Getting Them Talking (Digitally Speaking)

Will they show up to the Zoom? Will the link work? Or will this be the moment that the internet decides to come to a screeching halt? These are the questions and anxieties that fill me on the first day of school in 2020. Instead of worrying about going to the wrong classroom at the wrong time or forgetting students' names, I am more preoccupied with the connectivity of my technology tools than anything else. I fear the spinning icon that indicates that my device is attempting to connect to the internet. This temporary reality has teachers across the country feeling like first-year teachers again as we are being challenged to rethink and retool our student engagement strategies. 

Take it slow with technology. 

We are teaching in an entirely new format. While we had preliminary experience in the spring with remote learning, we are still relatively new to this environment. This year, there are entirely new standards for delivering content, and the bar has been raised for both students and teachers. We are no longer crisis teaching; we are normalizing distance learning. As such, no matter your comfort level with technology, take it slow. We aren’t required to use ten different web applications and customized breakout rooms on day one. Instead, we should focus on building relationships and getting to know our students. It is okay to talk and challenge students to talk, too. Focusing on familiarizing ourselves with the digital classroom environment can alleviate the pressure of having to know every formative assessment tool. It is okay to walk before we run with technology tools and strategies. Remember, we do not need to implement every new feature in Zoom during the first week. It can provide us with the emotional and mental space to do what we do best - love kids. 

We need to establish Zoom norms and netiquette with students. 

Just like we would establish rules in a physical classroom environment, we need to talk about expectations and etiquette in a digital environment. In a face-to-face setting, I rarely spoke to my seniors about behavioral rules, although I make daily quips about being a good human and making good choices as they walk out the door (physical and digital). Now, I am finding myself opening a dialogue with them about netiquette and behavior on Zoom. This environment is new to them, and it's new to me. Reminding students to mute their mics when they are not talking and leave their video running are essential parts of this new communication model. Nonverbal communication still matters; they have to be intentional. Teaching students to use the emojis on Zoom is also a great way to do formative assessments and check-ins with students seamlessly. Students also need to know how to "raise their hands" and use the chat feature for questions or quick comments. Providing students with opportunities to practice these features and discuss how/why these features matter will make the classroom more interactive. By working together to set standards and create norms, students will feel more comfortable engaging with each other and with me. They will have more confidence in knowing that they are in a safe environment and that their voices matter. 

Establish norms in how you deliver instruction and how to demonstrate mastery, too. Reviewing and sharing the screen is a critical part of delivering content, and it takes longer on a screen. I am continually reminding myself to slow down. Demonstrate, model, and then give them time to access the material. Taking our time at first will pay off later in the semester. When I have used breakout rooms with students in Zoom, I have explained how I want my students to take notes so that I can be in on their conversation even when I am in a different breakout room. Using the same procedure for these notes shaves down on the demonstration time; after a few experiences, it will become second nature. While I am not advocating for using the same tools and procedures every class period, I am noting that there is comfort in routines. Routines set expectations in students' minds and bring a familiarity to the course that allows them to open up, engage, and become more active participants in the class. 

Breaking students into small groups helps. 

Unfortunately, this week, my district learned that preset breakout rooms in Zoom do not work on a Chrome operating system (Teachers are all on Chromebooks). That being said, the breakout rooms still function in manually created groups. Small groups are incredible places for students to learn to be more comfortable talking on screen. When they do not feel like they are under a microscope in a class of 30, they will unmute, relax, and be themselves. Pushing students into breakout rooms, even informally discussing a quick idea or concept, gets them talking. They miss face-to-face interactions and connections as much as we do. By being able to speak with their peers in an informal, smaller setting, they will begin to feel more comfortable. Allowing a few minutes to discuss a prompt also creates a sense of camaraderie that comes from shared experiences. I have started my lessons here and see myself starting my lessons each day with this practice, and even in the first week, I see a positive impact. 

We need to be ourselves.

