Teaching Online or Remotely

Synchronous Classroom Sessions

Relationship building is paramount. Since many people are isolated from one another during the pandemic, a considerable number of people are experiencing some form of mental trauma. It is crucial for teachers and teacher candidates to be the champions of the learning process through such trying times. What follows are some suggested activities to conduct with learners during synchronous sessions in order to build relationships and establish a rapport. 

Establish Expectations and Digital Citizenship Practices

• Each video conference software has a particular interface with different features. During the first meeting, review the interface and its functionality (how to mute audio, how to turn off video, how to enter text into the chat interface, etc.)

• Communicate synchronous times to learners well in advance so they can prepare the home environment for their session.

• Ask students to mute their audio when they are not sharing. This will ensure there is no interruptions because of background noise.

• Ask students to be respectful of everyone in the virtual session (both instructor and other students)

• Ask students to avoid overusing the chat feature or other video features that may distract the class.

Develop Routines & Expectations

• Take attendance (Idea: Share a Google Form link in the chat feature and ask students to click on it to provide their name and answer a short anticipatory question about the upcoming lesson.)

• Communicate what materials or tools they will need during the session. (This is best done before the meeting.)

• Conduct brief microlectures with students, but elicit engagement every few minutes. (Every Pupil Response, Q&A, Thumbs-Up/Down, Breakout Room Discussions)

• Share notes or a summary of a session in case a student misses the session.

• As confidence develops in your class, ask students to take over for a short period of time and teach the class. 

• Create an exit ticket for the session (Idea: Use another Google Form, a Google Slides deck, or a Kahoot to provide conduct formative assessment)

Social Emotional Learning

• Do not lose patience if technology fails you or a student. Come up with Plan B.

• Conduct an interest survey to become familiar with student interests, passions, hobbies, etc. . Use the results of these questions to create your own questions to ask students as they join the virtual session (developing relationships). 

• Encourage sharing. 

• Instead of a mass exodus at the end of the session, conduct a Q&A for each student. After they answer a clarifying or debriefing question about the session, they may leave the session.

Digital Learning Tools & Strategies

Google Drive & Applications

With a Google Account, you get 15 GB of storage for free. Storage gets used by Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos, so you can store files, save your email attachments, and back up photos and videos. Create and collaborate with others. Share documents and files, build out spreadsheets and make a presentation on the fly with Docs, Sheets and Slides apps.

Google Docs features smart editing and styling tools to help learners easily format text and paragraphs. They can also choose from hundreds of fonts, add links, images, and drawings. Google Docs is ideal for student collaboration. Students or student groups can create and share stories, reports, notes, or projects. 

Google Sheets is ideal for collecting and representing data in spreadsheets. It makes data pop with colorful charts and graphs. Built-in formulas, pivot tables and conditional formatting options save time and simplify common spreadsheet tasks. Google Sheets is fantastic for collecting data and creating graphs in math or science.

Google Slides makes ideas shine and flow with a variety of presentation themes, hundreds of fonts, embedded video, animations, and more. Teachers can share lecture content using a neat, attractive slide deck, or, they can provide a slide for each student to participate and share content on in real time.  A new feature allows audio files to be uploaded to each slide (for narration). 

Google Forms allows users to create surveys, polls, or quizzes with numerous question options (multiple choice, dropdowns, short answer, linear scale). Developers can add images and YouTube videos, or get fancy with page branching and question skip logic. Responses to the surveys or quizzes are automatically collected in Forms and can be displayed as a spreadsheet or graph.

Google Drive Directions and FAQs

HyperDoc

A HyperDoc is a digital, hyperconnected document—such as a Google Doc or Microsoft Word Doc—where all components of a learning cycle have been pulled together into one central location. Within a single document, students are provided with hyperlinks to all of the resources they need in order to complete a learning progression.

