Resources for Prolonged Closure
Lesson Creation for Prolonged Closure
You may find it easier to house all of your assignments in one document (see example here). In this way, students only have one document to download and keep up with. This is especially helpful for those without internet. Resources and links can be embedded into the document by taking screenshots, creating hyperlinks, or easily accessible by placing in an "eLearning Resources Folder" that you can give a share link to students in Google Classroom and encourage them to download.
In the video, I walk give an overview of the all-in-one eLesson (0:13), walk you through creating one (10:58), give directions on how to add resources (both in the document-12:57- and in Google Drive - 45:22), posting it to Google Classroom (50:47), and giving students a share link to resources (51:56). I know this is a lot of work, but please know that you can reach out to me at any time with questions you have or enlist my help in making your document(s).
Making Resources Available Offline
It is probably easiest to save all resources needed for your lessons in a folder titled "eLearning for ______" (be specific with your name) and then share the share link with students through Google Classroom. Students can then download just that particular folder and not have to download each individual file. For this to work well, however, you will need to have a good naming scheme. For example, if you teach 3rd grade, you might put "eLearning 3rd Grade" as the main folder. Then within that folder, you might have 4 sub-folders (Math, ELA, Science, and Social Studies). As you reference your materials in your slideshow, you could tell them where to find the resources (for example, "Math -- Video 2"). Please see the video below to see this in action!
This video walks you through adding resources to a Google Drive folder as well as getting the "share" link.
Training for Distance Learning
Google Teacher Center
Ditch That Textbook
Think Projects and the 4 Cs
Instead of having students complete daily lessons, allow your students to compile their new and old knowledge into a project! Projects allow students to showcase the 4 Cs - Creativity, Communication, Collaboration, and Critical Thinking - while giving them voice and choice! Students can show what they are learning in a variety of ways. Below are some programs to consider allowing students to use. While the sites I list do require the internet, students can create similar products offline using pencil and paper or GSuite apps like Drawings, Slides, and/or Docs. Just create a rubric or guideline as to what is expected, and give your students opportunities to be creative with their learning!
Videos
Making informative videos is a breeze with WeVideo!Students can upload their own images downloaded from sites such as PebbleGo or Animal Kingdom or choose from over one million images and video in WeVideo's library. They can then add music, narration, and titles and share their final videos to Google Drive making it easy to turn in! We have 2,000 licenses to this software, so if you're interested in giving your students access, just shoot me an email!
There are other videos platforms students can use - from Screencastify to Videolicious. Just let them know you want a video, and let them choose the program.
Websites
Students can use Google Sites, Weebly, Wix, or Adobe Spark to make beautiful, professional-looking websites about whatever topic of study! Students can collaborate on Google Sites, so you could potentially have them "partner" in their studies.
Books
Using Book Creator, Storyjumper, or Google Slides (share a template if needed), students can research a topic, synthesize that information, and share it with others! These sites also allow students to collaborate on their creations! Even better, physical, printed copies of these digital books can be purchased by parents.
To learn more about the 4 Cs, please visit this site: What Are the 4 Cs of 21st Century Skills?
Google's Applied Digital Skills has ready-to-use lesson videos for remote learning for middle and high school. Check it out!
Presentations
Students can use Google Slides, Prezi, Haiku Deck, Piktochart, Keynote, Nearpod, create a Google Expeditions...the list goes on and on! And with tools like Screencastify and WeVideo, they can record a screencast of them presenting the information, running through the slides, and narrating it!
Animation/Coding
Using Scratch or Scratch, Jr (an iPad app), students can give their projects life by animating them! An engaging and challenging activity, students will have to think creatively and use block-based coding.
Infographics/Posters
My two favorites for creating infographics are Piktochart and Canva. With wonderful visuals and the ability to share your creations, these sites are great tools for creating posters and other visuals. Students without internet could use Google Drawing or Google Slides.
Resources to Consider for Delivering Content
Create (or find from a huge library of lessons and edit as needed) interactive lessons and presentations that are self-paced. Keep your students engaged by adding in virtual tours and little pieces of interactivity, such as "draw your answer" , "poll students", and short videos. Nearpod is offering access to their program for those affected by the Coronavirus shutdown. Click here to learn more
You can get free digital access to the entire platform of Breakout Edu for the duration of the Coronavirus pandemic. They have also put together some on their Fun at Home site. You could also create your own. After students go through a few, you could have THEM create THEIR own! Breakouts are lots of fun and are great ways to teach and/or review content.
Quizizz offers free gamified quizzes for every subject to play in class and at home. Pick an existing quiz from millions of teach-created quizzes or create your own for review, formative assessment, and more. By assigning as "homework", students can complete at their own pace and practice again and again to try and get the highest score in the class!
Newsela is offering free access to Newsela’s entire product suite for the rest of the 2019/2020 school year. This includes Newsela ELA, Newsela Social Studies, Newsela Science, and Newsela SEL! With Newsela you have unlimited access to more than 20 genres of content at 5 different reading levels. You can view their Remote Teaching Toolkit here. They even have a template for a 10 day unit plan here!
