Week 10: Learning At Home Challenge

Learning At Home Challenge

The Challenge Begins...

With the announcement of Governor Northam's decision to close all public schools for the remainder of the school year, educators and administrators are all scrambling to figure out what this means for educating our students and what role everyone will play. The announcement came as a shock to many and certainly created a sense of overwhlem and panic in others. So the question is now How do we effectively teach students at home and how do we do this cohesively to include all learners both young and older? Needless to say with these questions come many, many more...

How do we get administrators, teachers, parents and students all on the same page?
How can we get materials to students and families? 
How do we get materials and information to families who do not have Wi Fi connections?
How can teachers effectively teach new material using an all online format?
How can we introduce students, families to online learning for those who have not had the experience?

This is just the tip of the iceberg as we endure the crisis at hand and learn to cope with a "new normal" with limited access to virtually everything. While educators are concerned about survival, health and just keeping sane, we are also concerned about students and how they will fare during this difficult time. This is certainly a one of a kind experience, one that no one has lived through or have solid answers for that could guide our next steps. The situation raises many concerns, fears and challenges, but it also has the potential to create one of a kind opportunities from which we could all grow and learn.....if we allow it.

Challenges Accepted!
At a time when most people are concerned with basic needs, staying healthy, and surviving this pandemic, we are forced to face many other challenges including teaching and learning from home. There are many challenges to be overcome during this process and it can seem daunting. Some major challenges that are coming into play now include:

• Overwhelming teachers, parents and students is a huge concern at this time. To what end should we be expecting teachers to teach new material or review previously learned material? How can we ask everyone to add education to their list of responsibilities when many parents still have to work to make ends meet and many who are considered "essential employees." While overseeing student education will work for some people, for others it will be another burden added to their already demanding life. 
• Getting information and materials out to all families and students. Many families in my county live in areas where internet and WiFi connections are spotty at best if they have a connection at all. The challenge is then, how can we get information about their child's education to them and how can we get them the materials needed to best help their children at home?
• Another challenge includes getting actual material--paper, pens, art supplies, manipulatives, etc. to families who do not have access or means of purchasing them. This is especially true for young learners who cannot read yet, learn through play based experiences and whose families are struggling to provide for basic needs.
• Providing services to students who have special needs...  Many of the students I work with who have special needs have goals that are specific to their interaction, communication and socialization skills and development. Teaching these particular skills will be challenging especially for those young preschoolers who have limited attention spans and language
• Getting everyone on the same page and having the online, at home buy-in will be a struggle as we move towards finding solutions to the issues that arise. 

via GIPHY

Light at the End of the Tunnel: Opportunities in the Midst of Distress
While the list of challenges we are now faced with seems long and daunting, there are many opportunities that can arise out of these challenges, if we are open to them. Some of the opportunities I see arising from our current state include:

• Encouraging and showing parents how to be active in their child's educational journey. So many people do not have or do not take the time to show an interest in what their children are learning. This may provide an opportunity for teachers, administrators, etc. to encourage parents to take a more active role in what their child is learning in school. In turn, it could lead to stronger bonds and connections between children and parents and between parents and teachers as they tackle this challenge together. 
• Just Breathe!! As an educational system we could use this time as an opportunity to stop, think about what can and should be done, and to decide what is truly essential for our students. This could be an opportunity to forever change the way we  look at education, we could ultimately be building a system that could be used in dire circumstances to continue to educate students and keep them moving forward. What we learn now could ultimately help guide efforts in the future with extended school closures and the issues that come with that. This doesn't have to be a frenzy of what to do right now, but it could be a let's work together to form an action plan on how this can be done in the best way. 
• This can provide teachers with a great way to inform parents about what we do and how we do it each day in the classroom. 
• Creating online learning platforms such as Google Classroom.
• Providing parents with educational information on learning and how to create a learning environment at home. 

Getting Started with Online Learning

Creating an Online Community of Learners

One way to create an online platform to share with students and families is through Google Classroom. Alice Keeler of Teacher Tech, suggests "the most important thing kids need right now is some interactions and support." Finding ways to connect with students is essential in during this time, one way to create this is by setting up a Google Classroom. This week I tried my hand at creating a Google Classroom of my own, following these steps made it easy and effortless:

• Go to classroom.google.com
• Choose the account you want to use
• Choose if you are a teacher or student
• Click on the + located on the top right of screen
• Click on "Create Class"
• Fill in the information: Class name (required); section; subject; room
• Click "Create"
• This brings you to the stream section of the classroom
• To change the theme of the class, click on "Select theme" on the border
• Select the theme you want to use or choose a picture to upload to personalize 
• To get started, add students to the classroom by clicking on the "People" tab at the top of the page
• Add students by clicking on the "person +" icon next to student and enter in the names or email addresses of students you want to invite to join

How to Create a Google Classroom

Starting Slow

In Remote Learning with Google Classroom, Alice Keeler, provides a lot of tips for getting started in online learning including:

• Start small; Doing small things first, send small tasks first and build up from there
• Create a routine and schedule around online learning
• Use Google Classroom to create an online learning environment for students

Helping Parents with Online Learning At Home

Alice Keeler mentioned the article Am I Expected to Home-school My Kid Right Now? By Carrie Bauer who has great tips and strategies for teachers and parents. These are a great starting point for teachers as they guide parents through the online, at home learning process. Here are some helpful points from the article:

• Create a schedule and home routine: Devise a typical daily routine for the family and children and stick to it as much as possible; allow for “work” time as well as quiet activities, self-directed activities, physical activities, and mellow “me” time; it is important to have a variety of activities throughout the day
• Let children help create the schedule
• Set timers to stay on track
• Change locations within the house throughout the day
• If children are not into what they are doing, move on, quit while you are ahead
• Save cool, interesting, valuable items/activities and sprinkle into the weeks to keep engagement
• Keep children stimulated, engaged and learning something

Carrie Bauer also provides some ideas, apps and sites for parents:

For young learners:

• let children learn through exploration and play
• put small increments (5-20 min) of learning time into the day like practicing letter sounds with alphabet magnets; examining nature and household items with magnifying classes; measuring items around the house with rulers; practice writing and fine motor skills
• Resources to explore for ideas:
  • @busytoddler
  • @dayswithgrey
  • @theworkspaceforchildren
  • 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids 

For older learners:

Libby app    

Khan Academy

Duolingo

BrainPOP

NoRedInk

Newsela

CommonLit

Other Screen Time options

streaming webcam of animals

ambient background video

audiobook

Cosmic Kids yoga

GoNoodle routines

Just Dance play-through