When schools first closed for me, on March 14th, I felt listless and drifting. I came across the poem below, “Things to do in the Belly of the Whale” by Dan Albergotti
Measure the walls. Count the ribs. Notch the long days.
Look up for blue sky through the spout. Make small fires
with the broken hulls of fishing boats. Practice smoke signals.
Call old friends, and listen for echoes of distant voices.
Organize your calendar. Dream of the beach. Look each way
for the dim glow of light. Work on your reports. Review
each of your life’s ten million choices. Endure moments
of self-loathing. Find the evidence of those before you.
Destroy it. Try to be very quiet, and listen for the sound
of gears and moving water. Listen for the sound of your heart.
Be thankful that you are here, swallowed with all hope,
where you can rest and wait. Be nostalgic. Think of all
the things you did and could have done. Remember
treading water in the center of the still night sea, your toes
pointing again and again down, down into the black depths.
It described my feelings perfectly. As the months progressed, and the reality that the coronavirus would not be going away quickly, I realized that school in the fall would be enormously different from anything I had ever done, and I threw myself into learning as much as I could about tech tools, virtual platforms, and best practices for virtual instruction. The result is that I find myself quickly pulling myself out of the belly of the whale, at least mentally, while social distancing measure are keeping me, my family, friends and community safe in our homes.
Growing up, I would draw an image below my name of a car plus the word “in”. Because my name is pronounced “car-in”. Yesterday I came across the tshirt icon making the rounds on social media for Kamala Harris:
Instantly, I feel a kindred spirit. Finally, not only a woman, child of immigrants as VP nominee, but also someone who likely has lived with countless mispronunciations of her name just as I have. Does she also mispronounce her name when ordering take-out so that it’s at least spelled correctly? I have a cousin who uses a completely fake name at Starbucks in order to avoid the chaos of explaining to someone how to spell and pronounce her name. Sometimes it’s just easier.
But as a teacher, it’s completely unacceptable for me to mispronounce student names. Students and staff alike talk negatively about teachers who cannot be “bothered” to pronounce names correctly. I know that as a student, some of the responsibility lay with me–sometimes it was just too much effort to correct a teacher. I always ask my students to correct my pronunciation, and tell them about my history, but sometimes they don’t bother because, well, it’s the beginning of the year, trust isn’t there yet, and why make the effort if the teacher isn’t going to remember? My super smart friend Nicole shared this article with me, in which N’Jameh Camara urges us to shift the narrative from labeling names as “hard names” to “this name is hard for me,” and owning the need to learn how to pronounce everyone’s name.
As we approach the November election, I wonder how often Kamala will be mispronounced by newscasters and individuals, and then I wonder how much I’ll notice, as I mostly read these days rather than watch the news. Which of course, is why I’m so late to learn that her name is “comma-la”.
Blog Mentor Text
As a mentor text, I’ll want my students to know the following
I wrote this in about 15 minutes, but developed my ideas the day before.
That I didn’t plan organization or structure, mostly because this is a conversation that I’ve had before, and am just now documenting it with new information.
That I thought about including a scenario of my son mispronouncing my name, so researched whether Kamala Harris has children. She has stepchildren, and I wasn’t sure the scenario would be parallel, so I left it out.
How I found, saved and uploaded the comma-la image, and how I created the car+in image in Google Draw.
How I added a hyperlink to the article.
Then I’ll ask my students how I could revise the post for clarity, interest and effectiveness.
Scavenger Hunt via Google Form and argument: I just did a scavenger hunt. Made the kiddos find 5 objects, enter them.i to a google form. Then, they have to create an advertisement using only those 5 items for a made.up product. I am seeing on day one already 1. Who can navigate what 2. Who can follow directions 3. Who has access to what 4. We reviewed how to give feedback, what it looks like by watching younger kids who made commercials for products 5. How to use persuasice language by watching 2 infommercials 6. If kiddos can produce on a timeline. This was all in a 90 minute online class. For 7 & 8th graders. They had 30 minutes of asynchronous to work on it. Tomorrow we will review and problem solve. 1st day had them laughing and commenting on cringy infommercials.
This or That:
Would you rather live in the country or the city?
