Thursday, March 26, 2020

Rethinking Remote Learning: Relationship Building in Our New Normal

How are you staying busy - a common question floating around social media feeds and phone calls with friends and family.

With all the wavering emotions we are facing in these uncertain times, my family has tried to find small ways to spread joy to others each day. Focusing on others' feelings has allowed us to maintain our sense of optimism and positivity. Maintaining our sense of community is empowering and has given our days a sense of purpose.


Yesterday, our random act of kindness challenge involved surprise chalking the driveways of a few friends that live nearby. This family of five was not as stealthy as we had hoped as some of our friends stepped onto their lawn before we were able to finish for a quick chat and a wave from farther than the recommended six feet zone of social distancing. The littlest member of our tribe has cystic fibrosis. As a result, we have been cognizant of social distancing during peak illness times and quelling the spread of germs since his diagnosis two and a half years ago. This situation, for Jordan's sake and for every high-risk person, has us beyond scared.

Still, human connection is everything. While air hugging and messages from afar will have to suffice, we cannot allow ourselves to recluse into isolation and shut out the light that still shines in our world. Mental health is so important, and caring for the emotional well-being of others is what will allow us to get through.



What weighs on my heart the most is the emotional well-being of my students. Teaching three classes of high school seniors has me heartbroken at the losses that they are feeling and experiencing now. While we can tell them that the best is yet to come, currently, these milestones were ones they had been dreaming about and working toward their whole lives. This period marks the end of their childhood and will define them. I do believe that my students will create good from this situation and will be set on paths to change the world in incredible ways. I believe they will amplify their voices and use their stories to positively impact others, but still, there is a great sense of loss and grief being felt now.

During our adventures yesterday, my sweet Harper's first instinct was to run toward one of my former students and give him a bear hug. She has spent her entire life around the speech kids, who are extended family members to us. We all called out and swooped in to stop her from breaking the invisible barrier that will keep us all healthy and subdue the spread of this virus. At that moment, all we could do was cry at the sweetness of this small child and the sadness that we all felt with the uncertainty that surrounds us. Tears welled in our eyes as we were unable to greet one of our favorite families in the manner that we are so accustomed to doing so. She exemplified in one action a sense of innocence and love that we all still have for each other and cannot forget. No matter the physical or imaginary bars placed between us, we cannot forget to reach beyond them emotionally.


Which leads me to wonder what this new educational landscape will look like moving forward. How will we stay connected with our students as the March 31st return date approaches? What is the best approach to preserve and forge meaningful connections with them?

As we march into uncharted territory, it is okay for us to release our typical classroom expectations. Instead of focusing on standards and covering curriculum maps, we need first to prioritize the social and emotional well-being of our students and ourselves. As I begin to relook at my lesson plan doc and make recommendations to colleagues about how to proceed, here are my tips for embracing this new normal in eLearning.

1. First and foremost, keep lesson plans simple.

Students are not used to remote learning. While they have used educational technology and are familiar with the use of their devices, they are not used to learning alone. They will need guidance and support in locating materials, processing instructions, and submitting assignments. As such, lesson plans and instructions should be clear, simple, and straightforward. Focus on what you want students to learn, how they will practice it, and how they will prove they learned it. Keep students on one platform or webtool at a time. Avoid having them jump from webtool to webtool in a single lesson, and utilize the learning management system as much as possible to make material accessible. Less in this case truly is more.

2. Use the technology that you are most comfortable with or have used before.
As we are not able to see our students in person, teachers are feeling pressure to recreate the typical face-to-face experience with webtools. Remember, learning a new webtool can take time and can be stressful for both the teacher and the students involved. Stick to tools that you feel most confident using because that is where you will find the most success. If you want to sprinkle in a Google Hangouts Meet or Flipgrid to connect with students in a visual way, great, but don’t feel the pressure to become an eLearning master overnight.

3. Allow yourself room to fail.

Some lessons may flop. The technology could fail, and students could disengage. It is okay if an activity doesn’t work, and it is okay to abandon one activity in place of another one that may garner more success. Being honest with students about a lack of familiarity with eLearning shows that you are embracing failure and that everyone can learn together. Students will feel more comfortable and confident in engaging in this new learning environment when there is room for failure.

4. Learn something new because now is the time to try it out (See #3).

Because now is the time to embrace the unknown, if you are daring, try something new. Several ed-tech companies are hosting webinars, posting resources, and opening up the premium versions to help support teachers and students. My favorite professional development experiences have been offered by Pear Deck, who is hosting live webinars for teachers new to this awesome Google Slides add-on. I am also a fan of Screencastify’s master class that provides short, targeted videos to support teachers in using their tool to engage with students. An all-time favorite resource for professional development is provided by EdPuzzle, who has several courses on a variety of topics - beyond just their webtool. Taking advantage of these resources can help now and also help expand a teacher’s tool belt when we return to a sense of normalcy in the coming school years.

