10 Tips for Fostering Effective Online Discussions (from JHU)

 Ten Tips for Foster Effective Online Discussions

from Johns Hopkins link

Crowd Source: How do you take attendance during remote learning?

Teachers answered this question: 

One of your colleagues would like to know: how are you taking attendance? Please share what technique/s you've come up with so far!

• I am using the Zoom report at the end of class. It is the most efficient because it tells you what time kids logged on/off of the meeting, so you know if someone left early. It can be done easily after class is over.
• I'm using Zoom. But instead of looking at the report through Zoom, I've used the excel rosters they sent me to print alphabetically by first name rosters. Since Zoom lists participants by first name, it's fairly easy to find out who I'm missing that way, especially when you know how many your have by the participant list (Zoom counts the teacher, so you have to subtract 1.)
• I take attendance as I let them into class from the waiting room. It takes a tad bit more time, but until I know everyone, it has been working. If I need to double-check, I can look at Zoom attendees like Kim taught us in the video.
• If my class plan involves everyone sharing something out, I will take attendance when they speak; if all kids won't be speaking, I will use a question to start class and collect responses.
• I am simply taking attendance during the bell-ringer.
• I have been using Zoom so far, but I also sent the students a Google Form like the one we used last spring, just in case.
• I'm taking attendance with bell ringers/roll call get-to-know-you questions at the start of each class, but I also made a Google Form just for bookkeeping.

Question to teachers today: Thursday and Friday are the first days of 75-minute classes. How is that transition in planning going so far?

Here's what teachers have said after the abrupt transition to "remote" and "block" both at once:

Smoother than I expected during class with kids. Harder than I expected in planning for it.

Ok! I've learn d that asynchronous work for most (on GoGuardian) while working with a small learning group on Zoom -- that is going to be my default.

I like the 75-minute class period, but I found I planned too much. I need to adjust my expectations for the virtual environment because transitions take longer.

Fine. I over-planned but have adapted. Students preferred the 75-minute classes and time went by quickly.

Again, I wish we could have had some more formal training about this. But, this is so much better than hybrid. This is more instructional time than hybrid, and it provides stability of planning. Please, please, please convey this to the higher ups who are thinking of jumping back and forth between this and hybrid.

My general experience so far has been that I've spent more time figuring out and trouble shooting Zoom, Canvas and other delivery methods than I have on content, which is especially frustrating since I am teaching a new prep. Between the two new things, I'm about as overwhelmed as I've been in 24 years of teaching.

The class periods themselves are much nicer than rushing through an entire school day with short periods. It seems much more civilized.

The feedback from kids has been positive so far when I have checked in with them about how things are going. Many kids indicate that they like the flexibility of remote learning and that they feel less stressed than they normally do at school. Especially the honors students. They do concede to missing being in the classroom, but this definitely could bode well to offering a blended model someday when we aren't living in this nightmarish state.

I love the 75-minutes classes! It gives time to build relationships, introduce concepts, have students apply them, and provide coaching (both collective and holistic). My students are also saying they like the schedule of Block. They feel like they have time to process all that's been taught, get a pause, and then geared up for the next class. Sort of reminds me what is good about college, which is also good for students since we should be working to transition them to a schedule that requires time-management. The only thing I need to adjust for next week is to avoid going over the 75 minutes, to be respectful of their time. (Oops.)

What to say when... you've been called out for a micro-agreession

 What to say when... you've been called out for a micro-aggression.

This is from a Harvard Business Review Management tip of the day:

It was a throwaway remark, and you didn’t mean to offend. But now that a colleague has brought the slight to your attention, you realize what you said was hurtful. So how should you respond after committing a microaggression? First, make sure the other person feels heard. Your instinct may be to defend yourself — or your comment — but this isn’t about you. You can be a good, well-intentioned person who said something offensive. Follow your colleague’s lead in the conversation, and be curious and empathetic. Offer a sincere apology that expresses gratitude for their trust and acknowledges the impact and harm your comment caused. Say something like: “Thank you for telling me. I appreciate that you trust me enough to share this feedback. I’m sorry that what I said was offensive.” Be sure to keep it short and to the point. Don’t over-apologize or try to engage your colleague in a drawn-out conversation. Finally, commit to doing better in the future. Say, “I care about creating an inclusive workplace, and I want to improve. Please keep holding me accountable.” Then, do the work of striving to be better. It requires grace, humility, and commitment.

Block Schedule Ideas and Templates

 

Arpan Chokshi created a simple chart

 (Links to an external site.) that provides templates for 75-minute blocks for class plans for a variety of modes, like discussion, reading, writing workshop, presentations. If you like this, you can also read this post (Links to an external site.) by Tricia Ebarvia (that Arpan adapted) which contains 24 sample block schedules for reading, small group discussion, and writing workshops which could be especially useful for English teachers.   Ebarvia's reminders on screen time, cognitive load, community, and consistency were important as well. She’s posted more variations and formats of schedules here

Also check out English teacher Caitlin Tucker's web page and graphics about planning for a Station Rotation model

 (Links to an external site.) which integrates with block well.