Embedded Files
"No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship." Dr. James Comer
What do relationships look like in distance learning?
What do relationships look like in distance learning?
Just like when we are face-to-face, relationships with our students matter a lot! As always, building and maintaining relationships with students fosters trust and inspires engagement. Learning is often a social process, which is why fostering relationships is such an important part of creating successful and rewarding distance learning experiences.
It is, without question , much more challenging to relate to students without the benefit of social and non-verbal queues. That is why educators need to be thoughtful about how to build and maintain solid, active relationships with students online. Without quality relationships, students may feel isolated and "wander off".
The need for strong attention to personal interactions with students, setting clear expectations, creating routine, and providing opportunities to socialize with peers becomes far more significant when distance learning.
Learning effectively online can be as difficult for students as for teachers. Modeling humility and humanity go a long way toward connecting with students. Students can benefit greatly from seeing their teachers be authentic and making mistakes. This shows students that they do not have to be perfect.
As you navigate this section, think about what community looks like to you and what may be some ways that you can create community in your online classroom.
Resources
Resources
Creating a Sense of Instructor Presence in the Online Classroom: An exploration of the three dimensions of presence and how to design for them.
Encouragement for Online Learners: Authenticity, Connectivity, and Creativity can help to make meaningful connections.
Essential question: How can key relationships be developed and sustained in a distance learning environment?
Learning Goal 1: Be Fully Invested and Authentic
Learning Goal 1: Be Fully Invested and Authentic
Be present and be yourself
Be present and be yourself
One of the most important factors in keeping students interacting is when we, as educators, stay fully present and show our personality. If a student is assigned a lesson and then hears or sees nothing from their teacher, he or she may be inclined to be minimally engaged, or even wander off. Think about creative ways to keep students thinking about the content. How might strategies, such as using Google Classroom's Question or Poll (Quiz) feature, creating a teacher video, or starting a provocative discussion serve to keep students thinking about the content and responding to teachers and peers? What other creative ideas could serve this purpose?
Use video
Use video
Students feel more connected when they can see and hear you. It is not necessary to be a professional movie producer. Just take a little time to prepare and then wing it! Use a quick video to reach out to students to say hi, ask a question, provide a reminder, or even entertain them a little bit. Students tend to appreciate when teachers show they are human. Tell a quick story, let your pets show, or otherwise be yourself.
Be the Lead Learner
Be the Lead Learner
Students and teachers are all learning a new way to work. Try new tools and strategies and share your learning process. Don't be afraid to show students how you learn. Not only will you be demonstrating courage and humility by letting students see you before you are the expert, but the process can be a good opportunity to let students do the teaching, or for the group to collaborate on solutions.
Prioritize Presence
Prioritize Presence
Make it a priority to show students that you are present and respond promptly, particularly at the beginning of the semester/year. Frequently checking in with students shows that you are paying attention. Look for opportunities to praise and encourage whenever possible. Students will be more responsive knowing that the teacher is always paying attention.
Resources
Resources
Guide for Creating Instructional Videos : Being present via original videos that include your face as well as your voice is part of relating with students. This article from Edutopia provides some basics for creating your own videos. The emphasis is on short in length and being yourself!
Video: Teacher Created Videos for Online Learning (3:13) These are examples geared toward a younger audience, but the point is universal. They are authentic, short, focused, and fun.
Video: Building Rapport With Your Students (2:20)
Tools you can use!
Tools you can use!
There are many tools already at your fingertips which can make any video idea possible. These tools range from very simple to quite robust and all are already available online or right on your district owned devices. Here are some of the many options:
Use the camera on your phone or iPad
Quicktime - record your screen with your voice, your live camera or just your audio on any Macbook
iMovie - record or import video and use many advanced editing tools to jazz it up
Explain Everything - record or import video, photos, add drawing, arrows, shapes, websites, and all sorts of other goodies
Touchcast Studio - Free on App store and in Self Service for students, TouchCast has a built in teleprompter so you'll never forget what you wanted to say. It also features a whiteboard, adding photos or other objects, and auto green screen (backgrounds even when you don't have the green curtain)
Screencastify - Google Chrome Extension allows recording yourself and/or your screen a breeze
Loom is a website and a Chrome Extension which can record from your camera and your screen for free. Loom is easy to use and your videos look classy, so you look like a pro!
