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On Thursday, June 11, 2020, Education Week will be hosting an online summit to examine how the massive school closures caused by the coronavirus and the rapid transition to remote learning across the country is re-shaping the role and use of technology in schools now and for years to come. During this virtual event, Education Week writers and editors and their expert guests will staff "discussion rooms" that tackle a set of issues that are very much top-of-mind for teachers, principals, and district leaders, who are arguably working under the most difficult circumstances ever.

Education Week's newsroom offers you an opportunity to ask tough questions and better understand the educational technology challenges facing schools as they struggle to figure out what the next steps are for the K-12 system. In this Online Summit, Education Week journalists and their guests will be fielding your questions and guiding the conversations in discussion rooms on a host of topics, including:

* How the nationwide move to remote learning is expanding significantly the percentage of schools with 1-to-1 computing opportunities for students, and what that means for teaching and learning.

* What educators need to do to bridge tech equity gaps, which the coronavirus school closures revealed as schools moved learning from their buildings to students' homes.

* How the scramble to put together remote learning programs was messy and frustrating but led to teachers developing valuable virtual teaching skills.

* Why the massive move to remote learning raised already heightened concerns about students spending too much time in front of computer screens.

* What technology steps schools need to take now to get ready for next year, whether school buildings are reopened or remote learning continues into the 2020-21 academic year.

* The lessons learned during this massive remote learning experiment about what might work better in training teachers how to use technology more effectively to improve student learning?
Thank you to those who joined us for this event, which took place on June 11, 2020.

Education Week can only provide 1 hour of professional development credit for online summits if the educator attends live. On demand viewing cannot be provided credit in your state because of the summit platform functionality. We look forward to seeing you live at the next summit.

1:00-3:00 p.m. ET | Discussions Open
Education Week journalists and their special guests provide practical takeaways for districts and schools to better understand the educational technology challenges facing K-12 professionals as they struggle to figure out what their next steps should be.

Room 1: Teaching and learning in the new ed-tech landscape. Big disruption or business as usual?

‣ Moderator: David Rauf, Staff Writer, Education Week
‣ The rush to get schools up and running with remote learning during the coronavirus school closures prompted districts across the country to scramble to purchase huge numbers of digital devices for their schools. The result, in the span of just a month this spring, there was a significant increase in the percentage of school district leaders who said they provided each student with a digital learning device, from 44 to 52 percent of district leaders saying they do so for elementary students, 68 to 84 percent for middle school kids, and 68 to 88 percent for high schoolers, according to an EdWeek Research Center survey. What impact will this rapid and massive shift toward 1-to-1 computing environments have on teaching and learning?
‣ Guests:

‣ Sarah Porisch, Director of Technology, Brainerd Public Schools, Brainerd, Minn.
‣ Mark Racine, Chief Information Officer, Boston Public Schools
‣ Patti Salzmann, Chief Academic Officer, Division of Academics and School Leadership, San Antonio Independent School District

Room 2: The big tech equity challenges schools are up against. Can they fix them?

‣ Moderator: Mark Lieberman, Staff Writer, Education Week
‣ Schools have made significant progress in improving access to technology for all students, thanks in large part to the federal e-rate program and other efforts to expand WiFi access. But the coronavirus school closures exposed huge equity gaps around access to technology at home. In districts with the lowest percentages of students from low-income families, just 1 in 5 leaders reported in late March that a lack of basic technology is a "major" problem, compared with nearly two-thirds of leaders in districts where the highest percentages of students are from low-income families, according a survey conducted by the EdWeek Research Center. That puts school districts, states, and the federal government in the difficult position of figuring out how to bridge those gaps.
‣ Guests:

‣ Richard E. Ferdig, Summit Professor of Learning Technologies and Professor of Instructional Technology, Kent State University
‣ Antonio Romayor, Chief Technology Officer, El Centro Elementary School District, El Centro, Calif.
‣ Lisa Spencer, Executive Director, Instructional Technology & Support, Prince George's County Public Schools, Upper Marlboro, Md.

Room 3: The rising value (or not) of virtual teaching skills.

‣ Moderator: Sarah Schwartz, Staff Writer, Education Week
‣ The scramble to put together remote learning programs during the coronavirus school closures forced teachers across the country, most of whom had never taught a virtual class before, to jump online and figure out how to do it very quickly. It was messy and frustrating for many, but along the way they developed virtual teaching skills they never needed before. Will those skills be much more highly regarded not just while school buildings are closed but once they reopen too, and well into the future? Or, some experts suggest that once students and teachers return to their school buildings, there could be a backlash against raising the value of virtual teaching skills, because many teachers developed very negative feelings about remote teaching during the school closures. What virtual teaching skills have educators learned that will serve them well in the months and years ahead?
‣ Guests:

‣ Brandi Argentar, Science Teacher and Technology Coach, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, Ill.
‣ Betty Chandy, Director for Online Learning, [email protected] GSE, a center for educational innovation, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
‣ Laura Haddad, English Teacher and Technology Coach, Glastonbury High School, Glastonbury, Conn.

Room 4: Too much screen time. Should we be worried?

‣ Moderator: Sarah D. Sparks, Assistant Editor, Education Week
‣ As millions of students nationwide participated in remote learning programs during the coronavirus school closures, a massive research analysis sounded another note of caution about the effects of exposing children, particularly younger ones, to significantly more screen time. The meta-analysis in the journal JAMA Pediatrics found that while high-quality educational screen content is associated with better language skills, more overall time on screens each day, regardless of its quality, is linked to lower language development. Those findings are important for educators to consider while students are learning remotely, but also if students return to schools in the fall where access to digital learning devices for all ages will likely be much higher than it was before the school closures.
‣ Guests:

‣ Jenny Radesky, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Medical School, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, University of Michigan
‣ GG Weisenfeld, Assistant Research Professor, National Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers University, Graduate School of Education

Room 5: What technology steps schools need to take now to get ready for next year.

‣ Moderator: Sean Cavanagh, Managing Editor, EdWeek Market Brief
‣ There is still quite a bit of confusion about what the next school year will look like as far as the use of educational technology. This discussion will examine the steps schools are taking to get tech ready for the 2020-21 academic year, based on three scenarios: 1) Buildings reopen and stay open 2) Buildings are still closed 3) Buildings reopen but then must close again. What should the preparation for these three different scenarios look like for the use of educational technology? And what might get in the way of making this a smooth transition?
‣ Guests:

‣ Keith R. Krueger, CEO, the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN)
‣ Steven Langford, Chief Information Officer, Beaverton School District, Beaverton, Ore.
‣ Tom Ryan, Chief Information and Strategy Officer, Santa Fe Public School District, Santa Fe, N.M.

Room 6: Teachers, technology, and professional development. What's missing?

‣ Moderator: Kevin Bushweller, Assistant Managing Editor, Education Week
‣ The coronavirus school closures showed that while many teachers are quick learners when it comes to mastering new technologies, many others struggle to figure out how to use technologies to enhance student learning. This was the case before the coronavirus, but the wide disparities in skill levels became especially noticeable as schools made the wholesale shift to remote teaching. What lessons were learned during this difficult stretch about what might work better in training teachers how to use technology more effectively to improve student learning?
‣ Guests:

‣ Amy Campbell, 2019-2020 Washington State Teacher of the Year, and Special Education Teacher, Helen Baller Elementary School, Camas, Wash.
‣ Mike Flynn, Director, Mathematics Leadership Programs, Mount Holyoke College
‣ Melinda George, Chief Policy Officer, Learning Forward

CONTENT PROVIDED BY MICROSOFTEDU
Room 7: Building Confidence in Remote Teaching and Learning

‣ No matter where you are on the journey to implement your blended or distance learning plan, Microsoft Education enables schools to continue building communities of learners while also achieving student outcome goals. Join Microsoft Learning Consultant, Danielle Olson, to experience how educators, district leaders, and administrators are using Microsoft Education Tools to seamlessly collaborate, monitor progress, provide individualized feedback, and engage with students and colleagues.
‣ Guest:

‣ Danielle Olson, Microsoft Learning Consultant

CONTENT PROVIDED BY LEARNING.COM
Room 8: How Educators Can Create Meaningful Learning Experiences Online-Now and in the Future

‣ Jake Jung, Mathematics and Computer Science Administrator, Brooklyn, N.Y.
‣ Nicasia Anzalone Caires, eLearning Instructional Design Expert & Senior Implementation Specialist at Learning.com

‣ In this booth, we will share strategies for designing high-impact learning experiences online.
Topics will include:

* Empowering students with critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration.
* Connecting with students and fostering a virtual classroom community.
* Bridging the digital readiness gap by supporting digital literacy and citizenship.
* Committing to equity for all students with technology.
* Optimizing instruction for synchronous and asynchronous learning.
* Activating learning through student-led and hands-on activities.

Our goal is to help educators make distance learning an active and creative experience, support the diverse needs of students, and lay the foundation for new approaches to learning even in the future.

CONTENT PROVIDED BY ISTATION
Room 9: How to Successfully Implement At-Home Learning: One District's Story

‣ Moderator: Lori Lynch, Vice President of Customer Success, Istation
‣ Effectively implementing educational technology for school and home should be a top priority for educational leaders during these unprecedented times. Join the discussion with educators from across the country. Learn ways parents and students can transition to distance learning with ease. Plus, discuss how districts can keep students engaged and on track to powerful academic growth through summer school and the 2020-21 school year. Educators will hear implementation best practices, tips for solving ed-tech hurdles, and actionable next steps for leveling up their ed-tech implementation.
‣ Guests:

‣ Gretchen Kinghorn, Federal Programs Coordinator, Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25, Pocatello, Idaho
‣ Kimberly Thompson, ELA Coach and Consultant, Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25, Pocatello, Idaho

CONTENT PROVIDED BY GALE, A CENGAGE COMPANY
Room 10: Bring SEL Home: Experts Share Tips and Resources to Use In Class-and Beyond

‣ 1 in 5 teens suffer from mental health challenges-and more than 75 percent don't seek help. Now, more than ever, is the time to provide trustworthy resources that students can turn to when they need them most. In this discussion, social and emotional learning experts will share:

* How schools can support SEL now and in the fall
* Ways to help students cope with everyday stressors, adjust to social distancing and virtual learning, and understand they're not alone
* Where to find credible, confidential online resources for students at every age and stage
* Tips for educators to manage stress and anxiety

CONTENT PROVIDED BY VOYAGER SOPRIS LEARNING
Room 11: Mind the Gaps: How to Identify Where Students Are and How to Support Their Learning Needs

‣ Moderator: Carrie Doom, Vice President of Implementation-Western U.S., Voyager Sopris Learning
‣ To support students at risk for falling behind in reading and math, educators need to quickly and efficiently identify learning gaps before they can provide interventions to raise proficiency and scores. For accurately assessing student learning needs, teachers must be equipped with valid and reliable assessment tools that provide early identification of students with skills deficits, highlight instructional needs, and offer ongoing progress monitoring. Join this informative conversation with respected researcher Roland Good III of Acadience® Learning as he discusses how to screen students and provide direction for targeted interventions that support RTI and MTSS to positively impact student outcomes.
‣ Guest:

‣ Roland Good, III, President, Director of Research Analysis, and Associate Director of Research and Development, Acadience Learning, and co-author of Acadience® Reading

CONTENT PROVIDED BY SPECTRUM ENTERPRISE
Room 12: Taking Learning Online: Exploring Your Experiences and Insights

‣ Moderator: Julie A. Evans, CEO, Project Tomorrow
‣ Data from the Speak Up Research Initiative indicates since March 2020

* 48% more teachers now say that they want to learn how to implement a blended class
* 70% more teachers now say they want to learn how to create teaching videos
* Teacher interest in learning how to teach online doubled in 8 weeks

Let's spend this time exploring our insights to questions like:

* What have we learned?
* What does learning look like today and how will it differ in 2020-21?
* What do you want to continue doing and what will you abandon?
* What are parents thinking and what are their expectations?

CONTENT PROVIDED BY APEX LEARNING
Room 13: Digital Curriculum in the New Era of Distance Learning: What Really Matters?

‣ Digital curriculum should support all students in achieving their potential. Visit proven industry veteran Apex Learning at their virtual booth to understand what to look for in a digital curriculum and why. Learn how pedagogy that engages students in active learning, content built to standards, and best-in-class success services can help support your students' distance learning needs.

CONTENT PROVIDED BY ACER
Room 14: How Can School Districts Support and Secure Their Investments in Remote Learning Devices?

‣ Carlos D'Angerio, Territory Account Manager, Acer
‣ Lynne Edgehill, Territory Account Manager, Acer
‣ Nidhi Tassone, Senior Manager, Commercial Marketing, Acer
‣ Jessica Weng, Commercial Marketing Manager, Acer
‣ Jennifer Wadland, Senior Director U.S. Channel, Acer

‣ As school districts across the country scramble to purchase large numbers of digital devices and get remote learning up and running, many are focusing only on the purchase without considering the quality of the support that comes afterward. Buying equipment that comes with customer service, software training, built-in warranties, and accidental damage coverage can reduce operating costs, ensure workable equipment, and free teachers from handling technical issues so they can focus on teaching. Learn more about the impact that post-purchase support can have on your district's digital equipment investment.

CONTENT PROVIDED BY FLORIDA VIRTUAL SCHOOLS
Room 15: Find Success in Online K-12 Learning
‣ With so much uncertainty and questions about what school will look like, let our experts answer some of your most burning questions, including:

1. Is online learning as effective as classroom learning?
2. How do you support elementary learners online?
3. What are best practices for student/teacher and administrator/teacher engagement?
4. Is there a "getting started" roadmap?
5. How do you effectively support teachers and students in an online setting?
6. What are best practices for onboarding and training teachers and other staff?
7. What is the difference between asynchronous and synchronous learning? Is one more effective than the other?

‣ Guests:

‣ Christy Cleugh, Digital Education Consultant, FLVS Global Team, Florida Virtual School
‣ Donovan Hadaway, Account Manager, FLVS Global Team, Florida Virtual School
‣ Sarah Latimer, Account Manager, FLVS Global Team, Florida Virtual School

CONTENT PROVIDED BY POWERSCHOOL
Room 16: Homeroom to Home: Blended Learning Tools and Techniques to Build Instructional Resilience in 2020-21
‣ The COVID-19 outbreak didn't create the need for distance learning. But it certainly put a spotlight on the importance of building resilient instructional systems that support students, wherever they are, regardless of their individual situation, and in whatever manner they learn best. Whether you need to implement-or improve-your distance learning or blended learning program, PowerSchool and Schoology can help.
In this booth, we will discuss how to:

* Get started with distance learning
* Engage students remotely
* Deliver online PD to teachers
* Assess instructional gaps for students and teachers
* Connect special education to instruction.

Campbell, the 2019-20 Washington State Teacher of the Year, has been teaching at Helen Baller Elementary School for 12 years. In her position as a teacher of students with significant learning challenges, she collaborates with staff, parents, and community to develop individualized plans that focus on each student's unique skills, abilities, and interests to help them find their place among their peers in the school community.

During the closure, Campbell has worked to find ways to develop her understanding of available technology and her ability to implement unique high and low tech opportunities for students, families, and staff. In addition to investigating how to use technology to help students overcome their barriers to learning through the use of accommodations and modifications and unique program design, she is also actively involved pursuing ways to ensure that overall access to technology does not become a barrier for students and families as they attempt to participate in online learning. Technology can provide an opportunity to increase access for students with unique learning needs but only if we have a wholescale understanding and infrastructure to support it and our communities.

Cavanagh is a reporter and editor for Education Week, where he has covered a variety of beats since 2002. His primary focus is on business and technology issues in K-12 education. Previously he covered math and science education, charter schools and school choice, and federal policy. Before joining Education Week, he was a reporter for daily newspapers in Tennessee and Florida.

Betty Chandy
Director for Online Learning, [email protected] GSE, a center for educational innovation, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education

Chandy is the director for online learning at [email protected] GSE. She runs the Virtual Online Teaching (VOLT) certificate program and the Experiences in Applied Computational Thinking (EXACT) program for educators. She started her career as a high school teacher and instructional coach. She then moved into research exploring the impact of professional development on teachers' pedagogical practices. Her research interests include design of learning environments, online teaching and learning, the use of innovative technology within classrooms, and teacher development. She has worked extensively with technology professional development programs for teachers in the U.S. and India.

Ferdig works within the Research Center for Educational Technology and also the School of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum Studies. He has served as researcher and instructor at Michigan State University, the University of Florida, the Wyzsza Szkola Pedagogiczna in Krakow, Poland, and the Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, in Italy).

At Kent State University, his research, teaching, and service focus on combining cutting-edge technologies with current pedagogic theory to create innovative learning environments. Ferdig was the founding editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Gaming and Computer Mediated Simulations, is the current editor-in-chief of the Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, and also serves as a consulting editor for the Development Editorial Board of Educational Technology Research and Development.

Mike Flynn
Director, Mathematics Leadership Programs, Mount Holyoke College
@MikeFlynn55

Flynn designed the dynamic hybrid learning model that connects on-campus and online students for live interactive learning. He supports K-16 educators and administrators in developing and supporting robust distance learning plans. He has trained thousands of educators in online teaching strategies and developed a free virtual professional learning network to support educators during this crisis. He is also the author of Beyond Answers: Exploring Mathematical Practices with Young Children. Prior to this work, Flynn taught 2nd grade at the William E. Norris Elementary School in Southampton, Mass. and was named the Massachusetts Teacher of the Year in 2008.

