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8 Stategies to Improve Participation in Your Virtual Classrooms

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8 Stategies to Improve Participation in Your Virtual Classrooms

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In every classroom, there are students who always have their hand raised to participate, and those who are hesitant to engage. Whether they're introverted, tend to think awhile before they contribute, or are just having a bad day, it can be hard to bring kids into discussions who are reluctant to add their voices.

The challenges of getting students to participate have intensified during remote learning, we've heard from many teachers. Digital platforms can create added communication barriers by making it hard to know when to talk, for example, or how to read subtle but important elements of discourse like a person's body language and facial expressions. Additionally, online discussions are often hindered by variability in students' access to technology and by privacy concerns, and consequently many teachers have had to rely on students' submitting work over isolated channels like email, which can leave back-and-forth between peers (and between students and the teacher) by the wayside.

Getting kids to contribute in virtual classrooms takes some work, it turns out. "We keep calling this generation digital natives as if they are simply whizzes at everything computerized. They aren't," wrote Tim O'Brien on Facebook. "They need personal support, scaffolding, and reassurance that technology does not provide. It is simply a tool, not a teacher."

To find out how to improve student discussions and participation in online learning, we culled through hundreds of comments on social media and followed up with more than 20 educators to see how they tackled the challenge last spring. Teachers offered a range of smart strategies, both synchronous and asynchronous, to integrate the values and the voices of all kids-even the quietest or those with disrupted schedules-into their classes this fall.

Synchronous Strategies

For synchronous learning, some teachers said they translated traditional discussion strategies from the classroom to live video chats, while others found that digital tools helped boost classroom participation.

1. Spider web discussion: During remote learning this spring, students in Shai Klima's high school class led their own discussions over Google Meet. Before the live class, students answered questions independently, and then shared their responses at the start of the meeting as a jumping-off point for a broader class discussion.

While students conversed on video, Klima listened and drew lines on a sheet of paper tracking the flow of the conversation, resulting in a spider web. At the end of the discussion, Klima shared the drawing over video, and then asked students to reflect on the experience and what they learned about who talked, who listened, and who built on the ideas of others.

"It has been successful as a means to get kids to credit their peers with helping them come up with new ideas, which helps build rapport," said Klima, who let students struggling with bandwidth call in to the meetings.

2. Using chat to check for understanding: After giving lessons last spring, Paul France had his third-grade students use the Google Chat feature to ask and answer questions or type in emojis, like a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, to show whether they understood a concept. To create structure around the responses, he guided his students in creating norms around using the chat feature-they decided as a group to use only one emoji at a time, for example. France said the practice helped him check for student understanding and pushed students to engage more with the content.

Kindergarten teacher Ruth Calkins, meanwhile, used Zoom chat when holding live lessons with her kindergarten students. She said they enjoyed typing "T" or "F" for true and false questions while answering math problems in the chat box, and some even attempted to write sentences in response to her questions. Typing responses also provided a lot of keyboard practice for her young students.

3. Flip your classroom to stimulate deeper discussion: Forrest Hinton, a high school math teacher, says he found that a blend of asynchronous and synchronous instruction worked well to stimulate student discussion during remote learning.

First, he taught new content asynchronously through recorded videos and online activities. At the start of his live class, students briefly summarized the concepts they had learned together and then divided into breakout rooms to solve related problems in small groups. Flipping his classroom allowed Hinton to spend less class time in direct instruction-and listening to students at the start of class and in small groups helped him identify, and then address, where his students were struggling. "This has allowed me to clarify concepts in a more targeted way and better assist students," said Hinton.

4. Adapting think-pair-share to Zoom: Ryan Tahmaseb, director of library services, says he found that giving more project-based learning activities to his elementary and middle school students-and allowing them more autonomy over assignments-naturally encouraged richer discussions in virtual learning. "If we give students as much freedom as possible to experiment, research, and pursue interests within our content area, then they inevitably have a lot more to say," said Tahmaseb.