Starting a Zoom call is still uncomfortable for me. The constant chiming of students logging into the Zoom call and my nerves surrounding a technical glitch ruminate in my mind. Instead of being poised, I try to laugh at myself, make jokes, and say every student's name as they enter the room. Slightly awkward elf-depreciation and embracing my vulnerabilities are part of my personality. Allowing that piece of me to come out on-screen shows students that it is okay to embrace your personality or laugh at the obstacles caused by low connectivity. We do not have to have it all together at every moment, and we might not love the world we are currently living in, but we still can show how we enjoy every moment we share with our students despite the present situation. Talking openly about our feelings, but modeling how to find the positives allows us to forge connections deeper than we realize. While they might be quiet in the full class Zoom conversations, they are watching, and they are getting to know us. They will open up - perhaps today or maybe tomorrow. When we show students our passions, interests, and personalities, they will respond. We can let our love of learning and all things "nerdy" shine.  

As John Green states, "Nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff. Nerds are allowed to LOVE stuff, like, jump-up-and-down-in-your-chair-can't-control-yourself LOVE it." And you know what, John Green, when I see my students on Zoom or receive an email from them, metaphorically jump-up-and-down on screen I will because I love my students, and I am here to listen whenever they are ready to talk. 

Be the Teacher Students Need Today

Be the teacher your students need today. 

As I repeat that mantra in my mind, it seems so simple and empowering, and yet, as I turn on the news or read social media feeds, it feels like the idea of what our students need today is planted on shifting sand. Our country and the world are full of so much uncertainty and political unrest that it is easy to lose sight of what our schools need to stay safe and begin again. I am scared - many of us are. Unfortunately, I am most afraid of adults who have stopped taking thorough precautions and adhering to CDC guidelines, but I digress. 

Coping with and attempting to quell these fears, I take a page from Disney's Frozen 2 and focus on doing the next right thing. This summer, I have spent a significant amount of time reflecting on how to support teachers. They will inevitably be thrown into an impossible situation of teaching in a hybrid setting with a looming threat of becoming sick or exposing others to COVID-19. Ultimately, teachers need to be ready to be everything and anything for their students at a moment's notice. The schedules, general classroom practices, and expectations will shift drastically from week to week. So I return to the question that weighs on teachers' hearts right now: How do we prepare to be the teacher our students need? 

We have to prepare for the worst but be ready for the best. 

As I help teachers in my district and those in neighboring districts this summer, my advice has been to plan mentally for a semester of full remote learning. While I think we will oscillate in between hybrid and remote learning for much of the fall, preparing for remote learning will make every face-to-face encounter a bonus. Adjusting lesson plans from remote to face-to-face is much easier than the other way around. Also, even if we are in the classroom, typical practices such as sharing Chromebooks, grouping and rotating seats, helping students over their shoulders, and circulating the room have to change. 

Now more than ever, it is more important and appropriate to stop a lesson or change a plan to address social-emotional learning. Our students have learned more about life in the last few months than any of us realize. While they need to get caught up on skills and content, they have grown and changed. They need guidance and support, and they need opportunities to process the collective experience that we have encountered. Providing them with that outlet will allow them to make room in their minds for the course content that we hope to share with them this year. We can and need to help them become ready to learn. The best way we can be the teachers our students need today is to remind ourselves that we don't have stress about content. We can permit ourselves to change course! 

Every synchronous moment counts. 

When planning for this upcoming semester, consider what absolutely needs to be synchronous and what can be adapted and taught remotely or asynchronously. Prioritize direct instruction lessons and more challenging content. Again, it is okay to alter previous lesson plans from the years we had the opportunity to teach face-to-face every day. This year is different; we are in a new normal. Front-loading an entire unit with direct instruction may ensure that students receive critical skills that they will need to be successful for several weeks. When we teach that meaningful content, though, don't forget to stop for social-emotional learning again. What we think is essential is often more expendable than we realize. 

Again, do not shy away from social-emotional learning and community building. 

While we are all in the same boat in navigating a global pandemic, we are fighting drastically different battles. Some people live in fear of preexisting conditions; some have struggled with unemployment or loss of income. Others face depression, anxiety, or other social-emotional related difficulties. Personally, our household has been under extreme lockdown because we have a child with Cystic Fibrosis, a lung disease that also impacts all vital organs and his digestion. My son has remained relatively healthy to this point in his life, but his disease classifies him as terminally ill. While I have all the faith in the world that he will live a full and meaningful life, my family has to be incredibly cautious because when he contracts even a mild cold, he will most likely become very ill. A common cold or stomach bug results in a round of antibiotics and even hospitalization. We've been there; I don't want to be back anytime soon. My solution to keep him safe is to move out of my house, and I am fortunate enough to have several options of places to go and that my son can remain at home with my husband. This situation is my battle, and I fully acknowledge that we all have different struggles related to this impossible situation. We need to remember to recognize our students' feelings and empathize with each other. Regardless of the subjects we teach, we should make room for teaching empathy and giving our students space to cope with the storms they face. Even older students look to us to guide them through difficult situations. How we handle our struggles and our fears can help them process their own feelings and cope. 