EdPuzzle allows you to find videos on the web, or upload your own creations, and add interactive elements within the video. In this way, students aren't passively watching a video, but are actively engaged in answering questions throughout. The video can be rewound as needed so that students can find their answers. Click here to view a blog on how to use their awesome platform for remote learning.
Scholastic has put together a series of articles for students to explore on their site scholastic.com/learnathome. This is a great site for students to explore and for you to find great articles to use in your lessons!
Discovery Education allows you to choose from thousands of vetted, high-quality resources that adapt to and complement your teaching practices, including videos, images, interactives, reading passages, podcasts, and more. All content is ad-free, carefully curated, and segmented by grade level to help find exactly what you need. Many of these resources can be downloaded by students for use without internet.
BrainPop has over 1,000 short, animated videos to help teach topics in Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology. They are offering their entire platform free of charge for as long as schools are closed due to COVID-19. You can sign up here. They will email you a product key to enter. You will then create a username and password to share with your students, so be sure not to choose a password you might typically use! You can view lesson plans and ideas here.
Want your students to complete a research project? No internet? No problem! Go to SCDISCUS to find excellent articles that can be downloaded to student devices. Save all PDFs in one Google Drive folder to make the downloading and finding of these resources for students as easy as possible.
The extension Screencastify allows you to record your screen (and your webcam if you want) while you speak. You can work out problems using apps like Activinspire on your laptop or websites like jamboard. You could also have a presentation and narrate as you go through the presentation, whether it be Google Slides, ActivInspire, or any other presentation software. Currently, you can only video for 5 minutes at a time. If this is an issue, you might consider using WeVideo's screencast ecording feature (email me for a WeVideo license - click here to view directions on recording your screen). With both screencastify and WeVideo, videos are automatically save to Google Drive and are therefore easy to share with your students. Click here to learn how to record with Screencastify!
Connecting with Students
Google Meet
Google has created a page with helpful tips and tutorials on how to teach remotely with (and without) video calls, how to make lessons accessible to all, how to engage students, and how to keep in touch with other educators. Click here to access the site.
Google Voice
Creating a Google Voice account with a personal Google Account (not your school one), can allow you to give a number to parents and students for easier communication. It will not reveal your actual phone number. Teachers and students can also send messages to this number!
Padlet
Students can add text, images, and videos to a shared Padlet wall. You have the ability to moderate those posts so nothing is posted without your permission. This could be a great way for students to "see" each other, and to ask questions that you can answer for all to see.
Flipgrid
Flipgrid is a free, simple way to foster short video-based discussions on classroom topics. Students can respond to questions posed by you - and you can edit the amount of time they are allowed to speak! Click here for more information on how to quickly get started and for some tips on engaging students and families during this prolonged closure.
Seesaw
Seesaw is a student-driven digital portfolio and simple parent communication. Students can add video, images, text, upload files, and narrate from any device. It's a great way for students to "see" each other during this prolonged closure while giving you full authority over what is posted. Click here to view their "remote-learning resources."
You can post announcements to the stream. You have the ability to mute students as needed. You can leave private comments on their assignment tabs. You can open their current work and leave comments and feedback. You can email all, or some, of your students from the people tab. There's s many ways to communicate through Google Classroom! Learn more here.
Reading Resources
Story Time From Space is an initiative from the Global Space Education Foundation, and features astronauts reading STEM-related books while floating around in the International Space Station! Check it out here!
Please be careful about creating and posting your own read-alouds. Several authors and companies have granted permission to do so, but they have pretty strict guidelines, such as what you need to say at the start of your video and your promising to delete it by June 20. Be careful you are not breaking copyright! While we want to read to our students, we need to be sure to model good digital citizenship. This site provides more guidance. If you do post a video, I encourage you to keep it to where only students can view (Google Classroom, private social media groups, Seesaw, etc.)
Computer Science Resources
What better time to give students opportunities to learn about their digital footprint, cyber-security, and coding skills than now? Even if you do not make these requirements, they make wonderful resources for students to explore during "free time".
Interland
To make the most of the Internet, kids need to be prepared to make smart decisions. Be Internet Awesome teaches kids the fundamentals of digital citizenship and safety so they can explore the online world with confidence. These resources are for everyone, and are designed to best serve families, educators and kids. Interland has been particularly well-received by kids ages 7-12, but can certainly be enjoyed by older and younger kids, too.
Scratch or Scratch, Jr. (app) has some pretty easy, fun tutorials that allow students to play around with block-based coding.
Code.org
Code.org has created a page with links to several activities students can do at home to learn code! Click here to view.
Tynker has given us 1,000 licenses to use with students! If you are interested in letting your class learn to code with these self-paced, fun lessons, shoot me an email, and I can add you as a teacher, giving your students access.
Others Worth Mentioning
I know I've thrown a lot of resources at you. If you feel like being adventurous and exploring more, those listed below are worth checking out!
Find Even More Resources
There is an overwhelming number of companies offering their services free of charge for a limited time to those affected by the Coronavirus. Please click here to view them. If you are interested in trying any of these with your students, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I'm happy to help! The South carolina Department of Education has also gathered a list of resources. You can view them here.
