Lean In to Learn On
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My boys have been attending school via e-learning for a total of five days now. There have been joys, successes, frustrations, and tears. As an educator, I spend every free second I have thinking about what I can do to support colleagues near and far as they attempt the herculean task of transitioning to online-learning with only a moment’s notice. As a parent, I watch my first grader and pre-kindergartener attempt to negotiate the new normal; sometimes celebrating liberations and other times longing for the way things were just six short days ago.
With that in mind, I’m going to do my best to post suggestions here as often as I’m able. I will aim for brevity as I know life requires it right now. If something sparks an interest or raises a question, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I will do my best to respond and support in a timely manner.
The first suggestion I offer as we attempt to (re)construct education in the face of a pandemic is this: Lean in to learn on. While there may be a natural desire to reproduce the school day students were accustomed to just as recent as last week (and in the beginning this may actually be helpful), the demands placed upon our households leave us ill-equipped to accomplish this task. Instead, lean in to students’ interests to learn on throughout the days ahead.
Ask students to create a YouTube video about how to complete a task they would like to teach others about. [Note: They don’t actually have to post it on YouTube if school ipad permissions won’t allow this. They can send it to you to be uploaded later.] Kids love YouTube and they tend to speak the language rather fluently: “Hello YouTubers, today I’m going to…”
Challenge them to use the internet to learn something new about a topic they are interested in. Break the research project into daily chunks and use FlipGrid (see below) as a reporting tool.
Invite them to produce a short video reviewing a book they've read, game they’ve played, or movie they’ve watched that was meaningful to them in some way.
Incorporate learning tasks that do not require screens. (Examples here.)
Provide simple “assignments” that involve getting outside. A nature scavenger hunt, chalking the sidewalk with a kindness tattoo, blowing bubbles of hope for the neighbors to see.
Use menus to offer them choice when and where you can.
Lean in to the learning found in everyday tasks to help parents remember we are teaching by simply inviting our child(ren) to participate in life under quarantine.
Teach kids how to do laundry, vacuum the floor, load the dishwasher, and sort the garbage from the recycling.
Invite them to prepare breakfast, lunch, or dinner for the family.
Make a family recipe together.
Take a walk together through the neighborhood (maintaining safe distance from others, of course). Draw a map of the neighborhood upon return. Plan the next trip. Grow the map.
Provide parents (especially those with early elementary students) with tools to support learner independence.
Links and passwords. Compile a list of the links and passwords (if needed) students will need to begin e-learning tasks. Send this as a single, readily accessible document.
Math Manipulatives. Include printable copies of manipulatives to support mathematical learning (i.e. base 10 blocks, pattern blocks).
Permissions. If operating outside of google classroom but making use of google docs, set the share settings to include parents’ e-mail addresses as well. This enables parents to print the document (and linked files) if necessary.
And, yes, lean in to what students were familiar with just a short time ago. Utilize technology (Epic, Xtra Math, IXL, ST Math, etc.) to continue systematic learning, but don’t expect kids to spend their entire day in front of a screen. They need time to breathe and be away from technology, too. Especially now.
The second suggestion I have for educators is to consider utilizing FlipGrid as a technological platform for discussion between classmates. FlipGrid is a free web-based tool that allows teachers to post questions and have students respond to them in video format. Other students can view a classmate’s response, offer feedback, and/or raise a follow-up question. In this sense, it simulates peer-to-peer interaction around a learning topic.
Benefits:
FlipGrid allows students to see and hear one another, but does not require everyone to be in front of their computers or tablets at the same time. Given the demands parents are facing as they juggle working at home and managing the education of their child(ren), reducing the number of fixed-time sessions lessens the burden without removing the opportunity for children to see one another, hear one another, and learn from each other’s ideas.
FlipGrid allows students to stretch their understanding of children’s literature, mathematical problem-solving strategies, or scientific hypotheses by incorporating their peers’ ideas too. Discussion is a vital element of learning across all grade levels/disciplines and can be difficult to accomplish via e-learning. FlipGrid approximates an exchange of ideas without every learner needing to be at the same place at the same time.
FlipGrid includes Microsoft’s Immersive Reader which enables students to have text read aloud. This is especially valuable to English language learners as well as emergent, early, and transitional level readers.
FlipGrid offers curricular resources for educators. Examples include:
As week one of quarantine draws to a close at our home/school we have learned a lot. We have a deeper appreciation for educators, classmates, neighbors, grocery store workers, farmers, doctors, nurses, bus drivers, restaurants, and governmental leaders. We organically came to understand the role of “time outs” in a non-punitive, but restorative way. And, we have a greater knowledge of and appreciation for one another. Yes, it has been a challenge. But through that challenge we have learned.
Lean in. Learn on.
Sending thoughts of support to everyone.
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To get started with FlipGrid, visit their website (https://info.flipgrid.com/) and set up an educator’s account.
This guide is useful: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzZGEfOtEWqPcGUzcFd2RzRjYTQ/view. Pages 3 - 6 will get you up and running.
There are also“Getting Started” videos for educators and students. They can be found at the bottom of the webpage linked here.
If you’d like to try FlipGrid out from a student’s perspective, click here: flipgrid.com/hoody5033.
A few logistical tips:
In order to ensure that your students can easily access the grid, use the edit button (pencil icon) to add e-mail handles the grid will recognize. This can include school e-mail, g-mail, outlook, etc. Scroll to the box with the heading ‘Add or edit your school email domain(s)'‘. If you do not have all of the possible e-mail handles included, students will receive a message indicating they do not have access to the grid.
Go slow to go fast. The shift from face-to-face learning to online learning is demanding for everyone. Taking the time to build skills gradually will pay off down the road.