Try something new every week. 

As we mentor, coach, guide, and teach students in person, online, and everything in between, we may find that traditional instructional practices are not as effective as they have been in the past. This coming school year, we mustn't be afraid to try something new. We may need to extend out of our comfort zones and incorporate new tech tools or strategies. Now is the time to get creative, and if a lesson fails, it is okay! We can permit ourselves to learn with the students as we use new tools or assign new projects to our students. With all the stress and challenges that are sure to come this fall, we do not need to reinvent the wheel entirely, but we can try one new strategy a week. We may find new instructional practices that make our classrooms better in any situation. 

Give yourself grace. 

Even if you weren't the perfect hybrid, remote, pandemic teacher this past spring, remember that you still made a difference in someone's life. You were still there for your students, and your efforts mattered. The personal videos, supportive emails, and cards that you delivered to your students meant something to them, even if they were not able to verbalize their gratitude. Thank you for what you have done for your students and for what you will continue to do. No matter what happens as we return to so much uncertainty, we will continue to love our students, teach them essential content, and inspire them to be their best selves. Give yourself grace as we all muddle through each day. Remind yourself to be the teacher your students need today. While it might look different tomorrow, what you do makes a significant difference and will make our world a better place. 

Asynchronous PDs: If there's a topic that catches your eye, click through it! I'm sharing these optional PD experiences as an a la carte menu to help teachers feel ready for back-to-school. Anything to help!

• App Smashing with Pear Deck
• Asynchronous vs. Synchronous Learning
• Blended Learning Principles and Strategies
• Collaborate, Create, and Celebrate: Using WeVideo to Amplify Student Voice
• Enhancing Student Learning with Padlet
• Flipgrid and Remote Learning 
• Making Small Groups Work
• Putting the Pieces Together with EdPuzzle

Falling Forward: Getting Ready for the Fall Semester

"You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it" - Maya Angelou. 

Now that we have had time to step away from the computer screens and quarantine teaching, it's time to reflect on what worked and what did not. While headlines emphatically declare that remote learning did not work in various cases, I believe what we learned has only made us stronger. While some learning targets were not achieved March through May to level that several teachers would have hoped, teachers and students had time to focus on lessons of empathy, equity, and engagement. We found time to reevaluate social-emotional learning. We discovered gaps in resources and content that paved the way for a more equitable school system, and we identified what did not work in terms of engagement. Our shortcomings will only lead to a more successful fall semester - no matter what teaching format we embrace. 

Remember, we had less than a day to prepare for a complete paradigm shift in education. We walked out of school on a Friday, believing we would be back together on Monday, preparing and planning to deliver instructions, and those Monday meetings never came. Teachers scrambled, recreated, and redefined what their classrooms looked like. Teachers focused on their relationships with students and fostering engagement. So what lessons can we glean from the successes and the shortcomings of this past semester? How do we start fresh this fall? 

First, we do what we always do - build strong relationships. 

Fostering strong interpersonal relationships begins with sharing who you are. Being open, vulnerable, and true to oneself helps set a tone for a classroom environment. Many people worry that if we do not start face-to-face that this aspect of school will be missing. While building relationships and establishing a strong sense of community will not be as easy, it still can happen with a little bit of work. Live sessions are vital! Use live sessions to do what we would do - icebreakers. Two truths and a life, show-and-tell, theme meetings may all seem a little goofy, but leveraging that silliness will work and bring students back. They are craving connection as much, if not more than we are post-quarantine. Whether they are kindergarteners or seniors in high school, using the first few days (or weeks) to use live meetings to invest in creating a sense of community will go a long way if and when we end up remote again. Remember, students will work harder for people they care about and feel care about them. Show it! 

