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The constructivism theory says that knowledge is built upon previous experiences. Constructionists believe learning should be active, social, and engaging. Constructivist classrooms work well in both synchronous and asynchronous online learning environments. In a synchronous format students can work in break-out rooms on PBL projects. Students could also engage in those same projects asynchronously with shared documents and programs like Screencastify.

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This theory states learning is the goal of education rather than knowing. Students are encouraged to connect with people and technology to development decision making skills. Connectivism is most appropriate for synchronous environments because this scenario allows students to connect and communicate with peers directly. A positive aspect of connectivism theory is that students enjoy making choices regarding their learning. One draw back to connectivism theory in a synchronous distance learning environment is it can be hard for the teacher to manage a large classroom of students who are guiding their own instruction. Connectivism can be used in any classroom to promote problem solving and decision making skills. Complexity of activities should increase with grade level.

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Connectivism instructional strategies include Ask Three Before Me and gamification. Ask Three Before Me encourages students to seek out other sources of information besides the teacher. Gamification is constructivist because it makes learning interactive.

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Depth of Knowledge or DOK, is a framework that sets the stage for lessons and assessments (Aungst, 2014). Students move fluidly between the levels. As the levels increase in number, so does the rigor. The four stages are Recall, Skill/Concept, Strategic Thinking, and Extended Thinking. Because DOK is so broad and can be used in any learning environment, it is a great fit for both synchronous and asynchronous learning. One downside to DOK is that it can be difficult to reach level 4, especially with younger, online students. One of the benefits of DOK is it helps teachers to create better lessons and assessments. DOK identifies students' level of comprehension so teachers may respond appropriately.

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Cognitivism introduced the idea of stages of development. Cognitivism states students learn from both observing others and processing information on their own. This theory focuses on the thought processes of students and the storage and retrieval of information (Michela, 2018). Because this requires self-reflection, cognitivism is best suited for asynchronous learning environments. Younger students will require a lot of support in this environment.

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Learning Menus are an effective way to employ DOK in synchronous and asynchronous classrooms. Learning Menus provide students the opportunity to organize and design their own learning. Teachers can modify learning menus to increase rigor for groups or specific students.

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Learning menus and Think Along/Think Aloud are both cognitive instructional strategies. Teachers can support these strategies with technology by providing hyperlinked choice boards and engaging videos.

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Constructivist strategies for classroom use include Think/Pair/Share and small group instruction (Brame, 2016). Collaborative online platforms provide a digital space to employ these strategies.

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Challenge yourself to create lessons or assessments that include 2 or more DOK levels. For example, play a math review game on Blooket for level 1, recall. Next, have students complete a Google Slide assignment where they are sorting shapes, numbers, or concepts into student-created groups, for level 2, categorizing. For DOK 3, have students share their slides and comment on each other's categories and justifications. This would support level 3 thinking such as assessing and critiquing.

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Have students explain their projects or thinking by creating videos on Flip. Students can demonstrate how they solved a problem or constructed something.

Play educational or how-to videos. BrainPOP and TeacherTube are great educational video resources to support cognitive strategies.

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Place students in pairs to respond to prompts on Padlet or Jamboard. These platforms support student interaction and collaboration.

Provide scaffolded small group instruction in conjunction with Nearpod's supportive videos and slides.

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Active Learning is any activity in a student-centered classroom (Brame, 2016). Students involved in Active Learning are collaborating, communicating, and participating. Active Learning is best done synchronously so students have opportunities for interaction. With younger students, teachers will need to provide more guidance and structure for student-lead activities. Older students may enjoy more independence by using break-out rooms or on group chats or videos to participate with one another. A pro to Active Learning is it is highly engaging and effective. A con to this framework is it can take some time getting used to, especially for students. Modeling can help students to understand expectations.

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Play Blooket on any subject. Websites like Blooket reinforce knowledge and provide opportunities for healthy competition.

Provide hyperlinks of vetted resources for students to seek out information independently for research. Learning menus can help you to organize and individualize the information for students.

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Game-based learning is fun and let's students compete and interact with each other. Game-based learning is usually quick and provides immediate feedback which is perfect for synchronous online learning.

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Play Blooket on any subject. Websites like Blooket reinforce knowledge and provide opportunities for healthy competition.

Visit PBL Works for ideas, resources, and support for online project-based learning. When participating in project-based learning students are actively collaborating, communicating, creating, and developing deep content knowledge.