Example #1: Immigration

Example #2: 50 States Digital Roadtrip

Many HyperDocs follow this basic formula that takes students through six steps of a learning journey:

In Engage, educators must hook learners and engage them. They must make sure to activate their students' prior knowledge. Some suggestions include using an anticipatory set,  video clip, interactive website, or audio recording. In Explore, educators link resources such as videos, documents, or articles for students to explore for more information. In Explain, educators clarify the learning objective for their learners. This is where you could teach a whole group lesson , small groups, or add additional resources for students to explore on their own. In Apply, educators must share what they want their students to create to demonstrate their learning. Make sure to give clear, concise instructions for the task(s). During Share, educators provide a way for students to share their work and receive feedback. In the Reflect stage, learners must pause for reflection (whole class, think-pair-share, etc.) or link them to a digital way to share their thoughts. Finally, Extend provides learners with extra activities, additional online resources, or an additional challenge to extend their thinking.

Whiteboard.fi

Whiteboard.fi is a simple tool that can be used instantly. By creating a class and letting students join, everyone will get a digital whiteboard.  As a teacher, you will see all your students' whiteboards in real time, so you can follow their progress. The students only see their own whiteboard and the teacher's. Whiteboard.fi is an instant formative assessment tool for your classroom, providing you with live feedback and immediate overview over your students.

Whiteboard.fi How-To Video Introduction

Khan Academy

Khan Academy offers practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom. The topics include math, science, computing, history, art history, economics, and more, including K-14 and test preparation (SAT, Praxis, LSAT) content. Khan Academy focuses on skill mastery to help learners establish strong foundations, so there's no limit to what they can learn next.

TeacherTube

Although YouTube is a wonderful resource for video content, TeacherTube seeks to fill a need for a more educationally focused, safe venue for teachers, schools, and home learners. It is a site to provide anytime, anywhere professional development with teachers teaching teachers. As well, it is a site where teachers can post videos designed for students to view in order to learn a concept or skill.

Vocaroo

Vocaroo is a service that allows users to create audio recordings without the need for software. You can easily embed the recording into slide shows, presentations, or websites. Great for collaborative group work and presentations.

Asynchronous Courses in Higher Education: Enhancing Quality and Accessibility

Overview of Asynchronous Courses (AC)

Asynchronous courses offer the flexibility needed by students who juggle work, family, and education. They allow students from diverse backgrounds, such as the undergraduate CAUS students in the NDMU Cohorts at Montgomery County, to participate in higher education despite their busy schedules. Current results of NDMU surveys.

Data Inquiry

• • How many asynchronous courses are currently offered?

  • What is the student demand for these courses?

Faculty Perspective

• • Insights into faculty views on asynchronous courses can be found in our recent survey.

National Trends

• Asynchronous learning is increasingly popular, reflecting a democratic approach to education where more students can participate regardless of their personal and professional commitments.

Pedagogical Considerations for Asynchronous Courses

• Philosophy: Good pedagogy remains paramount and transcends the mode of delivery—be it online, in-person, or hybrid.

Course Design

• • Each course should have clear objectives and directions, enhancing the internal cohesiveness and clarity for students.

  • Modules should be well-structured with specific goals for each week.

Teaching Methods

• • Traditional Assignments: Well-suited for essays and research papers with diverse feedback mechanisms.

  • Audio/Visual Projects: Students can utilize platforms like Bright Space to create or import multimedia content, enriching their learning experience.

  • Flipped Classroom: Incorporate pre-recorded lectures and external resources like TED Talks.

  • Community Building: A welcome discussion board for introductions and consistent communication helps build a community.

Assessment and Feedback

• • Detailed rubrics for all assignments including discussion posts.

  • Timely and thematic feedback to encourage deeper engagement with the course material.

  • Alternative and arts-based assignments supported by digital tools like Flipgrid.

Instructor Interaction

• • Optional synchronous meetings via Zoom or phone.

  • Regular office hours, for example, daily from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM, to foster student-teacher relationships.

  • Flexibility for students to attend sessions later, accommodating unforeseen personal commitments.

Resources for Asynchronous Course Design

• Quality Matters provides comprehensive frameworks and standards for evaluating course quality. Access the QM Rubric directly here.

• In-house tutorials and trainings are available, including SOE training accessible here.