Distance Learning Resources
Teachers together are currently working in an unprecedented educational environment navigating and mitigating the differences between distance learning and face to face instruction. The structure of digital communication and relationship building is multifaceted and can present unique challenges. Availability of and access to digital resources highlight the importance of streamlined educational design. As students live through this pandemic, the role of empathy, compassion, and flexibility is fundamental within the classroom environment. With that said, this post is meant to help support educators jumpstart building their distance curriculum in a thoughtful, directed way.
To start (if time permits), create a Twitter account and start following teachers in your area, both geographically and content. I follow thousands of teachers worldwide and they have become a safety net and sounding board for questions, worries, or issues. Here are some people that I follow both locally in Utah and farther afield:
Alongside following other educators, consider following companies or EdTech organizations that your school/district uses. The big three are typically Google (follow @GoogleforEDU), Microsoft (@MicrosoftEDU), and Canvas (@Instructure). However, your district might also have access to online tools like WeVideo, Flipgrid, Adobe, etc. Check with your school/district tech department for more information on if and how you can use these tools. Following them on Twitter can give you a good starting point for product usage. Twitter is an excellent platform for idea-sharing and will help you build a resource network that you can continue to utilize as you build your distance curriculum.
Next, set up your Learning Management System (LMS). Even if your school does not have readily available access to student computers I would still recommend setting up an LMS. It gives you as the teacher a way to build your units and explore how you want students to learn sequentially, which will help you stay organized. The first thing you will want to do is see which options are available to you as a teacher; there are lot of options nationwide, but most fall into three large options: Google Classroom, Canvas, and Microsoft Teams. Google Classroom is free with any Google account and has an easy set up and build time. It allows users to add content in units and then arrange those units with assignments, quizzes, questions of the day, and materials. Also you can communicate with students via the Stream and add them via a class code. Canvas is great for long term units and learner driven learning. There are a lot of embedded options for adding videos, course content from other instructors via Canvas Commons, establishing units in a set structure, and working with and monitoring students’ work throughout a period of time. Microsoft Teams allows for compiling resources into units, meeting with students via a video call, and a variety of other great tools. Personally I have little experience with Microsoft Teams, so I defer to the #etwinz, Alberto and Mario Herraez, on this topic. Check out their guide to distance learning via Microsoft Teams here.
After choosing your LMS and getting the initial content set up, the next step is to decide how to stay in contact with your students. Although you could utilize email to communicate with your students, video and audio are great options for teachers to connect interpersonally. I know it can be daunting filming a video or recording your voice for a student, but it helps students to see/hear their teachers and it helps to normalize the digital classroom experience. Here are some suggestions for creating video/audio:
Online Voice Recorder: If you are new to audio recording, this is perhaps the simplest and easiest way to get started. The site is a single click to start; it records off your computer microphone or webcam. When you are finished you click the red stop button. Then you can trim your audio from either end to get rid of any pauses. Finally click save and it will download as an MP3 on your computer. Then you can add it to an email, LMS, or anywhere really to share with your students. If you want to make it even simpler, using your own cell phone you can record your voice and email it to yourself.
Adobe Premiere Rush: In Utah, we have the #CreateUT initiative via Adobe and therefore have access as secondary teachers to all Adobe products. Adobe Premier Rush is an app that allows you to record video off your phone and then edit it into a video that can be share via email or Youtube. It is a very simple program and makes it very easy for teachers to build something great for their students. Another option, just like Online Voice Recorder, is to use your cell phone to record a video and then share it via email, LMS, or Youtube.
WeVideo: This is a paid subscription, but it does have a free license that many teachers can sign up for. WeVideo allows teachers to create great looking videos and podcasts via its completely online interface. You can record through a webcam and/or screen capture using it as well. It is a very powerful tool - check with your district to see if they have purchased licenses for teachers and/or students.
Flipgrid: This is an online platform/LMS that runs completely on video. Teachers can record videos and post them to an LMS and add students via a short code. Students are then able to record a video response back, share ideas, and quickly respond to different questions and ideas between students and teacher. It is owned by Microsoft, but some districts in Utah have not approved full use yet. Please check with your school/district tech team before using it with students.