In her current role, George leads Learning Forward's policy work on critical programs such as Title IIA, and she works with Learning Forward stakeholders to be strong advocates on behalf of professional learning. She also leads the What Matters Now Network, a tri-state network focused on increasing the frequency and equity with which teachers access and engage in effective job-embedded professional learning grounded in the use of high-quality curriculum and instructional materials. Internally, she co-chairs Learning Forward's online learning working group.

Prior to joining Learning Forward, she was the president of the National Commission on Teaching & America's Future (NCTAF) where she led NCTAF's charge to build a research-based framework of policies and practices that ensure every child has access to a competent, caring teacher in a school organized for success.

Langford is the chief information officer for the Beaverton School District, serving 40,000 students and their families. He has served in technology leadership roles over the past 27 years both in K-12 and higher education institutions. He is on the board of directors for the Association for Computer Professionals in Education and served as president of that organization in 2014-15.

Langford worked collaboratively to establish the NW CoSN chapter, connecting Oregon and Washington districts with CoSN. He has served on numerous CoSN committees, including the Chief Technology Officers Council and (most recently) as co-chair of the Technical Standards Committee, which produced the Interoperability Standards for Education primer.

Weisenfeld's current work includes conducting national scans of pre-K policies at the state and city level, researching state efforts that support the implementation of high-quality preschools, contributing to the research and production of NIEER's annual State of Preschool Yearbook, and offering technical assistance for state and city leaders on designing and enhancing pre-K efforts.

Weisenfeld is able to incorporate her vast early childhood education work experience in understanding systems that support young children at the state, local, and program level. She previously held the position of Hawaii's director of the Executive Office on Early Learning in the Office of the Governor, worked on state level birth to grade three alignment as the p-3 director of early learning for Hawaii p-20, was a professor at the City University of New York, and an Early Head Start/Head Start director and preschool teacher.

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Technology & Schools: Coronavirus, Remote Learning, and Beyond - An Education Week Online Summit

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On Thursday, June 11, 2020, Education Week will be hosting an online summit to examine how the massive school closures caused by the coronavirus and the rapid transition to remote learning across the country is re-shaping the role and use of technology in schools now and for years to come.

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deeper learning through remote & blended environments

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deeper learning through remote & blended environments tickets

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Deeper Learning Through Remote & Blended Environments

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Eventbrite - EdTechTeacher Inc presents Deeper Learning Through Remote & Blended Environments - Wednesday, May 20, 2020 - Find event and ticket information.

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How to Teach Math to Students With Disabilities, English-Language LearnersWhen students are English-learners or have learning disabilities, it’s especially important to focus on their strengths

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How to Teach Math to Students With Disabilities, English-Language LearnersWhen students are English-learners or have learning disabilities, it’s especially important to focus on their strengths

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THURSDAY, JUNE 18 [ 2:00-3:15 pm CT ]Making Science Multilingual:Integrating Science and Language for ALL StudentsNSTA and the 40-state WIDA Consortium formed Making Science Multilingual 

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THURSDAY, JUNE 18 [ 2:00-3:15 pm CT ]Making Science Multilingual:Integrating Science and Language for ALL StudentsNSTA and the 40-state WIDA Consortium formed Making Science Multilingual 

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17 [ 2:00-3:15 pm CT ]STEM Education for All Students, Including English LearnersSpeaker:Okhee Lee, PhD | PhotoOkhee Lee, PhDProfessor of Childhood Education

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17 [ 2:00-3:15 pm CT ]STEM Education for All Students, Including English LearnersSpeaker:Okhee Lee, PhD | PhotoOkhee Lee, PhDProfessor of Childhood Education

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*Prevent Learning Loss and Accelerate Growth for All Students:

A Whole Child Approach
*Academic Language: Unlocking the Language Advantage for All Students
*Summer Learning Through Our Public Libraries in a Time of COVID-19
*Elementary Inquiry: K-12 Vertical Alignment for Teaching Research Skills to Our Youngest Learners
*Developing, Maintaining, and Extending Fluency in Math: Multiplication and Division
*Self-Care for Educators in the Time of COVID-19 (and Beyond)

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7 tips for teaching language during Covid

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7 tips for teaching language during Covid

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For Stephen Krashen, the disruption to traditional education during Covid-19 may reveal some unexpected benefits.

Krashen is a leading world scholar, emeritus professor of Education at the University of Southern California, and author of several books on language acquisition.

In a recent conversation, Krashen discussed how teachers and parents can harness the opportunity to teach language-including heritage languages-during remote learning. Here are his expert insights:
1. Less Traditional Instruction May Be a Good Thing
Many parents and teachers are understandably anxious about remote learning, as instruction has become less traditional.

However, Krashen notes, "We do not acquire language by study, or by speaking or writing. We acquire in only one way: by understanding what we hear or read. What we call 'comprehensible input.' The ability to produce language is the result of getting the right kind of input."

With less focus on traditional language education, i.e., practicing memorized rules and grammar through speaking until they become automatic, students are free to acquire language in a more effective way.
What Is Comprehensible Input?
According to Stephen Krashen's theory of language acquisition, comprehensible input is language that can be understood by listeners even if they don't fully comprehend all of the vocabulary and grammar in use. Input is essential to acquisition, as it informs learners' subconscious understanding of a language.

As Krashen noted in a recent webinar for USC Rossier's Master of Arts in Teaching-Teaching English to Students of Other Languages (MAT-TESOL) program, "We [acquire language] when we understand what people tell us, and understand what we read."
2. Remote Learning Can Easily Support Language Acquisition
While online education may isolate students at home, it shouldn't negatively impact language learning. "We don't need massive amounts of interaction to acquire language. We need massive amounts of input," says Krashen.

Here's how teachers and parents can continue to provide rich input during Covid-19.

Practice More Storytelling

In early foreign language classes, studies show that students learn more effectively by listening to stories told to them by their teachers than from traditional study. Listening creates a path to reading, which is key for input for language acquisition.
Allow Students to Read for Pleasure
"Self-selected pleasure reading is the source of most of our vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and the ability to write with an acceptable writing style," notes Krashen. Studies show that those who read more know more about science, literature, history and even practical matters.

How can teachers encourage students to read for pleasure? Guide them by choosing possible reading material based on difficulty and the readers' interests.
3. Parents Should Share Heritage Language at Home
Heritage language is an indigenous language spoken by a student's family. For students whose dominant language is English, remote learning presents a key opportunity to continue acquiring their heritage language while at home.

In addition to the cognitive benefits of bilingualism, learning a heritage language integrates students into their family, allowing them to learn from their experience and wisdom.

While at home, parents should talk to their kids in their heritage language, ideally sharing stories about their family. Reading is also a critical tool. Try to entice your children with easy texts, such as comics or beginner books.

Just remember to avoid being too critical of their competence. In order to learn their heritage language, they will need permission to make mistakes.
4. Encourage Students to Read Fiction
When it comes to language acquisition, fiction is the most beneficial form of input. Fiction (especially science fiction) has a wide range of vocabulary and can educate students about history, science, geography and more-and is more enjoyable than academic texts.

In fact, for a cousin (now age 93) who was planning to learn about law by reading classes, Krashen instead recommended the novels of John Grisham. They offer insight into the world of law, use relevant vocabulary, and are more pleasurable reads. Krashen reports that his cousin is doing just that, learning a great deal about the world of law, and loving it.
5. Avoid Self-Instruction Language Learning Texts
If you want to continue a heritage language education at home, or supplement your child's bilingual study, avoid self-instruction books.

In a study by Stephen Krashen and Nooshan Ashtari, PhD, self-instruction books for Farsi from a branch of the Los Angeles Public Library were examined for wear and tear.

They applied a method developed by a previous scholar to determine whether library books were not just checked out from the library, but actually read.

This table highlights their findings:

6. Find out if Your Library Is Open Online
The results indicate that the traditional methods of language learning that stress grammar and vocabulary aren't very appealing.

The closure of public libraries during Covid-19 is a blow to students and families, especially low-income families who rely on them for free access to books. However, some library systems, such as the Los Angeles Public Library and the Santa Monica Public Library continue to make their digital offerings available online (and temporarily waive late fees).
7. Language Scholars Should Increase Access to Publications
While this unfortunately doesn't help families without WiFi or digital devices, it allows more language learners to continue to self-select books for pleasure, or receive guided selection from parents during the pandemic.

Despite the devastation of Covid-19, a unique opportunity has emerged within education and language instruction. Many scholars often can't access research and publications from their colleagues because it's expensive. Traditionally, publishers gate content online or require it to be purchased.

However, because educators are in isolation, they may be more motivated to share their work for free. Stephen Krashen is trying to lead by example, sharing short publications designed to generate dialogue among scholars as well as aspiring language teachers (although as a retiree, he acknowledges that he's free from the pressures of tenure committees.)
Follow Stephen Krashen on Twitter To learn more about USC Rossier's Master of Arts in Teaching-Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages program, contact admission staff. . Many of his publications are available for free download at sdkrashen.com
By increasing access to research and findings, and keeping it short and digestible, more educators can improve education for students throughout the pandemic, and beyond.

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Stephen Krashen's Seven Tips for Teaching Language During Covid-19 - Language Magazine

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For Stephen Krashen, the disruption to traditional education during Covid-19 may reveal some unexpected benefits. Krashen is a leading world scholar, emeritus professor of Education at the University of Southern California, and author of several books on language acquisition. In a recent conversation, Krashen discussed how teachers and parents can harness the opportunity to teach [...]

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We often focus on student engagement, but student empowerment is a step further. Here, we focus on the seven shifts toward student empowerment.
Two years ago, I was a chaperone for my son's fourth-grade field trip to a hands-on pioneer museum. Students learned how to make homemade candles, how to chop wood, how to do some very basic woodworking, how to make bread, and how to quilt.

They were fully engaged in the learning. According to Schlecty's levels of engagement, nearly every student demonstrated both a high attention a high commitment to the learning.

However, I noticed little moments of frustration. When students learned about the peg process used in log cabin design, a girl asked if they still use the same process in modern log cabin construction. If so, had they adapted the process to be more earthquake-proof? Had they changed the peg design? Do they now use glue with the pegs? I reached for my phone to look it up and realized that they had banned devices when we first walked in. So the question hung in the air, unanswered.

At another point, a boy felt how hot the log had become after using a hand drill. His friend said it was because the wood was hotter on the inside just like our bodies are hotter on the inside. The first boy shook his head and said, "No, it's because things get hot when they move up against other things." They pulled me into the conversation and suddenly, we were discussing friction, movement, heat, and energy.

"Do bigger drills get hotter than smaller drills if they move at the same speed?" he asked.

But right at that moment, they called us over to a new task.

To be clear, the field trip was amazing. Students remained engaged nearly the entire time - physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. The volunteers at this museum knew how to interact with the students and keep them fully interested in the content. However, after being highly engaged, the students wanted to move to a new level in their learning. They wanted to try little experiments, chase their questions, and make more decisions. In other words, they wanted to own the learning.

Unfortunately, we didn't have time for that. As I stood there watching students move quickly from task to task, I thought about all of those moments when I cut off learning right when it was becoming empowering because I viewed it as off-task or because I had something engaging I didn't want them to miss or because I thought we might run out of time.

We often talk about what it means to move from compliance to engagement. It's the idea of creating an environment where students want to learn rather than have to learn. This is that top level of engagement, where students are highly committed and highly focused. But I wonder how often we stop there, with committed and focused students who aren't getting the chance to own their learning.

If we want students to be creative, self-directed learners, we need to go beyond student engagement and into empowerment. They need to own the learning. My friend George describes this as a continuum based upon student agency.

Note that highly engaging environments often promote empowerment because they focus on student agency and ownership. The moment you add student ownership to student engagement, you have empowerment.

Some quick nuance here. Compliance isn't always a bad thing. When the fire drill goes off, I want students to comply. Engagement isn't a bad thing. Sometimes I want to engage students in learning something that they will find intriguing and interesting. After all, the highly engaging environment of the pioneer museum led the students to a place where they wanted to own their learning. But too often, students in school remain in a space between compliance and engagement, never getting the opportunity to own their learning.

We Need to Shift Toward Empowerment

So, the following are eight shifts that we need to consider as we shift from engagement to empowerment. You can check it out in this sketch-note animation video:
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#1: From giving choices to inspiring possibilities

When I first embraced student choice, I would create 3-4 options on each assignment. In some cases, I might even create a choice menu and tell them to pick a certain number of items. This was a small step toward increasing student agency and it increased their intrinsic motivation. However, students were still selecting my choices from my menu. In other words, we had lots of choice but very little freedom.

Eventually, we shifted toward student-generated options for larger projects. This began with things like Wonder Days, Geek Out Projects (our Genius Hour projects), themed blogs, and inquiry-based science projects. However, in emphasizing student ownership, I ran into a problem. Sometimes students didn't know what to choose. They lacked the prior knowledge to know where to begin.

At that point, I began to show examples, provide options, and add resources. I worried this would stifle creative risk-taking. However, it actually increased their self-efficacy and gave them a bigger picture of what was possible. This led to greater creative risk-taking.

For example, when creating visual writing prompts, I made them optional. In fact, I called them writing ideas instead of writing prompts because prompts require writing and ideas inspire writing. Instead of saying, "here are ten choices," I said, "It's your blog. Write what you want. But if you're looking for inspiration, here are tons of visual prompts you can use."

#2: From "making the subject interesting" to "tapping into student interests."

This is the shift from saying "you must learn this" to asking "what do you want to learn?" So, instead of saying, "how do I make _______ interesting?" you give students a chance to tap into their own curiosity. So, students might be into Minecraft or Legos or fashion or drama and you, as a teacher, have the opportunity to let them explore these areas of interest.

Initially, I scoffed at this idea of interest-driven learning because I thought these student interests were shallow. However, as students began blogging about video games, sports, fashion, and food, I realized that no subject is shallow if you're willing to take a deep dive. It's all about the lens you use. I noticed this when a student wanted to explore the history of cartoons in a blog and podcast. Cartoons? Really? What emerged was a deep exploration of culture, gender, and social norms. It blew me away. I saw the results of empowerment.

This sounds great in theory but teachers have standards and curriculum maps. My first thought is that many subjects have content-neutral standards. In language arts, students can explore their own interests while practicing the skills in the Common Core Standards. In other subjects, the standards still provide options for student interests. In science, students might explore forces and motion by studying roller coasters or self-driving cars. Two very different topics but the same standards. In social studies, students might explore various aspects of World War II from totally different angles while still pursuing the areas that they find fascinating.

A little nuance here: There's still a time and a place for teacher-directed topics. Sometimes students don't know what they will love until a teacher introduces it to them.

#3: From taking assessments assessing your own learning.

Go to a skate park or watch kids play Minecraft and you'll see tons of assessment going on. However, no one is waiting for a rubric and a score. They assess in the moment. Sure, they might go to a contest and get a score. They might seek out the advice of an expert. But, the key here is that they view assessment as something you do rather than something you take.

Here students embrace the idea that learning is an iterative process full of mistakes. It's what they do as they set goals, check their progress, and adjust their actions. But even though it's self-directed, it is interdependent rather than independent. They engage in self-reflection, peer assessment, and student-teacher conferences.

#4: From answering the teacher's questions to asking their own questions

Again, there is a time and a place to answer the teacher's questions. However, this is the idea that empowered students are curious about their world and they know how to explore their questions and find their own answers. It's the notion that students should be questioning answers as well as answering questions. This is the idea where they chase the inquiry process and take learning off-road.

#5: From uncritical consuming to critical consuming and creating

I often hear about the need to get students to move from consuming to creating and I see the validity in this argument. I've met way too many adults who don't engage in any real creative endeavors. They watch television in their spare time but never craft stories. They follow recipes but never learn to own the culinary process and truly make their own dishes.

But I actually think consuming matters. Chefs consume food. I mean, I guess we all consume food, right? So maybe that's a bad example. Musicians listen to music. Athletes watch sports. The key difference is that they are critical consumers. They analyze what they consume and they look for ideas and inspiration.

Here students move from critical consuming to inspiration to creativity, where they use the design process to launch their work to the world. In fact, students often work through stages from consuming to creating.
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#7: From rigid to adjustable systems

There's a fascinating story in The End of Average about what happened when the United States air force based their cockpit design on the average pilot. It sounded like a great idea but the "average" cockpit didn't fit anyone and our pilots continued to die. One-size-fits-all fits no one. However, instead of trying to customize each cockpit to custom-fit pilots, they shifted toward adjustable design, where pilots could change the configuration of the cockpits to fit their needs.

It has me thinking about "teaching toward the middle" in schools. We don't have a middle because we don't have average students. This is why we need to design flexible systems that students can adjust. Students are empowered to own the process. They can set their own pace, choose their own formats, and decide what resources they want to use.

Often, in schools, we focus on a tiered-approach to differentiated instruction. But the adjustable system is a shift from differentiated to personalized learning. Instead of putting students in leveled groups, teachers provide opportunities for students to self-adjust.

This isn't easy. Sometimes students need help with executive function. At the lower grades, students might struggle with setting their own pace or choosing their own resources. Again, there's a time and a place for leveled groups. But still, teachers can design adjustable systems and help students own the process of empowerment.

#7: It's a shift in mindset from compliance to self-direction

We want students to be creative, critical thinkers. We want them to rewrite the rules and to be original. In education, we throw around words like "lifelong learning" and "critical thinking citizens." But this begins with a mindset of self-direction. This isn't a rugged individualism, either. It's often collaborative. However, it's the idea that students feel a sense of ownership over their learning.