Should all students be required to learn a second language?
Which is worse: bad breath or body odor?
Would you rather be indoors or outdoors?
Which is better: Playing sports or watching sports?
Would you rather travel every single day or never leave home?
What’s in the box? Put a random object in a box and either describe it in detail, or lie about what’s in the box and describe something completely different. The group then votes on whether the person is telling the truth or lying.
In the end of session feedback from summer Boot Camp, my students told me not to bother with zoom breakout rooms. They said no one wants to talk and it’s just awkward. But they said that discussion boards were great. I am still looking for ways to build student to student discourse, and came across this blog today that has me inspired. Jacob Steiss suggests assigning roles for collaborative writing and using the google extension authorviz to track authorship. My wheels are spinning…
I suspect that over the next few weeks I’ll revise/update this post. But right now, I’m writing after having taught seven days of 45 minute synchronous virtual lessons, using zoom and canvas daily, as well as Padlet, Kami and Google Slides at various times. Here’s what I figured out.
Absolute Musts
Students must be engaged to the highest extent possible (and virtual engagement looks and feels different from live engagement, not to mention sounds different…actually, student mics are off most of the time, so stop expecting sounds).
Tech stills must be taught before I expect students to use them.
Community must be built before I can expect students to engage without reservation.
Technology must work for me and for my students.
Best practices for learning must be implemented: 10-2, student-to-student discourse, individual processing time, opportunities to ask questions privately, etc.
I must have a plan. An anxious teacher is never a good thing.
Absolute Must-Nots
I must not expect virtual lessons to be perfect.
I must not plan for whole class discussion for the entire class period.
Approaching Planning
I had already planned out my learning objectives and mapped out a sequence, so essentially, I had a curriculum. I had more materials to use than I needed, so I knew that was taken care of as well. Based on webinars that I had participated in (school system trainings, The Write Center webinars) I knew that I would use Google Slides through Zoom screenshare to project information and directions to students. So I began with a Google Slide Deck. I created one from slide decks that I had used in the past, and I marked student participation tasks, such as exit cards, think-pair-share, etc. I created a large blue button and put it on each slide that led to student participation as a placeholder of sorts.
Then I turned to my tech gurus. I started with Troy Hicks who had recently led a fabulous webinar through The Write Center. Troy walked us through tech tools and pacing models for guiding students through the writing process in a virtual setting. He got me thinking about how to turn interactive learning experiences from a live classroom into tech-enabled interactive learning in a digital platform.
I started playing with tools and Canvas and settled on a few to try: Kami, Padlet, Canvas discussion boards, and shared Google Slide Decks.
Things I Figured Out Along the Way
Class doesn’t start on time. Some kids arrive early, some arrive late. Someone’s wifi is down, someone else can’t find their power cord. It’s summer, and many are not doing asynchronous assignments, others have doctor appointments, or go to the beach for a few days. Some let me know that they’ll be absent, others do not. So just like in a regular classroom, I need to plan for absences.
Everything needs to be modeled, and it’s easiest if I prepare the models ahead of time. I share my screen and model how to find things in Canvas, I also prepare models of student responses ahead of time. My next step is to define vocabulary ahead of time as well too.
In addition to think time, students need tech navigation time. Many are on chromebooks and are switching tabs to move between Zoom and Canvas. They also have interruptions that I can’t see. So I need to slow down and plan for that time.
Encourage the Zoom chat. My students are shy about asking questions publicly, but they’re willing to type those questions in the chat. I encourage it. There are probably other ways of eliciting questions from students, but I haven’t found it yet.
There has to be checking for understanding. Sometimes there’s a clear product that students will create, but because I can’t read their body language, or have them chat with a partner, I need to build in checking for understanding. 10-2 (10 mins instruction and 2 mins of processing) is a good model for pacing. I started using the icons in Zoom for quick check ins (hands up, yes/no, thumbs up, clapping). I’d like to explore Nearpod for more options.
More ideas from other people
Not sure where I read this– when posting materials, embed video/slides, etc but also include links to avoid tech problems. Remember to change sharing settings on slide decks.
