Tips for running asynchronous classes

Attend to Netiquette: provide a quick skills lab on netiquette rules of communicating in online learning spaces.

Attendance. How will you take attendance? What constitutes “present”?

Keep Posting Daily Updates to either google classroom or Remind or whichever communication solution you have chosen , including: the agenda of what is expected to be completed ; links to resources, notes, slide decks, and copies distributed to students , screencasts of lessons and lectures whenever possible.

Empower Students: Three and Me- Ensure every student has at least two other classmates they can call in case they need assistance or need additional information. Set up a separate online discussion space (Classroom, Edmodo, Schoology), etc for them to hold these discussions. be sure to moderate that space. Student should understand netiquette rules.

Teacher Hosted Virtual Classroom: Students are very adept at video conferencing. If you are offering that option, remind them to be plugged into a power source and to make sure they are on a wireless connection and not using their mobile device minutes. Teachers may choose to set up a virtual classroom so that many students can join. Create a meeting in Zoom and post the link or meeting code to your LMS . For support hosting a zoom meeting, please see tutorials.

Loop In The Counselors: School counselors are the “point people” to make sure teachers and other stakeholders (student life, nurse, coaches, etc.) are aware if a student has special requirements, even while learning from home. Many LMS solutions offer the ability to add a co-teacher.

Screencasting is Your Friend. Try to screencast your lectures and reviews whenever possible and post the link to your LMS. You can do this real-time in your class to use for future classes, or alone, while you prep for class. Screencasts work well for many purposes, not just a lecture or tutorial. Consider screencasting your feedback to student work, or screencasting a model or sample (i.e. art project or lab).

Preload Resources. We use a wide range of resources in all our classes. Preload handouts, instructional materials, guided notes, links, etc. into your LMS in a materials section. That way, if a student is attending remotely, he or she will have access to the materials you are distributing in person. Don’t forget about the white board. If you use the board extensively in your lessons, take a picture at the end of the period and post it to the LMS. If you have a physical copy that doesn’t yet exist in electronic form, you can take a picture of it (using your iPad or phone), or create a PDF using an app like Scannable. Again, this is more work up front, but the resources can be used by both groups of students. You may save yourself a trip to the copier!

Assessments. Assessments with online students require some careful planning. It may be that students learning remotely cannot take the same assessments as those in school. Traditional assessments can put remote students in a tricky position where a quick Google search makes cheating both easy and tempting. It’s our job to create a learning environment that sets students up for success rather than for a moral dilemma. You can always create two different types of assessments. You can create collaborative tests using google forms, individually assign assessments in your LMS (with randomized test questions, one take only, and limited time windows for taking). If you set limited time windows, remember that accommodations still apply. Students with learning plans will need online accommodations just as much as they need on-ground accommodations. You may also choose to give everyone an alternative type of assessment for this period of time (long-term project based learning, for example).

Check in points. Figure out how you are going to check in with your virtual students. How can you do this virtually? Do you want students to email you or give a thumbs up in the remind app? Could they respond daily in a discussion board? The goal with these checkpoints is both to ensure students are following along and to share the responsibility of building and caring for the learning community with the rest of the class. It is essential that you check in with the remote students at least twice a week to see how they are doing and so that they do not fall through the cracks. If students are slipping behind, please notify the counselor, who will follow up with the family and loop in the appropriate administrator if necessary.

Flexibility. As teachers, we know how to adapt. Start thinking of what is most essential for student learning. Some of your existing expectations and policies may not serve students in this unique moment. Please approach late and make up work with some flexibility while students and/or faculty are asked to stay home. Teachers should work with the student and the counseling office to devise a plan for student work and recovery. Also, though many of our families have access to the Internet and computers, it may not be constant and there may be expectations that students share computers with family members. You will need to work with each student, trusting that they, too, are doing the best they can.

Schedule. What's the schedule? This is useful even if there aren’t any synchronous classes being held. It gives kids predictability. You are not scheduling a full day, you are scheduling the most critical assignments your students need to complete.

Administrators. How do administrators how to walk the halls of a digital school? Invite them in as co-teachers in your LMS, send them screenshots of student achievement and stay in contact. There must be some measure of accountability and support for students and staff. Decide what the school will record and who will have access.

Screen time. Think creatively about what students are doing/working on so they aren’t glued to a screen for 8 hours each day. Alternate with items they can read and listen to. Engage them with hands- on learning components that can be completed at home.

Set Expectations. Clarify expectations for students/families, including attendance, participation, work load, communication if absent, etc.

Tech Check. Clarify expectations for home technology requirements. Who will be at your school to assist with tecjh questions? The students need to know how to contact that person.

We thank Sacred Heart Prepatory for these excellent suggestions, we have taken the liberty of editing where necessary.