Preparation

Preparing To Teach Online:

• Choose your Learning Management System (LMS) e.g. Google Classroom, Teams, Seesaw and your video conferencing platform (Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams). Use them consistently.

• Make sure that you have all necessary passwords at home with you (your passwords and student passwords).

• Change your Mindset - Don’t think about what you can’t do in the virtual setting, think about all the new opportunities that the virtual classroom can offer.

• If you haven’t taught online yet, partner up with a class from within your school. You can show students the basics of using a video conferencing platform. Do simple activities with your “partner class.”

Preparing a lesson:

• Be consistent in the layout that you use for assignments

  • • Learning goal in the same place

    • Number the actions in a checklist

    • Avoid using too many competing visuals

    • Use accessible icons (search for icons that have embedded descriptions) This is ideal for students with low vision and students using screen readers.

    • You may consider using a larger font and reducing the amount of material per page. (Hodnett, 2020)

• Whenever possible, post lesson outline ahead of time (include videos and questions to preview). (MOSD, 2020)

• Post daily schedules in the same place so that they are easy to find. (Reckdahl, 2020)

• Encourage students to keep their daily schedule and all links for the day on their homepage for easy access. (Reckdahl, 2020)

• Ensure that lessons contain the elements of effective instruction (clear explanations, scaffolding and feedback, building on prior learning and assessing understanding etc.) (Education Endowment Fund, 2020)

• Avoid sending out work that involves multiple steps or clicks to retrieve (and submit).

• The activities should be delivered using the appropriate adaptations and modifications that are outlined in the student’s Individual Education Plan. (Education Endowment Fund, 2020)

• Provide frequent breaks during and in between teaching periods. Be mindful of listening fatigue. It is increased when listening through technology. Use of visuals can help counter listening fatigue. (MOSD, 2020)

• Use multiple means of representation to access content (images, video, audio, slide shows, diagrams, etc.) (MOSD, 2020) Create word webs of verbal material by using Padlet or Jamboard. (Hodnett, 2020)

Careful Consideration:

• Students are increasingly connected to screens and the internet. Whenever possible, consider careful lesson planning providing opportunities for students to disconnect, keeping a balance between on screen and off screen educational activities. See the effects of hyperconnectivity and the target age groups here. (Pause, n.d.)

Classroom Organization

To reduce background noise:

• Use headphones

• Mute mics

• Use guidelines for sharing ideas (raise hand feature, use chat, etc.)

• Be mindful of sources of noise (fans, open windows, etc.)

• If background noise is consistently a problem:

  • You may have to change teaching locations

  • Use an app to cancel out background noise. (App suggestion: Krisp)

  • Updated Zoom settings offer an option to reduce background noise. Click here for a video on updates. Jump ahead to 11:00 to view the segment on reducing background noise.

Use the chat box strategically:

• Provide an overview of the lesson in the chat box (a concise list)

• Provide important points in writing (due dates, review of concepts, etc.)

• Assign a note-taker for the lesson.

  1. 1. • They post important points in the chat. At the end of the lesson, copy notes from the chat, paste in a document, share with the class through the communication tool.

        • Zoom offers a setting which enables you to automatically record your chat. At the end of your Zoom session, you receive a link with all information that was posted in the chat.

(MOSD, 2020)

To reduce distractions for students in the home environment, encourage:

• Consider individual check-ins with students to determine how they learn best and what can be done to improve their home learning environment (Reckdahl, 2020)

• comfortable seating

• adjusting screen glare and lighting

• working in a quiet spot (consider noises from appliances, other people, and outside)

• reducing/eliminating technology-based distractions (close other apps, turn off alerts, cover distractions on the screen with sticky notes)

(ASHA, 2020)

Metacognition and Self-Regulation Strategies

Support students to work independently through the teaching of reflecting on work

• • Provide strategies to use if they get stuck

  • Provide checklists and daily plans

  • Chunk assignments and set due dates (Morin, 2020)

1 ½ minute video on Metacognition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZrUWvfU6VU&feature=emb_logo

(Spencer, 2018)

Keeping Track of Time and Schedules

• Encourage students to set reminders on their phone to keep track of class start times (Reckdahl, 2020)

• Use a visual timer to help with time management (Morin, 2020)

Providing Instructions

Explicit instructions

• Model with clear explanations

• Verbalize the thinking process

• Provide opportunities to practice

• Provide feedback

• When introducing a new topic, provide the big picture first and then provide the details. (Reckdahl, 2020)

Alternatives to providing only written instructions:

• Have a student be a designated reader

• Audio/video recordings of the teacher reading the instructions (may also be used to review)

  • You could try Google Chrome Extensions such as; Mote or Talk and Comment

• Encourage the use of text-to-speech for written instructions

Alternatives to students taking notes:

• Audio/video recording of the teacher (regular recordings or screen recording such as screencastify)

• Use web captioning (available in Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams)

• Encourage the student to use voice typing

Highlighting important information on PDFs:

• Use the highlight tool in Google Docs (add-on)

• Kami

(Morin, 2020)

When giving instruction:

• When speaking, say your name first and have your camera on. It will provide non-verbal communication cues (facial cues, etc.)

