Fall will be here sooner than we think, Then what.

I hope you all are enjoying or making the best of whatever situation you may be in during these unprecedented times. I know I am enjoying some warm sunny weather as I give feedback on student work, plan out my next lessons, and meet with colleagues. I hope you all are getting out and enjoying the ever increasing summer like weather where you are at. I and my wife try to get out as much as we can to enjoy a walk or leisurely drive either with our kids or by ourselves. Often times when we are out we run into neighbors, friends, strangers, etc. During these encounters it comes up that I am a teacher which usually shifts the conversation towards my thoughts on distance/online learning and then to what I think school may look like in the fall. It might be a bit early to think about going back to school in the fall and what that might look like, but then again maybe not. I know that a lot of my colleagues are curious about what school might look like and I am seeing news story after news story contemplating what it will look like once we reopen in the fall. The CDC has issued guidelines/recommendations for schools. I also know that my state is starting to look at what the fall may look like with a 100 member task force looking at roughly 7 different models and hope to be able to give guidance. I have no clue as to what it might look like going forward I have my thoughts and preferences which I do share with the people we encounter. However that is not what I want to do here with this post. My goal with this post is to give some guidance on how we can prep kids and ourselves over the summer to better reach out and support kids for the next school year.

I don't have a crystal ball so I don't know what next fall will look like other than we will need to be teaching kids in somewhat shape or from. The suggestions I talk about today are my own based on my work reviewing online learning programs as well as experiences starting up schools and classrooms over the past 20+ years. The suggestions I mention here can be adapted no mater what opening up situation we encounter in the fall. With all that said I do welcome your comments and ideas as well as to call me out on why I suggest something that doesn't make sense. So lets get started. 

So as we move into the fall we need to look at things from 3 different aspects:

1. Teaching content
2. Platform
3. Communication
4. Fun

Starting with the first one content. One thing that goes without question and that is we are all masters of the content we teach. We can all agree that face to face learning is best but in absence of that there are some things we can do to make content delivery better. One suggestion is to work with the curriculum you have as in most cases it can be adapted to an online format. After all that is what we as teachers do we adapt and overcome as we encounter obstacles. Don't think that just because it is online that you need some crazy new fanged curriculum or delivery system. As an example I am using the same curriculum as I do in the classroom with some slight modifications. A second suggestion is to look at moving to a flipped model. Hopefully most of us are familiar with some sort of a flipped model classroom. With the flipped model you are having kids watch your instruction at home which is easier for not only students but also families. Most students can watch a video and take notes with some instruction to relate it to how you do with in class. Along with that most families can help their kids with watching a video and taking notes. The biggest complaint I have heard about is that families are struggling with helping their kids with things like math or science or other subjects. Which brings me to my third suggestion for content which is to assume nothing. This is something we as teachers have good experience with already but it is something to keep in mind. It is hard to deliver content without a platform.

To get the content out to students we need a platform. This is probably the one that may be out of our control but I hope to give some suggestions you can pass along to your districts and/or encourage you to look at the platform you have in a different way.  What ever platform is used it should be easy to access and navigate for both students and families. If the platform is not easy to access students will resist doing and turning in work. Also families will struggle to support you in your efforts of helping students get work in. As I mentioned in the last paragraph don't assume your platform is easy to use. One thing I have learned during this time is that a platform I use, Google classroom, is not as easy to use as I thought. Yes it is simple but there is a learning curve for all that use it. For example I had to learn what the parent side of google classroom looks like. It is simply an email (either a daily or weekly) summary of what is "going on" in the google classroom. I also learned that in that email are working links to sites you include in posts and/or assignments which is helpful. One thing to keep in mind is that summary can get overwhelming as it is one long email for each class that a student may have (if the families have linked to your class). Whatever platform you use it should be as close to one stop shopping as possible.  Students and Families should be able to get all the info they need from as few places (clicks/links) as possible. They should be able to get grades, assignment info, materials, and hand in all in the same place. The more links/places they have to go to complete an assignment the better the chance they will loose engagement in your class. To help with this we need to talk about the 3rd area which is communication.

This is probably the most important of the 3 areas that of communication. There are as many ways to communicate via distance as there are lessons we need to teach (if not more). There is no one tool that is better than others if anything we should be tailoring what tool we use to the audience we are trying to communicate with. For most students email probably is not the best. Students these days are used to a more instant form of communication such as Snap chat or Instagram. What I have found is communicating with them via comments on assignments or email (although they will do that reluctantly). If you are brave enough you can try google hangouts or say Instagram (make sure to have a personal and professional account). Teacher that have done this have had more success in communicating with students. However I know that may not be allowed in your district. Make sure to check with your district regarding communication policy with students. As for families email or phone may be a better way to communicate. Lastly as we all know whatever method you choose or are allowed to use make sure it is consistent. The more consistent you can make it the better results you will get. Along with being consistent within in your class if you can make it consistent school wide that is even better. Although then again as teachers we know that. Lastly with communication it is important that expectations are communicated once established. One thing that I learned over the last 3 months is that I need to do a better job of teaching my kids my expectations regarding:

• Communication
• email
• Google Classroom
• Hangouts
• Work habits
• Note taking
• Watching videos
• Assignments
• Structure
• Turning in
• Asking for help

The more we can teach students what the expectations are and how to meet them (just good teaching) the more successful any program (online and face to face) will be. 

