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How to Add your Padlet to your CANVAS Course

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How to Add your Padlet to your CANVAS Course

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7 Steps to Distance Learning for your Students

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7 Steps to Distance Learning for your Students

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The way a lesson is laid out online can make all the difference in whether a student can follow along and execute it successfully.

When our classrooms moved online this year, many of us scrambled to find ways to engage students with lessons remotely, only to find that it was no simple task. Many of us, myself included, didn't know where to start.

Even the most basic communications, like the daily lessons that I posted for students, were trickier than I anticipated; my posts careened from being too wordy to too vague, from too content-heavy to too task-heavy. Students felt overwhelmed by their new, independent workload, and I wasn't streamlining our learning effectively. It just wasn't easy to transform a 50-minute lesson into a clear, pithy post that would serve my high school students.

Fortunately, my students weren't shy about giving feedback that helped me hone my daily posts, and over time, I was able to make my lessons more navigable, readable, and engaging.

7 Guidelines to Set the Stage for Online Learning

1. Same time, same place: Post your lessons in the same place every day. Once students know where you'll be posting your materials for the day-whether it's on a certain page of a learning management system or via email-be consistent and encourage kids to bookmark the landing page. Be sure to publish at the same time every day, too. If other teachers in your school can align and post in the same way, all the better.

2. Remind and reinforce: Your first few posts should begin with reiterating where and when students should check for lessons. I always posted my daily lessons in the announcements section of our learning management system at 8:00 a.m., and my first week of posts included a reminder that students should always check that space at or after that time. When students or parents emailed with questions, including a stock phrase about when and where to locate lessons helped keep everyone in the know.

3. Emphasize the date: Title your posts the day of the week and date. Because some students may fall behind and others may want to refer back to lessons, organizing with the date keeps your posts immutably anchored and sequenced. Students won't always see the continuity implied in posts that are labeled with the lesson's focus (such as a thesis statement lesson that precedes the lesson on quotation selection), but they'll definitely know that Tuesday, September 1, comes before Wednesday, September 2.

4. 1-2-3: Use numbers to drive students through your lessons. For me, the first item listed was always attendance, and after that, I listed content for the lesson, relevant documents, and links for submissions. I got positive feedback from students when I kept my posts light on language, organized by simple numerical signposts. This was also a helpful way for me to see when my lesson was getting out of hand; once I got to number five, I knew that I was probably at the outer limits of what most students could reasonably tolerate from me in a day.

5. Link everything: During online learning, students are already in a tough spot (just like we are), and any little roadblock-like being unable to locate a rubric-is going to feel insurmountable. It takes an extra minute to link a document, a helpful website, or an assignment submission, but if you don't have links in the post, you'll spend a lot more time answering emails and chasing after kids who didn't do the work or didn't do the work properly.

6. Remember when...? At the end of most posts, I included a summary of the previous day's post, cut down to the most important points and links. This was usually just a few sentences long, harvested from the previous post in a simple cut-and-paste, but students appreciated the convenience of being able to access refresher materials easily. I found this was also helpful for kids who tended to access the course inconsistently; if they tried to jump into a day's lesson, this brief review was helpful in orienting them to the day's learning. And, because this is the last section of the post, students who didn't need it became acclimated to skipping it, which was easier to do at the end of the post than if it had been inserted elsewhere.

7. Include a video overview: Lastly, create a short screen cast with a voice-over that walks students through the day's post. This was a step I skipped for the first few weeks of remote learning, and when my students asked for it, it felt a little silly-why do they want a two-minute video of me reading the post to them? But once I did it, I saw that it helped knit together all of the seemingly disparate pieces of the day's lesson, giving students a more holistic view of their "in class" time that day. This also turned out to be a helpful way to proofread my own work, ensuring that none of those typos or dead links made it to my final publication. Once I made a video overview, I inserted it at the top of my post, above the first element in my list.

Online learning will never replicate our time in the classroom, but following these simple steps can help keep learning accessible, which is a pretty good place to start.

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7 Guidelines for Setting Up Clear Online Lessons

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The way a lesson is laid out online can make all the difference in whether a student can follow along and execute it successfully. When our classrooms moved online this year, many of us scrambled to find ways to engage students with lessons remotely, only to find that it was no simple task.

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Things to Keep in Mind when Designing your CANVAS course

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Things to Keep in Mind when Designing your CANVAS course

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Intentionally setting up a learning management system where everything students need is easy to access can help them all be successful.

When remote learning hit, I was ready. My daughter had been in online school for three years. I teach technology integration. But during this time, our family struggled. I found that my son, a straight-A student in a traditional school setting, got distracted, lost track of assignments, and struggled academically.

So what happened? And what would help students like him? It seems to me that we teachers can use our learning management system (LMS)-Canvas, Schoology, Google Classroom, etc.-to build a digital home base for our learners. Grounding design in a delicate combination of empathy and simplicity, we can use our LMS to build community, increase usability, and keep everyone on track and on task.

Start With Empathy

Empathy in design is crucial. Put yourself in the shoes of your learners and you will put them first in your design. They are the end users. They are the ones for whom we should be designing learning experiences.

When I've asked teachers why they made the choices they did, such as tool selection or ways to submit assignments, many have said, "Because it is easiest for me." No matter what we prefer, we must consider empathic, student-centered choices that we can make. In the end, student-centered design will make it easier for the teacher, too.

First, create a place that houses everything learners and families need. A checklist with links or a week at a glance on your home page or via email is a solid start but shouldn't be all you offer. This spring, many learners and families had to visit multiple learning platforms, emails, websites, and tools to find, complete, and submit online activities. This proved exceedingly difficult for most, and a lack of consistency from week to week and class to class challenged everyone.

Look at the online learning experiences you offer from the perspective of your learners. Are they simple, and do they make navigation easy? Do they support learning and build community? If you ask these key questions as you design, the experiences will be better for everyone.