When it came to class discussions, Tahmaseb adapted think-pair-share to Zoom. Students were given a prompt, broken into groups, and then placed into breakout rooms to discuss and record their answers on a shared Google doc, which allowed students to share their thinking in writing or read aloud. Since Tahmaseb wasn't in each breakout room to listen to the conversations, the Google doc kept students accountable. Once they returned to the whole class, volunteers from each group shared their answers with everyone.

5. A new twist on show-and-tell: To get students comfortable with online participation, Brittany Collins, the teaching and learning coordinator at Write the World, a global online writing community for middle and high school students, converted the familiar show-and-tell activity into "think, write, share."

In one activity, Collins asked middle and high school students to find a photo, painting, or drawing that represented intergenerational connection and independently respond by writing to the following questions from the Making Thinking Visible Framework before discussing them over video as a class: What are we looking at? What makes you say that? What do you notice (see, feel, know)? What more can we uncover? What do you wonder? "It helps to break the ice in a virtual learning setting where unplanned participation can prove challenging for some students," said Collins.

Asynchronous Strategies

Although some teachers-and students-said that synchronous discussions were more engaging because they resembled a traditional classroom, many educators found that asynchronous discussions were more equitable because they opened up participation to students with low bandwidth, who had schedule limitations, or who were uncomfortable engaging with the full class.

6. Online forums create back-and-forth dialogue: Angelina Murphy, a high school English teacher, said she used Google Classroom's question feature to get her class to respond to readings and discussion prompts during remote learning this past spring. When each student commented, Murphy replied with clarifying questions to create a back-and-forth dialogue and also asked every student to respond to at least two of their peers' comments to create a broader base of discussion.

Fifth-grade teacher Raquel Linares said she used Nearpod Collaborate (Apple, Android), a virtual collaboration board, to get students to share images or write a response to show what they had learned about an article they read. To inspire connection and reflection among classmates, Linares also used Flipgrid (Apple, Android), so that students could hear their peers' voices even though they were remote.

7. Seeing and critiquing peer work through virtual gallery walks: Virtual "gallery walks" give students an opportunity to view their classmates' projects while learning from each other, according to Joe Marangell, a high school social studies teacher. After his students presented their own projects through five-minute screencasts, they were then required to give feedback to at least two other students on theirs.

Using Google Sheets, students provided feedback to their peers by answering the following prompts: What's something new I learned about this topic?; What's something that surprised me about this topic?; What's something I liked about this presentation? The online format gave every student the opportunity to see their peers' work and their assessment on theirs for deeper reflection, Marangell said.

8. Moving station brainstorming online: When carousel or station brainstorming activities are conducted in traditional classroom environments, small groups of students rotate around the room to different stations to answer prompts-and view and add to each groups' responses.

To translate this online, Marangell divided his students into groups online and created shared Google docs-or a series of Google slides-for the prompts/questions. Each group left their thoughts under the questions by the assigned date and then followed up by commenting on the other groups' responses the next day. "The strategy still allows them to maintain a sense of classroom community [in a virtual setting]," said Marangell.

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8 Strategies to Improve Participation in Your Virtual Classroom

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In every classroom, there are students who always have their hand raised to participate, and those who are hesitant to engage. Whether they're introverted, tend to think awhile before they contribute, or are just having a bad day, it can be hard to bring kids into discussions who are reluctant to add their voices.

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A 250+ page guide crowdsourced by 50+ educators.

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Book Creator is a simple tool for creating awesome digital books. Create your own teaching resources or have your students take the reins.

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Inspire your students with thousands of free teaching resources including videos, lesson plans, and games aligned to state and national standards.

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It's time to improve literacy skills during social studies instruction and ensure that readers of all abilities have what they need to access grade-level social studies concepts.

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We express ourselves in different ways. On Flip, you can use our simple and fun built-in camera to record your thoughts, add effects and share within your Flip group as video, audio only or text in your web browser or mobile app.

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Flip (formerly Flipgrid) is a video discussion and video sharing app, free from Microsoft, built for classrooms and beyond. Learn more.