Catlin Tucker presents a great model for a flipped virtual lesson here. I love her tech suggestions:
Katie Martin does an amazing job of reminding us what needs to shift with online learning.
One of my biggest frustrations about the move to Canvas is that I cannot see my student’s work as they are doing it, as I could with Google Classroom. Katie’s graphic reminds me that I need to let go of pacing my students, and let go of an immediate feedback cycle. My students are going to need to be educated and reminded of this too, and they’re going to need to learn how to pace themselves and seek out meaningful feedback when they need it. I am still struggling with the shift from “student work is visible” to “learning must be made visible”. In a writing classroom, how do I differentiate between learning and work?
My system has a closed network with Zoom, so it is smoothly integrated into my students’ G-Suite profile. I love that I can schedule meetings and add them to my calendar, add collaborators, and set reminders. But there are times that I feel limited and confused by Zoom’s menu features.
So in no particular order, here are some tips that I’ve picked up about Zoom.
You can send chat messages to people in waiting rooms. This could be especially useful during office hours when you’re already working privately with a student and want to let a newcomer know to wait. I’ve also used it when an unknown user attempted to zoom-bomb my class.
Explore advanced settings: There is so much that you can control from here! You can mute everyone as they enter a room, set their videos to be automatically on or off, etc. Poke around and see what interests you.
TPR (total physical response) is a reality in Zoom! Students can use icons/buttons to raise their hand, give a thumbs up/down, clap, and select yes/no. I’ve started using this a lot for quick checks, such as “Give me a thumbs up when you finish the warm up.”
Screen sharing is fabulous. Students can be called on to share their screens (remember to enable it) and I can share my screen with them.
Remember that for students who are working on chromebooks or other small devices, if I ask them to perform a digital task (like answer a question in Canvas), then they are moving to a different tab and while they can still hear me, they can’t see anything on my screen. So verbal reminders are important.
Problems will happen. Power will go off. Someone’s mic will be problematic. It’s not a panacea.
Cameras on, cameras off? I think there are two considerations–a) what do you want to look at? b) what’s in the best interest of students?
I hate looking at the black screens with names on them, but I also hate looking at faces that are uninterested and appear to be distracted or off task. In trainings this summer, I KNOW that my colleagues are highly engaged and invested, but their faces are blank and they look away from the camera and I find it super distracting. This happens because there’s no eye contact between presenter and participants, not because people are unengaged. I’m going to require that my students add an icon or photo to their zoom account so I have something to associate with them.
Teenagers, especially, are intensely private. They also do not want to appear to be rude. When I’m in meetings, I often keep my camera off for the same reasons. I don’t want my family members or my dog to interrupt a zoom, and I don’t want to have to worry that my false sense of privacy is actually being seen. Students shouldn’t have to worry about whether their work space looks good enough, so I’m ok with cameras being off.
I used Google Classroom for over five years and loved it completely.
However, my system is insisting that I use Canvas in the 2020-2021 school year. In a moment of boredom, I offered to teach a summer enrichment AP Lang Boot Camp course. I’m now halfway through the course, and am so pleased that I am teaching it. It’s a wonderful opportunity to get to know my future students, getting paid in the summer is nice, but most of all, it’s giving me a low risk opportunity to learn how to use Canvas.
Taking the leap…and landing safely
Things to remember as you move from GC to Canvas: both are LMS (learning management systems), which means that they achieve the same goals of organizing people, assigning work, creating calendars, to dos, announcements, and offering a space to grade.
The biggest difference is that GC is almost entirely linear. There are limited views, assignments are in order and grading is very straightforward.
Canvas, on the other hand, is set up more like a webpage. You can get to places through multiple avenues, and over time, you’ll figure out which avenues make the most sense for you. Canvas offers tons of free trainings through their help site, so I’m not going to replicate the basic how-tos here. But here are my suggestions for getting started.
Find your Practice/Sandlot class. This is a space where you can create/build/design assignments or units without wondering if your students can see it. You do not have any students in your sandlot, but you can be like me and add your children in to help you test things out. (I literally made mine sit next to me on the couch, each of us on a laptop, and had them complete various tasks while I edited until I got it just right.)