Canvas Conferences: If your district/school uses Canvas, it has a built in tool for creating conferences with students. It can be for an individual student, a group, or a whole class. Any post you make on Canvas can also be recorded as a video inside Canvas.
Creating videos/audio can help students normalize the digital learning situation and promote social/emotional health during this difficult period.
After lining up your video/audio platform, start organizing and putting together assignments that help students engage while learning your state core curriculum. Here are some great content ideas for educational support:
Google Applied Digital Skills: Building content from the ground up can be extremely time consuming. However, Google’s Applied Digital Skills units allow students to learn about a variety of subjects from elementary to higher education and all the units are editable and sharable with students. My personal favorite is the Resume assignment.
Future Design School Facebook Group: Future Design School is one of my favorite resources for innovative education and design thinking. They just launched this group as a resource for teachers and parents to help ease the transition to at home learning.
Author List by Dr. Neil Gupta: List of authors who have given consent to have their books read aloud online to students affected by COVID-19. The impact can be very powerful when we can read to our students from books that they love.
Nearpod: This amazing resource allows teachers on a free account to create interactive slide decks with activities. They can then see how students perform on embedded quizzes, activities, and tours. I use this in my classroom for Climb to The Top and it was well worth the price.
Libby or Sora: A great thing for students to do over the next few weeks would be to just pick up a book and read. Libby is an app for most libraries nationwide and allows people to check out ebooks or audiobooks with a library card. At my school we use the Sora app to share books and stories with our students. Check with your school’s librarian or district tech department to see which app your district uses.
Libravox: Libravox provides free, open source audio books created by the community for out of copyright novels, short stories, and poem. Definitely worth checking out for resources.
Smithsonian Learning Lab: With a free educator login, teachers can create shareable collections of objects from the Smithsonian Museums about any topic or subject area. I made one last month on Animal Farm and it only took a few minutes. Definitely worth checking out.
BreakoutEDU Free Games: BreakoutEDU has free online games for a variety of subjects/content areas. They do not require a login and most take anywhere form 30 minutes to an hour.
National Parks Service: The National Parks Service has hundreds of pre-made lesson plans for teachers in most content areas. In just a few minutes of exploring I found several lesson plans for English Language Arts that worked perfectly for my classroom.
Desmos: For Math and Creative Arts, this is a great tool that teachers can use to create a collection and send to students. It has graphing and calculator options that many teachers would find incredibly helpful. Check with your school/district to make sure that students are allowed to use it.
Gilder-Lebrman: This historical society has hundreds of lesson plans about a variety of subjects in history. Also they have an ever growing collection of primary sources that teachers are allowed to examine online.
TinkerCAD: This is an online creation tool for 3D objects, but it also has tools for learning coding and building knowledge of spacial reasoning. Teachers can create a coded classroom to share with students, but before using please check with your school/district to be sure it meets your local student data privacy laws.
Google Earth: Now completely Chrome-based, Google Earth recently added tours around the world. Teachers and students can easily create location based tours for books, famous historical locations, sites of scientists or phenomena, etc. If you students have a Google account, they can save and share their tours via Google Drive.
Using Google Sites or other Blogging Tools: Creating and posting content, whether writing or data, photos or videos, can be a powerful exercise for students. This can be a good starting point as students get into it pretty easily.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of other ideas out there. To ensure a streamlined student experience, spend some time thinking about what you would like to have your student accomplish in class and find a resource that helps them do that. Do not discount Youtube or social media as a place to get ideas or sharing platforms, as these can also be beneficial educational tools when used appropriately.
Finally, as a last aside, remember that the current global situation is difficult for both students and adults. Personally, I am looking for ways to do core lessons in my classes while being flexible about the amount of work required. Students are going to need time to process and cope with the changing world. Try to find a healthy balance within your classroom that fits your student population and community. Utilizing empathy, compassion, and flexibility, is paramount at this time. This goes for teachers to - If you need help with digital content and distance curriculum I am happy to help. Email me at matt@teacherwinters.net or on Twitter @TeacherWinters. We are all in this together!
