Ed Tech Integration Corner

Hello again, from the Ed Tech Integration corner of the JRCoE! Almost six months ago, I hoped the magazine found you all healthy and safe. I never imagined that sentiment would be even more timely now.

 

As I write, my students are preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving and a return to fully online learning after the holiday. By doing this, we hope to arrest some of the spread of COVID-19 that might happen with so many people traveling home and returning to campus. As the semester is almost over for OU, this should not be much of a disruption, especially as many students have spent most of the semester in some type of online learning. But for many K-12 students, the unknown continues. Many schools have gone back to fully virtual as the number of cases continues to grow, and some schools keep trying to provide some face-to-face schooling – with and without masking and distancing protocols. 

 

To say this semester has been “challenging” for educators and students at all levels would be an understatement. 

 

Back in June, I asked, “How do educators meet students’ physical, emotional, psychological needs through an online platform – or when those students do not have access to technology (except for a phone)?” As a collective, educators continue struggling to answer this. We don’t have any extra funding, but online school has added extra duties – many, many extra duties. 

 

As educators and students hit new levels of exhaustion (we just thought “standardized testing fatigue” was the ultimate level of tiredness), educators have also increased their willingness to share ideas and resources with each other. I thought I would share some of the innovative, interesting, engaging and fun ideas from educators across the country. Many of these ideas are meant to help create relationships and build community. Without a relationship, teaching and learning become even more difficult. 

 

I don’t know about the rest of you, but for me, the hardest part of online learning has been getting to know my students as learners and as people, helping them get to know me and each other, and trying to build relationships so I can understand what each of them needs from me to help them find success in my class. 

 

Another aspect I’m grappling with is how to teach and engage students in an online environment. In this area, I’m like a first-year teacher again (instead of having the confidence of my 17 years of experience). 

 

I’ve done some things well this semester (thanks to creating some connection with my students and them extending grace), and some things have been a failure (I’ve ended up lecturing WAY more than I like). However, some of those mistakes/failures have been humorous and provided teaching moments. Like the time I meant to share my screen on a class Zoom and instead I clicked “End” to end the call. I immediately hopped back on, as did they, and I jokingly blamed Zoom. Always blame the technology!

 

The first idea I’ll share is the Bitmoji classroom. Let me first caution anyone who uses this: 

1. It can never be a substitute for real connections with students.
2. Be thoughtful with what you include on each slide. Too much can be a distraction from learning and/or be confusing for your students.
3. Provide clear instructions for how students should interact with your classroom.
4. If a student uses a screen reader, the tool will not be able to read what you put in your classroom unless you use “alt text.” If you aren’t familiar with alt text, it is simply typing a brief, specific description of any images used (like memes or GIFs) so the screen reader can read the text describing the image. It makes your presentation –  or wherever you use the image – more accessible to more parts of our society. It’s something I need to get better about doing. Here is some help from Harvard University: https://accessibility.huit.harvard.edu/describe-content-images

 

I began the semester by asking students to make a short intro Flipgrid video and making a one-slide Bitmoji classroom in a shared Google Slides. I used the same Slides presentation with all three of my classes so all students could see each other’s choices. I created an example and used one slide for directions. Students included a QR code to their intro Flipgrid. Using a phone or iPad, I could scan the Flipgrid QR and get an augmented reality (AR) version of their video. For next semester, I will require more interactions between students, but the assignment turned out really well and was a fun way to begin learning about my students.

 

Here’s a 10-minute tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTcIxEfeDig

 

This is an article from Edutopia about Bitmoji classrooms, including examples and ideas: https://www.edutopia.org/article/educators-turn-bitmoji-build-community-and-engagement

 

How about some cute ideas to inspire your classroom: https://rootsandwingskindergarten.com/2020/07/10-ways-to-use-your-bitmoji-virtual-classroom.html

 

Finally, here’s a Bitmoji virtual locker idea from my friend Michelle Waters (founder of Rethink ELA and a graduate student at OU): https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1gHcLwvBXzV66BA8TTSbirqkSot-nSiuhDo_RcCtOefw/edit?usp=sharing

 

If you like this, please go to “File” and “Make a copy” so you can modify it for your class.

 

Let me share some other resources that may help you. For any Google Docs, please make a copy. 

 

Over the years, I’ve pulled many resources from Cult of Pedagogy. Here are “9 Ways Online Teaching Should be Different from Face-to-Face”: https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/9-ways-online-teaching/

 

One of my Twitter friends shared this as his beginning-of-the-year, community-building activity: https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1wHr2s7_xvbInzmnicaYGWsEZqApw6e2Sg6M560YE0pc/mobilebasic

 

Another Twitter find – it has several ideas for community building that can be modified for many different grade levels: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_MoAyWab4ruzz4bqm0mEhdI8g05A8DEXO6okdwaxqsk/mobilebasic

 

If teaching elementary students in-person is like herding cats, I can’t imagine what it would be like online. So, elementary teachers, I found something specifically for you! Middle and high school teachers, feel free to modify these ideas – they look fun!

https://catlintucker.com/2020/08/engage-elementary-students-online/

 

I have followed Larry Ferlazzo on Twitter for years (@Larryferlazzo). Back in March, he compiled a list of online learning resources. It’s nice to have several vetted options in one place; it saves you having to Google.

https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2020/03/28/all-the-best-lists-related-to-supporting-teachers-in-the-age-of-the-coronavirus-in-one-place/

 

I did two days of professional development for a school district this summer and shared this resource with them. It is 15 pages packed with ideas and hyperlinked apps and websites. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bIJcEauDl_eK12mIM1GPPu9KPVn15zJn7jv3GM5GSP4/edit?usp=sharing

 

With the future still so unknown, I hope what I’ve shared can help alleviate some of your stress. Ultimately, remember that standards and ideas of students “being behind” are arbitrary. People created those, and people can change them. And let’s be candid: it’s past time educators really considered reimagining how we do “school” because as it is now, we are not equitably educating ALL of our students. Too many people have been adversely affected by this pandemic for me to look for a silver lining, but I do think educators can use this as a catalyst for much needed transformation in our schools – and maybe our society.

 

So, focus on taking care of yourselves, your families and your students. Relationships and caring for each other will get us through this pandemic. 

 

If you have any questions about any of the resources I shared, feel free to email me at jennwillteach@ou.edu.