• Encourage the student to use headphones. This causes direct audio input.

Use a quality microphone and camera.

• Ensure that students can see your face clearly for lip reading. (lighting/shadows). Do not use a virtual background.

• It is important to note that when you share your screen, the speaker’s face becomes smaller. This may make communication more challenging.

Use captioning (Zoom and Google Meet have captioning in the main toolbar options).

• The captions can help you monitor your talking speed by watching how fast the captions come out.

• If a pre-recorded video is uploaded to YouTube, students can use the Closed Captioning tool. It is also possible to view the captions in various languages. See video below.

(MOSD, 2020)

Scaffolding

Use manipulatives:

• • Consider sending home physical manipulatives in an “emergency kit”

  • Provide paper/printable manipulatives

  • Use virtual manipulatives (such as Didax)

Writing:

• Use graphic organizers and sentence starters

(Morin, 2020)

Reading:

• When students are reading online, encourage them to write down a key idea for each paragraph. Hashtags with a few words make this strategy more fun. (Reckdahl, 2020)

Checking for Understanding

Check for understanding regularly.

• Use “wh” questions or repetition.

• Provide more processing time by pausing regularly. Consider chunking information. This may help alleviate breakdowns in communication caused by technology and distance learning.

(MOSD, 2020)

Offer various ways for students to show what they know through

• Video or audio recordings

• If possible, offer one-to-one conferences with students

For online discussions consider using:

• Use Google Docs to collaborate (participants' cursors are anonymous)

• Flipgrid - to allow to students to respond by video

(Hodnett, 2020)

Engagement

To Increase Engagement:

• Interactive Presentations (Pear Deck and Nearpod)

• Flipgrid to allow student to internalize learning

• Boom Cards or Quizlet to allow students to take control of their learning

• Offering intentional choices increases engagement and attention

• Encourage students to use their cell phone to log on to online sessions. Students can walk and attend class, increasing focus.

• Encourage use of sensory tools to increase concentration during online learning (pipe cleaners, rubber bands, beaded bracelets, clay, handball, paperclips, etc.)

• Use a kitchen timer to break up tasks. Use the Pomodoro Technique. (Work for 25 minutes, take a five-minute break, continue this cycle)

(Reckdahl, 2020)

To encourage student participation throughout the lesson:

• Incorporate current events (Suggested for Gr. 4 and up). This may include global or local events. Students can present an event, provide the facts, and their opinion.

• Use social media trends/videos as icebreaker activities.

  • Salut Bonjour (French news) provides "Meilleur du Web" every Saturday morning.

• Ask students to talk about themselves. Use prompts such as where they would like to go on vacation, what they are watching on Netflix, etc.

• Allow one or two pets to attend your lesson. Schedule the visits to break up your lesson.

• Incorporate riddles into your lesson plans.

• Check-in with students by asking them how they feel. They can express this in the chat, verbally, through sketching out their day, or song lyrics.

• Encourage debates (Gr. 6 and up) by using a controversial (but appropriate) opinion or by using the "Change my Mind" meme. (Makennah, 2021)

• Strategically plan in activities (above) and/or movement breaks.

To capt attention:

• Try turning the student’s camera off (if he is looking at himself and it is distracting)

• Specify what to look at (you, the image on the screen, etc.)

• Try using distractions as allies (the stuffed animals become part of the audience or can be asked a question)

Consider delivering your instructions through a video (Watch this 2 min. French video on a flipped classroom).

• The students prepare at home by watching a video.

• Classwork becomes social and revolves around discussions and working through problems. This allows for targeted instruction.

Retrieved from: UDL Guidelines Cast.org

Flexible Groupings

Use Breakout Rooms to allow for small group learning. This will allow students to ask questions and complete assignments with teacher support.

Provide a sign-up option or “office hour” times each day/week so students or parents can ask for help, ask questions and get support. (Learn Quebec, 2020)

(Hodnett, 2020)

Dividing students into small groups for writing instruction:

*Some options may require you to ask students for their choice a day before, allowing for preparation time.

To ensure that every student has a writing goal.

• • “What are you making sure that you are doing today?” The students can choose a skill that they feel they need practice with.

  • Provide a “How-To” choice board. Example: How-to get started. Students can sign-up to try a strategy.

  • *Students can select from a list of pre established writing goals.

  • *As a teacher, you can host and post seminars for students to sign up for.

    • All the above groupings can be done by having a student select a sticky note, type their name on the sticky note and slide it to their choice. Click here to view Jamboard examples.

    • Click here for an example of how you can use Google Forms to group students into the seminar of their choice.

Once students have chosen a goal to work on, they can work independently (offline) and you can meet with small groups of students.

(Meehan, 2020)

Assistive Technology

New tools should be introduced in a low-stakes way

• Do not attach a grade to the first assignment when a student is using a new tool. Allow them to practice.

• Keep the content light.

(Hodnett, 2020)

Instead of reading (if decoding is not being assessed) provide:

• Audiobooks

• Text-to-speech (Word Q, Immersive Reader)

(Morin, 2020)