When live meets aren't possible, create videos. Create a one-minute video post once a week (or even once a day) that allows students to learn something about you. Share a passion, give a motivational elevator pitch, or make a connection between your content and their lives. Do what it takes to show that you are there for them! Take it a step further by encouraging them to get involved and complete the communication cycle. Flipgrid is an excellent platform for this. When internet access is scarce, send a letter. Any communication makes a difference. 

Once relationships are established, make sure access to course content is clear and accessible.

Clear course design is essential, especially as we may be moving back and forth between traditional, blended, and remote learning. Students need to be able to access course content and navigate through the learning management system or means of delivery. Routines should transcend delivery modes to help students adjust and adapt as needed. 

When the quarantine began, teachers felt the need to use new tech tools and create new routines. As teachers prepare for the fall, teachers should consider what enhanced the classroom experience and what did not work as well. Engagement is critical to student learning, and purposeful use of technology increases learning potential. Knowing how to implement a few tools reduces the amount of instructional time spent on learning how to access the curriculum and increases the time spent interacting with the curriculum. Remember, if students are struggling with finding or accessing content, it is okay to rethink, revise, and redesign. 

Once a course is designed, focus on creating experiences for our students that bring them back to the classroom or the computer screen. 

After students and teachers feel connected and comfortable in the learning environment, we can begin to develop and enhance the student experience. With online learning, assessments may need to change. Traditional learning that works in the classroom may not be as effective when moved online. As such, it is okay to continue to stretch and grow in the curriculum design process. 

One of the biggest suggestions that my students had at the end of the school year was to consider varying instruction to make it more interactive. When live instruction is not possible or not guaranteed, get creative! Tools like EdPuzzle challenge students to be active learners. They need to engage with instructional videos and reflect before, during, and after learning. Instead of completing worksheets, students prefer opportunities to create. Rote activities can become more meaningful when students are tasked with creating their videos to demonstrate understanding using tools like Flipgrid. And if and when we are forced out of the classroom for some time, using tools like Padlet that promote collaboration and make learning visible can recreate some of the connections that we have with our students, and they have with their peers. 

Regardless of the medium, we also find ways to give feedback and guidance to help our students grow. 

The learning process, like the communication model, involves feedback. We need to think about ways to provide our students with fast and meaningful feedback to help our students know that they are learning. Screencasting is a powerful way to provide personalized feedback that can recreate some of the feelings of being in a live classroom, even when that is not possible. Our feedback needs to extend beyond a written comment or two at the bottom of a page or end of a paper. Tools like Screencatify, Vocaroo, and Mote can help us to use our voices to encourage, guide, and reach students. The significant part of using these tools is that links can be embedded in digital comments boxes or learning management systems as well. While it may take a teacher time to learn a new tool, such as the ones listed above, the time saved in the long run by helping students achieve learning targets will be invaluable. 

Finally, do not lose heart. 

This fall will be difficult. Returning to a sense of normalcy is going to be fraught with anxiety and heightened emotions. We are all going to worry about our health, our families, and the whole community. We will continue to navigate new waters, and the waves of quarantine may strike again. The ripple effects that we can identify now and some that we do not see coming will impact us. Teachers should allow the unexpected to guide us to calmer waters. Do not fight any storm alone and continue to communicate with your students, colleagues, and family. This, too, shall pass, and have heart; it will make us stronger. 

Hindsight is 2020: Ending the Most Unconventional School Year

Saying goodbye to this non-traditional school year has not an easy road to navigate. We have written the playbook while finishing the game, built the plane while flying in the air. Throughout this process, teachers have tried to make a collective trauma feel like a new normal for students. By sending videos, emails, and cards, we have tended to our students' social and emotional needs. Through structure, routine, and instructional activities, we have tried to keep their minds engaged. Surviving weeks of instruction have been our goal, but now we have been tasked with saying goodbye. While my school year ended a week ago, many local elementary districts and school districts are currently wrapping up their final weeks on a national level. How do we say goodbye to students we cannot see face-to-face? 

Start by creating a heartfelt end of the year assignments. No matter the subject taught, find a way to connect. Flipgrid is a great platform that allows students to see a teacher's face. This webtool allows for us to talk asynchronously and engage in powerful nonverbal communication. Prompts can be as straightforward as giving a graduation speech or a last lecture to a class or as creative as delivering a math-gram message to say goodbye using vocabulary from a year of geometry. Students could showcase how many planks they can do in a physical education class or embody a famous person to deliver a farewell address in a social science class. Be creative, and keep the content, but don't forget to emphasize the importance of communication and human connection. Students might find an assignment like this fun or engage because they're bored and miss your face! 