5. Focus on relationships.

Reconnecting with students after nearly two weeks apart will be challenging. Some students may not have access to a strong internet connection, may now be watching siblings, or maybe experiencing varying emotions that are preventing them from connecting. Finding ways to foster the strong relationships that you have with students is the best way to keep them engaged. Once they are engaging and connected to their teachers, they will begin to interact with the lessons and activities that we are posting. The relationship piece has to come first and has to remain the priority.

 

This period of time will be recorded in the history e-books of the future. Political and medical institutions will undergo reforms because of this pandemic, and our first responders and service workers will be remembered as the heroes they are. As such, we need to shift our mindset and adapt to our current reality. We will get through this, and we will all continue to do the best that we can. As educators, our love for our students is often as deep as for our own families. Start there, and the rest will follow.

Stay active. Stay connected. Stay healthy, friends.

Sunday, March 15, 2020

The Next Right Thing



My nuclear family has been watching all things Frozen on repeat. When Jordan does his CF treatments, he chooses what to watch, and his latest obsession is Frozen II, and I do not mind this choice one bit. As we memorize the movie line by line, we have started to jokingly debate about our favorite songs. Anna's segue song called "The Next Right Thing" has resonated with me on many levels. Josh initially scoffed at it as we listened to the soundtrack in the car. I’ll admit, the nonverbal portrayal of this piece significantly impacts the quality of the song, but in any format, the song contains a powerful message. Anna’s song not only encapsulates the plot, but it also succinctly conveys the purpose of the story, and I am moved by the notion that even when all hope seems lost, we can pick ourselves up and do the next task placed before us.

Throughout any given school year, unexpected tasks and roles will always arise. Never to this degree have we seen such a pervasive obstacle. We are in the business of people, working with students who come to us to learn, to be guided, and, most importantly, to be loved. While our efforts to move to e-learning can in no way replace daily, face-to-face interaction, our connectivity with our students will help us to maintain our relationships and show love to our school tribes in the best manner that we can. With this shift to e-learning, it is essential to acknowledge that our ability to instruct has been challenged. But for the time being, this new direction of learning is not optional; it is not an educational trend or fad. E-learning is paramount to continue our students’ education. Continuing forward with some form of learning is necessary to maintain a sense of normalcy in the minds of our young people. Our students are our second family, and we need to continue to find ways to lift them up. As we empower them through encouraging messages and alternative assignments, I believe that we will find greater strength as well.

When moving instruction online, it is important to remember a few key factors. First and foremost, keep instruction simple. Do not reinvent the wheel, and do not start using tools that you have never used before. Just like any traditional lesson, we want to remember our learning targets, consider how students will practice skills, and determine how students will prove that they have made progress. Patience both on the teacher and student end is imperative. Transitions take time and are not devoid of mistakes and growing pains. Students need to remain engaged and continue to move forward in the learning process so that when we can reconvene face-to-face, some growth was made. There will be some setbacks, and some students won’t complete all of their work. We cannot allow these minor frustrations to prevent us from taking “a step. Step again,” and make a choice to just “let it go.”



The tone of our schools, communities, and the greater world is heavy and bleak right now. Uncertain times and the impending fear of the unknown are weighing on us all to varying degrees. Our anxiety and "grief has a gravity," and our feelings have a way of making moments in history, such as now, seem insurmountable. The mood in our hallways last week felt similar to the hallways post 9-11 - ominous and quiet. While we walk "stumbling blindly toward the light," know that there is indeed light at the end of this tunnel.

This week, we have entered uncharted territory - not just in education but in our everyday interactions locally, nationally, and globally. We need to listen to the CDC and to credible sources that are imploring us to practice social distancing (Check out The Washinton Post's "Flatten the Curve" article). As we spend time in our houses away from others, we need to embrace technology to stay connected to one another. Our ability to support one another through any feelings we may have will help us to remain calm and find joy in our present situation. Acknowledging current feelings will also help the negative ones to subside.


Tomorrow is always another day. The challenges of today can and will drive us to move forward and grow as educators, mentors, and people. Being prepared, aware, and ready to embrace anything, I will continue to "do the next right thing" for my students, for my colleagues, and for my family. For now, we must remain vigilant to the advice of medical professionals, we must exhibit empathy toward others, and we must realize that while in some ways practices and protocols may “never be the same again,” we will return to a sense of normalcy. We will get through the woods, and we will emerge stronger than before. The next right thing is to demonstrate resilience and move forward. We can do this!



*If anyone needs help or support with e-learning, here are a few resources that I have created. I am happy to share ANYTHING I have! Remember, that while it seems that “nothing will ever be the same again," some things - like the strength of our community - never change.

Video walkthroughs:
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