Build Community

A common concern is feeling disconnected in online learning. We don't want learners to feel like they are engaging with a computer. They are engaging with each other. With you. With content.

Use empathy in design to choose tools that build connection and integrate seamlessly into your LMS. For example, Edpuzzle, Pear Deck, and Seesaw allow you to link to or embed your voice and interactive content into your LMS. Flipgrid goes a step further and allows learners to reflect together and hear each other's voices asynchronously. Use discussion boards to field questions, allow peer review, and convert class discussion strategies to an asynchronous platform to deepen reflection.

Create an entry point in your online course that shows your personality and organizes resources for learners. Rosemary Jane, technology coordinator for Cincinnati Public Schools, encourages teachers to use a Bitmoji classroom, clickable PDF, or interactive week-at-a-glance at the entry point for an online course to direct learners to what is important and organize necessary links and resources. "We need to think of where we live," said Jane. "Our neighborhood. Our homes. They should be safe and comfortable. So should your online home base. Learners should go there expecting support and familiarity that will lead them to success."

If your district or building offers a template for your landing page, use it and personalize it for you and your learners. Add in regular communication about how to be successful and celebrate student wins here. And most important, be empathetic in your communication. Understand that this is new for most, and flexibility is needed.

Practice Good Design

Keeping your home base simple decreases cognitive load and increases working memory. Learners shouldn't have to use extra mental energy searching for what they need to be successful. Design your online classroom to provide a single place for daily or weekly updates, learning materials, assignments, activities, meeting links, grades, feedback, and everything else they need.

Use bullets and lists; avoid paragraphs.

Pay attention to font legibility; avoid fun or fancy fonts (many are not readable).

Limit the number of fonts; avoid using more than one font for headings and one for paragraphs.

Use color for emphasis, but avoid having more than two text colors.

Use contrasting colors; avoid light on light or dark on dark text.

Use clean, simple page layouts consistently; avoid mixing up your structure day-to-day.

Use images that reinforce key concepts; avoid images that aren't meaningful.

Use icons to reinforce key tasks; avoid clip art and patterns or backgrounds that distract.

Limit navigation to a couple of clicks; avoid folders inside folders.

Organize everything in clean, simple chunks with limited clicks so that everyone can quickly and easily see what's expected. Apply these design best practices to avoid distraction and barriers to learning:

Commit to Consistency

In a traditional face-to-face classroom, everything is centralized and consistent. Bins and areas of the room are clearly labeled. Routines are created. Key information is prominently posted. Classrooms don't change location, and learners don't have to guess where they're going or where to find things. The same should be true online, and your digital home base helps learners work more independently face-to-face or online.

If your school offers templates for your LMS, embrace them. Talk with colleagues to build consistency across your team, building, or district. Fewer questions and better demonstrations of learning will be the result, improving everyone's experience. Here are some guidelines for consistency: Repeat icons for learners to quickly see what they should do, create naming conventions for online folders (e.g., topic and date), and employ a small set of effective digital tools that are familiar to everyone.

Support Learners

Science and parenting journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer points out, "The more certain kids are that someone's got their back, the more confident and autonomous they can be." We can encourage confidence and autonomy by designing our home base assuming that learners and parents or caregivers need support and guidance. If everything they need is in one place, they will be able to find the help and support they need. This will also improve effort and help them stick with and complete tasks in the online and blended environment.

Include school and district resources for families and students.

Include supports benefiting all students, especially learners on IEPs and English language learners.

Prominently display goals and objectives.

Provide alternatives to support individual differences.

Assume the best of your learners.

In order to provide your students with more support, do the following:

Being tech support for your learners-empower them to seek help and find resources;

Making students ask for supports that can be easily preloaded to your online home base;

Adding assignments or materials that don't align with objectives;

Using one-size-fits-all instruction, assessment, or communication; and

Being inflexible.

There are also things you can do that will make this process more difficult. You'll want to avoid the following:
Special thanks to Kathryn Hicks (University of Cincinnati), Rosemary Jane (Cincinnati Public Schools), and Krista Heidenreich (Lakota Local Schools) for sharing their brilliance.
Going into an uncertain fall, we can alleviate a lot of stress for parents, caregivers, and students if we prioritize student-centered design. Leveraging your LMS as a home base is a simple first step to making sure that all learners can be successful and that learning and community take front and center in our classrooms, no matter the learning environment.

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Designing Your LMS to Make Distance Learning Better

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Intentionally setting up a learning management system where everything students need is easy to access can help them all be successful.

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Users with a Kamehameha Schools email ending with @ksbe.edu or @imua.ksbe.edu

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Quick guide to embedding YouTube video in a page

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Quick guide to embedding YouTube video in a page

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How to embed a YouTube video into Canvas page

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Take advantage of Edpuzzle's seamless integration with Canvas to keep all of your video lessons and grades in the same place!

In this article, you'll find sections on:
I. How to Integrate Edpuzzle With Canvas II. How to Assign a Video Lesson on Canvas III. How Students Can Use Edpuzzle Through Canvas IV. Troubleshooting the Edpuzzle Integration on Canvas
I. How to Integrate Edpuzzle With Canvas

Set up the integration yourself by following the steps in this article, or forward it to your IT admin or tech support person to install the integration for your whole school or district.

To integrate Edpuzzle with Canvas, you need to follow these steps:

1. Log in to Canvas, go to "Courses" and select a class.

2. Click on "Settings" from the white menu bar on the left.

3. Click on the "Apps" tab.

4. Search for the Edpuzzle app in the App Center (type it in the search bar or scroll down until you find it), and click on it.

5. Click on the blue "+ Add App" button. This will open a pop-up window.

6. Now you'll need two pieces of information: the consumer key and shared secret. Here are the steps you need to follow:

7. To find this information, open a new tab or window and log in to or sign up for Edpuzzle (see our article on how to create an account).

8. Click on your circular profile icon in the upper right-hand corner, select your name from the dropdown menu to go to your profile, then click on the "School" tab (https://edpuzzle.com/profile?tab=school).

