From Classroom to Virtual Learning Tools

Teachers all over the world are planning to teach in some sort of virtual or hybrid model. I am really thankful to be a part of such a supportive group as educators pull together to share resources, tips, and tricks in such an uncertain time.

While in school I was fortunate to have a 1:1 Chromebook access. I took full advantage of this great fortune and used Chromebooks almost daily. Last spring when were were thrusted into to the unknown I was fortunate to be able to use many of the digital resources I already used in the classroom. I do not think I can measure the value of the consistency this created for students.

Our school chose to use an asynchronous learning model. This meant I had to learn how to effectively record lessons. Although not required, I chose to also provide live lessons and support with video chat and text support.

Here is how I coordinated asynchronous learning for my students:

From in the Classroom to Online

Nearpod

I am so thankful I found Nearpod during my first year of teaching. Nearpod is so much more than a slide presentation tool. It allows for activities, lessons, and assessments to be delivered to each child and sent back to you in an instant. This allows you to formatively assess your students during live lessons with instant review options, so you know whether to move on, present new information (add an activity), or move on with assistance to a few. You can also design lessons and assessments for students to work on at their own pace which you can check using Nearpod reports.

I had built a Nearpod lesson for every section of every chapter. Nearpod has transformed my classroom into an engagement powerhouse. I build my activity slides with cooperative learning strategies built in as a reminder to me and also so there are written directions for my visual learners and for my distracted learners.

Nearpod Draw It slide with Cooperative Structure

Nearpod allows you to add timers to prompt students to get right to work. We review work as a group with the share feature.

The way I designed my Nearpod lessons, I would have had to recreate every lesson to contain all of the lesson information needed to use asynchronously with student-pace. That is because I built my lesson so I could deliver the information. With video chat I use Nearpod the same way as always. I recorded lessons on how to do skills, then posted them. I used Nearpod as a presentation tool to guide the lesson. It keeps the format consistent for me and the students. I taught by drawing on the screen as I recorded.

This summer I took the steps to become a Nearpod Certified Educator. I plan to continue to learn new tips and tricks for in class and virtual learning. Read about the benefits of Nearpod or check out the other posts about Nearpod (and Math).

Google Classroom

While still in the classroom, I used Google Classroom to post class links, resources, and weekly homework. I have a Google classroom for each different class period. Sometime last fall I started posting the homework assignments for the week on Monday. I would have to modify it from time to time, but students knew to look at one post for all of the week’s information. What a weird circumstance that this would become the standard for the spring- one post for the week's work. With our asynchronous learning the week’s assignments were posted in one post. I don’t think that Google Classroom needs to be your go to classroom resources. Whatever you choose, select a resource you can use the same way in the classroom and virtually. For smooth transitions, consider modifying your in class process to mimic how you might function virtually and vise versa.

Big Ideas Math - Online Math Book with Online Assessments

I was very fortunate to have a curriculum that has an online platform that we used multiple times a week for assignments and tests. You would think that would mean that students were prepared to log in at home, but thanks to the amazing password saving tools on Chrome there wasn’t a single student who remembered his/her login information. On the last day of school I walked the 80% of students in attendance through the process of identifying their username and password, writing it down, and taking a photo of it. I had students share the photo and type the information on a Nearpod presentation so I had easy access to the information for their inevitable request (Big Ideas has an annoying password reset option- I can not see passwords). This access came in handy.

If you have any say in curriculums, books, or programs I would say the future is in finding resources such as Big Ideas that are online. I used to think the benefit was that it was helping students learn to work on computers and prepare them for online testing. While that is true, the true benefit revealed itself when we were able to transition to online learning with the same tools, same features, same actions. Hopefully, the benefit of all of this hardship is that we can invest real funds into providing computers for in-class and at-home use for every student.

I know some teachers who have Chromebook access, but have not found ways to use them regularly while in the classroom. If there was ever a time to learn ways to integrate them more regularly, it is now. If we find ourselves in schools in September regular Chromebook use will help prepare students for when we find ourselves working at home.

Online Additions

Video Call with GoogleMeet (not a fan)

As we entered uncharted territories of online learning I leaned heavily on Google tools. One reason is because they are already available within our school accounts or easily added. I thought GoogleMeet would be a super easy to use tool that would fulfill my expectations for meeting with students virtually. GoogleMeet just did not do it for me. While I used the tool for the duration of the spring it was more so to keep things simple and consistent for my students. I plan to pursue the use of Zoom or another service if I will be teaching virtually in the fall or ever again.

The one downfall with Google Meets is the ability to view all of the students at once. I even installed an extension, but it did not work as stated or consistently. In addition, I could not always see my students’ videos instead it would show their login icon until I clicked on it. One feature I look forward to with Zoom is the ability to make “break out” rooms were students can work in small group while on a call as a larger group. Another plus is that Nearpod has just added a feature that allows you to create a live lesson and Zoom video call with one process.

ScreenCastify

I was totally prepared to continue teaching live lessons using video calls and Nearpod. That was not in the plans for my district. I suppose even if we chose to do that, I would need to provide some asynchronous lessons. Early on our admins shared the video recording Chrome extension ScreenCastify.

This is where the real learning curve came in. Not so much in using the tool. That is super easy. There was a lot to decide for designing the lessons. At first I recorded full lessons. The thought was to provide the same information at home as in class. As a department we decided to reduce video time down and provide multiple short videos for each skill to encourage viewership. It seemed to make sense, but one regret I have is that we really did not do due diligence in assessing the student preferences and needs. We really made a lot of assumptions. To compensate I provided as much support as I could. I posted the posters that were on the walls of the physical classroom to Google Classroom. I held live video chats for assignment help and virtual live lessons. I followed up with students who scored low and provided students with the option to text me for help using my Google Voice Account. Read more about why I used Google Voice to communicate with parents and students.

An example how to video with ScreanCastify, my writing tablet, and Web Paint:

Tools for Recording with ScreenCastify

On Screen Writing Tablet

In the classroom I used a writing tablet to write on the projector screen. This allowed me to write step by step how to do a math problem as I explained it. It did not take long for me to become frustrated with trying to write on the screen with the mouse while recording videos and providing help. In addition, every video was filled with the sound of my mouse clicking as I drew and talked. I convinced myself to buy a writing tablet even though I was still unsure how long I would be teaching from home. It is the best at-home teaching tool I purchased. I have no regrets. Here is the one I purchased on Amazon:

I used a bluetooth writing tablet at school. If you are looking to add a writing tablet for home and school I recommend a wireless one. That will allow you to move around the room as you teach. XP-PEN seems to be a highly rated option on Amazon. Here are a few writing tablet options, including a wireless option:

Write on Your Screen with the Web Paint Extension

During video calls I would share my screen with students. This included lesson material or problems from an assignment. To effectively teach and to help students during calls I needed a tool that allowed me to write on my screen. I found the Chrome web extension WebPaint. I even preferred WebPaint over the ScreenCastify writing tools and used the tool when recording video.

Feel free to share some tips or tricks you use in the comments below.

#VirtualLearing #TeacherResources #Favorites

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