It was great chatting with many educators to share strategies and tools they are using to reach learners who have gone silent. Watch the replay below!
Strategies and Tools Shared
- Perspective During COVID-19, teachers can support students using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs by Helen Gross
- Neighborhood Bridges – Our mission is to create a gateway for kindness
- 10 amazing ways people are using this free Google tool to make custom COVID-19 maps by Ishveena Singh
- Welcome to your first day of Google Meet
- Educating Over Zoom
- Virtual Check In using Google Forms and Form Publisher
- Maintain Teacher Privacy with Google Voice by Miguel Guhlin
- Live Chat using Pure Chat. Example: Cahaba Elementary School
- Crisis Center Birmingham hot and warm lines
- Companies Pledging to Keep Americans Connected During Pandemic Go Above and Beyond the Call
- One district’s virtual front door
- Read and Write for Google Chrome
- Alabama Public Television Learn at Home
- Teachers create videos using Screencastify
- Closed Captioning videos with YouTube
Let’s work together. In the comments, share strategies you are using or have heard about that are being used to ensure our kids are not staying MIA.
Do you need help connecting with students, creating engaging curriculum, leading in online environments, planning for the future?
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April Chamberlain
April is a Content Expert and Connected Coach for Powerful Learning Practice. From a young age she knew she wanted to be a teacher. She taught elementary students for ten years before becoming the technology teacher for a 3-5 school servicing 1,000+ students. April became the District Technology Integration Specialist supporting all K-12 teachers in her district. After seven years, she had the opportunity to become the Technology and School Library Coordinator where she now works with both the technical and instructional teams to support learning. She is passionate about developing learning resources and opportunities to support all learners of different abilities.
Latest posts by April Chamberlain (see all)
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I consistently text my adult students, constantly really. I text them every few days, even if I haven’t heard back from them in weeks. I just don’t want them to think they’re alone. I worry/hope that I’m not driving them crazy, but I feel that’s a better default than just letting them drop off my radar and perhaps feel forgotten or alone in this situation.
I bet they like getting your text because they know someone cares enough to continually reach out to them. You never know the power of the words that you send them. I have found that encouraging words often come when they are needed the most.
I find that making time to initiate one-to-one has been the most successful path I’ve taken during this pandemic. I post surveys on the LMS that I use for anonymous check-ins. I have utilized lessons that I’ve learned from PLP activities to reach out to students and help them build their own confidence levels and feel empowered. I’ll continue my lifelong learning through the summer and keep an open channel of communication for my students.
Those are all great examples of keeping in touch. What activity has received the most response from students? Why do you think they engaged more with that one?
On the plus side some teachers are connecting with students who weren’t coming to school due mostly to the anxiety that school can cause. Some teachers also report that they are getting to know some students a lot better, especially the ones who are unlikely to contribute in class. While cyberbullying is still going on, face-to-face bullying isn’t happening online. There are also fewer problems with disruptive students as teachers can just mute them. Don’t you wish you had a mute button in your class?
I too have heard from teachers that feel more connected to students because of the purposeful reaching out to all students that is happening. My hope is that this continues even when in face to face learning environments. Do you feel that teachers, counselors, admins and others will change the way they work to ensure every student is connected to multiple adults beyond just taking attendance?