5 Tips for Virtual Classroom Teaching Success
This is a story about how my first week of virtual classroom teaching went.
I’ve been teaching online for seven days. It feels like a month. Well, technically it’s been more than a month since we, in Ontario, have been at home for this pandemic and switched to virtual classroom teaching from our homes. So it feels like I’ve been researching and reading and organizing my teaching for a month. It took me some time to reflect and mourn these last few months of the school year. There are so many posts going viral explaining the sadness and pain that teachers are feeling right now. I, too, felt this mourning. But with this feeling of loss, I also have this feeling of empowerment because I know deep down, that I can continue to connect and teach my students meaningfully. You can still provide rich and engaging content and thought-provoking activities that will make your students grow and be as ready as they can be for next year. I’ve been working heavily but it brings me joy. I can already see that there are some virtual classroom benefits. One thing I have learned over the past few years is adapting. Letting things go that cannot be changed and instead, turn the situation into a positive. Trust me, it takes a lot of effort and commitment but it has helped me tremendously.
All this to say, I know that you feel the same way as I do. I know that you have questions. You miss your students. There are so many of your favourite lessons left to teach. You were JUST getting to really know them. And now you feel like you have nothing. And everything is hard. Harder even. You might have kids at home and not have the time someone without kids has, to scroll and read and find all the freebies online. Maybe you are like me and can’t sleep at night because you have too many ideas and they take over when you lay in the dark. You may be scared of using an online teaching platform. Maybe navigating something so new, makes you feel frozen.
Let me reassure you, we all feel this way.
Your anxiety may be at an all-time high and you may not be taking care of yourself emotionally or physically. You need to. Trust me, again. You have to take care of your needs. You cannot pour from an empty cup. I’ve been there. And I can share about that another time. What I want to share today is tips on how to simplify and build upon your virtual classroom teaching, so that you (and your family) and your students (and their families) are excited to learn each day and feel safe to do so.
1. Student Engagement and Having Fun Is The Top Priority
Do the daily fun things you post. Always – if you find them fun, your students will definitely love them too! This week’s STEM question: What can you do with a piece of paper? Find things that are pretty, art-y, and bring you joy. When you feel joy so do your students. Find things that are different and new for your students. Think about activities or prompts that allow all students to do the basics but open the doors for students to also blow you away with their abilities to expand. You’ll be amazed at what they come up with. And how what they do, can help you with new ideas for them, and your virtual classroom teaching.
2. Remember to Set Personal Boundaries
Set your own ‘office hours’ so that you are not at the computer or on your phone all day. I know how tempting it is to check every second of the day, the same way I check Instagram or Facebook, or Pinterest. Make it clear to students and parents that you are available during the working hours of 9 am to 4 pm (or make up your own times). Even though you are available during those times, you do not need to be sitting at your computer waiting. There’s a reason you can receive push notifications and email reminders – use them to your advantage. I cannot stress enough the importance of your self-care. Whatever self-care looks like for you, you do that every day, no matter what. Gently, remind families that on the weekend you will not be online with your students. That students are welcome to continue learning and interacting on Seesaw but you will not be facilitating until the following school day. Teacher hack: If you’re not ready to reply just yet to messages in your Seesaw Inbox, read the email version of the message. It can reduce your anxiety or fear of what the message may say and give you time to thoughtfully answer during the next workday.
3. Lesson Plans Are Key
Reframe your long-range plans and create a weekly plan that can repeat easily. This is not hard, but so necessary for successful virtual classroom teaching. Make charts or calendars and fill them all up with ideas ahead of time. Fill them up like sticky notes. Even if you don’t think you need it today or this week. You’ll want that in the weeks to come when you feel bored or unmotivated to find new things. There is SO much available right now because we are all in panic mode. But this will settle and you’ll feel great, amazing even. Because you are better prepared and organized. To do this, write out the main curriculum topics you have left to teach and split it up accordingly (by week and month), being mindful that it won’t be like normal.
And that’s okay.
It’s our new normal, for now, and we will make it work. Even more than that, you will learn so much about yourself by making it work. I decided that alongside weekly choice board activities, I would have special ‘something’ each day for my students in the announcements. I made a calendar of announcements.
4. Keep Yourself Organized (Desktop, Google Drive & You!)
My desktop was getting more and more flooded. I couldn’t find things I needed and I kept having to move my web pages to get what I needed. You need a clear mindset and a clear workspace. I promise it will work wonders in the background of your mind. Currently, I have a folder called Home Learning on my desktop. Inside the folder, is *mostly* screenshots. There is another folder of Choice Boards so that I can easily upload them to my students in Seesaw. There is a folder called Week 2. Week 2 holds all the folders for each activity. This way I am not searching for PDFs and scrambling, knowing that I saw it somewhere and then can’t find it when I need it. Make a COPY of the pdf you put here, so you don’t lose the original and always rename your screenshots. You’ll thank yourself later!