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Run pulse-checks with quiz, polls and other questions to collect valuable student feedback. For example, pre-assess knowledge, or find out how students are feeling in general. Kahoot!'s visual reports on live games and challenges will help you with formative assessment: see how the class performed, identify difficult questions that need followup, and reinforce learning.

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Run pulse-checks with quiz, polls and other questions to collect valuable student feedback. For example, pre-assess knowledge, or find out how students are feeling in general. Kahoot!'s visual reports on live games and challenges will help you with formative assessment: see how the class performed, identify difficult questions that need followup, and reinforce learning.

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More than ever before, the world is searching for 'how do teachers do it.' Whether in a classroom or at home, we are grateful to everyone helping to keep students learning.

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CrashCourse. TEDED: Lessons Worth Sharing. Ken Burns in the Classroom. American Archive of Public Broadcasting. Global Oneness Project. TV NEWS : Search Captions. Borrow Broadcasts : TV Archive : Internet Archive. CNN (San Francisco) quote eye favorite 0 quote 22 if you think dog whistles to neo nazi, and eric erickson or the adl is represented by the mainstream media, that's somewhat bizarre.

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The Hunt Institute is a strategic catalyst for transforming public education and securing our country's future. Using our depth and breadth of knowledge, we ...

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Using Google Slides for Remote Learning is a great idea!! I have seen a ton of people posting choice boards and agendas using Google Slides. You can create ONE Google Slides and share the link to that. Update your Slides (new ones at the TOP) and automatically everyone gets the update. But what if you instead want to send a slide to slides a student already owns... and can edit.

Push Slides

I coded Push Slides to allow you to push a slide whenever you want to student Slides.

The template alicekeeler.com/pushslides is a Google Form. You can edit the Form however you want, just make sure the 2nd question is "What is the link to your slides."

Students Make and Share Slides

Students need to make Slides and share it with you. Have them put the link to the Slides into your Form.

Alternatively, you can create an assignment in Google Classroom that pushes each student a copy of a Google Slides. Ask the students to fill out the Google Form and submit the link to the slides to the Form.
Setup

Before you ask students to submit their slides, setup the Form by going to the puzzle piece Add-on menu in the Form. Select "Push Slides.

Choose "Setup."

You will need your own Google Slides as your slide deck master. Copy the link to your slides and when prompted paste the link to the slides.

Tip: You can run setup to link to any set of slides you want anytime.

Push Slides

Once students have turned in their Google Slides links to your Google Form just keep coming back to the Form and using the puzzle piece Add-on menu to "Push Slides." It will prompt you for what slide number you want to send. Type the number and whoosh... it goes to everyone's slides. Repeat as often as you want.

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Remotely: Push Slides to Students Slides - Teacher Tech

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Using Google Slides for Remote Learning is a great idea!! I have seen a ton of people posting choice boards and agendas using Google Slides. You can create ONE Google Slides and share the link to that. Update your Slides (new ones at the TOP) and automatically everyone gets the update.

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Book Creator is a simple tool for creating awesome digital books. Create your own teaching resources or have your students take the reins.

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Creating and Using Videos for Distance Learning

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Creating and Using Videos for Distance Learning

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FMSLOVESBOOKS - Creating & Using Videos Tips & Tools

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Watch this video from Common Sense Education to understand the foundation of what content and delivery are paramount to maximizing learning and engagement in video lessons.

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How to Plan When You Don't Know What to Plan For

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How to Plan When You Don't Know What to Plan For

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As teachers, we're planners-it's just who we are. But how do we plan when we don't know what to plan for? During a recent professional development session with a local district, the number one question teachers asked me was what next year would look like. The truth is: We don't know what's coming our way. Even with glimpses of plans, no one really knows what's coming.

With so much outside our control, there are a few things teachers can do now. Set up your classroom to operate in all ways: face-to-face, remote, and blended (a combination of both). Know that you're likely to use all these methods at some point next year.

Remind yourself that you are resilient. Your students are resilient. Be confident that you can be present for your students no matter what. When you are intentional about building in flexible components from the start of the year, students' experiences will be better.

Using the guide below, take a first step toward planning for next year. Start with items that you can control.