Self-direction is a blend of being a self-starter and a self-manager.

Self-starters know how to initiate learning. They don't wait for permission to learn. They simply go out and do it. But self-starting without self-management leads to unfinished work. Self-managers know how to finish work. They are able to manage projects, set goals, and check for progress. However, self-management without self-starting leads to complacency and lacks innovation. We want students to be both.

This Isn't Easy

These shifts are not always easy. The journey toward empowering students can feel confusing and even scary. But if you're waiting for permission, it might never happen. Sometimes, you just have to take the leap.

Empower Your Students with Voice and Choice

Want to get started with student ownership? Check out this page with free articles, videos, and resources. Also, check out the Empower Blueprint and Toolkit below.

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Making The Shift from Student Engagement to Student Empowerment

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We often focus on student engagement, but student empowerment is a step further. Here, we focus on the seven shifts toward student empowerment. Two years ago, I was a chaperone for my son's fourth-grade field trip

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When I was in high school I spent most of my time playing sports (football and basketball) and worrying about my so-called social life. In school, I rarely was allowed to explore my interests, and thus set up a mental block against "caring" about anything academic. Even when we would do something fun or exciting in class, I would never fully allow myself to embrace the activity or follow-up on my own time.

In this pre-Google world, if I wanted to explore an interest it would require finding (and reading) a book/article, and then possibly continue this search online. This seemed like a lot of work to the 16-17 yr old me...(a bit lazy), so my wall stayed up and I went through the motions in school as so many students do.

Mr. Flynn was one of my favorite teachers, who just happened to teach one of my least favorite subjects: Math. Math had never come easily to me the way many English and Social Studies classes had, and so I often retreated from trying and just did enough to get by. By all accounts, Mr. Flynn should never have taken an interest in my learning journey. I spent most of his Pre-Calculus class passing notes or laughing at others goofing around.

Then one day we came into class and Mr. Flynn was lying down on the back table. It seemed like a joke, but eventually, we found out he had seriously hurt his back. He taught the rest of that class period lying on the back table, pointing to the chalkboard and using a yard stick to make changes.

Everyone thought he would be gone the next day, resting up at home, but sure enough, when we walked into class, Mr. Flynn was lying on the table again, ready to teach. There are certain moments in life where your mindset switches. I still didn't "like" Pre-calculus class, but I wasn't going to goof around anymore while this teacher in obvious pain was coming in every day to teach, instead of staying at home like so many of us would have done.

This lasted for over a month before Mr. Flynn was back up again teaching us from a standing position. One day he came over and asked me if I'd like to take computer programming next year. He had been teaching it for a few years, but enrollment was low and wasn't sure the class would run again. I didn't know what to say. I was shocked that he thought I would like this class but told him I'd think about it. A few days later I signed up, thinking I'd at least have a great teacher even if I didn't like the class.

I took computer programming class during my junior year. It was so different. I've never been a math or numbers person, but this gave numbers and formulas power. Instead of getting a "right answer" on a test for getting a formula correct, this set things in motion. We learned Pascal and Basic programming languages. It wasn't that hard, but it was challenging enough that I had to focus and pay attention during class, and could spend some extra time at night or during study hall to get better.

As a semester course, time was also limited so we had to hurry through the beginning curriculum in order to create our own projects. This (in my mind) is always a plus. It calls for urgency in the learning process, which makes learners and teachers more effective if they are on the same page. My final project was using this programming language to build a "football" game that looked and functioned similarly to the famous Nintendo Tecmo Bowl. I spent a lot of time on this (so much that I did not realize how much time I spent). In the end, my football game was not fully functional (there was no end of the game, let alone a halftime or quarter), but had many of the same features and abilities as Tecmo Bowl. My classmates and I were able to play it. It was awesome.

I went through the rest of high school still worrying about the same things; but, my outlook on learning was changed forever. When I got to college I spent more time on "side-projects" than ever before, and it lead me to become the type of learner and teacher I am today.

I tell this story because too often we fail to let students or employees "scratch an itch." I would never have learned the math or formulas needed unless I had to program that game. It was the interest and final product that had me learning on my own time at a rapid pace.
Mr. Flynn never worked to "engage" me during programming class. Instead, he let the creative process fuel my work and empowered me to solve my own problems by making my own solutions, instead of only a learner.
Bill Ferriter sums up the difference perfectly in this blog post with a visual:

Engaging My Students

I've always remembered how Mr. Flynn's actions of going "above and beyond" engaged me as a student in his math class. It built our teacher-student relationships in ways a conversation never could. I had the ultimate respect for that man and what he brought to class every day.

In my first year of teaching at Wissahickon Middle School, I had the opportunity to work with an amazing veteran teacher (Jen Smith), who literally took me under her wing. One of the best things about working with Jen was her consistent goal of making the learning engaging in our classrooms. We both taught English Language Arts on the same 8th-grade team, and when we would meet to plan Jen would often say: "So this is how we did it last year, but I want to make it better. Any way we can use technology or some other idea to make it more engaging?"

This was design thinking and the LAUNCH Cycle in action. Jen would ask for us to Look, Listen, and Learn (Phase 1) before we started to Ask Questions (Phase 2). In one particular situation, we were struggling with Literary Devices. We began to empathize with our students before asking questions like:

Why would our students care about literary devices?

What would be the best way to learn the devices?

What would be the best way to assess their learning without regurgitation?

How can we engage the students in understanding their purpose and use in the real world?

As we answered these questions and looked at the work from previous years, we began to Understand the Problem (Phase 3). Literary devices had always been seen as boring. They were never presented as something exciting, but just something to check off the list of having learned in 8th grade (and needed on the State standardized tests). We started to brainstorm and Navigate Ideas (Phase 4) on how we could teach the devices in engaging ways. One of our co-teachers offered a piece of advice. She noticed that popular songs always had lit devices in their lyrics. With that we started to Create (Phase 5) our very own rap song called, "Welcome to Your Lit Device Education." We had so much fun. As a team of teachers (most well into their careers) we created "Rapper names", wrote a song script with lit devices, and I used a few beats from Garage Band. Then we worked for hours fixing the lyrics and song (Phase 6). We recorded it and then put it online.

Finally, we shared it with our students (Phase 7 - the LAUNCH) and watched as they not only laughed hysterically as us as teachers, but also began to put the song on their iPods and listen to it at home. Here's the song, and even though I'm really embarrassed, it's fun to look back on this experience of solving a problem by collaborating and creating with colleagues:

Empowering Makers in My Classroom

Our students were engaged, they were focused on literary devices, but Jen wouldn't let us stop there. Our students now wanted to use programs like Garage Band, YouTube, Audacity, and others to make their own podcasts, songs, and videos.

This is the shift.

For a while, my only focus was on engaging students. We did this as teachers by making the learning meaningful, relevant, social, and human. We made connections with our students and challenged them at the right levels to see high attention and high commitment.

But, when we allowed our students to make their own podcasts and songs, made time for them to create and fail along the way, supported their work as a guide, and then praised the effort and process...it empowered them as makers.
When our students went through the creative process themselves, they were not only engaged in what they were learning but enthusiastic about what they were making for a real audience.
Are You Willing to Make the Shift?

Mr. Flynn had already won me over as a student when he taught for a month with a bad back on the table. But it was the lessons and activities and projects we did in computer programming class that really made me appreciate him as a teacher and guide.

Similarly, our students thought we were hilarious and appreciated the time and effort we put into making that song about literary devices. But when we empowered them to make, create, and build their own podcasts and songs, the learning transformed.

My hope is that we can all have moments like Mr. Flynn where we empower our students on top of engaging them, and ultimately that we can impact our students' lives the way he impacted mine...often without even knowing it happened.
My new book, EMPOWER, is being released this month, sign-up below to be notified when it is available. I'd love to hear your stories of empowering students in the comments.

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Empowered Students vs Engaged Students (What's the difference?)

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When I was in high school I spent most of my time playing sports (football and basketball) and worrying about my so-called social life. In school, I rarely was allowed to explore my interests, and thus set up a mental block against "caring" about anything academic.

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Every teacher wants their students to feel involved in the learning process. Knowing how to empower students is a valuable skill. Student empowerment is an approach to teaching that puts students at the center of the learning process, allowing them to make decisions about their education and giving them the confidence to achieve their goals.

Empowerment has positive results on student outcomes. A study published in 2016 found that "highly empowered students reported better grades, fewer behavioral incidents, increased extracurricular participation and higher educational aspirations than students who were less empowered."

Teachers can use student empowerment activities to help learners feel engaged in the classroom. Engagement is a critical step in student empowerment, ensuring students have a say in their education. Whether it's as simple as voicing if they liked a book or as intense as forming test questions for their peers, student engagement leads to feelings of empowerment.

Unfortunately, students report feeling less engaged, and therefore less empowered, as their education progresses. A Gallup poll found that engagement decreases as students advance through school. "We found that nearly eight in 10 elementary students who participated in the poll are engaged with school. By middle school, that falls to about six in 10 students. And by high school, only four in 10 students qualify as engaged," Gallup reported.

Through student empowerment, teachers seek to engage students and create a learning process where students feel that their voices are heard and their opinions matter. Here are some ways to encourage student empowerment in your classroom.

6 Ways to Enhance Student Empowerment

Motivating students to take charge of their learning is an effective way to ensure they are empowered in the classroom. Here are several ways to enhance student empowerment.

1. Let Students Lead

One of the simplest ways to empower students is by encouraging leadership behaviors. Provide ample opportunity for students to take charge, whether that's through group activities or explaining a concept they've grasped to the rest of the class.

How your classroom is organized can either facilitate or impede student leadership. The teacher positioned at the front of the room with students facing forward in rows can decrease engagement and make students feel that they're watching instead of participating.

You can encourage student leadership by arranging desks into clusters and having one student be the leader of their group each week. The leader completes tasks like handing back papers and reporting group answers to the rest of the class during activities.

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A master's degree in educational leadership can allow you to prioritize student empowerment from the top-down.
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2. Ask for Feedback

Students respond well to being asked for their opinion. Consider giving students a chance to provide feedback about assignments, routines and other elements of the day. You might ask questions like:

What was your favorite activity this week? What was your least favorite?

Do you have any questions about what we learned?

Do you prefer group work or completing projects on your own, and why?

Of course, empowering students goes beyond just asking for their opinions. To make students feel heard, you'll want to incorporate their feedback into your lesson plans. For example, if most students prefer group work, adjust assignments to allow students to work together when possible.

It's also a good idea to share your plans with students. Clearly tell them you are making decisions based on the feedback they gave. Seeing their thoughts and opinions lead to changes in the classroom can build trust and encourage them to speak up more.

3. Incorporate Self-Assessment

Giving students opportunities to assess their own learning helps them understand their own strengths and struggles. There are many ways to incorporate self-assessment into the classroom, such as allowing a few minutes at the end of the day or at the end of the week for students to reflect on what they learned through journal writing. In their journal, they can answer questions like:

What did I learn today? What interested me most?

What am I confused about? What outstanding questions do I have?

How can I apply the concepts that I learned today inside and outside of the classroom?

These self-assessments can provide valuable insight into students' progress toward learning goals. You can use them to identify areas in which a student might need extra help, give resources to satisfy curiosity and have one-on-one conversations about their challenges.

4. Prioritize Real-World Application

The final journal question above opens an important one that all students must answer: What is the real-world application of my learning?

Many students feel that what they learn isn't applicable to life outside the classroom. A study by The Princeton Review found that almost half of students said the main driver of getting good grades is getting into college. College is important, but when students don't feel that what they learn can be applied outside of the classroom, it can create a hurdle for student empowerment.

Therefore, it's important for teachers to connect the outside world to the classroom. This can come in many forms, including volunteering, incorporating community projects into units or sharing what is learned with outside communities who could benefit. When students understand their education has value beyond tests and grades, they are more likely to engage with the material.

5. Encourage Students to Share Their Work

Sometimes, students can learn more from each other than when they just listen to their teacher. Share successful assignments with the rest of the class, and let students know ahead of time that you'll be sharing examples of excellent work. This encourages them to put more time into the assignment and inspires confidence when the work they've done is chosen to be shared.

Alternatively, students discussing their work with their peers is an ideal way for them to grasp concepts. It gives them a chance to demonstrate their knowledge. You can set up discussion groups or allow groups of students to share what they've learned in front of the class. This idea of recounting what they've learned has marked effects. Researchers found that students who taught material to their peers outperformed those who did not.

6. Give Students a Choice

Incorporating student-directed elements into your lesson plans can give them a sense of ownership over the process. Something as simple as letting a student choose whether they want to write a book report or present the book to the class can help them engage better with concepts. They may also feel more confident when delivering what they've learned in a way they feel comfortable.

Here are more ways to incorporate choice:

Allow students to decide which book they want to read, within certain parameters like length and reading level.

Assign math problems from that week's chapter, but let students choose which ones to complete within a preset minimum.

Provide testing options like multiple choice, essays or short answer questions to let students choose how to show what they've learned.

Giving students a say in how they learn shows them that you are willing to be flexible by empowering students to make decisions about their education.

Helping Students Succeed

These strategies can be used in any classroom, regardless of grade level or age. Partnering with students in leading the learning process shows them the important role they play in their own education and empowers them to want to learn more.

Incorporating student empowerment activities in the classroom is important, but these principles can improve learning outcomes at the school and district level as well. Teachers can take what they've learned about student empowerment and help other teachers and administrators apply it across the board. Earning a master's degree in educational leadership can prepare you to make student empowerment a priority from the top-down.

Southeastern University's online Master of Education in Educational Leadership helps educators develop valuable skills for the classroom while gaining experience for administration positions. Learn how to cultivate a thriving educational community that empowers students as you study in a flexible online learning environment designed for your success

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Empowering Students: 6 Proven Strategies | SEU Online

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Every teacher wants their students to feel involved in the learning process. Knowing how to empower students is a valuable skill. Student empowerment is an approach to teaching that puts students at the center of the learning process, allowing them to make decisions about their education and giving them the confidence to achieve their goals.

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This story originally appeared on Business Insider

If you opened this article thinking you'd find evidence of why students who graduate at the top of their high-school class go onto become lazy bums, well, you won't find it.

A Boston University researcher who followed valedictorians and salutatorians into adulthood found that most did in fact achieve the traditional markers of success. Nearly everyone graduated from college, where their average GPA was 3.6; the majority went on to earn a graduate degree; and nearly half landed in top-tier professional jobs.

So far, so expected.

"But how many of these number one high-school performers go on to change the world, run the world, or impress the world? The answer seems to be clear: zero."

The above is a quotation from Eric Barker's new book, Barking Up the Wrong Tree, where he cites the Boston University research.

Barker's point is that while top students generally go on to be successful, few of them go on to achieve the kind of wild success most of us dream of.

Instead, kids who struggle with, or don't particularly enjoy, formal education are more likely to get there. In fact, a study of 700 American millionaires found that their average GPA was just 2.9.

There are two potential reasons for this phenomenon, Barker writes:

1. "Schools reward students who consistently do what they are told" -- and life rewards people who shake things up.

Karen Arnold, the Boston University researcher, told Barker: "Essentially, we are rewarding conformity and the willingness to go along with the system."

In other words, the valedictorians found out exactly what the teachers wanted and delivered it consistently.

But if you think about the world's most influential thinkers and leaders, most came up with an out-of-the-box solution to some political or scientific issue. Going along with what was already working moderately well never made anyone famous.

When he visited the Business Insider office in May, Barker explained: "In school, rules are very clear. In life, rules are not so clear. So a certain amount of not playing by the rules is advantageous once you get out of a closed system like education."

2. "Schools reward being a generalist" and the real world rewards passion and expertise.

Barker explains that, even if you're fascinated by history in high school, you can't spend all your time studying the European Renaissance. At some point, you've got to stop and move onto your math homework.

But once you're in the working world, you'll need to excel in a particular domain -- and other knowledge or skills won't matter so much.

And here's the real shocker: Arnold found that intellectual students who genuinely enjoy learning tend to struggle in high school. They find the education system "stifling" because it doesn't allow them to pursue their passions deeply.

Barker summed up all the research nicely in the interview with Business Insider: "Valedictorians often go on to be the people who support the system -- they become a part of the system -- but they don't change the system or overthrow the system."

None of this is to say, of course, that if you were your high-school valedictorian, you'll never achieve big-time success. You might very well.

But you'll have to keep in mind that playing by the rules won't get you as far as it once did. Taking risks and going against the grain -- "sticking it to the man," if you will -- is harder to do, but it'll get you farther.

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Why Valedictorians Rarely Become Rich and Famous -- and the Average Millionaire's College GPA is 2.9

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This story originally appeared on Business Insider If you opened this article thinking you'd find evidence of why students who graduate at the top of their high-school class go onto become lazy bums, well, you won't find it. A Boston University researcher who followed valedictorians and salutatorians into adulthood found that most did in fact achieve the traditional markers of success.

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Almost 12 Million People Can't be Wrong...

In the 1950's, Psychologist Donald O. Clifton asked the question, "What will happen when we think about what is right with people rather than on what is wrong with them?" This query launched Dr Clifton into a world-wide research project to assess, understand and communicate the patterns of talent found in each of us. Over the next four decades, this research uncovered the language of Strengths found in the Clifton StrengthsFinder, an online instrument which measures the presence of 34 talent themes found to be universal in all people but appearing in varying degrees in individuals. Most teams start with their Top Five most dominant Talent Themes as a means to stimulate individual and group excellence. The assessment can be accessed online or through the bestselling book, StrengthsFinder 2.0. Consider some of the positive outcomes being realized by organizations focusing on strengths:

* People who use their strengths are 3 times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life.
* People who use their strengths are 6 times as likely to be engaged in their jobs.
* People who learn to use their strengths every day have 7.8% greater productivity at work.
* Teams who receive strengths feedback have 8.9% greater profitability.

