Clif Mims

Engaging Optimism

Forbes recently published an article titled Leading in Times of Uncertainty that mainly discussed what businesses can do to look forward with a positive attitude instead of simply reacting to whatever may happen in the future. “With all the news primarily focusing on what’s going wrong or could go wrong, it’s critical that we give equal energy to identifying what is working and where are the benefits or opportunities in the midst of all this upheaval” (source). The truth is that our normal routine as educators has drastically changed over the last few months. However, despite the change, it is important to focus on the positive things that have taken place. Focusing on positive behavior can help to alleviate the anxious or nervous feelings students have. As you prepare to end the school year virtually, you can help students focus on the benefits that learning virtually have provided by creating a safe place for conversations. Ask students questions about how they feel in the current situation. Help students work through the negatives and lean on the positives. Ask students what they can do to improve their own situation and ask students what you can do to help. Having open and authentic conversations will help students begin to process our current circumstances in a positive mindset and will help prepare them to return to face to face instruction whether in a few weeks or in the Fall.

References:

Image source, Photo by Oleg Laptev on Unsplash

All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.

@hollandkaylah

Emotionally Connected Educators

In our current global situation of quarantining at home and learning virtually, the most essential skill to educating students is vulnerability. Our current situation is one that has not happened before and makes educators and students feel afraid, stressed, and anxious. Educators often feel the need to seem like they have it all together so student’s will not know they are afraid or anxious. I once heard a presenter say that educators should leave their problems in the car when arriving at school so that student’s will not see them struggle but students learn from what is modeled and if educators model apathy then students will not learn how to deal with their emotions. David Brooks recently wrote an article titled “Student Learn From People They Love” (source). He states that if teachers show vulnerability, students will be able to connect with them on a personal level and will thus learn more from them as an educator because they have connected emotionally. Brooks states that an older view of educators is that “if you wanted to be rational and think well, you had to suppress those primitive gremlins, the emotions. Teaching consisted of dispassionately downloading knowledge into students’ brains” (source). However, in our current situation, we have seen numerous stories of teachers heroically overcoming so much in order to passionately care for and educate their students. Brooks discusses various research but concludes with the realization that “what teachers really teach is themselves — their contagious passion for their subjects and students. It reminded us that children learn from people they love, and that love in this context means willing the good of another, and offering active care for the whole person” (source). An educator’s vulnerability helps students feel connected and encourages them to learn. Students can also interact with each other through the same type of vulnerability. This type of teaching and learning has been named social emotional learning. Click here to read the entire article by David Brooks.

Next Steps

Interested in learning more? Check out the websites below for great information.

References:

Image source, The New York Times

All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.

@hollandkaylah

Google’s Teach from Home Supports Virtual Learning

Google for Education has announced the creation of a program to help support parents and educators teaching from home. The current global pandemic has caused schools around the world to close for in person instruction and almost instantly create lessons to be delivered virtually. Google’s Teach from Home program includes training materials for educators, schools, and parents including collaborating with educators, students, and families virtually, keeping students engaged, providing accessibility in lessons, managing virtual classrooms and much more. Teach from Home also provides weekly webinars, peer communities, and regular office hours to offer instant support for educators and families. Click here to access Google’s Teach from Home program.

References:

Image source, Google’s Teach from Home

All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.

@hollandkaylah

Science Experiments at Home

Home Science Tools offers hundreds of free science projects that can be completed at home. The site also includes lesson tips and curriculum resources for science projects that are searchable by grade level. Home Science Tools was created to inspire learning and was intended specifically for homeschooling families. However, with virtual learning taking place around the world, Home Science Tools can be used to inspire students with easy to use projects.

A popular project is to create a lava lamp. The scientific principles studied during this project are density and polarity. You need a clear bottle, oil, water, food coloring, and alka-seltzer. The steps for completing this project are below (source).

Fill the bottle most of the way with oil
Fill the rest with water – the water will sink to the bottom
Add in drops of food-coloring
Break an alka-seltzer tablet into several pieces and drop them in the bottle one at a time
Watch your lava lamp begin to function. As the reaction slows, add more pieces of alka-seltzer

Watch the video below to see these steps in action.

References:

Image source, Photo by Alex Kondratiev on Unsplash

All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.

@hollandkaylah

View Students While Sharing Screen

Google Meet is a popular tool during our current virtual learning situation. However, one of the issues teachers are having using Google Meet is that when sharing their screen to show lessons they can no longer see their students. There are three ways you can share your screen on Google Meet to show your lesson and see your students simultaneously.

Attach a second monitor to your computer
Login to Google Meet a second time with a different device
Overlay your presentation and meet windows

Click here to view a video tutorial of these three ways created by Eric Curts, of ControlAltAchieve.

References:

Image source

All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.

