Teaching face-to-face and virtually simultaneously while wearing a mask has left me feeling Overwhelmed. Tired. Exhausted.
However, hearing our students' voices, seeing them understand new concepts, and collaborating (from 6 feet away) is Exciting. Invigorating. Inspiring.
Educators change the world and make a difference, even when we do not feel like we have it all together.
When the Zoom poll is a flop, I forget to share my screen, my voice is not heard (because I struggle to stay near the microphone), and I miss the chat, our students are STILL learning. They are learning how to be adaptable, to learn from mistakes, to admit mistakes, to collaborate in a virtual environment, and to extend grace as we all learn together.
Shifting hands-on, interactive lessons to socially distanced and virtual students requires creativity and time. Thankfully, I have amazing colleagues and teacher friends to help!
Here are a few of my favorite things:
1. Nearpod: I am a pre-pandemic fan of Nearpod, but for collaboration and ensuring all students are engaged (or at least answering my question prompts) Nearpod wins!
2. Flipgrid: Discussion boards make me tired, but seeing my students' ENTIRE faces (without a mask) makes me so happy! Students reply to your prompt via video by clicking a plus sign. Make sure to set a reasonable time limit and/or group students to limit the number of videos you watch. Nobody has 5 minutes to watch one video per student... :-)
3. Padlet: I love a good jigsaw or carousel activity with paper and markers spread around the room, but Covid. In pops Padlet. I make a sticky with each of my prompts or quotes, and the students work in groups to respond to each sticky note.
Happy Teaching! We CAN do this!