Many successful organizations utilize the StrengthsFinder as a tool to on-board new team members, evaluate performance, manage teams, team build and coach executive leaders. The application of the Clifton StrengthsFinder maximizes employee engagement, increases employee retention, and provides the knowledge and skills to help managers drive effective performance management. Employee engagement drives productivity. Increased productivity drives profitability. Profitability drives shareholder value. The StrengthsFinder, has the ability to impact every meaningful metric within an organization. To date, the Clifton StrengthsFinder has been administered to almost 12 million people worldwide. Consider these characteristics of team members, when leadership focuses on strength:

* Team members look forward to going to work
* They have more positive than negative interactions with co-workers
* These team members treat customers better
* They will tell their friends they work for a great company
* Daily, they will Achieve more
* Team members focused on strengths have more positive, creative and innovative moments

The data is irrefutable, a focus on strength really makes a difference!
Download the FREE e-book "Play Like a Team" and subscribe to our blog at: page-stage.com
Interested in entering your strengths zone, or getting your whole team into theirs? We believe in fixing what's wrong by focusing on what's right, and we have set aside 30 minutes for you on our dime.

Click here to schedule a time for your call. We look forward to speaking with you soon.

Brandon Miller is Co-Founder and CEO of 34 Strong Inc. Brandon is one of the first Gallup Certified Strengthsfinder Coaches. As an accomplished Strengthsfinder enthusiast, Brandon has well over a decade of developing teams and individuals around their natural talents through Strengthsfinder. Brandon envisioned building a company on the very foundation of Strengthsfinder. Working collaboratively, Brandon brought together a team of fellow Strengthsfinder coaches and trainers and 34 Strong was born. Brandon's top five are: Maximizer, Achiever, Activator, Strategic, and Arranger.

Photo credits: stockphotosecrets.com

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The Clifton StrengthsFinder; Can Focusing On Strengths Really Make A Difference? - 34 Strong

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Almost 12 Million People Can't be Wrong... In the 1950's, Psychologist Donald O. Clifton asked the question, "What will happen when we think about what is right with people rather than fixating on what is wrong with them?" This query launched Dr Clifton into a world-wide research project to assess, understand and communicate the patterns ...

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I have a confession to make: I am terrible at handing back papers. That sounds silly, right? I mean, you literally just hand the paper to the kid whose name is at the top.

But teachers everywhere know how disheartening that small act can be. (It can't be just me, right?)

There are the eye rolls and the whispering to each other of "What did you get?" and "She gave me a ___." Next thing you know, the paper you spent so long reading and marking has been shoved into the abyss of the backpack or tossed carelessly in the recycle bin.

Wow, glad I put so much time into that assignment, said no teacher ever.

I honestly got to a point where I would just wait so long to give things back, the kids would kind of forget, and then so would I. Oops.

In English I ask my students to write a lot. I don't grade everything they write, but when it comes to the "big essays"-the graded, polished drafts-what grade they will receive becomes the sole motivator for their writing. This frustrates me, and, in my opinion, distracts them from what they should actually care about: writing.

This intense focus on the all-important grade was my least favorite part, and it was definitely what kept the stack sitting on the counter behind my desk...for an embarrassing amount of time. It really bothered me that kids didn't care about the feedback I put on their essays, not just because I took the time to do it, but because I did it to help them. I want them to grow as writers, and most of them do throughout the year, but so many only seem to care about that number.

I won't lie: It made me angry. Not only did I feel like I had wasted my time, I felt like they just didn't care. And then the snowball of thoughts would start: How will they survive if they don't care about feedback? What's going to happen in college? Or when they get jobs? Ugh! I'm done!

After dealing with this for about nine years, I couldn't take it anymore. I either had to get over it or fix it. Since I'm not usually one to give up, I set out to find a way to get my students to actually read their feedback and care less about the grade.

The Fix for Ignored Feedback

The solution was remarkably easy and accidentally originated out of my laziness (score one for being a little lazy!). Last year, kids had turned in essays on Google Classroom, but rather than pasting a completed rubric into their essay as I usually did, I made hard copies of the rubric and wrote on them. This meant that I could return papers with comments but without grades.

And from this a whole new system was born: Return papers to students with only feedback. Delay the delivery of the actual grade so student focus moves from the grade to the feedback.

The simple act of delaying the grade meant that students had to think about their writing. They had to read their own writing-after a few weeks away from it-and digest my comments, which allowed them to better recognize what they did well or not so well. The response from students was extremely positive; they understood the benefit of rereading their essays and paying attention to feedback. One boy said, "Mrs. Louden, you're a genius. I've never read what a teacher writes on my essay before, and now I have to."

The Plan

1. Grade the Papers
After collecting student papers, grade them (hard copy or electronic) as you usually would with comments on the written piece, but keep the rubric separate.

2. Plan Independent Work
Plan accordingly by creating opportunities for students to do independent or group work for a few days when it's time to return papers to students. This is probably the most vital part of the process, because it will give you time to conference with individual students.

3. Return Papers
When you finish grading the papers, return just the written work to students, not the completed rubric. When I first tried this with students, I put the following directions up on the board when I returned the essays:

Read over your whole essay, including what you wrote and my comments.

Write THREE observations based on your reading and TWO follow-up questions to discuss with me at our conference. Ask about comments, how to improve things, how to do things differently, etc.

Use the rubric (posted online) to grade yourself.

Be ready to discuss all of this.

I now incorporate these instructions into the student copy of the rubric. Below is one page of that rubric, which includes the reflection section.

4. Time to Reflect
Return the essays during class, allowing time to explain, time for kids to read their essays, and time for them to clarify if needed. Encourage them to go slowly. ( Bonus step: Walk around and listen. Hear the difference. Honestly, you probably won't hear a lot of talking or comparing. If they are talking, it will be to themselves about what they are noticing.)

5. Conference with Each Student
This step is where the magic happens.

Since you've planned for independent work, you will have time to meet with each student individually. I do my conferences on a large whiteboard-painted table; I have found that since moving these from my desk to this table, our conferences are more productive. I'm not distracted by the stuff on my desk, kids are able to spread out (Chromebook, reflection, essay, etc.), and as a bonus, we can use the surface of the table when we need to do some planning. These meetings don't have to be more than a couple of minutes per student.

When kids get to my table, I start with "What do you want to talk about?" and let them guide the conference. It is so cool to hear what they have to say. So many of them make comments like "I can't believe I did <insert careless mistake>" or "I'm sorry I turned it in like this" or "I'm embarrassed; I see so many mistakes!" Or my favorite: "You specifically told us not to do this." The level of reflection is deeper than any I've ever encountered. I assure them that it is fine and I don't expect perfection, but on the inside I'm so excited that they're seeing the things I see.

Next they usually ask questions. This is exciting because some of their questions make perfect teachable moments! I have watched many students grow this year from these conversations. Take Alex, for example. He writes the wordiest sentences I've ever read, but he's gotten to the point where he puts his own comments on his essay as he writes so we can discuss while he's still in the writing stage. At least half of these are related to wordiness. I'm excited that he's learned to identify it, if not quite how to fix it yet.

Finally, I end by asking students how they graded themselves according to the rubric. I enjoy this part because more often than not, they were much harsher on themselves than I was. I then share the rubric with the grade and the rest of my general comments. For once, kids are usually happy about their grade because it was higher than they expected, contrary to the old days when they'd say "she gave me C" but they thought they deserved an A.

6. Revision
I always offer students the opportunity to rewrite their essay. Above all else, my goal is to help students become better writers. If this means they have to do it a couple of times, then so be it. Depending on the assignment, these are the usual requirements:

The student must meet with me 1 to 3 times (depends on the student and the essay) before it is due. These meetings are quick "check-in" style meetings: What are you planning to do? What have you done? What questions do you have?

The student must make substantial revisions, not just grammatical edits.

The student must turn in the original and the updated draft on time.

And that's it! Okay, looking back over what I said, it sounds like a lot, but really it's very easy for you. I think this is the best change I have made to the writing process in the last few years. Students have become more reflective ( and sympathetic of how long it takes me to grade-haha! ), their writing has improved, and I return papers much more quickly-and happily-than ever before. ♦

Stick around.
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Delaying the Grade: How to Get Students to Read Feedback

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You spend hours marking and commenting on student work, and then they don't even read your feedback. The solution is all in how you time it.

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Why Variability Matters

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We design for variability we can see. But what about the variability we can't?

By default, we tend to design learning environments for efficiency and the average student, but in doing so do we limit the potential inherent in the unseen variability of students' brains? Are we, by default, failing to capitalize on one our nation's most underutilized assets: diversity? Todd Rose thinks so.

Here is a short 10-minute lecture by Dr. Rose, whose biography at Harvard's Mind, Brain and Education website reads:

Todd Rose is a research scientist with CAST and a faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he teaches Educational Neuroscience. His work is organized around six themes: human variability; course design and pedagogy in higher education; adaptive learning analytics; interdisciplinary thinking; the synergistic relationship between neuroscience, technology, and design in education; and the application of dynamic systems models to the study of behavior, learning, and development.

He makes a strong case for re-thinking how we go about designing learning environments that "genuinely support the full range of the learners in our classrooms." He argues for cultivating an ecosystem of "learning opportunities" through "understanding variability and understanding how to design for it" as a method for leveraging the diversity of our student body, and making schools/cyberlearning more relevant, meaningful, and valuable in the process. We could not agree more.

It is a concept whose time has come.

_

Want to know more about variability and designing for it in the classroom? Check out these resources:

Feel free to share other resources in the comments below.
This post is part of our Transformational Learning series and relates to Culture, Curriculum Goals, Academic Access, and Personalization.

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We design for variability we can see. But what about the variability we can't? By default, we tend to design learning environments for efficiency and the average student, but in doing so do we limit the potential inherent in the unseen variability of students' brains?

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During school Closures

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I taught the first online learning course at the University of Washington in 1995. My co‑instructor was Dr. Norm Coombs, at the time a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. We designed the course to be accessible to anyone, including students who were blind, were deaf, had physical disabilities, or had multiple learning preferences. Norm himself is blind. He uses a screen reader and speech synthesizer to read text presented on the screen. We employed the latest technology of the time-email, discussion list, Gopher, file transfer protocol, and telnet (no World Wide Web yet!). All online materials were in a text-based format, and videos, presented in VHS format with captions and audio description, were mailed to the students. When asked if any of our students had disabilities, we were proud to say that we did not know. Why? Because no one needed to disclose a disability since all of the course materials and teaching methods were accessibly designed.

Technology has changed dramatically since I first taught online, but the basic principles that can guide the design of accessible courses have not. The term UD was coined by Ronald Mace, an architect, product designer, and wheelchair user whose work led to the creation of the Center for Universal Design (CUD) at North Carolina State University and its seven principles of UD. UD is defined as "the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design." The UD definition, principles, and guidelines were created to make any application accessible, usable, and inclusive and, thus, are a logical choice to underpin practices that ensure that online courses meet the needs of potential students with a wide variety of characteristics that include those related to gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, marital status, age, abilities, interests, values, learning preferences, socioeconomic status, and religious beliefs.

For a history of UD, the basic principles of UD and those that later evolved to address issues specific to the design of learning activities and IT, consult my book Creating Inclusive Learning Environments in Higher Education: A Universal Design Toolkit and other resources presented in the Center for Universal Design in Education, which is hosted by DO-IT Center at the University of Washington-where DO-IT stands for Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology. For resources specific to applications of UD to online learning, including accessibility checkers, legal issues, technical details, and promising practices, consult .

A statement about how students can request disability-related accommodations should be included in the syllabus. Then instructors can apply the 20 tips I list below, as they begin to work toward making their online courses more inclusive. The complementary video, 20 Tips for Instructors about Making Online Learning Courses Accessible, may be viewed online, along with a for further background and directions for implementing these tips.

Tips

Nine tips for course materials follow. Consult Accessible Technology at uw.edu/accessibility for details on the design, selection, and use of accessible IT as well as accessibility checkers that help you identify accessibility problems in materials you use or create:

1. Use clear, consistent layouts, navigation, and organization schemes to present content. Keep paragraphs short and avoid flashing content.

2. Use descriptive wording for hyperlink text (e.g., "DO-IT website" rather than "click here").

3. Use a text-based format and structure headings, lists, and tables using style and formatting features within your Learning Management System (LMS) and content creation software, such as Microsoft Word, and PowerPoint and Adobe InDesign and Acrobat; use built-in page layouts where applicable.

4. Avoid creating PDF documents. Post most instructor-created content within LMS content pages (i.e., in HTML) and, if a PDF is desired, link to it only as a secondary source of the information.

5. Provide concise text descriptions of content presented within images (text descriptions web resource).

6. Use large, bold, sans serif fonts on uncluttered pages with plain backgrounds.

7. Use color combinations that are high contrast and can be distinguished by those who are colorblind (color contrast web resource). Do not use color alone to convey meaning.

8. Caption videos and transcribe audio content.

9. Don't overburden students with learning to operate a large number of technology products unless they are related to the topic of the course; use asynchronous tools; make sure IT used requires the use of the keyboard alone and otherwise employs accessible design practices.

Eleven tips for inclusive pedagogy follow; many are particularly beneficial for students who are neurodiverse (e.g., those on the autism spectrum or who have learning disabilities). Consult Equal Access: Universal Design of Instruction for more guidance.

1. Recommend videos and written materials to students where they can gain technical skills needed for course participation.

2. Provide multiple ways for students to learn (e.g., use a combination of text, video, audio, and/or image; speak aloud all content presented on slides in synchronous presentations and then record them for later viewing).

3. Provide multiple ways to communicate and collaborate that are accessible to individuals with a variety of disabilities.

4. Provide multiple ways for students to demonstrate what they have learned (e.g., different types of test items, portfolios, presentations, single-topic discussions).

5. Address a wide range of language skills as you write content (e.g., use plain English, spell out acronyms, define terms, avoid or define jargon).

6. Make instructions and expectations clear for activities, projects, discussions and readings.

7. Make examples and assignments relevant to learners with a wide variety of interests and backgrounds.

8. Offer outlines and other scaffolding tools and share tips that might help students learn.

9. Provide adequate opportunities to practice.

10. Allow adequate time for activities, projects, and tests (e.g., give details of all project assignments at the beginning of the course).

11. Provide feedback on project parts and offer corrective opportunities.

These tips apply to both synchronous and asynchronous teaching. Additional tips for synchronous presentations (e.g., speak all content presented visually, turn on the caption feature of your conferencing software, do not require students to have their cameras on) can be found in Equal Access: Universal Design of Your Presentation.

Acknowledgments

DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) serves to increase the success of individuals with disabilities. This publication was partially funded through DO-IT's AccessCyberlearning project that is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF Grant #1550477). Any questions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. More information about DO-IT can be found at uw.edu/doit.

Copyright © 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2015, University of Washington. Permission is granted to copy these materials for educational, noncommercial purposes provided the source is acknowledged.

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20 Tips for Teaching an Accessible Online Course

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scald=5808:sdl_editor_representation {"link":"","linkTarget":""}] I taught the first online learning course at the University of Washington in 1995. My co‑instructor was Dr. Norm Coombs, at the time a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

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By Kristen L. Hodnett, MSEd on Mar 16, 2020

With school buildings closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, many teachers are looking for ways to turn their teaching into digital learning lessons. Live videoconferencing may not be possible for many students because of such factors as lack of access to computers and limits on cell phone data plans. But one thing we can do as educators is be mindful of learning barriers so more students can access the online assignments we're creating.

As an educator of online classes at Hunter College, I've spent several years designing online learning experiences for future teachers, using the principles of Universal Design for Learning. A primary focus when designing online learning is to make content more accessible for all learners.

As educators, we're always striving to maximize learning opportunities. To make your online assignments easier for all students to access, follow these tips.

1. Be consistent in how you post your content and share information.

Does your school have a learning management system? If so, use that to post your document.

Other easy-to-use distribution platforms: Email (school platform preferred), Google Classroom (school account needed), and Edmodo (free).

Consider posting or sharing a Google Doc so you can update it as needed.

Be consistent - use the same approach each time you post or share information.

2. Create a regular timeline for providing information and activities.

Will you post/share information the same time each day? Or, for older students, maybe every other day or once a week?

Whatever you decide, it should remain unchanged to build comfort and routine.

3. Use a consistent layout for sharing tasks and activities.

Put learning objectives at the top or bottom.

Number the actions, like a checklist.

Keep your structure the same each time you share, with content, reading, actions, etc., each in the same place.

Use colors and fonts to make it clear where your directions end and where the reading material begins.

Follow the Goldilocks rule of graphic design. You want enough color and font variation to make the information interesting. But too many competing visuals can overwhelm or distract students. Aim for "just right."

If using icons, search for accessible icons that have embedded descriptions. These make icons accessible to students with low vision and other users of screen readers.

Be consistent about which color, font, and icon you use for different tasks. For example, use purple for highlighting topics and key actions, red for guiding students to use accessibility features, and blue for encouraging families to reach out for teacher support. (See examples of these kinds of online module structures.)

4. Offer multiple means of representation.

Just like in a classroom, all students will not learn the same way online.

Plan for this by offering options to access content. Find ways to incorporate images, video, and audio in addition to reading.