Import a class template from Canvas Commons. The beauty of a template is that a) it creates a nice looking homepage for you and b) you can see the basics of how assignments and modules are created. It will introduce you to buttons, although I don’t think there’s one yet with a bitmoji classroom! (Check out the facebook group Teachers Using Canvas for more on bitmoji and Canvas.)
Build a Module. Explore creating assignments with text boxes, with external tools (see my post on Kami), create a quiz. Use the Student View button on the right side of your screen to view it as a student.
Take a training. Find a mentor. Join the Teachers Using Canvas group on fb–those teachers are amazing! I am constantly awed by how quickly the experts are willing to help out us newbies!
Expect mistakes, and remember that none of your mistakes are permanent. Many of your students will have experienced Canvas before you have, and especially if they have multiple teachers using it, they’ll see it being used in more varied ways than you. Let them teach you.
Biggest tip of all--tell your students to turn on notifications, and if old enough, download the app on their phones. Always send an announcement or a message through the inbox when posting a new assignment. Unlike GC, students are not notified that assignments are posted unless they have specifically enabled that notification. However, all announcements go to their email.
Peardeck and Nearpod are presentation platforms that allow teachers to create real-time student engagement opportunities, such as games and quizzes, that can be sprinkled throughout a pre-created Google Slide Deck or Powerpoint. I have only played with them a little bit, so am sharing my awesome friend, Joanne Zeidman’s thoughts about them. Joanne is a staff development teacher at an elementary school in my system.
I’ve used Nearpod for about a week, and tried Pear Deck with my rising 4th graders. They said they liked Pear Deck’s drawing tools better, but missed the more interactive games. It was my first time with Pear Deck, and I didn’t like that the teacher presentation showed in two different windows, and the students had avatar names, so I didn’t know which student was doing which work without interrupting them. I’m sure I just have more to figure out about using Pear Deck (and settings and all), but I didn’t like it as much as Nearpod…Pear Deck is more to manage, and I like that Nearpod has more than drawing, dragging, typing… Pear Deck’s multiple choice questions are tricky too, and require more ‘programming.’
When I read about Nearpod vs Peardeck, Nearpod’s virtual field trips are always mentioned. While this sounds interesting, I don’t think it’s what most teachers are looking for. Both platforms are freemiums (there is a free version, and a paid, premium version.) One feature that I like in Peardeck’s premium version is that you can set up a drawing assignment (which for me, would be annotating a text) and students get copies of their work at the end of the lesson. Of course, I can achieve this with Kami too, but the difference is that with Peardeck and Nearpod there is a teacher view that is pretty easy to use that allows the teacher to see students working in real time. I can see this being very valuable in some classes.
Have you explored Nearpod and Peardeck? What do you think?
AP Lang classes typically involve lots of free-form annotations. I’ve had students annotate using the highligher and comment tool in Google Docs, but there’s nothing quite like the drawing element of free-form annotations.
Entrance, Kami.
Kami is an annotation tool that is really quite impressive. It is easy to use, and integrates nicely with Canvas. My system has pushed Kami and Canvas to all student G-Suite accounts, so it’s ready for them to use.
Setting up a Kami doc
Beginning in Google Docs. Canvas works well with finding assignments in Google Drive, so it’s an easy place for to start. Set up a Google Doc as you would a paper worksheet. Create directions, use the drawing tool to add elements like boxes or images. Here’s one that I set up for my students. All of the text in the box was created in Draw and then inserted as an image.
All of that works great! I’m still figuring out grading responses. Only some of my students’ assignments show up in SpeedGrader. All of my students’ assignments are now in a folder in my Google Drive titled “Kami”. It’s fabulous. So yes, I can grade them all there, but it means opening one doc at a time, while speedgrader allows me to flip through assignments quickly. So a task for the future is checking in with my students about whether they all chose turn in, or just a few. I don’t think that Kami automatically saves like Google Docs does, yet I can see that they completed the assignment through Google Drive. Hopefully I’ll be able to update this post soon.
One other thing I’ve learned is that if I want to share a doc that I annotate in Kami and save as a pdf, even if I post the link or embed the doc, I still need to change the sharing privileges in Google Drive so that my students can access it.