9. In the LMS dropdown menu at the bottom of the page, select Canvas.

10. Click the "Generate" button to get your consumer key and shared secret.

11. Now go back to Canvas.

12. Enter the fields for "Consumer Key" and "Shared Secret" and click the blue "Add App" button.

13. Refresh the page, and now Edpuzzle will appear in your list of external apps!

If this doesn't work, just ask your IT admin to follow these exact same steps from their Admin panel in Canvas. You may not have permission as a teacher to add external apps.

Once Edpuzzle has been added to Canvas, all you need to do is select the course of your choice and then click on "Edpuzzle" in the side menu. You'll be prompted to log in or sign up and away you go - your Edpuzzle class is all set up!

II. How to Assign a Video Lesson on Canvas

To assign an Edpuzzle video lesson on Canvas:

1. Go to "Courses" and choose the course you'd like to assign an edpuzzle for.

2. Select "Assignments" from the white menu bar on the left.

3. Click the blue "+ Assignment" button.

4. Give your assignment a title, and in the "Submission Type" drop-down menu, select "External Tool."

5. Click the "Find" button, which will open the "Configure External Tool" pop-up. Select Edpuzzle.

6. This will open another pop-up window showing your "My Content" on Edpuzzle (or prompting you to log in if you haven't done so already).

7. Select your video lesson by clicking the eye icon in the middle of the video.

8. Click the blue "Assign" button, which will return you to the "Configure External Tool" pop-up.

9. Click the blue "Select" button to confirm your assignment and close the pop-up.

10. Then you can set your due date and click the blue "Save" button to save the assignment (which won't be visible to your students), or the gray "Save & Publish" button to send it to your students.

11. Now your video lesson will appear in your list of assignments on Canvas! Your students will start to appear as they click on the assignment link.

Best of all, once students complete the lessons their grades will automatically sync with Canvas!

Note: If you're a teacher using the Canvas app, please note that you won't be able to view edpuzzles using a mobile. On the other hand, you can watch edpuzzles if you're using a tablet.

III. How Students Can Use Edpuzzle Through Canvas

Your students will be able to log in to their Canvas accounts and complete your Edpuzzle video lessons right from there! Here are some things to keep in mind depending on the device they're using:

For desktop: Students simply need to log in to Canvas and click on the assignment(s) to view your edpuzzles.

For tablets: Students can use the Canvas app to view your edpuzzles.

For mobile: Students will need to use both the Canvas and Edpuzzle apps. When they go to watch an edpuzzle through the Canvas app, they'll get a pop-up prompting them to download the Edpuzzle app if they haven't already, or if they have, students will be asked to open it in the Edpuzzle app. When they're finished, they can return to the Canvas app.

IV. Troubleshooting the Edpuzzle Integration on Canvas

Here are some common issues that may come up as you're using the Edpuzzle integration with Canvas and how to solve them.
Where can I find student projects?
At the moment, the student projects feature is unavailable with the Canvas integration.
Why aren't my sections appearing in Edpuzzle?
If you've set up various sections of the same class in Canvas, when you look at your Gradebook on Edpuzzle, all of the students will appear as if they were in the same class. This is because we don't have a sections feature on Edpuzzle, but don't worry - your sections and gradebook in Canvas will still work perfectly!
Canvas Features That Aren't Available With the Edpuzzle Integration
A few features aren't supported with the Edpuzzle Canvas Integration. These include:

Speed grader. You can still easily grade your students' answers by going to the assignment and clicking on "X answers to be graded."

Reusing, cloning or importing a previous class. For Edpuzzle assignments, this feature isn't currently available.

Don't see your issue on our list? Reach out to us at support@edpuzzle.com and we'll be happy to help!

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Take advantage of Edpuzzle's seamless integration with Canvas to keep all of your video lessons and grades in the same place! In this article, you'll find sections on: I. How to Integrate Edpuzzle With Canvas II. How to Assign a Video Lesson on Canvas III. How Students Can Use Edpuzzle Through Canvas IV.

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Differentiated Instruction

Tips for giving direct instruction to small groups, whether students are in the classroom or learning at home.

Michele D'Ottavio / Alamy Stock Photo

Providing instruction to small groups of students is a tried-and-true way to differentiate and support students. Even in distance learning, it's important to know where students are in their learning, and working with them in small groups is one way to see that. So how do we plan small group instruction to maximize learning? We know we need to use data-whether from observations or a quiz or other formative assessment-to inform these groupings. We also know these groupings are dynamic and should change based on timely data and feedback we gather.

While small group instruction is nothing new, it's important to examine how we engage in it and consider new ideas for implementing it. We need to ensure that we provide small group instruction that leverages students' funds of knowledge rather than using a deficit approach. We should also guide students to look to each other for help rather than relying on the teacher as the sole source of learning.

Improving Small Group Instruction

Use small group time to listen and learn: When teachers set students up for small group instruction, they don't have to jump right into teaching-they can instead use some time to learn more about their students and what they know. This can be challenging, as we often feel pressure to provide direct instruction quickly. But while gathering information isn't instruction per se, it is part of the instructional process because it helps teachers improve their teaching and students' learning.

A teacher might create an activity for students to engage in and then observe what they do, asking probing questions to learn how they're engaging in the task. This can in turn lead to better planning and instruction. It's also an opportunity to assess and clearly identify what students have already learned. In a virtual, synchronous session, a teacher could put them into a breakout room or do this in the main room.

For example, a teacher working online gave students a math task on order of operations after giving direct instruction. She then put students into breakout rooms and visited each group to observe and look for patterns and errors. And an early elementary teacher who wanted to learn how students were learning about the concept of community and collaboration gave students choice in the activity and grouped them accordingly. She then observed, and in some cases videotaped the learning to see how students were able to learn and what strengths and ideas students brought to demonstrate their learning.