Example: Add narration to a PowerPoint presentation or to Google Slides using tools like Screencast-O-Matic, Jing, or VoiceThread (limited free use).

5. Remember to use multiple means of action and expression.

Offer different ways for students to show what they know, other than formal writing. Video or audio can be great options.

Consider how discussions can take place online, using tools such as Google Docs, Backchannel, or Flipgrid.

6. Introduce new tools in low-stakes ways.

"Low stakes" means a grade is not attached and the content should be light.

Example: Before having students use video on a graded task, have them practice recording a video by using it to introduce themselves to the class.

7. Provide a structured drop-in option for help, questions, and support.

Knowing you're there can ease your students' anxiety. Consider chatting via text or video for these interactions.

Decide if you want to offer a sign-up option or hold scheduled "office hour" times each day/week. For younger children, more contact with you may be comforting.

Before you dive into online learning, take a breath and remember that our students are typically far more comfortable with using technology than we are. Don't worry about being perfect. Always allow for trials, exploration, and mistakes. What your students need most right now is to know that you're there for them and that you'll get through this difficult time together.

About the author

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How to Create Online Assignments for Students

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With school buildings closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, many teachers are looking for ways to turn their teaching into digital learning lessons. Live videoconferencing may not be possible for many students because of such factors as lack of access to computers and limits on cell phone data plans.

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From the World Economic Forum to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, consensus exists that today's students need to develop as lifelong learners. Beyond traditional content knowledge and skills, they also require technology literacy such that they can master a host of Cs, including communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, citizenship, character development, computational thinking and coding.

However, since before the turn of the century, policymakers and scholars have documented the existence of a digital divide. Paul Atwell defined this as the gap between the "information haves and the information have nots." Though organizations such as CoSN and programs such as have helped to increase student access to devices and high-speed internet in school, the 2016 National Education Technology Plan warned of an even greater digital equity challenge: the digital use divide. Not only do students need equitable access, but they also require equitable opportunity to develop as expert learners.

For learning to be truly equitable, the environment needs to meet the individual needs of ALL learners-a premise that sits at the heart of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). As a framework, UDL acknowledges that every student has different needs, interests, and requirements for learning. Therefore, curriculum, instruction and assessment should be adaptable by both the teacher and student. Anne Meyer and David Rose, who developed UDL, argue that equitable learning experiences should tap into the recognition, strategic and affective networks of a student's brain. In other words, they should take into account the what, the how, and the why of learning.

The What (Recognition Networks)

If the goal is for all students to have equitable access to learning, the first step needs to be equitable access to the curriculum. Technology creates the opportunity for students to customize displays of information to both read and hear text, as well as to learn via a range of modalities from video to virtual reality. When students have devices that support them as learners, they can instantly access needed scaffolds and supports such as dictionaries, translators, text-to-speech, and links to related content or resources.

Equally important, digital equity implies that the curriculum is both accessible to students and representative of them. Teachers and students can take advantage of online resources to ensure that content, examples, theories and people represent multiple cultures and not just a single dominant view. Because digital technology facilitates access to more than just a standard curriculum from a single canon, it allows students to make more meaningful connections. And yet equitable access and representation are only the first steps to UDL. Students also need opportunities to consume technology and create with it.

The How (Strategic Networks)

Beginning in 2001, numerous scholarly studies have documented the existence of the digital use divide in education. These researchers have found that students in underserved schools tend to use technology for test-prep, drill and practice exercises, or remediation rather than active creation and knowledge construction. As S. Craig Watkins and Alexander Cho explain in their book The Digital Edge: How Black and Latino Youth Navigate Digital Inequality, with the rise of mobile devices, more students have access to digital tools. What they lack, however, is access to the resources and instruction required to develop the cognitive skills valued in a global economy.

A UDL curriculum not only represents different voices and viewpoints but also promotes the idea that students require different tools and strategies for organizing and expressing their thinking. When students learn how to use technology to create multimedia artifacts as evidence of their understanding and knowledge, they gain access to opportunities that are not bound by the constraints of an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper. By creating avenues for students of all cultures, socioeconomic backgrounds, and neurological profiles to leverage a range of technologies for action and expression, the possibility exists to bridge the digital use divide and ensure that students have both equitable access and opportunity.

The Why (Affective Networks)

In 1949, neuroscientist Donald Hebb famously stated, "neurons that fire together, wire together." This axiom essentially states that attention is a critical component of learning. Similarly, Professor Josh Eyler argues that curiosity is an equally critical condition. Without attention and interest, students lack the motivation to actively learn. Within the UDL framework, this is the argument that technology supports a student's affective network-and therefore their interest and motivation.

Beyond novelty, digital technology has the potential to motivate students to learn. It creates access to experts, communities, content and resources. Technology also allows teachers to configure the learning environment in a way that allows for a more personal experience-one that relates to student interest, affords agency, allows for multiple forms of representation, scaffolds student experiences, and encourages creative expressions of learning. As a framework for creating digital equity, UDL recognizes that different tools, topics, and strategies engage and inspire students in different ways.

Equitable Access to Expert Learning

According to the CAST Guidelines for UDL, expert learners are purposeful and motivated, resourceful and knowledgeable, strategic and goal-directed. An expert learner ultimately understands how to make their learning environment work to meet their needs such that they can tackle any novel problem, task or situation. Given the rhetoric that today's students need to be adaptive and agile, digital equity requires more than just access to devices and high-speed internet. By using UDL as a framework for digital equity, districts, schools, and teachers can move beyond just providing equitable access to technology and begin to tackle the challenge of equitable access to learning.

For more, see:

Stay in-the-know with innovations in learning by signing up for the weekly Smart Update .

Dr. Beth Holland leads Research & Measurement as a Partner at The Learning Accelerator and is the Digital Equity Project Director at the Consortium for School Networking. Follow her on Twitter: @brholland

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Universal Design for Learning as a Framework for Digital Equity | Getting Smart

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From the World Economic Forum to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, consensus exists that today's students need to develop as lifelong learners. Beyond traditional content knowledge and skills, they also require technology literacy such that they can master a host of Cs, including communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, citizenship, character development, computational thinking and coding.

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This eWorkshop is designed to support K-12 content and ESL teachers as they interact with the resources introduced on the Doing and Talking Math and Science website.

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bilingualism & disability: webinar- 3pm ct/4pm et /1pm pt

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bilingualism & disability: webinar- 3pm ct/4pm et /1pm pt tickets

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Bilingualism & Disability: Webinar- 3pm CT/4pm ET /1pm PT

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Eventbrite - The CEC DDEL PD Committee presents Bilingualism & Disability: Webinar- 3pm CT/4pm ET /1pm PT - Wednesday, May 27, 2020 - Find event and ticket information.

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Rethinking Family Engagement During School Closures

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Taking time to check assumptions about family engagement can make a huge difference in the lives of your students and their caregivers.

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Over 10 percent of students in the United States-more than 4.8 million kids-are English language learners (ELLs), and the number is on the rise. Though these students do not learn differently than their native-English-speaking peers, they do have particular educational needs.

To learn about these needs-and best practices for addressing them-I interviewed a range of educators and observers, including Larry Ferlazzo, an educator and author of The ESL/ELL Teacher's Survival Guide; longtime teachers of English as a second language (ESL) Emily Francis and Tan Huynh; and the journalist Helen Thorpe, who spent a year observing a teacher who works with ELLs.

The group emphasized that the strategies listed here, which include both big-picture mindsets and nitty-gritty teaching tactics, can be incorporated into all classrooms, benefiting both native English speakers and ELLs.

1. Cultivate Relationships and Be Culturally Responsive

No surprise here. A successful classroom, our educators agreed, is one in which students feel known, appreciated, and comfortable taking emotional and intellectual risks. That requires intentional planning and consistent messaging by the teacher.

Emily Francis, an ESL teacher in Concord, North Carolina, makes clear that she wants her students to "embrace their culture and their language as a foundation of who they are" and to consider their acquisition of a new culture and language "not as subtractive, but as additive." To help support students who may never have attended school before or may be coping with migration-based trauma, Francis emphasizes that little things make a big difference. "The first thing that I need to think about is, how is my student feeling in my classroom?" she says. "Are they sitting next to a buddy they can ask a question in their home language? Do they feel comfortable tapping me on the shoulder if they have to go to the bathroom?"

But creating a supportive environment is also about cultivating an appreciation of diversity-it's critical that both the curriculum and the classroom environment honor and reflect the lives of the students. For instance, Francis makes certain that her classroom library is reflective of her students' diverse backgrounds and identities.

ESL teacher Katie Toppel, who teaches near Portland, Oregon, champions the value of home visits to get to know students' families and takes care to incorporate the particulars of students' lives, such as pets' names and favorite sports, into lessons. Students are most engaged when they feel a personal connection to a lesson or unit, a connection that's created in part by a teacher's investment in culturally competent relationships.

2. Teach Language Skills Across the Curriculum

English language learners should not be learning the fundamentals of English in isolation; they should be applying their developing language skills to rich academic content in all subjects.

"It is key that in mainstream classrooms, teachers understand their role as language teachers," says Valentina Gonzalez, a district leader in Katy, Texas, suggesting that all teachers should be aware of the specialized idiom they work within. "If we teach math, then we teach the language of mathematics. If we teach science, then we teach the language of science." Math teachers, in other words, should take the time to teach the unfamiliar vocabulary of mathematics- add, subtract, calculator, solve -concurrently with the teaching of math skills.

3. Emphasize Productive Language

The educators I interviewed agreed that productive language skills-hard-to-master dimensions of language fluency like speaking and writing-should be front and center from day one, even if students feel hesitant about them.

Beginning ELLs often develop receptive language skills like listening and reading first. Educators who are unaware of the typical path to fluency may believe that students who can follow verbal or written directions will be able to produce oral or written language, but that's usually not the case.

To support reluctant speakers, Tan Huynh, an educator who blogs at Empowering ELLs, suggests using sentence frames. "For example, when a science teacher wants ELLs to produce a hypothesis, they might offer the sentence, 'If _____ was added, then _____ because _____.' This sentence frame provides clues that empower ELLs to sound and think like scientists," Huynh says.

Andrea Honigsfeld, a professor of education at Molloy College in Rockville, New York, suggests that all lessons touch on every letter of the acronym SWIRL, which stands for Speak, Write, Interact, Read, Listen. The approach intentionally privileges productive language skills "from the beginning," she says.

4. Speak Slowly-and Increase Your Wait Time

Easier said than done. Still, many of the teachers I spoke to said this simple change is vital. You can record yourself speaking in class to measure your cadence, and adjust.

"Adding in an extra three to five seconds after we pose a question offers all students time to think," explains Gonzalez. "However, for English learners, it also gives time to translate, process their thinking, translate back into English, and develop the courage to answer. If we call on students too quickly, many of our students will stop thinking about the answers-or trying to answer at all."

That means undoing some of our own habits, according to Larry Ferlazzo, a high school ESL teacher in Sacramento, California. "Researchers have found that typically most teachers give one to two seconds between asking a question and expecting a student response," he says. "The same researchers have shown that if you wait three to five seconds, the quality of responses is astronomically greater."

5. Differentiate-and Use Multiple Modalities

All kids learn better when they engage with material in multiple ways: Lessons that involve writing, speaking, drawing, and listening, for example, give students four opportunities to deepen their understanding of the work. For ELLs, those additional engagements also provide a little breathing room so they can work through the language barrier.

Helen Thorpe, a journalist who spent a year observing Eddie Williams's classroom in Denver in order to write a book about immigrants called The Newcomers, marveled at Williams's method of differentiation. "Eddie would enunciate very clearly in English multiple times, he would write it on the board, and he would go to the projector to give a visual. And, finally, he'd be asking the kids to verbalize aspects of the lesson themselves," she says, tracing Williams's efforts to move his students from receptive to productive language fluency.

Toppel uses a strategy called QSSSA to scaffold classroom discussions with ELLs. The letters stand for Question (the teacher poses a question, then gives ample think time); Signal (a designated motion like a thumbs-up, a finger on the nose-something that lets students indicate that they're ready to answer); Stem (the teacher provides a sentence starter for the question-for example, for "What is your favorite place to read a book?" the stem might be, "My favorite place to read a book is _____"); Share; and Assess.

6. Incorporate Students' Native Languages-and Don't Be Afraid of Technology

Bilingualism is the goal, of course, not replacement.

Ferlazzo uses a strategy called "preview, view, review," which leverages a student's native language skills as a foundation for learning the new language. He introduces a topic and encourages students to preview it in materials in their home language (often using multilingual videos and other online resources); he then teaches the topic in English, and then has students review the information in their home language.

Ferlazzo also encourages teachers to embrace technologies that students find helpful, like Google Translate. He stresses that the app can be a useful way for students to translate words quickly-but warns that it can quickly "become a dependency" if it's used as more than a handy dictionary.

Thorpe agrees that Translate can take pressure off teachers, who sometimes find that they "just stand at the front of the room and say things over and over. And if the kids didn't know what those words are, they're out of luck." Translation technology means you can say it once (or twice) and let the students use the technology to translate key words and phrases.

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6 Essential Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners

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We interviewed educators with decades of experience in teaching ELLs and tapped a network of experts and observers to find the strategies that work.

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Strategies for Integrating Language and Content in Remote Teaching (1/2)

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by Sarah Ottow, Confianza Founder and Director
The tips below are also more broadly discussed in the The Language Lens for Content Classrooms: A Guide for K-12 Teachers of English and Academic Language Learners published by Learning Sciences International.
As educators, we are being asked to shift our mindsets and practices. In the age of COVID-19, remote teaching and learning is the new normal. Whether you are a language specialist or a content educator, there are specific strategies to keep in mind when teaching English Language Learners (ELLs) online (in reality, these tips for working with all students, although English learners especially benefit and have a legal right to receive these supports). Many of the strategies and examples I share here are tried and true, "nuts and bolts" of any teaching and they become even more critical as we shift teaching and learning online.

1. Teach Your Students, Not Just Your Content

We are all charged with having to get through grade level standards in a compressed time frame during this unforeseen time of emergency teaching and learning. However, we need to recognize that this is not exactly the same as "school". To be clear, this is trying to reach kids at home during a public health crisis.This is a stopgap measure schools are providing amidst vast inequities that families experience, all the more exacerbated during this pandemic.

At Confianza, we recommend that educators use the "3 C's Approach" for supporting students, especially ELLs, at this time: Comfort, Communicate, and Connect. Comforting is key before any learning can occur and we need to keep in mind that every household is not created equally. Just as important at comforting is communicating effectively so that we aren't only using a monolingual mindset when reaching out to our families. Finally, connecting authentically means keeping relationships out front and capitalizing on the funds of knowledge that families and students bring even if those strengths don't align with the traditional curriculum. While the content is important, the students we are teaching-and their families-come first.

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Language and Content in Remote Teaching for ELLs - Confianza

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by Sarah Ottow, Confianza Founder and Director The tips below are also more broadly discussed in the The Language Lens for Content Classrooms: A Guide for K-12 Teachers of English and Academic Language Learners published by Learning Sciences International. As educators, we are being asked to shift our mindsets and practices.

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Strategies for Integrating Language and Content in Remote Teaching (2/2)

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In my current remote classroom, I work with the group and 1-on-1 synchronously through Zoom meetings. I utilize Zoom breakout rooms to encourage oral language interactions between the students. A favorite activity is when Partner A shares their writing with Partner B while Partner B first listens then offers constructive feedback. Then they switch. They also use this same structure during the very popular Friday activity we dubbed "Write, Show and Guess". For asynchronous activities for all domains of language, I have homework assignments where students read, write, listen and speak through the power of tech tools like Scholastic Bookflix and RAZ Kids. When designing adult learning at Confianza, I am cognizant of making sure that adults get regular opportunities to speak, listen, read and write, not just the passive PD model that is not just unpopular but ineffective!

4. Build Metacognition and Metalinguistic Awareness

We never want to water down grade level content, especially for those developing proficiency in another language. ELLs require accommodations to successfully learn academic content, not modifications. Accommodations provide scaffolds to support the learning of language and content while modifications change the standard being taught. When I coach leaders, we often need to stress this point with language and content specialists because, even with good intentions, educators can lower the bar and not bring in grade level demands and tasks with rigorous depth of knowledge that build metacognition. Whereas metacognition is "thinking about thinking" and all students need those skills, metalinguistic awareness is "thinking about language" and ELLs especially need these skills! One effective way of building in metalinguistic awareness is by having students do their own contrastive analysis between languages. Pictured here is an example of contrastive analysis using Nearpod's Immersive Reader tool where students can use translation and annotation features to connect their heritage language to the target language. Thanks to Confianza client district Taunton Public Schools, MA and ELL Director Dalia Mendoza for sharing this idea!

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Strategies for Integrating Language and Content in Remote Teaching (2/2) - Confianza

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In my current remote classroom, I work with the group and 1-on-1 synchronously through Zoom meetings. I utilize Zoom breakout rooms to encourage oral language interactions between the students. A favorite activity is when Partner A shares their writing with Partner B while Partner B first listens then offers constructive feedback.

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Free Summer Professional Learning for Educators working with
Multilingual Students in the COVID-19 Era

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This resource section includes numerous articles, blog posts, and links to online networks with tips for planning distance learning for English language learners (ELLs).

See our complete distance learning guide for more information.

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This resource section includes numerous articles, blog posts, and links to online networks with tips for planning distance learning for English language learners (ELLs). See our complete distance learning guide for more information.