Build a Communication Plan

Chances are that you experienced communication challenges at some point last year. Reflect on those challenges.

Write out a plan: In stormy seas, your parents, students, and colleagues will look to you to guide the ship into harbor.

Broadcast it: Your plan is a beacon. Remind students and parents how and when you will be communicating. Your plan should set the foundation for all other communication.

Keep communication consistent: Follow through with your plan. Initially, this may involve extra work. However, as soon as something changes, you'll be glad you made the effort.

Consider alternatives to email: Text services like Remind limit characters and focus messaging. Also, texts are a lifeline for families who rely on mobile devices for access.

Organize Content

Keep in mind that your online learning environment should support your face-to-face instruction-and your face-to-face instruction should support your online learning environment. When they complement each other, both are stronger.
Guidelines for instruction:

1. Organize content into chunks: units, modules, or weeks.

2. Create structure inside these chunks.

3. Keep the structure consistent.

4. Include all elements of instruction inside a chunk (preassessment, inquiry, instruction, practice, assessment).

Once your online content is organized, think about how you can combine your online chunks with your face-to-face instruction. In The Perfect Blend, Michele Eaton provides excellent daily and weekly checklists that work to keep students and teachers organized and bolster the learning in both spaces.

Constantly Evaluate Your Toolbox

After completing a chunk, reflect on the digital tools you used. Ask yourself: Did I have the right tools for the task? Were students able to meet instructional objectives?

When we use the wrong tool, we know immediately: The objective falls flat. So we move on-quickly. When we use the right tool, the tool is invisible. It's easy and intuitive, and it enhances instruction. We want to use it again. Review your toolbox, deleting tools that don't work well for you and your students. Keep in mind that a tool that may be right for your colleague may not be right for you or your classroom-and that's OK.

Plan Activities to Build Relationships in Any Space

To help students build peer relationships online, give them a real reason to be present.

Build a positive classroom community by integrating digital citizenship lessons, and rework your online meetings to offer authentic learning experiences that build relationships. Assigning team roles can engender a sense of purpose, and bringing in guests can help students make real-world connections.

The best relational activities are ones that allow students to shine as individuals. You might have students build an "All About Me" Pinterest board or Google slide and/or create a class scavenger hunt, and then review the results as a group.

Design Discovery Activities for Key Technology Tools

A discovery activity allows students to learn how to use a tool before tackling content learning and also allows teachers to have conversations about expectations from the start.

A discovery includes three parts: a teacher-led tutorial on how to use the tool, an outline of expectations for both students and instructors, and a low-stakes task in which students can practice using the tool.

Inside a discovery, make sure you allow room for conversation; in this process of students talking to each other and to you, you can preemptively solve any problems before deploying the tool.

If you don't know where to start, begin by listing the top three tools you use in your classroom. Next, plan a discovery for each tool. Then think about where you can embed your discoveries into your instruction.

Create Routines That Are Consistent Across All Spaces

Whether online or face-to-face, build a consistent routine for students with opportunities for choice and self-pacing.

Here's a routine for any environment:

1. Check announcements.

2. Complete morning check-in.

3. Open module and begin first task.

Once built, illustrate these processes with graphic organizers like process maps. Post these inside your LMS and physical classroom and attach them to announcements. Most important, minimize change as much as possible-students need consistency now more than ever.

With so much uncertainty about what next year looks like, it's easy to be overwhelmed. Start with the pieces you have control over.

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How to Plan When You Don't Know What to Plan For

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As teachers, we're planners-it's just who we are. But how do we plan when we don't know what to plan for? During a recent professional development session with a local district, the number one question teachers asked me was what next year would look like. The truth is: We don't know what's coming our way.

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Have you ever come across a HyperDoc and really couldn't see what is so great about it? Does it seem like it's just a doc with links?

There is no one right way to design a lesson, it is all about the choices you make. Like any lesson you create, they are personal to your curriculum objectives, to the needs of the students you work with, and may include layers of additional tasks to align with learning goals you are working on. I like to say they are full of "hidden pedagogy" since we are not privy to knowing what came before, during, or after the lesson to enhance the learning experience.