Learning Goal 2: Create a Classroom-Like Community
Learning Goal 2: Create a Classroom-Like Community
Whether the classroom is actual or virtual, students benefit from classroom norms. Classroom routines that may be used in the actual classroom, such as greeting students at the door, bell activities, and exit slips may look very different in the virtual classroom, but are no less important. There are many ways to incorporate these routines in the virtual classroom too. Planning check-ins, having students share out, or posting a daily prompt could be good methods of creating routine and connection. What activities may compel students to communicate with a peer partner or small group? It is not important that all of the virtual classroom norms are academic as light-hearted connections are also key to engagement.
Google Classroom
Google Classroom
Gaining familiarity with all of the features of Google Classroom will help to facilitate an effective, organized, and engaging virtual space, which can serve as the students' hub for both information and connection. Enhance your classroom environment with apps that integrate with Google Classroom.
Social spaces
Social spaces
Consider building in a social space for students in your virtual learning space. Moderated socializing can be done in the Stream right in Google Classroom or in a simple virtual space such as Padlet. Google Groups are part of the Google Apps suite and can also be used to create moderated discussion forums.
Social breaks during video meetings
Social breaks during video meetings
Plan a little time at the beginning or end of a class video meeting for social time. Start a debate, ask a social question, or try an ice breaker activity. Having social time during a video conference can make students feel more relaxed and positive, reduce feelings of isolation, and improve communication.
RESOURCES
RESOURCES
https://www.edutopia.org/article/extending-classroom-management-online
https://www.pbs.org/education/blog/5-virtual-ways-to-build-a-classroom-community
Learning Goal 3: Plan for Supporting Students
Learning Goal 3: Plan for Supporting Students
Online learning requires skills that in-school classes may not. Having to manage time without a bell schedule, finding resources and work submission protocols, and as well as adapting to new communication methods are just a few of these adaptations students will need to make when distance learning. It is not surprising that some of them may become confused, fall behind, or even stop communicating.
It is a good idea to anticipate what students may be experiencing and plan how to best support them. Also consider that students may experience problems not anticipated and having a support strategy in these cases will also come in handy.
Plan Support Strategies
Plan Support Strategies
Below are some strategies that may be incorporated in your plan.
Provide instructions in both video and text
Involve parents in communication early on
Communicate to students the procedure for getting help
Be available and respond quickly
Jump on a video call as the quickest way to help
Have regular office hours for students to "drop in"
Proactively check in with students
Set a welcoming and understanding tone
Use Data
Use Data
Collect data from wherever you can to see what the trend may be for a student. Try the Google Classroom grades tab to view a grid showing the status of all assignments and students. Your school may also have data on whether students have connected in other classes. Perhaps you use tools, such as DreamBox or IXL, which show information on student access and progress. Any data you find can help to identify patterns and intervene, if needed.
Create Documentation
Create Documentation
Take time to save time by adding and maintain a frequently asked questions resource to your website or Google Classroom. Documenting common problems and solutions will allow students to help themselves. There is never "extra" time to document problems and solutions, but taking a few minutes to do this anyway, will pay off when it is no longer necessary to provide support for the same issues over and over.
Discussion Board
Discussion Board
Find an interactive space for students to post questions and respond to each other. Teachers can moderate and contribute to these conversations when needed. There are many tools for available for students to collaborate remotely, but a thread in your Google Classroom or a Google Group for the class would suffice.
Get Feedback
Get Feedback
Use a variety of methods to collect feedback from students. Feedback can be as simple as sending an email to touch base or asking the whole class a question in your Google Classroom. Using a Google Form, or "Quiz" as they are called in Google Classroom allows you to collect a variety of responses (multiple choice, text response, or rating scale) right into a spreadsheet that you own. Consider a daily 2 minute check in form. Collecting feedback from students may clue you in to important student perspectives which will allow for more responsive support.
RESOURCES
Please complete the Module 3 video exit slip before moving on to Module 4.
Please complete the Module 3 video exit slip before moving on to Module 4.
Flipgrid is an excellent and intuitive tool to measure student understanding. It can be used for many other purposes as well. Here is a great resource to get started if you want to start using it in your classroom. When you select the exit slip button below, choose "sign in with Google" on the Flipgrid login page.
Page updated
Report abuse