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Amidst the current COVID-19 crisis, many schools are reaching their learning community through remote, online, or hybrid options. This shift to remote learning can be especially daunting for educators as we continue to scramble to best serve students and families.

Yet equitable access to the resources and infrastructure needed to support families is not always available, despite the progress that has been made in many places. Many of the multilingual families in the U.S. schools we work with have limited access to a device, stable internet service, and even in extreme cases, stable electricity. Online learning is therefore not a viable option.

Reaching Students Offline

Districts have worked hard to overcome many of these obstacles, by providing individual devices to students and partnering with service providers that offer free Internet, accessible community hot-spots, and free data for families, but many students, especially our multilingual learners in rural areas, remain disconnected. In some areas of our region, high speed, broadband internet is not yet available and cell service does not reach rural homes.

This article addresses some creative best practices for reaching students, especially our multilingual learners, who can not equitably access online learning opportunities, as well as ideas for building upon families' cultures, languages, and strengths in distance learning.

Partnering with Families

Partnering with students' families has never been more important than during this time, when face-to-face interaction with our students is limited. As Laura Gardner reminds us, "Parents have the capacity to help their children regardless of their background."

To foster connectedness with students, families and their community, it is essential that we focus communication on personal check-ins. These check-ins are a means of informing families of services such as school lunches and other resources, and provide a compassionate listening ear. To get started:

→ Consider the questions on the needs assessment for distance learning and then reach out to parents and guardians using their preferred method of communication.

→ Find out what translation resources, including interpreters and hotlines, are available. If that's not an option, use a translation app like TalkingPoints, if necessary. (Parents receive translated text messages in their language but don't have to download the app.)

→ If you can't get through to your students or families via text, phone, or other regular contact channels, have a back up plan.

→ Try to reach students via postcards; send a letter with a self-addressed stamped envelope; or ask a friend to contact them for you. Be sure to tell a school administrator if you have not yet been able to contact students. If your school has a resource officer, they may be able to make a home wellness check.

Resources: For more ideas on connecting with your students during school closures, read Making the Connection: Communicating with ELLs and Their Families During School Closures.

Offline Learning Opportunities

Once you have connected with students and their families who do not have access to online learning opportunities, consider which of the following offline learning options would work best for this student.

Oral and Aural Language Development

If families are in a position to support their child's offline learning, you can offer them some of these suggestions for supporting their multilingual learners oral language development through daily activities in the home. Many multilingual families already have a strong oral language tradition that is perfect for developing oral and aural language in their home language. The additional time at home together could actually provide a benefit for home language development and cultural awareness. Students may even develop a stronger sense of their identity through extended interactions with parents, guardians, and family members during this time of sheltering in place. As Fred Genesee reminds us in this article, "There is undeniable and growing evidence that the home language of ELLs is of considerable benefit to their overall academic success."
Recommendations:
Encourage parents, older siblings, and guardians to:

→ Tell f amily stories in the home language.

→ Include the child in household chores like cooking and cleaning.

→ Ask the child to tell a story or recount an event using all of their languages.

→ Sing songs from the home culture and share cultural traditions.

→ Ask the child what they are interested in or what they are curious about; discuss these topics.

→ Sort clothing for the laundry by type of clothing, color, or the family member who wears it.

→ Notice and name changes in the natural world as seasons and times of day change.

Resource: For more information and ideas on learning at home, read Empowering ELL Parents and Families at Home.
Distance Learning at Home: Ideas in the Kitchen
Reading

Distributing copies of books from the school or classroom library is one way to support at home, offline learning. These books can be distributed with school lunches, if your school is offering that service. Picture books, wordless books, and books in the students' home languages are especially valuable. Even if children are not yet independent readers, they can use the books to develop curiosity and early literacy skills. Share some simple strategies with parents or guardians, who may not have the time or ability to sit down and read a book aloud with their child.
Recommendations:
Encourage parents to:

→ Ask questions about the pictures in the book.

→ Have the child find words they recognize or the letters in their name in the text.

→ Ask the child to retell the story based on the pictures in the book.

→ Compare the activities and characters shown in the pictures to those in the family.

→ Create a new ending to the story together.

→ Draw a new story for the same characters in the book.

→ Ask another family member to read aloud to younger children or create a story for them to read.

→ Use household items like cereal boxes, soup cans, and labels to build print awareness.

Resources: If your school does not lend books at this time, you can print readers from sources like Reading A to Z or Waterford Early Learning Boosts For younger learners, you can print coloring books like these from museums and have students use the pictures to tell stories. For older students, NewsELA offers a variety of printable articles that can be differentiated per reading level to best support your multilingual learners.

Writing

Writing can be especially challenging for multilingual learners. Our students often think they are not good at writing unless it is perfect and they may not have the language skills necessary to edit and revise their own work yet. In this time away from a traditional learning setting, the focus of writing can take on a variety of forms, genres, voices and languages.

For example, you can learn more about multisensory techniques for teaching handwriting, originally published by Understood. The tips are also available in Spanish.
Recommendations:
→ Students can create their own guiding message for the day. Many students have taken to creating positive messages through sidewalk chalk art.

→ Have students create a photo journal with a compelling image they see in their homes, in their community or in a story.

→ Have students create notes to family or community members that they are not currently seeing during this quarantined time.

Resources: Peter Cameron, educator and professional development provider from Canada, has created a shareable at-home writing journal, as well as a math journal and book report template. You can adapt this journal to any grade level and make paper copies for students without internet access. Additionally, one of our favorite writing support resources is the lighthouse writers workshop. The site offers great ideas to support writing beyond the classroom including writing prompts for the whole family. You can send students a writing prompt or idea from this website in English or their home language via snail mail, deliver a writing prompt with their daily food pick up, or call them with one of the writing ideas from this site.

Language Integrated At Home Learning Opportunities

This unprecedented time of world-wide school closures, canceled state achievement tests, and relaxed classroom based assessments may be the perfect time for teachers to provide students with a choice of project-based or game-based learning activities. During the regular school year, these types of activities are often cut out of the school day.

For example, a team of creative ESL teachers from around the US, led by Maria Montroni-Currais, collaborated to create 8 Weeks of ESL At Home Activities which have now been translated into 27 languages with more translations on the way. You can hear more about this project in Maria's podcast with Tan Huynh on his Empowering ELLs blog.

Here are some additional resources:

The power in these types of activities is they help build autonomy and ownership in a student's day, especially when there is so much uncertainty in their lives.
Distance Learning at Home: Ideas with TV
Creating Accessible Packets

While publishing companies and other websites may offer prepared learning packets for each subject area, these materials may not be accessible to multilingual learners and their families, especially to learners that are dually identified. Teachers should revise pre-made packets or design their own to ensure that multilingual learners are able to learn from packets, regardless of their language acquisition level or background knowledge.
Recommendations:
Try some of these strategies to make your packets more accessible to multilingual learners and dually identified students:

→ Rewrite directions to make them direct, step-by-step, and brief.

→ Translate directions into students' home language to provide more opportunity for family support.

→ Provide a clear model of how to complete each activity or problem.

→ Organize packets with practice problems or questions immediately following a model.

→ Break up text and activities into small, manageable chunks.

→ Add a visual such as an image, a graph, or a chart to support the content of the text in each small chunk.

→ Reword or reduce the amount of text on each page. Use Rewordify.com as a starting point.

→ Provide visual word banks, sentence frames, and framed paragraphs for written responses.

→ Offer choices in how students complete the packet, rather than requiring students to work through the packet from start to finish.

→ Offer choices for students to demonstrate what they've learned.

→ Encourage students or parents to choose a different text or problem to better match their interests, culture, language, or background.

→ Provide support and feedback on the work in the students' home language via phone when possible.

→ Determine if there are any manipulatives or materials you can send home with packets, such as straws cut into short pieces for math/counting practice.
Infographic: Making packets accessible
Special thanks to Claribel González for creating this infographic and sharing it with us!

Final Thoughts

The challenges of this moment are significant; yet, as you can see from these examples, educators and families all over the country are tackling those challenges with creativity, ingenuity, and above all, a tremendous dedication to their students and children. It is our hope that by sharing their examples we can give our schools and communities some tools that will help them succeed in this endeavor -- and that will spark students' excitement for learning, even from afar.

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Offline Learning at Home: Ideas for English Language Learners

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Amidst the current COVID-19 crisis, many schools are reaching their learning community through remote, online, or hybrid options. This shift to remote learning can be especially daunting for educators as we continue to scramble to best serve students and families.

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Free Online UDL Remote Learning Workshop Series:

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Free Online UDL Remote Learning Workshop Series:

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The Department is pleased to offer a free workshop series, “Innovate Inside the [Remote Learning] Box with UDL,” focused on universally designing remote instruction. Join George Couros and Katie Novak in an online workshop series that will introduce the key concepts of inclusive practice, innovation, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and give participants the knowledge they need to start using UDL in their lesson and assessment design while supporting remote learning. Attend live webinars the week of May 11, take the following week to unpack the virtual modules, and then join a final webinar on Wednesday, May 20 to share key takeaways and final projects. More information and registration are available online.

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Considerations for Grading in a Pandemic, Online World with Tom Guskey and Rick Wormeli

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Considerations for Grading in a Pandemic, Online World with Tom Guskey and Rick Wormeli

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Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium - ERLC

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Considerations for Assessment & Grading in a Pandemic, Online World

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Descriptive Feedback Techniques for Student Learning, Part 1

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Render your Sparkol videos instantly on sho.co and get share links and embed codes for your own website.

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Providing a Language Rich Environment at Home

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Providing a Language Rich Environment at Home

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Center for Applied Linguistics

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Center for Applied Lingustics

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Center for applied Linguistics

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DESIGNING EQUITABLE 3D5E DISTANCE LEARNING DURING COVID-19 CLOSURES

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Focused on High Leverage Practices (strategies to support all learners)

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This year's webinars are focused on the High-Leverage Practices, the essential strategies special education teachers need to support all of their students.
Download the 2020 webinar registration form.
CEC/NCSER Collaborative Webinars

In collaboration with the National Center for Special Education Research, please enjoy this recorded webinar. Click the image below to learn more.

Browse the full recorded webinar catalog.
Don't forget-CEC Members have access to special recorded webinars in All-Member Forum library! Just log in with your CEC account.

Did you know?

A live CEC webinar registration fee is valid for an individual or a site. Gather as many friends and colleagues as you like to view the live webinar at your site.

After the live CEC event, all individual paid registrants receive a free link to a recording of the webinar. Use it to review the program at your leisure.

Everyone who participates in live CEC webinars may apply for Professional Development Hours (PDHs). Only attendees of the live webinar are eligible for PDHs.

Recorded CEC webinars are valid only for an individual or on-site group viewing. Recorded webinars may not be distributed without explicit permission from CEC. Recorded webinars are not eligible for PDHs.

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This year's webinars are focused on the High-Leverage Practices, the essential strategies special education teachers need to support all of their students. Download the 2020 webinar registration form. In collaboration with the National Center for Special Education Research, please enjoy this recorded webinar. Click the image below to learn more.

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Unlearning (thinking about teaching in a new way)

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Unlearning (thinking about teaching in a new way)

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Unlearning | Fireside Chat with Katie Novak and Allison Posey

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UDL to Go: Customizable Learning with Chromebooks in the Era of School Closure

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UDL to Go: Customizable Learning with Chromebooks in the Era of School Closure

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UDL to Go: Customizing Remote Learning with Chromebooks in  the Era of School Closures

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6 Reasons Students Aren't Showing Up for Virtual Learning

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6 Reasons Students Aren't Showing Up for Virtual Learning

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Education Week - Peter DeWitt's Finding Common Ground

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(Update 5/7/20. Finding Common Ground Vlog added at the end of blog post).
Many teachers, students, and parents are proving to be remarkably resilient during this time when it comes to the effects of the pandemic on school, education, and student learning. It is not easy to teach in a physical classroom one day and turn it into a virtual classroom the next. Most college and university teacher prep programs do not have a course focusing on virtual teaching and learning (something they may consider doing soon).

Many teachers are still trying to replicate what they do in a classroom, with what they are doing online. It's important to shift that way of thinking and continue to adapt. Most of us will never feel as confident or competent about how we teach virtually as we do when the students are in front of us. This adaptation is not easy, but we have to start looking at the parts of virtual teaching that are not working and let them go, and begin looking at the places where we can go a little bit deeper.

As I comb through the countless teacher Facebook pages that have been created due to the pandemic, I have learned a great deal about new tools and ways to engage students, at the same time I am constantly reminded of just how much work teaching is, and it's even more complicated when it all has to be done virtually. When it comes to how teachers are meeting the needs of their students, there are a few important aspects to keep in mind.
Did you know:

Teachers have their own children at the same time they are teaching students? And yes, I realize parents have their own virtual working conditions at the same time their children are required to virtually learn.

Some teachers live in a studio apartment with no space to work and questionable Wi-Fi.

Even in areas where the Wi-Fi is usually strong, there are interruptions.

There are teachers who have roommates and have to teach from their bedroom, which is beyond awkward. How comfortable would you be having your students see into your bedroom?

Many of the free online sources that students are using were not free a few weeks ago, so teachers are learning those at the same time they are using them to teach virtually.

Teaching During the Pandemic
Over the last few days, I have collected over 120 comments from a few different pandemic pages on Facebook. There were numerous reasons why I started reviewing them. First and foremost, I wanted to get a feel for how teachers were accomplishing the art and science of remote teaching. Secondly, I wanted to be able to code the comments under categories like social-emotional learning, student engagement, instructional strategies, efficacy, and leadership. The interesting part of the coding activity is that many of the same questions for virtual teaching come up with teaching in physical classrooms. For example:

How do I use that tool?

My students are not handing in assignments.

I cannot get parents to call me back.

How is your administrator involved in your classroom?

How often are you having faculty meetings?

What is the required work day?

What does grading look like in your school?

One of the posts that appeared time and time again, and created the most responses, had to do with student accountability. There were numerous posts that highlighted the fact that students are not necessarily signing on to get assignments and certainly not handing in assignments, either.

The piece that is a bit different between teaching in the physical classroom and the virtual classroom is the amount of "control" the teacher has over student engagement. Teachers can use:

Their physical proximity to engage students

The promise of a good or bad grade

The threat of a loss of some privilege

The promise of an incentive, or one of their other positive social-emotional tricks of the trade.

Most of those actions are gone because of new school policies that prevent teachers from giving grades or repercussions. There is a lot less "control" on the part of the teacher right now, and that can make us uncomfortable. Especially when teachers are being held accountable as teachers.

So many posts focus on student engagement, and there are others that are meant to get people to laugh and breathe, while other posts are examples of venting. It's a frustrating time in our world, so all of these posts are natural expressions of that frustration, anger, and sadness.

Why Aren't Students Signing On?
When looking at the idea of why students are not engaging with teachers in virtual learning, I wanted to provide a list of a few reasons why that may not be happening. Some of the reasons are issues we know and understand, while one seems to be a reason no one is talking about on any of the pages. It's not an exhaustive list, and just like any list, it is based on data I have collected. If there is one you feel is missing, please feel free to add it in the comment section.

The 6 reasons are:
No access - Some students are living in homes that may not have access to Wi-Fi or limited access at best. Many of those students may not have a "device" to use for schoolwork. Yes, schools hand out devices to students, which is extremely helpful, but not all families are experts at devices and Wi-Fi. Common Sense Media reports (Today Show. 04/21/20) that over 10 million students in the US do not have devices. If teachers and leaders are struggling with technology, perhaps it's probable that families are struggling with technology, too? Not everyone works for the Geek Squad.

Essential Workers - Some students are working full time. Whether they are working the fields in California or at grocery stores in the Midwest, it's plausible that our students have had to take on jobs to help their families put food on the table. Their work, and the contributions they make monetarily at home, is essential.

No Grade Incentive - Many school districts in many states have gone to a no grading policy because they don't want to punish students who cannot attend all classes or hand in all of their work due to equity of access to virtual learning. The interesting thing happening here is that there are students who find that the incentive for showing up is not there, so they no longer need to attend the class. Is there a way that we can use a no grading policy to our advantage? Can we continue to provide students with the flexibility to do project-based learning around topics they find interesting to get a sense of their interests and creativity?

Taking care of their siblings - If parents or caregivers are still working because they are essential workers, it is possible that our students are caregiving for their siblings and helping those siblings do their classwork ... or keeping siblings from tearing things apart. These students may attend only half of the classes they are "required" to attend.

Bedlam but No Bedroom - Not everyone has a bedroom to themselves. In fact, I work in many schools where multiple families live in the same apartment or house. If there isn't a quiet space where they are able to focus, perhaps it's just easier to not connect with their teacher at all.

Student - Teacher Relationships - Some students are not connecting because they felt invisible while they were in the physical classroom, so they feel that they will not be missed in the virtual one. Additionally, some students just didn't find their teachers very engaging in person, so they aren't really concerned about engaging with those particular teachers online.

In the End
There are students not attending all of their classes because of a lack of accountability at the same time their teachers are being held accountable. Let's face it though, most teachers are less worried about the kind of acocuntability that comes from their school leaders, and more of the accountability they are concerned about comes from the pressure they put on themselves as teachers. So many teachers care deeply about their students and worry about their social-emotional and academic growth during this pandemic.

In one of the pages I explored, someone posed the question, " Knowing what you know now, would you have done anything differently when the students were in front of you?" I thought it was a great question, and apparently so did others because there were 79 responses at the time I began writing this blog.