Self-assessing your digital lessons can be done using the two checklists provided here, with criteria based on SAMR - technology integration, Webb's Depth of Knowledge- levels of critical thinking and the ISTE Standards- technology use standards. These checklists can help you determine whether your lesson meets your learning goals for your students.

Click here to download two free checklists for evaluating your digital lessons.

SAMR provides a technique for moving through degrees of technology integration in your HyperDoc lessons to find more meaningful uses of technology in teaching, moving away from simply using "tech for tech's sake." John Spencer describes these levels of technology integration in his video on the topic. When evaluating your digital lessons it is important to remember that it is ok to move between the SAMR levels based on your answers to the following:

Does your lesson meet your learning goals for your students?

Does your lesson use technology for enhancement or transformation of learning? Is that your goal for technology integration for this lesson?

Are there portions you can revise to meet your goal?

Start with substitution, reflecting on your answers to the questions in the box. Move across the levels with your learning goals in mind, is there a way to revise your lesson to move a level?

The corresponding colored checkboxes are ISTE standards for learning with technology. Examine them for concrete examples of activities for each level of tech integration. This can help you determine where your lesson falls, and can inspire ideas for how to elevate it to where you would like it to be.

How do we create rich HyperDocs where all students learn at a high level of critical thinking? Norman Webb's Depth of Knowledge Levels (DoK) categorizes tasks according to the complexity of thinking required to successfully complete them. These are not levels to be mastered in order, or to develop lessons that fall in one certain level. They are meant to be flexible, providing opportunities to enhance student thinking as they move through a lesson.

Determine how often you wish for students to focus on tasks at each level so that students gain the most from the learning opportunities you design. Begin by examining the corresponding colored checkboxes to determine where your critical thinking tasks fall, and use the ideas to spark inspiration for how to revise the lesson to reach the levels you want for your learners.

HyperDoc lessons become more than a doc with links when you revise and edit them with purpose and intention. The craft of instruction is based on this practice. The next time you see a HyperDoc, consider how you could elevate it based on technology integration, critical thinking, and learning with technology.

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Have you ever come across a HyperDoc and really couldn't see what is so great about it? Does it seem like it's just a doc with links? There is no one right way to design a lesson, it is all about the choices you make.

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Copy of Choice board to support remote teaching_no assignment links

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Online learning, generally understood to mean learning experiences provided over a digital network, can be self-directed or instructor-led, and can be synchronous (live interactions) or asynchronous (elapsed interactions).

But not all online learning is created equal.

Providing learning opportunities for students through a remote and digital environment is best implemented using a variety of elements, including:

Learning environments that allow for rich educator and student collaboration and communication, that may also include collaboration with subject matter experts, instructional support personnel and peers.

Digital learning content and interactive learning experiences that engage students in reaching specific learning goals.

The use of data and information to personalize learning and/or provide targeted instruction.

A wide variety of computer-based formative and summative assessments.

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Online learning, generally understood to mean learning experiences provided over a digital network, can be self-directed or instructor-led, and can be synchronous (live interactions) or asynchronous (elapsed interactions). But not all online learning is created equal.

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Whether exploring entirely virtual classrooms and schools or ways to expand learning beyond the walls of your building, the resources are out there. Cyberspace is the place!

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Free Google Slides themes and templates

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Recent Templates

Looking for how to videos and tutorials?

Are you too a #SlidesManiac?

Shout out to SlidesMania for creating so many unique and fun templates! I especially love the virtual notebooks!

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SlidesMania | Free Google Slides themes and PowerPoint templates.

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The best 100% free Google Slides themes and pptx templates. Your PowerPoint and Google Slides will never be the same. No registration or download limits!

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Compiled by School Library Journal - a collection of current publisher copyright and fair use guidelines.

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SLJ COVID-19 Publisher Information Directory

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In response to school closures due to the pandemic, members of the TICAL project, funded through the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, are gathering resources school leaders can use as they address immediate concerns and plan for the 2020-21 school year.