to get my students to check email. Especially as seniors in high school, they often receive too many notifications, and instead of deleting or filtering the spam, students ignore it all. Important messages go unread. This year, I have tried to leverage our new learning management system to teach them to message through the platform and check for announcements. This year, my district is using Canvas, and what is nice about this platform is that students can set the frequency of their notifications to once a day, instead of every time a teacher updates the course. Empowering students to organize their Gmail inboxes and explaining the importance of creating a less daunting email inbox reminds them that communication is key. They cannot overlook messages, but they can control the workflow within their own challenges of communication.
In addition to Gmail, students also need to be empowered to seek support. They have to speak up; they have to unmute. While talking on a digital platform like Zoom or Meet can feel intimidating, now they are aware of when they are silenced, and more importantly, they are being tasked and empowered to take a stand and speak up. We can create spaces and opportunities for all students to turn on their mics. Whether it is in a whole group conversation, smaller breakout spaces, or even one-on-one, we have to be intentional with inviting all students to speak up and create opportunities to do so.
Talking about intentional communication with our students teaches them how valuable their voices are and how they can (and should) always make a choice to speak up! For my students who are more apprehensive about speaking up, I need to provide assignments that use videos (such as a private Flipgrid assignment or a WeVideo screencast) to feel open to sharing their thoughts on a lesson or life in general. Again, we have to remember to create safe spaces for them to speak up!
Collaboration
Students are working from home most of the time now, and as a result, it is easy to feel disconnected. As the weather turns colder, it will become harder to see people and socialize safely. While this winter may be challenging, we can still provide opportunities for students to be collaborative synchronously and asynchronously.
Using breakout rooms is a must! Students will share in smaller groups, and giving them reasons to talk even about silly icebreaker questions opens the door for more meaningful discussion and collaboration for the period and for the rest of the semester. Google Suites, Padlet, Pear Deck, and other tools that allow for real-time responses and communication can also make the classroom community more interactive and provide students with opportunities to share their voices and see/hear their classmates' ideas as well. Using these documents to create collaborative spaces encourages them to use their voices, relate to others, and know that they are not alone in their learning and that they are a part of a community that cares.
Discussion threads, collaborative Google Slides projects, creative video creation are all ways to promote the interactive learning process. While not every group project may find success online, remember that group projects can be a challenge in-person, too. If we scaffold group assignments and activities, we can forge more meaningful connections among students and will see more successful results. Collaboration should happen during every synchronous class meeting in a small way so that students are prepared for more extensive and more collaborative summative assignments later in the semester.
Critical Thinking
A common frustration and challenge that some disciplines have faced come with assessments. When students are not in the classroom, they can use Google or their phones to find answers to quizzes and assessments. Multiple-choice assessments, which are used in elementary school to AP classes, are not the most effective way to assess students in a digital learning environment. To test mastery, we want to know that our students see the content and skills that will lead to success later in the course and beyond our time with them. As such, I have encouraged teachers to start to shift how they assess students. Instead of merely using a multiple choice quiz, teachers have begun asking students to answer a prompt on Flipgrid or record a video of them answering a math problem. Students are writing more and clicking less.
That is not to say that multiple-choice assessments no longer have a place in learning, but rather, we need to find ways for students to apply their critical thinking skills to demonstrate mastery. I love a quick multiple-choice quiz after completing a reading assignment to ensure that students understood the passage's gist! The out of classroom assessment challenge has given me time to pause and reflect. While we shift and redesign our curriculum, the multiple-choice challenge has given us time to reflect on our assessments and their role in student learning. We need to find opportunities to challenge our students to think critically and apply their knowledge. In an online environment, they are in the driver's seat of their learning. We have to give them the keys and the avenues to drive on to stretch their comprehension and understanding.
Creativity
The final C being challenged during pandemic learning is creativity, which every educator has to exhibit. The traditional learning modalities are not available to us, but the time doesn't stop as a result. We are in a new normal, and while elements of the old routine will come back, perhaps some working environments and technology will be adopted permanently. We are teaching students to communicate, collaborate, and critically think in a digital environment, and to do that; we must foster their creativity. Education cannot be passive; students cannot merely consume facts and dates. They have to be writing the narrative themselves. To amplify their voices, they need to be sharing, speaking, writing, and connecting with others. Preparing them for a post-pandemic economy may necessitate an increased understanding of digital communication and creation skills. Editing videos, writing, and engaging people through various digital platforms will be their reality beyond our walls. Why not find ways to have them teach us a thing or two about how innovative, inventive, and creative they can be?
Remember, our students, like our own children, are always watching and learning from us. How we tackle the 4C's during pandemic learning is how students will perceive these 21st-century skills and their relevance to students' lives. As my daughters colored, they learned that it is more than okay to fail with technology because while it may not always work as we want it to, we can use 21st-century skills to foster strong relationships and forge new pathways to learning today and well beyond the pandemic.
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