Ask students to write. Literacy is a critical skill in all disciplines. Writing allows them to express their feelings and also share their reasoning and logic. From solving a word problem in math to explaining how World War Two was won, they can use their words to demonstrate knowledge and understanding. We are living history right now, so find a way to encourage students to write to express their thoughts, reactions, and perspectives of the world in which we are currently living. Find ways to make final prompts relevant to their lives right now, and they will not only be able to demonstrate academic prowess, but they will also be able to express their current feelings. These writings can give a teacher direct insight into individual students while allowing them to amplify their voices as primary sources for this pandemic. 

Have them create a visual representation of their work. Whether it be creating a portfolio website or making work visible on a platform like Padlet, find a way to showcase student work. My favorite final project was having students make a COVID Time Capsule. This project allowed students to apply essential skills from my class and reflect on themes from other units while still personalizing the experience to their thoughts, feelings, and reactions during the quarantine. Students who had been disengaged previously picked up this assignment and wanted to share their ideas. They wanted to be able to express what they were experiencing from their perspective and needed that outlet. In my drama class, I had students write quarantine related monologues. These monologues gave voice to many different perspectives of people living on the pandemic frontlines working in hospitals, grocery stores, and delivering food. These projects fit my classroom, but the intention behind them could be applied in any discipline from creating a marketing plan for an essential business to designing a new fitness center in engineering that adheres to the CDC guidelines. Students can get creative and use the skills they have gained from any class to capture our collective experiences during the quarantine. Through pictures, drawing, creative presentations, or other multimedia projects, students can showcase diverse skills and share what they've learned in innovative ways. 

During this time, it is important to note that subjects such as art, music, and other electives have been incredibly invaluable during the quarantine. These subjects have always been the heart of our schools, and their significance has only been elevated. These elective subjects are why students get up and go to school; these teachers foster safe spaces for all types of students. Now more than ever, these teachers have created opportunities to express themselves. These creative projects and assignments do not have to remain in the elective realms. Find ways to offer students choice and opportunities to use their talents in your classes by encouraging them to create a rap about history, make a video demonstrating Newton's Laws of Physics. Challenge them to use their painting, drawing, vocal, musical, or dance skills and pair it with a final lesson or project in your classroom. The results will not only dazzle but inspire other students to engage, too. By encouraging students to use their talents, they will see the relevance and importance of core content areas alongside their passions and personal interests. 

Aside from fun end-of-the-semester projects, we need to gather information by allowing students time to process the end of the year in a more formal sense. No matter what subject or level taught, challenge students to reflect on the class experience and their own experiences. A short, personalized survey with a mixture of likert-style questions and open-ended questions can allow students to share valuable information with us as teachers. Keep the verbiage on the survey clear and positive. Frame an assignment or survey as a tool that can help you to become a better teacher. Encourage students to share what worked well for them and what could have gone better. Remote learning is a new educational format. The best way to improve is to receive authentic and meaningful feedback. After gathering both qualitative and quantitative data about the learning experience, challenge students to reflect on their engagement during this time. What they have discovered about themselves will continue to impact their learning styles and abilities moving forward. 

While surveys may look different at the early elementary level to upper high school, we should challenge students to reflect in ways that are meaningful for their developmental stage. Not only should we gather information about our class structure and instructional delivery, but we should take this time to challenge students to reflect on their actions and take ownership of their learning. How did they fair as students? How did they manage their emotions? What challenges did they face at home that impacted their feelings? Having students self-reflect on their actions and feelings during this time can allow us to target students who may need additional support in the summer. Gather social and emotional information and use that information to follow up with students in the summer. We might be off the clock, but as we have learned by teaching remotely, the clock may buzz at the end of a basketball game, but the clock in the teacher-student relationship game doesn’t end.

Ultimately, this is not the final goodbye. If anything, it has made me internalize the notion that my students will always be my students. Bound through uncertain times, we will forever have shared this historic time. In the end, it is okay to have fun. It is okay to shift gears away from tests and exams to reflect, create, and share. Teaching is a work of heart, and that love is what got our students through this time. It's that love that will continue to get through whatever they face beyond our classroom, too.