Lastly whatever we do we have to remember the fun aspect of school. We may not think it but kids expect to have fun at school. They expect fun work to do and also expect to get some of their social needs met. When I say focus on fun I am not saying that all the work/assignments we give kids has to be fun (although that would be a bonus). What I do suggest is that you do things like my music teacher does and host class contests. He is currently hosting an idol like contest with his choir class. Kids are loving this and totally engaged. Also our ASB is hosting weekly activities like trivia night. Things that I have done is to host a typing contest using nitrotype. Also when I host a zoom meeting I make sure to let kids know they are welcome to ask questions, request a demo, or just check in. I find more often that not they want to simply check in which is ok. Along with the fun part is to check in with them and ask them how they are doing and what they are doing. Just as in our face to face classroom students want to get to know us and see us as a whole person and not just a teacher. 

There is a lot here to think about and I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions about best practices of starting up next year. 

As always: "Go Forth and Do Great Things!"

Podcast link

Video link mentioned in podcast: Quick video on how to make better instructional videos by Edutopia

Link to article on need for uniform LMS (Learning Management System).

Zoom Fatigue: What is it and how to combat it.

As we move into our 3rd to 4th month of online/distance teaching we are all feeling tired, stressed, and overwhelmed. We have had to make a 180 degree shift in teaching style; it is almost like we have all been required to do flipped learning with no training. Hang in there it will get better as we go along and figure this out and as we always do as teachers "Master this new form learning". One thing we need to wrap our brains around is the whole online meeting thing especially this new thing called Zoom Fatigue.

For some of us the stress of online meetings set in quickly. The stress of being on camera online figuring out how to reverse thoughts of not wanting to use the webcam. Not wanting to allow "Students" into our homes and/or the new boundaries that needed to be figure out. Then you throw in trying to figure out how to set up our remote classroom so we can get online and all the troubleshooting that goes along with that. All of that on top of trying to plan lessons, contact students and families, as well as maintain our own home front. Yet as we teachers do we did and continue to do it week in and week out. That is what makes us so unique is that we as Teachers are adaptable to most any situation. That being said we now have a new issue regarding online learning that we could use some help understanding what it is, why it is and how to prevent it, that of the fatigue that comes with meeting online aptly named: Zoom Fatigue. 

Simply put Zoom Fatigue is the feeling of tiredness we experience after being a part of an online meeting. Part of it is being stuck in an unnatural/uncomfortable position for long periods of time. Being forced to sit in furniture that wasn't meant to be sat in that long. We are as humans and teachers meant to be mobile. It is also looking at a digital screen no matter what size for extend periods of time with all that blue light coming back at us to which I recommend a pair of computer glasses with blue light blocking lens. However it is more than that even it is also a social fatigue that we as humans are not designed for mentally. As humans we are social creatures and are brains are structured in a way take advantage of that to be able to survive. We learn early on how to get the attention of care givers before language skills develop. We learn how to read non-verbal ques to be able to read a situation and react appropriately. We crave human interaction in some form (yes even those introverts like me). That being said our brains have adapted to surviving in a live up close, 3d social world but now we are thrust into an online world that is distant, 2d, limited to multiple  2"x 3" boxes, and throw in tons of distractions and our brains become overwhelmed and taxed to the point of our exhaustion. It can be similar to how we watch TV, YouTube, or other online videos. We watch but are often times doing other things because we are not fully invested in what is going on. Our brains look for other ways to stimulate because we are not getting the same stimuli as we would in a face to face conversation. Also with video we have distractions that are easier to buy into versus a face to face conversation. In an online conversation we can fidget with things on our desk, read email or other online activities. Now don't get me wrong I am not making a case for abandoning online learning or justifying why face to face instruction is better. What I am saying is that we need to be aware of this new type of fatigue in ourselves and our students and work to prevent it or at least counter it.