Offer rather than order: Students should not simply be told that they will be receiving small group instruction; instead, the teacher should collaborate with students to leverage them as agents in their learning. Using effective self-assessment practices and reflective metacognitive strategies, students can take ownership in determining whether they need small group support.

I've seen an example of this working out well in a sixth-grade English lesson. Students had just finished looking at feedback on drafts of their argumentative paragraphs. The teacher announced that he would be offering a mini-lesson on evidence at the center table, and that any student could sign up for 15-minute lessons. Some students chose not to sign up and instead continued work on their next paragraph, while the ones who felt they could benefit from the lesson came to learn from the teacher. Sometimes students don't make the right choice, and those occasions can be teachable moments to help a student reflect.

In distance learning, a teacher can use office hours as a structure, or give a schedule of virtual sessions based on different topics during a single day. These lessons might be 30 to 45 minutes long, with breaks in between, and students can choose the one they need.

Extension of learning: In our efforts to support our struggling learners, it's easy to not pay attention to those learners who are excelling. In addition to offering small group instruction for gaps in learning, consider offering challenges to students. Students need to see small group instruction as a dynamic space of learning that works both for addressing gaps and for pushing their thinking. This can help erase issues of labeling and stigmatizing students-small group instruction is appropriate for every student.

Choice in method: Remember that students can receive small group instruction in many ways. Direct instruction from the teacher is needed at times, but providing centers and other options to learn can help create more engaging lessons.

In a high school math classroom, I saw a teacher offer not only a mini-lesson at the front of the room but also a recorded lesson on the computer. And a teacher in a pre-K classroom offered variations on the same topic that students could pick from: One station was watching a video, another was doing a hands-on activity, and another was listening to the teacher read a story.

In distance learning, the teacher might create a schedule of small group instruction sessions on a topic, using different tasks or methods in each session. One activity might be watching and discussing a video, while another might be a performance task or challenge.

Student-driven lessons: In a similar vein, teachers can offer choice by asking students to provide lessons. As a teacher, it can be funny to experience a situation where students really understand an idea when a peer explains it after they were unable to get it from the teacher. But our students have amazing skills and funds of knowledge that can be leveraged, and students do love learning from their peers. Consider drawing on students and having them offer their expertise to other students in smaller groups. Teachers can work with students to offer these mini-lessons in synchronous sessions online, or ask students to record them to share later.

Ultimately, small group instruction, like instruction in general, is reciprocal-a two-way street: "What can I help my students learn?" and "What can I learn from my students?" In our rush to help students, we may miss the opportunity to learn from them to do our jobs as teachers in an even more effective way. In addition to addressing gaps in learning, it's about looking for opportunities to empower students to take agency in their learning and celebrate their funds of knowledge.

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Strategies for Improving Small Group Instruction

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Tips for giving direct instruction to small groups, whether students are in the classroom or learning at home.

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Flipgrid Tutorial - Creating Video Assignments

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Sponsored by PowerSchool and ISTE U

It's a pretty safe bet that most teachers will be doing some form of online teaching in the coming year. Maybe you'll do it full-time, maybe it will be some kind of hybrid model, but one thing is for sure: This time around you won't be dropped into it without warning.

So with this chance to take a breath and do more thoughtful, intentional planning, the next question is What do we do differently? What shifts do we need to make in our face-to-face teaching practices to make the most of online learning?

To find out, I sought the help of Melanie Kitchen, a Coordinator of Instructional Technology and Staff Development serving 19 school districts in Western New York state. Melanie has years of experience working with teachers on developing blended learning and has now shifted to helping teachers develop best practices for remote learning.

Melanie Kitchen

I asked Melanie to share some ways online teaching should be different from face-to-face teaching. She came up with nine: three that are specific to community building and communication, and six that focus on instructional design. Along with these differences, she also shared a few things that should stay exactly the same.

Community Building & Communication

1. The first weeks of school should be devoted to community building and digital competency.

Resist the temptation to dive right into curriculum at the start of the school year. Things will go more smoothly if you devote the early weeks to building community so students feel connected. Social emotional skills can be woven in during this time. On top of that, students need practice with whatever digital tools you'll be using. So focus your lessons on those things, intertwining the two when possible.

"If you are explicitly teaching persistence," Kitchen says, "maybe I'm going to give you a challenge that's not content-related, but something that you might have to kind of grapple with. But when I assign that, if I'm using Google Classroom, then I'm going to assign that through Google Classroom and teach you how you're going to open an assignment, how you're going to submit it, how you'll be receiving feedback. So you are teaching these skills all at once, and it's not something separate or extra. It's just all done together."

Other good resources that can guide and inform the conversations you have in these early weeks are:

2. Communication with parents needs to be more thorough, streamlined, and predictable.

Parents are also adjusting to this new way of doing school. Because they are sometimes expected to play an even more prominent role in supporting student learning, they need more support from you. "We really need parents to be our partners in this learning community," Kitchen says.

Here are some guidelines:

Establish a consistent location and predictable schedule for sharing information. When parents know where and when to look for information from you, they'll do a better job of keeping up with it and following through on their end. Weekly updates are a good way to keep everyone informed about what's going on in your class. And rather than toggling around between emails, text alerts, blog posts, website announcements, and newsletters, choose one platform for outgoing information and stick to it; if your whole school can do the same you'll see even better results.

Set clear expectations and boundaries for communication. When can students and parents expect to hear from you? How and when can they get in touch with you when needed? If you don't set boundaries you'll end up feeling like you have to be available 24/7, which will quickly lead to burnout. Establish regular office hours and advertise them in an easy-to-find place so parents know when you'll be most accessible.

Create a backup plan for off-hours and tech support. If parents or students need help outside of your regular office hours or they need help with technology, who can they contact? Make this information clearly available.

Make communication multimodal. Although it's important to consistently post through one platform, it's also helpful to provide the information in more than one mode. For example, you might offer written announcements and record the same announcements in a short video each week so students and parents can choose the format that works best for them.