Most of the responses focused on how they would have used different tools, or they would have assigned at least one virtual assignment every week. All of these responses are important. However, very few of the comments focused on how teachers would have built better relationships with students so those students would show up to the virtual classroom. If we find ourselves in a situation where we are teaching online for the first month of school, knowing we have the same restraints we do now (i.e. no grading, access, etc.) student teacher relationships is the first place we must start, and we need to take some time soon to think about what that may look like in a virtual setting.
Questions I have been pondering:

We know that virtual teaching during a pandemic is hard, and takes a lot of work. However, what is working for your school/classroom right now that can continue to be used again in the fall?

What is one way you have communicated during this time that brought in the most attention by the community (i.e. teachers, students, families, etc.)? Many years ago, we went from just sending home paper newsletters to parents (we went from a 5 pager to a 1 page), and I began flipping communication through our parent portal. I was amazed at how well it went the first time around. Are there any similar changes you have made that have worked well, and it surprised you?

As school leaders, what do you need to do during the summer to continue to connect with families? With my PTA we would have at least one summer meeting, and one summer event. If social distancing is still in place, is there a virtual event that you can create?

As school leaders, how are you supporting teachers and students socially-emotionally and academically? For example, are you engaging in their live classroom chats with students?

As school leaders, what incentives are cable companies offering that may help put more hot spots in the community? I coach with a high school principal that contacted those companies and got them to compete with each other a bit, and his high poverty community ended up with a few more hot spots set up.

Teachers, please take a few moments to fill out this survey that focuses on your experience with pandemic learning. Parent of a K-12 student? Please consider having each child fill out this student survey. Check out the new Vlog addition to Finding Common Ground below. Peter DeWitt, Ed.D., is the author of several books including his newest release Photo courtesy of Getty Images. Instructional Leadership: Creating Practice Out Of Theory (Corwin Press. 2020). Connect with him on Twitter or through his YouTube channel.

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6 Reasons Students Aren't Showing Up for Virtual Learning

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(Update 5/7/20. Finding Common Ground Vlog added at the end of blog post). Many teachers, students, and parents are proving to be remarkably resilient during this time when it comes to the effects of the pandemic on school, education, and student learning.

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Guidance on Culturally Responsive Remote ED

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MATSOL: Equity & Excellence for English Learners

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Thursday, May 7, 3:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m.

Co-presenters: Dr. Jenny Jacobs, Boston Public Schools and Joni Magee, Lasell University

Please join the Coalition for Equity, Diversity, and Disability (CEDD) for an open house meeting to discuss teaching and learning remotely with students who are linguistically and culturally diverse students with disabilities. The Coalition for Equity, Diversity, and Disability (CEDD) promotes interdisciplinary collaboration to address the needs of linguistically and culturally diverse students with disabilities and their families.

During this open house, a diverse community of practitioners will meet to discuss:

Practices that are working well in remote teaching with this student population

Challenges that present as we teach remotely with this student population

Resources for teaching remotely with linguistically and culturally diverse students with disabilities and their families

Opportunities to share experiences from the field and higher education

Please register here for this open house. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting in Zoom.

Co-sponsored by MATSOL, MABE & Lasell University

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English/Multilingual Learners with Disabilities: Teaching and Learning Remotely

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Online Open House Thursday, May 7, 3:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m. Co-presenters: Dr. Jenny Jacobs, Boston Public Schools and Joni Magee, Lasell University Please join the Coalition for Equity, Diversity, and Disability (CEDD) for an open house meeting to discuss teaching and learning remotely with students who are linguistically and culturally diverse students with disabilities....

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CCSSO, in partnership with the National Collaborative on Inclusive Principal Leadership, developed with support from the CEEDAR Center and Oak Foundation.

The CCSSO Inclusive Leadership Webisode Series builds off this foundational resource to showcase resources and promising practices from states and national partners related to advancing inclusive principal leadership in policy and practice. The series covers a variety of topics pertaining to inclusive leadership, including Universal Design for Learning, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, distributed leadership, high-quality IEP development, among others. Please feel free to share these webisodes with your wider networks.

CCSSO Inclusive Leadership Webisode Series: Upcoming Webisodes
Please check-in as this list will be updated with new webisodes.

Preparing Inclusive Teachers and Leaders for Today's Students 2-3PM EST -This webisode will focus on the preparation of inclusive teachers and leaders including dual licensure programs and include a focus on online preparation as educator preparation programs make shifts due to the novel coronavirus. Jackie Rodriguez from AACTE, Mary Murray, Kimberly A. Christensen, Alexandria Carlozzi, and Zeb Kellough of Bowling Green State University, and Marvin Lynn, Ingrid Anderson, and Molly Baustien Siuty of Portland State University will present.

-This webisode will focus on the practitioners' perspective of creating inclusive cultures and environments both for in-person and virtual settings as schools across the country are closed across the country due the novel coronavirus. Erin Studer and Adie Buchinsky of The Chime Institute and Amy Hanreddy of California State University, Northridge will present.

Keeping Inclusivity a Priority, Even at A Distance- Thursday, Jun. 4, 2020: 3-4PM EST -This webisode will focus on district responses to the closures due to the novel coronavirus and include examples of promising practices to support students who learn differently. Robin Lake and Sivan Tuchman of the Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) will present.

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for All: Including Students with the Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities-This webisode will focus on multi-tiered systems of support for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Sheryl Lazarus of the TIES Center will present.

CCSSO Inclusive Leadership Webisode Series: Past Webisodes

Please check-in as this list will be updated as more recordings become available.

(April 2020)-This webisode will focus on bolstering school leaders' knowledge of evidence-based practices to enhance executive function skills for all learners. Holly McCormack of Brain Futures and Dr. Jacquelyn F. Gamino and James Lowry of the Center for BrainHealth, The University of Texas at Dallas will present.

(March 2020) - This webisode will focus on the principal's role in recruiting, supporting, and retaining effective teachers of students with disabilities. Lindsey Hayes and Lynn Holdheide of the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders and Ryan Saunders of the Learning Policy Institute will present.

This webisode will focus on findings from NCLD's Forward Together: Helping Educators Unlock the Power of Students Who Learn Differently report and an associated school leader's guide. Meghan Whittaker of NCLD and Shivohn Garcia of Understood for Educators will present.

This webisode will focus on distributive leadership to advance inclusive schools. Sarah Rosenberg, Beulah McLoyd, and Brenda Newman-Sheldon of New Leaders will present.

This webisode will focus on the principal's role in high-quality IEP development and implementation. Naomi Tyler and Tanya Collins of The IRIS Center, Latricia Bronger of the Greater Louisville Education Cooperative, and Deanna Clemens and Steve Prater of the Texas Education Agency will present.

This webisode will focus on universal design for learning. Frank Edelblut, Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Education, Nikki Norris, a principal from Baltimore County Public Schools, and Bill Wilmot and Allison Posey from CAST will present.

This webisode will focus on high-leverage practices in special education for school leaders. Lynn Holdheide of the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders, Erica McCray, and James McLeskey of the CEEDAR Center will present.

Braided Federal Funding: How Blending Federal Funds Can Advance Inclusive Principal Leadership This webisode will focus on how to blend federal funds to advance inclusive principal leadership. Kathleen Airhart of CCSSO, Sheara Krvaric of Federal Education Group, PLLC, Peter Zamora of CCSSO, and Dean Zajic of the Kansas Department of Education will present.

(August 2019)-This webisode will focus on inclusive school leader preparation. Amy Farley of the University of Cincinnati, Sheryl Cowart Moss of Georgia State University, and Michelle Young of UCEA will present.

Ensuring an Equitable Opportunity: Providing a High-Quality Education for Students with Disabilities This webisode will focus on CCSSO's new resource on individualized education programs . Kathleen Airhart of CCSSO, David Bateman of Shippensburg University, and James M. Paul of CCSSO will present

Inclusive Education: Developing a Common Language Among States This webisode will focus on defining inclusive schools and inclusive principal leadership. Toni Barton of the Relay Graduate School of Education, Kaylan Connally of CCSSO, and Carol Quirk of the Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education will present.

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CCSSO Inclusive Leadership Webisode Series

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CCSSO, in partnership with the National Collaborative on Inclusive Principal Leadership, developed with support from the CEEDAR Center and Oak Foundation. The CCSSO Inclusive Leadership Webisode Series builds off this foundational resource to showcase resources and promising practices from states and national partners related to advancing inclusive principal leadership in policy and practice.

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example from video below: a CONTENT TEACHER'S GUIDE...

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A Content Teacher's Guide to English Learner Success

This choice is for those teachers who need to earn a certificate of professional learning hours or graduate credit*. Fully facilitated with assignments and feedback, this section of the course is interactive and offers the bonus of working with a cohort and an experienced course facilitator. This is an 8 week course. *An additional fee of $225 for graduate credit is payable to Brandman University before the end of the 8 week course. More details upon enrollment.

$425.00 USD

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Professional Learning Summit 2020 - Rebecca Guzman

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A Content Teacher's Guide to English Learner Success This choice is for those teachers who need to earn a certificate of professional learning hours or graduate credit*. Fully facilitated with assignments and feedback, this section of the course is interactive and offers the bonus of working with a cohort and an experienced course facilitator.

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Are students still learning during COVID-19? Formative assessment can provide the answer

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As schools around the world have closed due to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (and many have extended closures for the remainder of the school year), students, teachers, and parents are settling into the "new reality" for the foreseeable future.

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Teacher Collaboration in Global pandemic

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Teacher Collaboration in Global pandemic

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An Educational Leadership Special Report | Volume 77
A New Reality: Getting Remote Learning Right Pages 47-50

Andrea Honigsfeld and Jon Nordmeyer

How can staying farther apart bring us closer together? Millions of families around the world-and the many dedicated educators who continue to serve them-are navigating school closures and sudden shifts to new ways of learning due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. We are also seeing unprecedented global cooperation among educators. While collaboration in virtual spaces might not happen the same way as it does in person, connecting with each other, planning around diverse student needs, and figuring out what works has become essential in our current environment.

In many parts of the United States, remote learning has only just started; elsewhere it has become the new normal. We have been working to support professional learning in independent K-12 international schools around the world, many of which have been teaching and learning virtually for months. Both nationally and internationally, educators have been generously sharing what they have learned with us, as well as on Twitter, Facebook, FlipGrid, YouTube, and other digital platforms.

Below, we outline five key takeaways from this work. While these recommendations initially grew out of teaching English learners, we believe they can serve all learners.

1. Take Care of Each Other

First and foremost, let's acknowledge that this new normal is not normal. As human beings we seem to be more vulnerable than ever before. As educators, this time we really do not have all the answers. What we do have, however, is each other. Physical distancing cannot and should not mean professional isolation. Just the opposite: We need to start by supporting each other, our students, and their families. As we work together, we not only need to focus on student learning, but also on the overall well-being of our colleagues through empathy, honesty, and generosity.

As we collaborate with colleagues, we can offer social-emotional support and lead honest conversations about what works and what doesn't in this new learning environment. We can share everything: teacher-created materials, freely available resources, curated course content, successes, challenges, and even total fails. For example, Alycia Owen, at the American International School of Guangzhou, China, recently shared best-practice ideas on Twitter for staying connected with students and families, as well as maintaining personal and professional interactions with colleagues. Many educators have looked to their professional learning networks on social media for encouragement through virtual book clubs, Twitter chats, or wellness challenges.

In the weeks and months ahead, we must consider: What can we do for others? and How can we fully embrace the ethics of care? (Held, 2006) At the core of this principle is educational altruism, or selfless concern for other educators, students, and their families.

2. Plan to Collaborate and Collaborate to Plan

In the past, some teachers might have appreciated the autonomy that closing their classroom door provided them. But in this new context, most teachers don't want to go it alone. As a result, we have witnessed a seismic shift toward a more collaborative mindset. To both support and learn from colleagues, teachers can build in time each week to plan together. Whether working with a grade-level team, department colleague, or support specialist, two heads are better than one. This is especially true when navigating new waters.

A simple co-planning protocol (Dove & Honigsfeld, 2018) has helped many international educators to structure this shared planning time more efficiently:

1. Pre-planning to agree on norms: When and how will we meet online, by text, phone, or other modalities? What will we discuss?

2. Co-planning to ideate: What will we teach and how will we assess? What will be the sequence of learning experiences?

3. Post-planning to divide tasks: Who will find or create specific resources? How will we differentiate?

Because digital practices are so portable, teachers can easily share resources with colleagues within the same school and across schools, countries, and even continents. We seem to have entered a new reality in which collaboration is no longer a luxury; instead, it is a lifeline that allows for teachers to learn about new digital tools, to integrate new teaching activities (both high-tech and low-tech), and to share responsibility for creating online or take-home resources.

In this video, Alexandra Gustad from the American School of Bombay explains how teachers at her school co-plan. And in this video, Gina Ballesteros from the International School of Beijing shares how she co-plans to support multilingual learners in 2nd grade.

3. Take an Asset-Based Approach

Rather than focusing on "remote" or "distance" or "virtual" classrooms, we can leverage teaching and learning from home as an asset. It is important to shift from a deficit-based view of the "challenge" of translating face-to-face instruction into an online classroom, to an asset-based view: finding new and different opportunities in home learning. When we highlight the assets of parents, siblings, pets, and the things around us that make up a home-rather than just a lonely student stuck in front of a screen-it helps us build on what we know about culturally sustaining pedagogy, place-based learning, and funds of knowledge. For example, when a student's home is multilingual, teachers can build on this resource by encouraging parents to read aloud or discuss assignments in their home language and inviting students to create multilingual projects. This approach helps us to recognize what we can do when learning goes home.

How can we make "learning at home" feel more real than virtual? What kinds of offline activities might support students? Teachers can find opportunities to connect curriculum and concepts to students' lived experiences and immediate environment. For example, students might interview siblings for a project or parents can join the classroom morning meeting. Students can also use pets or nearby objects to make connections with their learning. Meghan Wilson at Shekou International School in China shared on Twitter how her students and colleagues are staying connected, active, and creative at home.

4. Think in Chunks: Link Lessons, Resources, and Communication

Most teachers are in the process of building an entirely new online learning ecosystem, or, in the best-case scenario, repurposing an online platform that used to complement face-to-face teaching before the novel coronavirus-related school closures. Since there are so many resources available, teachers often utilize a combination of multiple apps, media, websites, and teacher-created content. This can get overwhelming fast. In order to avoid fragmentation or confusion, teachers can build connections across resources, activities, and lessons.

Building a one-stop shop and sharing a weekly learning plan with students and parents gives them a birds-eye view and road map of the curriculum. Tan Huynh at Saigon South International School in Vietnam shared how he uses a weekly learning plan or "week at a glance" to prepare students and parents for what lies ahead.

5. One Size Does Not Fit All

We know that every student is different. We also know that teaching a class with a variety of languages, cultures, abilities, and identities enriches the experience for all learners. In online classrooms, teachers must recognize the unique strengths and needs of every student by providing both high challenge and high support ( Mariani, 1997). Every teacher and every school will adapt to the current reality differently based on their unique context and available resources. Teachers recognize the need to collaborate across borders and boundaries, to share what works and what doesn't. As teachers pay attention to linguistic diversity and neurodiversity in their classes, they can rely on the global education community to help provide options for students.

Equity is a critical consideration for online learning: Not all students have the same access to technology, and consistent high-speed internet may not be available in all homes. How can teachers collaborate to ensure learning activities and materials meet the needs of all learners? To ensure they're accessible and mobile-friendly? For example, PDFs are generally more accessible for students with disabilities who may rely on screen-readers.

Choices are an important key to unlocking access for all students in a virtual classroom. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework that helps teachers to plan for multiple means of engagement, multiple modes of representations, and multiple ways for students to take action or express themselves. For example, Chelsea Wilson from Nansha College Preparatory Academy in China explains how she makes complex texts more accessible by using multilingual and multimodal resources. And Lindsay Kuhl from Seoul Foreign School in Korea shares how she scaffolds texts by using screencasting for guided reading.

Continue the Conversation

As the global K-12 landscape continues to evolve online, collaboration holds the promise of transforming professional relationships, with profound implications for everyone's learning (Nordmeyer, 2015). In the current circumstances, a historical preference for independence and autonomy may be replaced by reciprocal learning.

So let's all continue the conversation. Teachers from four continents are sharing their experiences teaching and collaborating on this FlipGrid page. As we learn together at home and around the world, join these global colleagues and share your insights, questions, or feedback.

References

Dove, M. G., & Honigsfeld, A. (2018). Co-teaching for English learners: A guide to collaborative planning, instruction, assessment, and reflection. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Held, V. (2006). The ethics of care. New York: Oxford University Press.

Mariani, L. (1997). Teacher support and teacher challenge in promoting learner autonomy. Perspectives, 23(2).

Nordmeyer, J. (2015). Collaboration: Scaffolding student learning and teacher learning. EARCOS Tri-Annual Journal. East Asia Council of Overseas Schools.

Andrea Honigsfeld is associate dean and professor in the School of Education and Human Services at Molloy College in New York. Jon Nordmeyer is the international program director at WIDA, a nonprofit research center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where his research focuses on teacher collaboration and global learning networks. He has taught in international schools in the Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey, China, and Thailand. Follow them on Twitter @AndreaHonigsfel and @nordmeyerj.

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Teacher Collaboration During a Global Pandemic

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An Educational Leadership Special Report | Volume 77 A New Reality: Getting Remote Learning Right Pages 47-50 Andrea Honigsfeld and Jon Nordmeyer How can staying farther apart bring us closer together? Millions of families around the world-and the many dedicated educators who continue to serve them-are navigating school closures and sudden shifts to new ways of learning due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

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Given the challenges of adjusting to online instruction, do you think teachers should be grading online learning?