So what can we as teachers do for ourselves to help prevent or at least assuage zoom fatigue? To start with cut back on the number of meetings both in length and number of days we have meetings. Also try standing up when you have a meeting as opposed to sitting. To help with standing if you have the ability try calling in on the phone. This gives you the ability to walk and talk also we don't need to focus  

on a screen thus making it easier to take notes. Other suggestions are to avoid a grid view of participants. I suggest using a single person view or one that displays who is speaking; this will give you only one person to focus on which is easier on the brain. For online meeting with students those suggestions certainly apply but also give these a try:

• Use zoom for check ins only
• Question and answer
• How is it going
• Do simple demos 
• Try to avoid teaching a whole lesson or class session 
• Schedule them out so you only get small numbers of students at a time
• Be ok with kids not using video 

These are by no means the only things that one can do but hopefuly they are a start. One last thought is a positive aspect of zoom meetings for some of our Autistic students. Online meeting are being seen as helpful for those kids who have trouble processing social cues in conversation. The pauses of people not talking or trying to figure out who's turn it is are actually helpful to allow them to engage in a conversation. Something to think about going forward.

Below are a few resources I found to be helpful. I also encourage you to share your thoughts and ideas and suggestions around this or any other topic I talk about on this blog.

As always: Go Forth and Do Great Things!

Resources and podcast link

• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/coronavirus-zoom-fatigue-is-taxing-the-brain-here-is-why-that-happens/#close 
• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/lifetime-connections/202004/zoom-fatigue-dont-let-video-meetings-zap-your-energy
• Podcast link

Starting back up

For many of us we have been immersed in online learning for the past couple of months. Hopefully you are handling the transition from face to face to online learning at least somewhat comfortable if not something that really isn't too hard. If you are struggling I recommend checking out the Virtual Ed Tech conference at https://learningrevolution.com/. I have attended a few of their sessions and found them to be helpful both for online teaching and for when we get back to face to face. Regardless of how you feel about online/distance learning it is time to start thinking about starting back up. If you are like me you may have been thinking about how do we deal with the issue the loss in learning that may (say I said may) be facing us if/when we get back into the classroom. I used the word "may" very purposefully which I want to talk about today.

It is not lost on me that students are missing out on some learning or that there will be skill gaps between peers as we move forward next school year. If you are like me you are embracing this as an opportunity to dig deeper into topics/skills that you would normally go an inch deep and move on so you can get through what you need in the curriculum before the end of the year. I know I have read and hear a lot of professionals approach panic about next year about how we are going to "Get kids caught up" or " Make up for what they lost" or some even saying they worry about the future due to the loss of learning. I thought that way for a few moments then as I was discussing this topic with my "How Do I Learn" (HDIL) group, that studies application of brain science in education, I was reminded learning is sequential and can't be compressed. It needs to happen over time and can't/shouldn't be forced. That has been tried in the past and currently and it just doesn't work. So I am going to postulate something wild; that we should start up next year as a new starting point and move forward.

I have learned over the years of working with HDIL that kids are resilient and will bounce back as we move towards normal. However that being said it is not lost on me that there will be inequities between peers due to trauma. We will have a wealth of kids who fit into several categories ranging from little traumatic affect to those who had severe trauma. Yet don't we have those issues in class normally and we adapt our teaching to meet their needs. What I am saying though is we should look at starting next year as if kids are coming to us fresh from last year, meet them where they are at and move forward form there and not try to forcibly try and catch them to where "standards" say they should be (dare we even think about adjusting the standards). Yes I know I can imagine the in rush of air and possibly panic attacks going on as you read this blog.

I can hear it now "But what about the standards?" "If we don't get them caught up then they won't be ready for the state tests" "They won't be prepared for (insert post school choice here) if we don't catch them up". Yes you might be right but what happens if we do try and forcibly try to catch them up? We risk kids hitting and going past frustration level where learning stops due to shut down, kids not being emotionally ready to learn, not enough time for kids to absorb all that needs to be in order to be "caught up". Most importantly we risk turning kids off to learning which will be more detrimental than not being caught up by the end of next year. Maybe it is time to look at the standards or state tests for what they are; simply mile markers and way posts along the journey of learning.

I am not saying we need to abandon standards in education. What I am proposing is that maybe it is time to reassess them in the post pandemic educational world to make them work for our kids rather than against them. I have always seen standards as way makers in the journey of learning. They help me guide what I should be teaching but I never look at them for where kids should be by a specific time. Yes it would be nice if by the end of say 7th grade all kids new how to type at 25 to 30+ words a minute and be able to consistently use unique file names on digital work they create. Yet I know that there are some kids who are not ready to meet that standard until later on for a variety of  reasons.

Bringing it back to starting up next school year we will have a lot more kids who will need us to be able to meet them where they are and help guide them along the journey of life long learning. Dare I say we continue to adopt what our State Superintendent of Public Instruction has tasked us with when this all started approach learning from the stand point of being Communicative, Compassionate, and Do No Harm. That challenge has resonated with me both as a struggle to fit into how I teach and engage kids but also as a guiding light. I truly believe that we should start next year from where the kids are at and move forward rather than trying to get them caught up.

I can't wait to hear your thoughts and ideas about this topic. I encourage you to subscribe and/or leave comments. As always "Go Forth & Do Great Things!"

 Podcast link