@hollandkaylah

Efficient Virtual Meetings

Standup meetings are a great way to run an in person meeting while being cognizant of teacher’s time. The goals of standup meetings are to quickly give necessary information, allow teachers to voice concerns, share ideas, or celebrations, and finish as quickly as possible. Standing up during these meetings makes it uncomfortable for the meeting to last for a long time. This style of meeting can be utilized virtually. Teachers are now using video conferencing tools most of the day. The last thing teachers want to add to their schedule is a long and complicated virtual meeting, however, it is important for faculty members to see each other and feel connected. You can transition the standup meeting to a virtual environment by following these simple guidelines: set a timer, discuss only important information that cannot be shared in an email, allow teachers to share frustrations, celebrations, or ideas quickly and end the call under fifteen minutes.

References:

Image source, Photo by Gabriel Benois on Unsplash

All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.

@hollandkaylah

Digital Whiteboards for Google Meet

Digital whiteboards are a valuable tool in our current virtual classrooms. The two most popular virtual meeting tools being used are Google Meet and Zoom. Zoom features include a whiteboard but Google Meet does not include a whiteboard in the features of their program. Chrome Canvas and Google Jamboard are both digital whiteboards that can be used with Google Meet.

Chrome Canvas is an easy to use program that does not require the creation of an account. The digital whiteboard can be opened in a new tab and shared to students by sharing your screen.

Google Jamboard is a program within the G Suite for Education products. You can use your personal or school Google account to sign in. Jamboards can be shared with your students through a link so that students can access and add to the digital board.

You can click here to access a video tutorial of using both of these digital whiteboard tools.

References:

Image source, Google products

@hollandkaylah

Etiquette for Virtual Classrooms

I came across a video explaining proper etiquette for virtual meetings using video conferencing tools. Since our world is almost entirely virtual now, I thought I would share a few of the tips suggested plus a couple of my own as a reminder that even though we are all in our own homes, we can still show kindness to those within our realm of influence (source).

When you receive a link to a virtual meeting, try to sign in beforehand so that you can download any necessary plugins or applications necessary to join the meeting. Doing this before the meeting begins will ensure that you will not be late to the meeting or stressed trying to complete these tasks quickly and at the last minute.
Once you join the meeting, greet the presenter and other attendees just as you would in a physical room. Once you have greeted everyone (and essentially tested your audio) mute your microphone so that any noise in your environment is not an interruption to the meeting presenter.
Do not, however, mute your video. It is important for the presenter to see that you are engaged in the content so feel free to nod along, give thumbs up, take notes, etc.
Utilize the chat to ask questions, share links, etc. This will allow the presenter to continue uninterrupted.
When speaking on a video call, look at the camera so that your attendees can make eye contact instead of watching you look at your own thumbnail image or off to the side.
End the meeting with normal exit goodbyes – checking in on colleagues or students as necessary. Being in a virtual room does not mean we, as teachers, cannot ask students to “stay behind” and check in with them. I think this is needed now more than ever.
Remember that there is a lot going on in our world and I believe that as educators we should focus on giving grace more than grades. The academics learned or lost during this time will not matter once we regain a sense of normalcy and are gathering together in schools again. What will matter is that educators were there for students to comfort their grief and calm their anxiety.

References:

Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash

All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.

@hollandkaylah

Creating Choice Boards

Choice Boards have been around for a while but with our global transition to online learning, these traditional paper-based tools are making a digital comeback. Kasey Bell from ShakeUpLearning offers a ton of information, tutorials, and even free templates on her recent blog post. You can even listen to a podcast of a teacher utilizing Choice Boards in her current virtual classroom.

Choice Boards are excellent tools to use with any age group or subject area. They are easy to create and can be used digitally or on paper. The best thing about using Choice Boards is that it offers students CHOICE in their assignments or activities. In the example image provided above, students begin with number five and choose two more squares completing a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally (think tic-tac-toe).

You can access examples of Choice Boards by clicking here and can access a free template for the tic-tac-toe Choice Board shown above by clicking here courtesy of Kasey Bell.

References:

Image source, ShakeUpLearning

All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.

@hollandkaylah

HyperDocs for Virtually Teaching Novels

HyperDocs is an interactive program that offers a way to curate information from individual lessons to entire units in one place inspiring and engaging students. HyperDocs change “the worksheet method of delivering instruction, (and) is the ultimate change agent in the blended learning classroom. With strong educational philosophies built into each one, HyperDocs have the potential to shift the way you instruct with technology. They are created by teachers and given to students to engage, educate, and inspire learning” (source). As educators around the globe transition to virtual learning, they are beginning to understand the challenge of teaching novels virtually. An avid HyperDoc user created a super list of 25 ready to use HyperDocs specifically for novels. However, the HyperDoc community rallied and have created this padlet with hundreds of ready to use HyperDocs for novels of all reading levels and genres.

If you do not teach English, HyperDocs offer sample lessons in every subject as well as ready made templates to create your own HyperDoc. You can also access how-to tutorials by clicking here.

References:

All sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.

@hollandkaylah