One of the things I have been hearing over and over again as we all prepare for any potential school closures is to essentially KISS- Keep It Simple... I tend to collate giant lists of potential tools, thinking that it's helpful to have lots of choices to match teacher/student needs and styles. Although I still believe in choices, right now, the tools that we need to focus on are the ones that we know as teachers, and the ones that the kids know how to use. That said- what if you haven't been using many digital tools at all? Well, the tools we need to look at do not need to all be digital- good ole paper and pencil work for most things and we don't have the equity issues. If your school is trying to narrow the range of digital tools down to lighten the load, what are a couple of tools that you can learn and teach your students, given a week or two? What do you need? A way to communicate, a way to share lessons and stay connected. Here's a few tools to look at that may be helpful. But, remember, if we actually have to close school, you can't be messing about learning new tools. Use the tools you and your students know, and lessen the cognitive load, as the whole thing will be stressful enough. Screen Recording Screencastify or Nimbus look to be good choices. I haven't used Screencastify in a while, but according to Richard Byrne their latest update was a good one. Check out his post here.help.screencastify.com/ Screencastify is a chrome extension. Get it here.
Nimbus is another good choice, also a Google Chrome extension. Get it here. Video Conferencing We've been talking about using either Zoom or Google Hangouts/Meet. There are pros and cons of each, but I kind of favor Zoom, thinking I have more control. Check them out yourself.
Communication We all know communication is key, especially if we are not able to actually meet in the classroom. How will your students get their lessons? How to keep parents in the loop? We are fortunate to have Google Classroom for grades 3-12 in our district. Kindergarten would like to use a blog, second grade already uses SeeSaw, preK wants to use physical packets with newsletters and materials. All of these can work. If you haven't used Google Classroom, it's pretty easy to set up and put your assignments in. SeeSaw is an easy to use platform as well. A class website, using Google Sites, or Weebly or Wix can do the job. Choose a tool that you already use or ask for help to learn the basics of a new one. Your LMS may have built in communication tools. Ideas to Share
2 Comments
roselee conklin
3/11/2020 09:06:37 am
Thanks, Maureen! We are so fortunate to have you looking at this proactively, and to have the digital platforms in place to make any necessary transitions more smooth.
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Maureen Tumenas
3/13/2020 11:38:01 am
Thanks Roselee. I think we will be fine at HES.
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