Ying Wu, Ethical Culture Fieldston
Ying Wu teaches the upper school division at Ethical Culture Fieldston School where Chinese language classes are offered to students starting from 6th grade. Her students are mostly non-heritage speakers. Most of her students have access to computers and internet. If a student does not have a computer or access to internet during the remote learning phase, they can contact the school for help.
Her school uses G Suite including Google Meet and Google Classroom. All synchronous sessions are conducted over Google Meet. Classes were asynchronous for the first one and a half weeks of remote learning. Then turned synchronous. Each of her classes met twice a week for 70-minute class periods. However teachers were not required to teach the full 70 minutes.
She shared a two-part Edpuzzle lesson: 《中式网课》1 《中式网课》2. In the lesson, students will read notes and answer video-based questions while watching the video. She also shared her E-book project made by Chinese language Students from Level 5 and Independent Study.
She also shared her presentation on the experience remote teaching in spring and an example online classroom guide 《网课指南》for her students.
What worked well during remote teaching? What could've been improved?
Before the synchronous sessions started, I sent students a survey to check whether they had headphones and printers at home to help me differentiate and accommodate students' tech needs. For the first synchronous lesson, students were introduced to online classroom guide, which explained what they needed to do before and during synchronous lessons. For instance, students who have headphones should wear them to avoid noise in background. Students can install Google Meet Grid view if they would like to see everyone in Google Meet; however, when I am presenting my screen, students should turn off their Grid View and pin on my screen so that they can see my shared screen clearly. Additionally, students were introduced to useful language for remote learning so that the classes could stay in the target language.
During the remote learning phase, the structure of my classes was clear and remained similar to regular classes, which gave students a sense of normalcy. Each class started with a Do Now activity, which had been uploaded onto its Google classroom before a class started. Then it was followed by a mini-lesson and other activities. Students had one or two five-minute breaks each class. I used the full 70 minutes for each class; however, because of the combination of different activities and breaks, students were able to stay engaged. I also gave students clear instructions so they understood what they were expected to do.
Going over PowerPoints during mini-lessons could be challenging even when it was discussion based. I plan to break the mini-lessons into smaller parts and make it more interactive in the future. I would also like to explore and add more students to students interactions.
Useful Resources - Educational Technologies
Key words: Padlet, Quizlet Live, Quizizz, Google forms, Kahoot, Jeopardy, Peardeck, Edpuzzle, Voicethread, Bookcreator
Padlet was mainly used for Do Now assignments in my classes. I gave students a discussion topic and asked students to type down their responses on Padlet and then asked volunteers to share their answers. In this way, each student could participate.
Quizlet Live was used to help students review vocabulary. Quizizz, Kahoot, and Google forms were used as class activities to assess how well students learned the new materials and to identify which areas they needed to work on. I also used Google form for Do Now activities. For example, I inserted a Youtube video in a Google form and asked students to answer several questions after watching the video. What I really like about these platforms are I can see students' answers immediately so that I can adjust the lessons and students can get immediate feedback.
Peardeck is a Google Slides Add-on. It can make your PowerPoints interactive.
Jeopardy is not easy to play during remote learning; however, it is doable. In addition to the main Google Meet room, I also created breakout rooms so that each group can discuss their own answers separately.
Edpuzzle is a great EdTech for creating listening materials. When I find a great video that I would like students to watch on their own and to answer the questions based on the video, I use Edpuzzle.
Voicethread is a great platform for speaking practice. You can also use it for speaking assessments.
Bookcreator is a wonderful platform for students to create their own e-books. For the final assessment, I asked my students to create their own e-books and then I shared them with the school community. Students in the future can read those stories as well.
Lesson Idea - 中式网课
E-book Project
网课指南
网课指南 Online Classroom Guide_Ying Wu.pdfYing Wu_Teaching Chinese In The Remote Era.pdfSuggestions, tips, and comments for other teachers
Key words: quality over quantity, tech familiarity, and reach out for help
My suggestion is do not expect to cover as many materials as usual. It is more important to keep students engaged and to focus on the quality of teaching and learning instead of quantity. Teachers need to be fair but also flexible, understanding, and supportive because students might be experiencing different kinds of challenges. It is also important to get familiar with all the EdTech tools you are going to use in advance. For some platforms, teacher's interfaces are different from students' interfaces.
One thing to remember is you are not alone in this remote learning exploration. There are different workshops you can attend and there are many people you can collaborate with or ask for help.