I am fortunate to live in a large house with many rooms that have doors, strong wifi and good lighting. I am especially fortunate that the pandemic hit when my teenage children have strong, independent academic skills. So I can’t weigh in on wifi issues, or how to teach remotely and support young children with life and/or school. But I can offer suggestions that apply to all of us, regardless of our situation.
Tips from the Health Fitness Corporation:
Whether you love it or dread it, a lot of people find themselves working from home for the foreseeable future. Here are some questions and tips to help you make the transition and find a new, productive and healthy way to work from home!
Create the Right Space
Start by answering these questions:
Where could I set up a space to work?
If the answer isn’t obvious, you may need to get creative and think about ways to convert an area that might be devoted to something else.
Resist the urge to work from the couch or a space that may not allow the focus or privacy you need or that may not be comfortable after long hours of using a computer.
Be flexible – try out different areas and see what works and what doesn’t.
What type of environment is best for me?
Do I need a quiet area to work on projects, take phone calls, or limit distractions, such as a separate room with a door?
Do I prefer working in a more open space? o How much natural light do I need or prefer?
Will I be doing video conferencing?
If yes, take the time to see what your colleagues (and perhaps customers) see from your video camera. Even if you can’t work from an ideal spot at all times, look for a place where you can conduct video calls/meetings.
Once you have your space:
Stock your space with the tools you’ll need (office supplies, notes and materials, etc.).
Get up and move throughout the day to stretch and limit fatigue.
Build a Routine
Working in an office usually means starting the day with some sort of routine and a commute. You may be surprised at the value of maintaining at least some of these routines as you work from home. Keeping a routine helps keep your mind in “work mode” vs. “home mode.”
Keep or create a pre-work routine. It might include some of the things you did before heading out the door, such as a workout, a walk, a cup of coffee, reading, or listening to a favorite radio show.
With the time saved not commuting, it can be tempting to sleep in. If you are an early riser, continue to get up early to start your day.
Avoid the temptation to work in what you wore to bed. Decide what your own work-from-home “dress code” is to help you get into a “ready to work” mindset.
If your commute helped you focus or unwind before or after work, no need to skip it. Go for a walk, bike ride, or drive before or after work, even though you’ll be ending up back at home to work!
Create a schedule – if possible – for when you start work, take lunch, take a break, and when you end your work day. Working from home blurs many of these traditional breakpoints since you no longer have everyone around you as a reminder it’s time for lunch.
Create a plan and objectives or a “to-do” list for the day to help you stay on task.
Set Expectations – for your job and yourself
This is a great time to stay in touch with your manager. Have open discussions to align on expectations and if/how they will differ when working remotely versus in the office. For example:
Are there certain hours or times that you need to be available or is there some flexibility?
How will productivity and performance be measured and evaluated?
How will you stay in touch with your manager and/or teammates?
What goals and objectives do you need to be focused on this week or month? Will you be focused on different projects or work when working remotely vs. in the office?
Don’t try to solve everything via email or instant messaging. Pick up the phone!
Give yourself permission to take breaks and recharge. When you’re used to working in an office where coworkers stop by, you walk down the hall, and you tend to naturally move around throughout the day, remote work may feel more focused and intense. Check in on yourself every 30 to 60 minutes. How is your body feeling? Time to stand up, stretch, walk around? How is your energy level? Need to switch gears for a few minutes? Drink some water? Step outside for 10 minutes?
Go easy on yourself and be open. Experiment with what works best. Pay attention to your thoughts and emotions. Reach out to your manager if you’re struggling and make time to connect with coworkers.
Conference Call Tips/Etiquette
Headsets are ideal and preferred over speakerphone.
Go on mute unless you’re speaking.
When/if possible, share screens to show an agenda, a working document, or some visual to keep everyone focused.
If conference calls are new to a team, leave space for people to speak up; encourage questions and interaction by using tools such as “polls” available in many conference applications.
It’s going to happen – check the mute button at least three times before using the bathroom while on a call!
Seek Technical Support When Needed
Working from home may come with the need to use new tools such as collaboration software or video conferencing.
