Educator Remote Learning Resources
The following are some best practices to apply when adapting your content for hybrid and remote learning:
Be organized – develop detailed, high-quality distance learning lessons/assignments with simple and clear directions and rules for students that address course standards/benchmarks while balancing online learning, volume of work assigned and student/teacher interaction.
Set norms and expectations and communicate regularly with parents and families regarding expectations and student progress.
Use a single learning management system/platform that supports easy access and integration of different learning assets such as polling, screen share, chat, raised hand and breakout rooms, etc. Only use systems and platforms that are district approved (Google Classroom and Canvas).
Give regular, timely constructive feedback.
Emphasize individual academic pacing.
Observe established office hours during the regularly scheduled workday that include, but are not limited to, communicating with and providing feedback to students, facilitating synchronous/asynchronous lessons, or answering student questions.
Encourage student reflection and collaboration.
Limit screen time — research suggests a simple rule for figuring out how long children can stay focused: Multiply the child’s age by 2 to 5 minutes. So, if a child is 4 years old, he or she will be able to focus for 8 to 20 minutes, maximum. The other factors of attention include a child’s cognitive, language, and motor-skills level.
If possible, use a mix of synchronous and asynchronous learning — long lectures do not work well in online teaching.
Asynchronous vs Synchronous Learning
Synchronous learning experiences happen in real time with learners engaged concurrently. Examples of synchronous experiences include whole group activities and discussions as well as small group project check-ins. Effective synchronous learning experiences require a video conference tool, such as Zoom. Most video conferencing tools support video chat, participant text chat, and screen sharing. Meetings can be recorded, and with certain versions, can host “breakout” rooms where a large class can be separated into smaller sections to facilitate group work among students. Roane County Schools uses Google Meet (preferably) to host synchronous learning.
Asynchronous learning experiences happen over a period of time with learners interacting with content and completing assignments at their own pace, on their own schedule. Examples of asynchronous experiences include instructional videos, online coursework, and digital assignments. While asynchronous experiences can be delivered through email communications, most educators rely on a Learning Management System (LMS) to organize their digital classroom. Google Classroom, with its easy-to-use interface and G Suite for Education integration is what we use as a school district. We also use Canvas.
Video Conferencing Tips
Activate closed captions. Google Meet offers this option. Visual learners, novice readers, and ELLs will benefit from hearing and seeing your words.
Break larger classes into smaller video chat cohorts. For example, a teacher whose 35-student class meets from 11-12:30 may meet with half of the students from 11-11:45, and the second half from 11:45-12:30.
Avoid the lecture format. As with flipped learning, “face time” may be better spent going over instruction that students have already received.
Adapting to Teaching Online (ie. How to Do the Same Things Remotely!)