Google Drive Is Your Best Friend
Google Drive is my best friend for teaching materials. It saves me when I am at school and when I am uploading or searching between devices. Trust me. You need it. I had Google Drive before our board gave us one. My personal drive is for my teaching resources and materials. It’s well organized and overflowing with products I’ve purchased and created. Check out my post on The Series Approach for more on this. What’s important for you today, is to create a HOME LEARNING folder, on the main page of your Google Drive.
Put all the freebies you have downloaded during this time IN ONE PLACE. And then use them!
Organize your lesson plans, if you’re doing them digitally, into that folder
If you want a different folder for the weeks of Choice Boards, GO FOR IT
Put all of your student logins in one folder
Upload the information your principal sent you about setup and planning together in one folder
Add your student tracking pages or Google Sheets for one folder
If you’re anything like me, I could spend hours moving things to make this work for me, and when it works, I am on fire! Just start with a few folders to clear up the screen space. I feel like I can accomplish anything when it’s all set. If you haven’t already, get on it.
Know The Difference Between Weekly And Daily Work
Be prepared. Do the hard work upfront so you can have fun every day with your students. The first two weekends felt like a lot of work, but I kept telling myself that this work would be less and less as I figured out my plan and what worked for me. Now that I have a plan, and its adaptable week to week, I know that it will not be an 8 hour day at the computer every Sunday. In part, I’ve done all of this work to be able to share with others because I know that many teachers don’t have the time as I do. I want to share my outline and direct lesson plans so you can use them. I know how much you and your students will appreciate it. Sometimes all it takes is someone to take your hand and guide you until you are ready to fly on your own. I love to guide teachers, to open their eyes to new possibilities.
Reducing Overwhelm And Extra Work For Yourself
Give yourself time (and grace) to be creative and try something new like video editing! It’s all in your mindset. If you want to read more about mindset, check out my All About Me post. I’ve been using an app called Inshot, which allows you to upload a video and then add text and little gifs throughout. I know my students look forward to watching them each morning. As teachers, we learn to adapt and grow. As I continue to make these videos, I’ve learned that I don’t have to do the actual recording in the morning. When I’m having a good hair day I’ll do a few, save them and edit while I’m watching tv or listening to music. You’ll see progress in yourself you never imagined in your virtual classroom teaching. But you have to put yourself out there to try.
Tracking Student Data
I spend about 2 hours on Seesaw each day. I have my videos or photos uploaded to my journal (I’m a student in my own class) and I have my lesson plan filled out and ready to copy and paste for announcements. At 9 am, I push my videos and photos to the blog. I paste my previously written outline of the day for the student announcement. These TWO things are the only part of Seesaw that you cannot schedule, so I schedule them myself in Google Slides. Then I get to work on updating student sticker pages and choice boards. I set myself a timer for an hour. I use Google Sheets to track which activities are being done so that I can see the favourites. The rest of my day is commenting as students submit assignments and chatting on the blog with them.
5. Ask for Feedback
It’s so important that you know if your effort is being appreciated. It’s equally important that you know if students and parents need different support. Let me be clear, this may not necessarily mean more work for you. It’s a way for you to adapt to the needs of your students and families in a remote learning space situation and to continue doing your virtual classroom teaching. We know which kids are doing great because they are capable and engaged in your teaching space by displaying their varying skills each day. Knowing which kids are self-motivated and which kids need a little more support is important info. We know they may or may not have support available to them. As their teacher, we need to be aware of this, and not put any shame or pressure on families at this time. It is SO incredibly important that you and your families are on the same page about virtual classroom teaching. We don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. Just as parents don’t know how much work and effort you are putting in, you don’t know how much time that parent sits with their child to do the activities you have created. These are things you should find out.
Google Forms
When I taught Grade 5, I used Google Forms all the time. I used them as rubrics, as check-ins during big projects, as presentation guides and so much more. They are SO convenient and easy to create. Create ten questions that you are genuinely wondering about to ask parents. If you’re stuck on ideas, consider the ones I used:
How often does your child access our online classroom?
Is your child checking the blog daily?
How independent are the activities for your child?
If you are assisting your child, is it working for your routine?
Do you need more explanation from me or are you enjoying working together?
Would it be helpful for me to voice record more than I currently do?
How is the workload so far?
What is your favourite part of our Seesaw Classroom?
Please ask your child what their favourite part is:
What part of online learning is not working for you?
How can I better support you at home?
Remember, for every question you choose, you are *technically* opening it up for discussions. Be confident in the routines you have created already and confident in your teaching abilities. Don’t ask questions you don’t want to hear an answer about. I’m serious, if you don’t want to post videos of your face, don’t ask if they want it! If they answer with something you are not able to facilitate, use this information to have a discussion with your admin or teaching partner to help you out.