Provide parent tech training. Parents will be better able to support students if they understand how to use the technology, so provide them with tutorials on the tech you use, including whatever platform you use to disseminate information.

3. Community and connection need to be a priority for teachers, too.

"Teachers need to connect with each other now more than ever," Kitchen says. Your school leadership should be building in regular opportunities for you to stay connected to your colleagues during this time. If they are not, create those opportunities for yourself.

Staff meetings should still be held regularly-even if it's through a videoconferencing platform-to keep staff connected.

During these meetings, some time and attention should be given to teacher well-being and emotional health.

Smaller groups like teaching teams or content-area PLCs can offer even more support.

If you're not getting the support you need, seek it out through platforms like Twitter.

This article offers a more in-depth look at teacher well-being: How to Support Teachers' Emotional Needs Right Now.

Instructional Design

4. Teacher collaboration is even more important.

Meeting the challenges of online learning gets easier when we work together. "As we're all trying to get to know these students better," Kitchen says, "we need to be working together to do that." That means working more closely with specialists to make sure our lessons and materials meet the needs of all students, partnering with others in our content area to plan instruction, working together on cross-curricular projects, and dividing up the things all students need (like technology instruction) among teachers on a team or grade level so students aren't doing the same lessons over and over and our work isn't duplicated.

Fortunately, collaborating online can be even easier than trying to do it when we all teach in the same physical building. "This virtual environment has provided us the opportunity to break down those walls, to break down those silos," Kitchen says. "Our schedules and time constraints that we may have had before will come down. We may have more opportunity to partner with people that we didn't have the time or the space to be able to do that before."

5. "Face-to-face" time should be used for active learning.

Online instruction is made up largely of asynchronous instruction, which students can access at any time. This is ideal, because requiring attendance for synchronous instruction puts some students at an immediate disadvantage if they don't have the same access to technology, reliable internet, or a flexible home schedule.

But you're likely to offer "face-to-face" or synchronous opportunities at some point, and one way to make them happen more easily is to have students meet in small groups. While it's nearly impossible to arrange for 30 students to attend a meeting at once, assigning four students to meet is much more manageable. Kitchen likes "campfire groups," which are permanent groups of about four that stay together for long periods of time. This arrangement allows students to get to know each other better and establish more trust. Students might be rearranged for other activities to provide some variety, but the campfire groups would provide a stable base throughout the school term.

So what kind of instructional activities should be used for these different formats?

What works best, Kitchen says, is to keep direct instruction-things like brief video lectures and readings-in asynchronous form, using checks for understanding like embedded questions or exit slips.

You can then use synchronous meetings for more interactive, engaging work. "If we want students showing up, if we want them to know that this is worth their time," Kitchen explains, "it really needs to be something active and engaging for them. Any time they can work with the material, categorize it, organize it, share further thoughts on it, have a discussion, all of those are great things to do in small groups."

Small group strategies she strongly recommends:

6. Content needs to be simplified and slowed down.

Online instruction is not conducive to covering large amounts of content, so you have to choose wisely, teaching the most important things at a slower pace. To make those choices, Kitchen recommends asking some key questions:

What really holds leverage for the students? What has endurance? What knowledge is essential?

What knowledge and skills do students need to have before they move to the next grade level or the next class?

What practices can be emphasized that transfer across many content areas? Skills like analyzing, constructing arguments, building a strong knowledge base through texts, and speaking can all be taught through many different subjects.

What tools can serve multiple purposes? Teaching students to use something like Padlet gives them opportunities to use audio, drawing, writing, and video. Non-digital tools can also work: Students can use things they find around the house, like toilet paper rolls, to fulfill other assignments, and then submit their work with a photo.

7. Instructions should be easy to find, explicit, and multimodal.

Because you are not in the same room with students, your instructions have to work a lot harder than they do in a brick-and-mortar setting.

Provide instructions in a consistent location and at a consistent time. This advice was already given for parents, but it's worth repeating here through the lens of instructional design: Set up lessons so that students know where to find instructions every time.

Make instructions explicit. Read and re-read to make sure these are as clear as possible. Make dogfooding your lessons a regular practice to root out problem areas.

Offer multimodal instructions. If possible, provide both written and video instructions for assignments, so students can choose the format that works best for them. You might also offer a synchronous weekly or daily meeting; what's great about doing these online is that even if you teach several sections of the same class per day, students are no longer restricted to class times and can attend whatever meeting works best for them.

8. Traditional grading practices should take a backseat to feedback.

"We saw a transition during emergency remote teaching where each of us had different requirements about grades or no grades, pass and fail," Kitchen says. "This whole environment really needs to be supported by communication and connection. If I'm to receive an A or a 95 or a 65, that doesn't necessarily tell me as much as verbal feedback or print feedback to what I'm doing right, what I can improve on."

So when teaching remotely, put the emphasis on formative feedback as students work through assignments and tasks, rather than simply grading them at the end.

Most learning management platforms, like Google Classroom, have built-in features for giving feedback. Use these as your primary method.

Tools like Floop offer other ways to provide on-the-spot feedback and can be especially good for math.

Feedback should be frequent and specific. Consider some of the methods shared by Matthew Johnson in Flash Feedback.

Provide a pathway for students and parents to give YOU feedback on assignments as well.

9. Summative assessment should focus on creation.

In online learning, Kitchen says, "There are so many ways that students can cheat, so if we're giving them just the traditional quiz or test, it's really easy for them to be able to just look up that information."

A great solution to this problem is to have students create things. These can be videos, podcasts, digital or physical art, writing pieces, comics, and so on. "It's a lot more difficult to cheat when you have to make something or do something. And it also integrates all of the areas and it builds up, all of that learning builds up into this creation that they will do."

For assessment, use a detailed rubric that highlights the learning goals the end product will demonstrate. A single-point rubric works well for this.

To help students discover tools to work with, this list of tools is organized by the type of product each one creates. Another great source of ideas is the Teacher's Guide to Tech.