Keep your company’s IT or helpdesk contact information ready in case you need technical support.
Be mindful of any requirements or policies related to data security.
Ask about training for new tools or processes. Are there videos or online tutorials available? This may be a great time to expand your skills and learn something new.
Set Boundaries
Living and working under the same roof can offer great flexibility, as well as some challenges. Setting healthy boundaries can help you manage the balance between work and home life.
If you have family members who are not used to you working from home, have open discussions with them about expectations when you are working. How will they know if or when it’s okay to ask for your attention?
If your spouse, partner or roommate is also working from home, have a discussion about the areas in the home that you would like to designate as workspaces before you make each other crazy. You might also discuss things like business hours, talking volume, and if you like to work in quiet or prefer background noise.
If you have young children home from school or daycare, what activities could they do while you’re working? Do you have a spouse or family member who could help with caring for them? Can you invest in a babysitter or nanny to help you out? This might also help someone who is out of work right now and could use the money. What type of flexibility do you have or could you ask for with your schedule to help you deal with children at home?
Create a separation between work life and home life. Don’t turn on the TV; ignore the voice in your head to clean out the closet. What some might find even harder, is to stop working so it doesn’t consume the entire day. If needed, create an artificial boundary, such as turning off your computer, saying “I’m done” out loud, or turning off the lights and closing your door (if you are working in a separate space). Ask your manager for support.
Watch out for those “work from home traps” like – all day snacking, getting caught up in social media, forgetting to shower or even brush your teeth for days, and the temptation to shop online.
Don’t let working from home feel like a prison. You might feel more pressure to respond quickly to emails or prove that you are working. Know that it’s okay to take breaks, go for a walk, step away to have lunch.
Communicate and Stay in Touch
The social aspect of work and staying connected with co-workers is more important than ever when working from home. Technology may help you stay connected, whether it’s instant messaging, collaboration software, or the phone. If your day normally includes a periodic chat with an office friend, schedule a few minutes to catch up by phone. Stay in touch with your team and manager so you’re all aligned as projects and situations change. During this time of uncertainty, working from home is a great option to have, and staying connected with each other is more important than ever.
This information is intended for educational purposes only and should not be interpreted as medical advice. Please consult your doctor for advice about changes that may affect your health.
How to share a Kami doc so everyone can see it (used when I want to show an exemplar to the class–do I need to publish it as a pdf?)
How to create shared docs for small group to collaborate on. Supposedly I can do this through canvas groups/collaborations, but I don’t know how yet, and I want to be able to do it quickly.
Authentic student-to-student discourse. If we can use zoom breakout rooms, and if there’s a strong leader, it can happen. Without zoom breakouts, conversation will have to be by text or with audio/video recordings. This won’t be the same as students will be more thoughtful about what they write (not necessarily a bad thing, but I don’t think it will work for discovery/problem-solving). Upload times will lag too. Since I’ll have block periods, I could schedule small groups for parts of the period. Will students log on? Can I put everyone in individual breakout rooms and then bring in small group of students one group at a time? Will be time consuming to manage.
How to give students real-time feedback on writing assignments. My system does not have Google Assignments integrated with Canvas. If they did, when my students open a Doc that I assign to them, I would have viewing rights as I did in Google Classroom. Without that already enabled, I will need to have my students share their doc with me. Supposedly there’s a chance we’ll have access to this in the fall.
In the meantime, here’s my backup plan:
Teach students to share each doc with me (but so many of them don’t follow other directions, why would they follow this one?)
Tell students to paste the share link for their doc in a discussion post (but I would still need sharing enabled)
Assuming students DO share their docs with me, one of the awesome features of GC was that I could “page” through their docs without having to navigate back and forth to Google Drive, which is what would happen in this situation. Also, shared docs would not be in a nice neat folder.
Assign writing assignments through Kami, although this creates other issues such as making sure students know how to create and format text boxes.
For students who really struggle with executive functioning, create a shared google drive folder. Populate it with a doc for each assignment, and direct them to that doc via an individual assignment or message in Canvas. This will take a lot more legwork, but ideally, these are students who would be supported by the SPED team who can help out.
What Do I Do Next? 