Wondering how to manage your digital classroom with ease? You’re not alone. We’ve only been back to school for a week and y’all: this virtual teaching thing is HARD! Ten years in and I’m feeling like a first-year teacher all over again. The coronavirus pandemic has forever changed education and, as a result, our methods of teaching. Here’s what I’ve learned so far:
Establish class norms and procedures.
You know how we teachers repeat rules and regulations for a solid month in person? You’re going to do that every. single. day. with remote learning. Whether on Zoom or a breakout room, you’ll have to continually remind kids how to be respectful digital citizens.
On that first day of virtual classes, have your students come up with what they feel is necessary for a successful work environment. Video on or off? What’s appropriate attire? Chat enabled or not? These ground rules can be ironed out via a Microsoft Teams meeting with Whiteboard or via a shared document in OneDrive.
Establish communication norms and procedures.
Boundaries are a good thing! We need them now more than ever. This one I learned from remote teaching in the spring: families (kids and parents alike) will contact you at all hours of the day (and night) on every and any platform they possibly can. It gets overwhelming really fast!
Decide how and when others should contact you. Pick a platform or two and stick to those. Personally, I use Microsoft Teams with students and ClassTag with parents. Anyone messaging me before/during contractual hours can typically expect a response by end of that same workday. Emails and messages sent after hours get returned the following day. Honor your time and respect the office hours set!
Teach the tech you’ll be teaching from.
Shocker: kids these days aren’t as tech-savvy as we’d like to think! It bothered me so much this March when students couldn’t figure out how to submit an assignment online, but could use Snapchat and TikTok like their grades depended on it. Just because this generation grew up with tech galore, doesn’t mean they know how to use all of it.
Spend a few days allowing kids to familiarize themselves with their school computer or iPad model. Teach them how to create a text box (and also how to change the font, size, and color of that text) and download classroom resources. Assume nothing. In fact, if you’re going to assume, assume your students know nothing.
You’ll also want to teach students how to communicate by email or chat. It is an essential 21st-century skill they should know how to execute professionally. Some of the messages I receive do not identify the sender, leaving me to play detective. Similar to letter writing, students should use an appropriate salutation, grammar, mechanics, and tone.
Begin with the end in mind.
With distance learning, time is of the essence. You won’t get through half of what you think you will. Prioritize what really matters in a lesson. Students online lose interest and daydream twice as fast as they do in person. Account for distractions, connection issues, tech support, brain breaks, etc. Instructional time online is limited! Decide ahead of time what you’ll do with what little time you have.
When all is said and done, have grace! Remote learning is tough: for you, for kids, for parents, for admin. Try not to stress over any one thing too much. Roll with the punches. What would you add to this post to help other educators manage the digital classroom with ease?