When developing the assignment, rather than focusing on the end product, start by getting clear on what you want students to DO with that product. This list from Bill Ferriter explores the difference:

Image Credit: Bill Ferriter (CC BY-NC-ND)

What Stays the Same

Not everything in online teaching is different. Some aspects of good teaching should definitely stay the same.

Clear and consistent communication

Creating explicit and consistent rituals and routines

Using research-based instructional strategies

Determining whether to use digital or non-digital tools for an assignment

A focus on authentic learning, where authentic products are created and students have voice and choice in assignments

The teaching environment may not be the same as we're used to, but it's important to remember that good teaching is still good teaching. "All of those things that we know are really good practices can still be done virtually," Kitchen says. "It just might look a little bit different."

You can find Melanie on her website, creativecuriosity.org, or on Twitter at @MelKitchenEDU.

Come back for more.
Join our mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration that will make your teaching more effective and fun. You'll get access to our members-only library of free downloads, including 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, the e-booklet that has helped thousands of teachers save time on grading. Over 50,000 teachers have already joined-come on in.

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9 Ways Online Teaching Should be Different from Face-to-Face

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What shifts do we need to make in our face-to-face teaching practices to make the most of online learning? What can stay exactly the same?

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Use the Kamehameha Kiʻekiʻe Homepage Template found in KS Commons in CANVAS

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Use the Kamehameha Kiʻekiʻe Homepage Template found in KS Commons in CANVAS

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Be sure to upload your course syllabus to your department folder. Check to be sure you have included agreed upon common language

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Be sure to upload your course syllabus to your department folder. Check to be sure you have included agreed upon common language

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Click on Link below

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3 or 4

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Yes...itʻs coming

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Can students sign up for Padlet and create their own account?

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Can students sign up for Padlet and create their own account?

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Yes, they must sign up with their KS Google account

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Must I video all my synchronous class sessions in Zoom?

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Must I video all my synchronous class sessions in Zoom?

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YES. Video sessions also need to be kept on your computer per LT decision as of 8/21/2020

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Must I video any one-on-one Zoom/Teams meeting with a student?

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Must I video any one-on-one Zoom/Teams meeting with a student?

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Yes, only if there is NOT another adult on the Zoom session. If there is another adult in the meeting with you there is NO NEED to video the one-on-one session

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5 Norms & 1 Point Rubrics for Self-Assessment

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Jotting down short notes after every lesson helps teachers contemplate what worked, what didn't, and how to improve their skills.

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[9.27.18] Screencastify 50 Ways eBook.pdf

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Remote presentations aren't going away anytime soon. Zoom, Skype, and WebEx gatherings are the new normal. Business leaders and their employees need to learn how to replicate in a virtual environment the interactions and two-way dialogue that make in-person meetings meaningful. One of the biggest mistakes presenters make is talking too much and not engaging the audience-in virtual meetings and even when everyone is in the same room.

Whether you are speaking with one or hundreds, planning for interaction will help you better connect with your audience, and enable you to learn what your viewers are really thinking-crucial for effective communication that leads to action.

Here are 10 best practices to help leaders and managers capture audience attention and fuel a productive discussion during virtual meetings:

Don't save questions for the end

Encourage participants to pose queries throughout the session. The goal is to replicate true two-way communication and not drone on for extended periods. Put yourself in your audience's shoes and think about how you would prefer to engage.

Solicit feedback in advance

Ask for questions, examples, or topics relevant to your session before you finalize your remarks. It will help you create your messaging, and you can integrate any specific questions you receive throughout your talk.

Use electronic polling

Embed a few multiple-choice questions into your presentation. This will enable all audience members to provide their points of view in real time. Be sure to set the questions up appropriately and be prepared to integrate the responses into the discussion.

Leverage the raised hands or chat room options

Provide explicit instructions on these features at the beginning of the meeting to encourage participation. Everyone may not be as familiar with the specific platform you are using. Have a colleague monitor incoming inquiries and bring them to your attention to help you navigate the discussion.

Build in time for engagement

If you have 20 minutes on the agenda, make sure you plan for using almost half that time for questions and discussion. If you're adhering to the golden rule of presentation giving-to explicitly share your three key messages at the beginning of your talk and at the end-it won't matter if you get to every point. Interaction is more important.

Eliminate the phrase "any questions?" from your vocabulary

Ask something specific instead. Stimulate ideas and conversation, such as, "What have you been hearing from clients?" Ask customers what their biggest concerns are or what can we do to better serve you. Solicit comments or relevant stories and don't limit sharing to questions. If it's a small group, have them unmute the entire time so dialogue will be easier.

Brainstorm before the presentation

Most presenters spend hours making slides, some time on messaging, and little thought is given to what questions might be asked. Reverse that process. Anticipate all the questions that might be raised-especially those that you hope won't come up-and have answers ready. Prepare team members to take some of the queries to give them a role.

Keep the dialogue going

Promise to answer any unanswered questions post meeting. If there isn't time to respond to every person or if someone's remark requires a more detailed response, that's okay. Just ensure that you follow up individually within a day or two. Also, provide your contact information so the audience may follow up with you directly.

Know your stuff

There is no substitute for knowing your content. If you rehearse yourself and are truly confident with your storyline, it will be easier to pause and take comments from the audience without getting tripped up. And never read from a script-that is certainly the fastest way to lose your audience and sound inauthentic. Even if you are in a highly regulated industry and your remarks have to be vetted, know the principles behind what you can and can't stay and let that guide you.

No great meeting ever ends with a question

Don't conclude with Q&As. The last question may not be a great one. It's much better to end with a bang, not a whimper. Close your presentation with the two or three most important messages you want your audience to remember. And in these challenging pandemic times, perhaps leave them with an inspirational quote or thought.

People are craving live interaction as most continue to work remotely. With advance planning, striving to make a virtual presentation a dialogue will enhance your relationships and make a greater impact. And here's an added bonus: these techniques will also serve you well when we get back to "normal" and in-person meetings are resumed. Remember, talk less, and interact more.
Valerie Di Maria is principal at the10company, a women-owned strategic communications agency. Last year they launched VOICES, an executive coaching program specifically for women by women.

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Stop presenting and start a dialogue. 10 tips to make virtual meetings more interactive

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Remote presentations aren't going away anytime soon. Zoom, Skype, and WebEx gatherings are the new normal. Business leaders and their employees need to learn how to replicate in a virtual environment the interactions and two-way dialogue that make in-person meetings meaningful.

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@Wakelet (Twitter)

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YES!

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How long can the video be that I upload and create using Flipdgrid?

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How long can the video be that I upload and create using Flipdgrid?

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10 minutes...it counts down for you too

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Can Students sign up for Wakelet? Is there an age requirement?

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Can Students sign up for Wakelet? Is there an age requirement?

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Yes, students can sign up. The age requirement is 13.

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Do my collaborators need to have a Wakelet account?

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Do my collaborators need to have a Wakelet account?

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NO, they do not

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Principles to Improve the Effectiveness of Instructional Videos - The Effortful Educator

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Five to-dos and one to-don’t when creating instructional videos.

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KSKHS Distance Learning Blog Site for Kumu & Limahana

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KSKHS Distance Learning Blog Site for Kumu & Limahana

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Sponsored by PowerSchool and ISTE U

It's a pretty safe bet that most teachers will be doing some form of online teaching in the coming year. Maybe you'll do it full-time, maybe it will be some kind of hybrid model, but one thing is for sure: This time around you won't be dropped into it without warning.

So with this chance to take a breath and do more thoughtful, intentional planning, the next question is What do we do differently? What shifts do we need to make in our face-to-face teaching practices to make the most of online learning?

To find out, I sought the help of Melanie Kitchen, a Coordinator of Instructional Technology and Staff Development serving 19 school districts in Western New York state. Melanie has years of experience working with teachers on developing blended learning and has now shifted to helping teachers develop best practices for remote learning.

Melanie Kitchen

I asked Melanie to share some ways online teaching should be different from face-to-face teaching. She came up with nine: three that are specific to community building and communication, and six that focus on instructional design. Along with these differences, she also shared a few things that should stay exactly the same.

Community Building & Communication

1. The first weeks of school should be devoted to community building and digital competency.

Resist the temptation to dive right into curriculum at the start of the school year. Things will go more smoothly if you devote the early weeks to building community so students feel connected. Social emotional skills can be woven in during this time. On top of that, students need practice with whatever digital tools you'll be using. So focus your lessons on those things, intertwining the two when possible.

"If you are explicitly teaching persistence," Kitchen says, "maybe I'm going to give you a challenge that's not content-related, but something that you might have to kind of grapple with. But when I assign that, if I'm using Google Classroom, then I'm going to assign that through Google Classroom and teach you how you're going to open an assignment, how you're going to submit it, how you'll be receiving feedback. So you are teaching these skills all at once, and it's not something separate or extra. It's just all done together."

Other good resources that can guide and inform the conversations you have in these early weeks are:

2. Communication with parents needs to be more thorough, streamlined, and predictable.

Parents are also adjusting to this new way of doing school. Because they are sometimes expected to play an even more prominent role in supporting student learning, they need more support from you. "We really need parents to be our partners in this learning community," Kitchen says.

Here are some guidelines:

Establish a consistent location and predictable schedule for sharing information. When parents know where and when to look for information from you, they'll do a better job of keeping up with it and following through on their end. Weekly updates are a good way to keep everyone informed about what's going on in your class. And rather than toggling around between emails, text alerts, blog posts, website announcements, and newsletters, choose one platform for outgoing information and stick to it; if your whole school can do the same you'll see even better results.

Set clear expectations and boundaries for communication. When can students and parents expect to hear from you? How and when can they get in touch with you when needed? If you don't set boundaries you'll end up feeling like you have to be available 24/7, which will quickly lead to burnout. Establish regular office hours and advertise them in an easy-to-find place so parents know when you'll be most accessible.

Create a backup plan for off-hours and tech support. If parents or students need help outside of your regular office hours or they need help with technology, who can they contact? Make this information clearly available.

Make communication multimodal. Although it's important to consistently post through one platform, it's also helpful to provide the information in more than one mode. For example, you might offer written announcements and record the same announcements in a short video each week so students and parents can choose the format that works best for them.

Provide parent tech training. Parents will be better able to support students if they understand how to use the technology, so provide them with tutorials on the tech you use, including whatever platform you use to disseminate information.

3. Community and connection need to be a priority for teachers, too.

"Teachers need to connect with each other now more than ever," Kitchen says. Your school leadership should be building in regular opportunities for you to stay connected to your colleagues during this time. If they are not, create those opportunities for yourself.

Staff meetings should still be held regularly-even if it's through a videoconferencing platform-to keep staff connected.

During these meetings, some time and attention should be given to teacher well-being and emotional health.

Smaller groups like teaching teams or content-area PLCs can offer even more support.

If you're not getting the support you need, seek it out through platforms like Twitter.

This article offers a more in-depth look at teacher well-being: How to Support Teachers' Emotional Needs Right Now.

Instructional Design

4. Teacher collaboration is even more important.

Meeting the challenges of online learning gets easier when we work together. "As we're all trying to get to know these students better," Kitchen says, "we need to be working together to do that." That means working more closely with specialists to make sure our lessons and materials meet the needs of all students, partnering with others in our content area to plan instruction, working together on cross-curricular projects, and dividing up the things all students need (like technology instruction) among teachers on a team or grade level so students aren't doing the same lessons over and over and our work isn't duplicated.

Fortunately, collaborating online can be even easier than trying to do it when we all teach in the same physical building. "This virtual environment has provided us the opportunity to break down those walls, to break down those silos," Kitchen says. "Our schedules and time constraints that we may have had before will come down. We may have more opportunity to partner with people that we didn't have the time or the space to be able to do that before."

5. "Face-to-face" time should be used for active learning.

Online instruction is made up largely of asynchronous instruction, which students can access at any time. This is ideal, because requiring attendance for synchronous instruction puts some students at an immediate disadvantage if they don't have the same access to technology, reliable internet, or a flexible home schedule.

But you're likely to offer "face-to-face" or synchronous opportunities at some point, and one way to make them happen more easily is to have students meet in small groups. While it's nearly impossible to arrange for 30 students to attend a meeting at once, assigning four students to meet is much more manageable. Kitchen likes "campfire groups," which are permanent groups of about four that stay together for long periods of time. This arrangement allows students to get to know each other better and establish more trust. Students might be rearranged for other activities to provide some variety, but the campfire groups would provide a stable base throughout the school term.

So what kind of instructional activities should be used for these different formats?

What works best, Kitchen says, is to keep direct instruction-things like brief video lectures and readings-in asynchronous form, using checks for understanding like embedded questions or exit slips.

You can then use synchronous meetings for more interactive, engaging work. "If we want students showing up, if we want them to know that this is worth their time," Kitchen explains, "it really needs to be something active and engaging for them. Any time they can work with the material, categorize it, organize it, share further thoughts on it, have a discussion, all of those are great things to do in small groups."

Small group strategies she strongly recommends:

6. Content needs to be simplified and slowed down.

Online instruction is not conducive to covering large amounts of content, so you have to choose wisely, teaching the most important things at a slower pace. To make those choices, Kitchen recommends asking some key questions:

What really holds leverage for the students? What has endurance? What knowledge is essential?

What knowledge and skills do students need to have before they move to the next grade level or the next class?

What practices can be emphasized that transfer across many content areas? Skills like analyzing, constructing arguments, building a strong knowledge base through texts, and speaking can all be taught through many different subjects.

What tools can serve multiple purposes? Teaching students to use something like Padlet gives them opportunities to use audio, drawing, writing, and video. Non-digital tools can also work: Students can use things they find around the house, like toilet paper rolls, to fulfill other assignments, and then submit their work with a photo.

7. Instructions should be easy to find, explicit, and multimodal.

Because you are not in the same room with students, your instructions have to work a lot harder than they do in a brick-and-mortar setting.

Provide instructions in a consistent location and at a consistent time. This advice was already given for parents, but it's worth repeating here through the lens of instructional design: Set up lessons so that students know where to find instructions every time.

Make instructions explicit. Read and re-read to make sure these are as clear as possible. Make dogfooding your lessons a regular practice to root out problem areas.

Offer multimodal instructions. If possible, provide both written and video instructions for assignments, so students can choose the format that works best for them. You might also offer a synchronous weekly or daily meeting; what's great about doing these online is that even if you teach several sections of the same class per day, students are no longer restricted to class times and can attend whatever meeting works best for them.

8. Traditional grading practices should take a backseat to feedback.

"We saw a transition during emergency remote teaching where each of us had different requirements about grades or no grades, pass and fail," Kitchen says. "This whole environment really needs to be supported by communication and connection. If I'm to receive an A or a 95 or a 65, that doesn't necessarily tell me as much as verbal feedback or print feedback to what I'm doing right, what I can improve on."

So when teaching remotely, put the emphasis on formative feedback as students work through assignments and tasks, rather than simply grading them at the end.

Most learning management platforms, like Google Classroom, have built-in features for giving feedback. Use these as your primary method.

Tools like Floop offer other ways to provide on-the-spot feedback and can be especially good for math.

Feedback should be frequent and specific. Consider some of the methods shared by Matthew Johnson in Flash Feedback.

Provide a pathway for students and parents to give YOU feedback on assignments as well.

9. Summative assessment should focus on creation.

In online learning, Kitchen says, "There are so many ways that students can cheat, so if we're giving them just the traditional quiz or test, it's really easy for them to be able to just look up that information."

A great solution to this problem is to have students create things. These can be videos, podcasts, digital or physical art, writing pieces, comics, and so on. "It's a lot more difficult to cheat when you have to make something or do something. And it also integrates all of the areas and it builds up, all of that learning builds up into this creation that they will do."

For assessment, use a detailed rubric that highlights the learning goals the end product will demonstrate. A single-point rubric works well for this.

To help students discover tools to work with, this list of tools is organized by the type of product each one creates. Another great source of ideas is the Teacher's Guide to Tech.

When developing the assignment, rather than focusing on the end product, start by getting clear on what you want students to DO with that product. This list from Bill Ferriter explores the difference:

Image Credit: Bill Ferriter (CC BY-NC-ND)

What Stays the Same

Not everything in online teaching is different. Some aspects of good teaching should definitely stay the same.

Clear and consistent communication

Creating explicit and consistent rituals and routines

Using research-based instructional strategies

Determining whether to use digital or non-digital tools for an assignment

A focus on authentic learning, where authentic products are created and students have voice and choice in assignments

The teaching environment may not be the same as we're used to, but it's important to remember that good teaching is still good teaching. "All of those things that we know are really good practices can still be done virtually," Kitchen says. "It just might look a little bit different."

You can find Melanie on her website, creativecuriosity.org, or on Twitter at @MelKitchenEDU.

Come back for more.
Join our mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration that will make your teaching more effective and fun. You'll get access to our members-only library of free downloads, including 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, the e-booklet that has helped thousands of teachers save time on grading. Over 50,000 teachers have already joined-come on in.

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9 Ways Online Teaching Should be Different from Face-to-Face

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What shifts do we need to make in our face-to-face teaching practices to make the most of online learning? What can stay exactly the same?

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Keeping your body & mind nimble!

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Six seated exercises to keep you limber at your desk

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Strengthen your upper muscles, as well as your legs, glutes, and core, while sitting in your desk chair.