To many educators, the question seems preposterous. You've got bigger fish to fry. And it's not fair to your students. "How can we hold them accountable when we can't support them in the way we used to?" If this is you, you may be one of the lucky ones.

For thousands of teachers, grading online learning isn't a choice. School and district leaders may require that a certain number of grades go into the system each week. Others worry that if we stop grading, our students won't do any work.

Let's assume, for the sake of this post, that we need some record of student work. So how can we be sure that our students won't cheat? Is it fair to assess those with limited access to technology? What is a reasonable workload?

And what about our own workloads? With many of us teaching from home, while caring for our own children, it can be easy to get buried in grading.

The Problems with Grading Online Learning

The challenges of grading online learning aren't new. Even before we started teaching online, we dealt with issues of cheating, inequity, and teacher workload.

There has always been some level of cheating. And some students have always gotten significant help at home. For others, And most of us already spend too much time on grading, leaving us little time to home life presents more challenges than supports. plan the lessons we dream of.

The shift to online learning hasn't created these problems. It's simply turned up the volume.

We could keep students from cheating, at least during a test. And we knew which students had limited support at home, so we gave them extra support in school. As for our own time, it just seemed like grading in-school learning was quicker than grading online learning.

Can Online Learning Improve Grading?

As problematic as these challenges are, they are not the root of the problem with grading. They are just the symptoms.

The underlying problem with grading is one of purpose. Why do we grade our students in the first place? Is it to motivate them? To help parents understand their progress? Or is it so admissions officers can more easily rate and sort our students?

Each of these purposes and audiences warrants a different approach. But we've never really decided which is most important. So instead, we focus on what's easiest to measure. And we use grading systems that shoot for the middle, serving no purpose particularly well.

One way we can improve grading is to consider the Three Bridges of Learning. Three Bridges assumes the purpose of education is to take students from point A (not knowing) to point B (knowing).

There are three "bridges," or ways that we can support learning. Bridge one is content coverage, the traditional model of instruction. This model relies on textbooks, lectures, and unit tests. And while schools have sought to make learning more differentiated, exploratory and authentic, our grades are still based on the traditional model.

In order to make grades more meaningful, we need to factor in the other two bridges: personalized and inquiry-based learning. And while this shift is important in a live classroom, it's absolutely essential for grading online learning.

Grading Bridge 1: Content Coverage

Content coverage is the coin of the realm in modern schools. It is the model of learning based on delivering information to students and finding out what they've remembered. It's the philosophy behind textbooks, standardized tests, and "I do, we do, you do."

The model of curriculum coverage goes something like this: Each course consists of certain information, or 'content.' The teacher's job is to 'cover' the content by presenting it to students.

Later, we measure student success by the percentage of questions they get right on a unit test or state test.

This model makes it easy to compare students and provide reports to outside institutions. But it falls short in most other ways. The assessments are not very useful for motivating students or helping them understand their progress.

Grading Bridge 2: Personalized Learning

The second bridge, students learn. But it takes a very different personalized learning, is similar in terms of what approach to how they learn, as well as how we measure learning.

The personalized learning model involves matching instruction to student need. So just because a student is in a 7th grade class, it doesn't mean she needs to read the same books or solve the same equations as her classmates. We use technology to understand student strengths and needs, and to assign work that is right for them.

Since each student is learning different material, we don't expect uniform outcomes. For a PL initiative to be successful, students need to take ownership of their learning by setting and working towards their own goals.

The metrics of success in this model include effort and growth. We can measure and grade the time spent using a PL platform. Eventually, we can measure their growth in terms of 'years of progress.' If a student makes more than one year of academic progress in a school year, it's considered a successful year, warranting a strong grade.

Grading Bridge 3: Inquiry-Based Learning

With the first two bridges, though the pace and path are different, we are still focused on remembering information. But with

inquiry-based learning, we are focused on students' ability to solve problems, create projects, and collaborate with peers.

Students will certainly acquire content along the way, but a good task allows each student to learn different things from the same activity. So rather than measuring achievement with 'objective' assessments, like tests, we measure performance in terms of process, product, and presentation.

When students collaborate and communicate well, create good plans, and maintain focus, they earn points for 'process.' When they turn in a creative solution to a challenging problem, or create an impressive artifact, they earn points for their 'product.' And when they present their artifacts or describe their learning to teachers and peers, they earn points for 'presentation.'

It's true that these measures aren't as easy to measure as multiple-choice questions. It's helpful to use a rubric to make grading easier and let students know what is expected.

Tips for Grading Online Learning

In live schools, most of our grades come from 'bridge 1' learning goals. But these are the most difficult to measure in an online setting. To simply and effectively grade online learning, you'll want to include measures of personalized learning and inquiry.

The adjustment to online learning has the potential to help all of us improve our approach to grading. My hope is that we can bring some of what we learn back to the classroom.

Here are some practical tips for incorporating a three-bridges mindset into your grading system. Each one can help make your online grading simpler, friendlier, and more effective.

Tip 1: Grade Weekly, Not Daily

One of the best favors you can do yourself as a teacher is to think weekly, rather than daily.

It's not always easy! A content coverage approach requires that we keep all of our students on the same page. We don't have room for one student to fall a few days behind, while another moves a few days ahead.

This approach is very limiting, and incredibly inefficient. In an online setting, it becomes nearly impossible for students to keep up with daily assignments. And it's just as challenging for teachers to keep track of every student on a daily basis.

As a result, we're forced assign work that is fast to complete and easy to grade. But this type of work is also less meaningful.

Giving weekly assignments lets students work around their own schedules. The independence gives them more ownership of their learning. It also saves us a lot of time grading assignments and chasing down missing work.

If you use a personalized learning platform like IXL or Khan Academy, simply assign students a number of minutes per week. I recommend 30-60. Divide the number of minutes completed by the number assigned to find their weekly grade.

You can also assign a group activity, like a story analysis or a number proof. These are fun and engaging tasks that also demand deep thinking and collaboration. Students can work on their own schedules over the course of a week, and present to the group the following week. Use a rubric to grade students on their process, product, and presentation.

Tip 2: Grade Liberally

As mentioned above, it's not always clear why we are grading our students. Is it for them? Their parents? Our administration? Is it for us?

Of course, it's a little bit of each. But shouldn't the students come first? And shouldn't we try to build our students up by giving the highest grades we can?

I know, I know. Sometimes it can be really difficult. A student blows off an assignment. Or disrespects us in class or on Zoom. It can feel like grades are the only tool we have to assert our authority. But that power can also be dangerous.

When I first started teaching, I had a reputation as a tough grader. I thought that grading conservatively would make my students try harder, and they'd rise to the challenge.

But over time, I realized that grading was consuming too much of my time and energy. And it was straining my relationship with students and their parents.

Every year I spent in the classroom, I became a more lenient grader. And guess what? Each year, my students worked harder and learned more than the year before. I found that the motivating power of strict grading to be an illusion. I later found this observation to be confirmed by research.

Do everything you can to make sure your students' grades are high. When students see you as their, they'll spend less energy trying to work the system, and more living up to the potential you see in them.

Tip 3: Grade Intentionally

This one's a bit controversial, but I think we get too hung up on the accuracy of our grades.

On one level, it makes sense. We want grades to be fair. We feel that the students who are best in our subject get the best grades.

Accuracy is most important when reporting to an outside audience. But for motivating our students, accuracy can be counter-productive. Students who do well with little effort get rewarded for their complacency. And students who struggle despite working hard get frustrated and give up.

Grades can be a powerful tool, if we use them as such. I think of grades like a down payment. Most of us don't have enough cash handy to buy a house. But the bank still lets us live there, believing that over time, I'll pay the balance.

Same goes for our struggling learners. Give them a grade that reflects their potential. Let them know that you expect them to live up to the grade you gave them.

And make sure your easygoing high-performers have room to grow. They may be used to seeing their grade as a comparison to their peers. But to be motivating, they'll need to start seeing grades as a comparison with their 'best self.'

Tip #4: Grade Productivity, Not Memory

The unit test. The day of reckoning. After focusing on a topic for weeks or months, test day is the time for students to 'show what they know.'

As educators, we tend to see the unit test as the most objective and reliable measure of learning. We watch our students take it, so we can be sure they didn't receive help. And there's an answer key, so we can be sure the right answers are right and the wrong answers are wrong.

But just because something is easy to measure doesn't mean it's useful, or relevant to students' future success.

I can't think of any job where success is measured every few weeks with a test of memory. Success in our jobs depends on what we accomplished. And it's is measured by all the little things we do, day in and day out.

Unit testing certainly serves a purpose, but that purpose is exaggerated and distorted by our current approach. And with distance learning, we can't even say that unit tests are the most accurate or reliable form of assessment.

Instead, grade students on their productivity. If you are using a personalized platform, grade them for time spent. Eventually, you can factor in their progress.

For inquiry-based tasks, look at artifacts. These give us a more authentic measure of their productivity. It's also easier to tell when a student has done their own work, especially when they present their work to the class.

Taking the First Step

There are countless ways to make our grading systems more effective and efficient. But trying to do them all will just leave you overwhelmed.

As you adjust to grading online learning, make changes in small steps. Even small changes may feel sudden and dramatic. So go easy on yourself. Expect to make mistakes, and try to learn from them.

If you've already been using personalized or inquiry-based learning, the shift will be a bit easier. Our group work rubric can help with grading inquiry-based tasks. And our personalized learning plan will help your students set their goals, and help you track their progress.

For a complete menu of our services and downloadable resources for online learning, visit roomtodiscover.com/online. There you can reserve your seat in an upcoming online workshop or schedule a custom online workshop for your school. You can also connect with an instructional coach who will help you work through your biggest challenges with content, pedagogy, or technology.

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About the Author

Jeff Lisciandrello is the founder of Room to Discover and an education consultant specializing in student-centered learning. His 3-Bridges Design for Learning helps schools explore innovative practices within traditional settings. He enjoys helping educators embrace inquiry-based and personalized approaches to instruction. You can connect with him via Twitter @EdTechJeff

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Should We Be Grading Online Learning? (Room to Discover)

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Given the challenges of adjusting to online instruction, do you think teachers should be grading online learning? To many educators, the question seems preposterous. You've got bigger fish to fry. And it's not fair to your students. "How can we hold them accountable when we can't support them in the way we used to?"

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Why Choice Matters to Student Learning | KQED

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Giving students choice in how they learn and show their knowledge gives them greater ownership over the process.

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When I was a little girl, I loved to line up my dolls and play school. I stood in front of my class and read books, wrote on my chalkboard, and gave tests. The dolls didn't have to interact -- why would they? The game was all about me!

If I'm honest, when I first became a teacher my classroom wasn't so different from my childhood playroom. I was often at the front of the room, presenting information and giving tests. In my classes, I made an effort to engage my students and designed creative projects, but I assigned the same project to everyone.

Sometimes we designed posters, sometimes we wrote poetry, and sometimes we worked in groups -- but it was always determined by my plan book and not student choice. It's important to note that in those first years of teaching, I loved my classes and was proud of my craft. I taught a lot of students about English and connected with them personally, but I didn't teach them all how to learn.

I didn't realize that, however, until I learned about Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL changed my lens and allowed me to transform my teaching practice to foster student choice and voice. Since UDL is now endorsed as best practice in federal legislation, it's time that every teacher has the "aha" moment that I had when I learned about UDL.
UDL is a framework that aims to teach all students how to learn.
This statement may not seem transformational, but it is. The purpose of schooling for a long while was the mastery of knowledge. In my English class I was focused on students learning narrative structure, not how to set goals. I wanted them to analyze Shakespeare. I didn't focus on self-regulation strategies. Teachers, like me, were content experts who designed lessons to transfer this knowledge to students. In looking back, some of my students were probably no more excited to learn than the glass eyes and porcelain faces looking back at me in my playroom.

Even with the best intentions and a great passion for learning, many teacher lesson plans result in every student in a class doing the same thing. The problem is that not all students are the same. They are as unique as their fingerprints.

Fostering Personalized Learning with UDL

By using the UDL framework to design and deliver your lessons, you can foster personalized learning and guide students to become expert learners. The following steps will help you to reflect on how choice and voice are the cornerstones of UDL lesson design.

Start with the why. Specifically, why are you teaching this lesson? Identify that standard.

Determine all the possible ways that students can show mastery of the standard. What choices can you provide for assessments so students can express this mastery in accessible and engaging ways?

What do students need to know in order to achieve the standard and be successful on their chosen assessment? Are there multiple ways for them to learn content or skills? What choices can you provide them for what and how they learn?

As students are working to learn and apply the content, what choices will they have to monitor their progress, seek support and feedback, and challenge themselves so they can build authentic engagement?

Once the lesson is complete, how will you provide options to collect mastery-oriented feedback from students to foster reflection, honor student voice, and improve future lesson planning?

When educators ask these questions, it helps to transition from a "one-size-fits-all" model of education to a personalized education that empowers every student to meet rigorous standards.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is endorsed as best practice in the Every Student Succeeds Act, but few educators have received high-quality professional development in how to efficiently and effectively apply the principles of UDL to lesson design. Fewer have an opportunity to see what it looks like in practice. Luckily, you can now learn all about UDL right here at Teaching Channel.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Elevating Student Voice and Choice

In an exclusive, universally designed course, you'll watch Teaching Channel videos that show UDL in practice, experience UDL as a learner, and learn how to universally design lessons that will engage all your students. The course is designed with options and choices for everyone! And speaking of choices, check out the other Tch-designed courses open for enrollment.

With UDL, we have a framework where we deliver opportunities for every student to be curious, self-directed, inquisitive, and passionate. Through this framework, we'll help to build a more creative, innovative world for our future. One where every student will have much better outcomes than my dolls.

Katie Novak, EdD, is an internationally recognized education consultant, a leading expert in the UDL framework, the assistant superintendent of the Groton-Dunstable Regional School District, and the author of four books, including UDL Now! and Let Them Thrive(CAST, 2017). Connect with Katie on Twitter: @KatieNovakUDL.

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An Educator's "Aha" Moment: The Importance of Choice and Voice

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Enjoy your first three pieces of content for free. Subscribe for unlimited access. Have questions about subscribing? Click Here to learn more. When I was a little girl, I loved to line up my dolls and play school. I stood in front of my class and read books, wrote on my chalkboard, and gave tests.

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Teaching Online - Tech resources and tutorials  (Brandman)

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Teaching Online - Tech resources and tutorials  (Brandman)

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Brandman Moving Classes online tech tools

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Brandman Moving Classes online tech tools

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Many students in our schools have experienced stressors affecting their ability to be their best,...

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The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated feelings of isolation, stress, loss, and more among young people, adults, families, and communities. Social and emotional learning (SEL) offers a powerful means to support one another during these challenging times as our communities work to address the impact of the pandemic on students' learning and development.

Now, more than ever, we understand how important it is to demonstrate empathy and resilience, build relationships across distance, and call upon our collective resolve to strengthen our schools and our communities.

So, how can SEL support you and your work during this time? Find resources and guidance in Reunite, Renew, Thrive: SEL Roadmap for Reopening School (July 2020).

Our recommendations follow the four core focus areas for schoolwide SEL and districtwide SEL:

First, create a foundation for SEL.

Work with students, families, and communities to envision how education can more holistically support all learners.

Prioritize strong, two-way communication between families and schools.

Second, attend to well-being and mutual support among adults.

Pay close attention to our own social-emotional needs in order to be the community of adults who best serve our young people.

Foster supportive adult relationships to process emotions, share challenges, and offer support to one another.

Third, promote SEL for young people.

Provide consistency in daily routines to foster a sense of safety and predictability.

Listen to young people and support them in building or maintaining a sense of community and connection.

Incorporate social and emotional skill-building into learning (such as CASEL's SEL 3 Signature Practices).

Fourth, reflect on how things are going and adjust as you learn.

Listen to students, families, and your wider community of stakeholders as valuable sources of information about what is or isn't working.

Analyze results with a lens of equity to meet needs using our SEL Data Reflection Protocol

How is CASEL advancing this work?
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Guidance on School Transitions and Reopening

To aid in this time of continued transitions, CASEL collaborated with more than 40 partners to illuminate a way forward through Reunite, Renew, Thrive: SEL Roadmap for Reopening School (July 2020), centered on relationships and built on the existing strengths of a school community. As we prepared for Spring 2021, we offered three strategies adapted from the SEL Roadmap to re-examine efforts for a successful second semester: Refocus on the SEL Roadmap: Actions for a Successful Second Semester (January 2021).

CASEL CARES Webinar Series

In response to the pandemic, CASEL mobilized to provide social and emotional support to our communities and share best practices through an initiative called CASEL CARES. We offered weekly practical guidance and information on topics that were sourced from the field and relevant to the needs of today. Our CASEL CARES Webinars covered a wide range of SEL topics and attracted more than 100,000 people. View the on-demand series

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The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated feelings of isolation, stress, loss, and more among young people, adults, families, and communities. Social and

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Writing Across Disciplines

At English Learner Portal, we only teach what has been proven to work with English learners for consistent results and growth.

Ruslana has been actively researching writing development and instruction for a well known university program for years. She's tried it all and knows what works.

"Writing Across Disciplines" is broken down to easily guide you through the why, what, and how of writing instruction. You have both Ruslana and an ELP course facilitator as your guides along the way!
In other words, you're never alone. There are resources and support in place to help you implement the tweaks we recommend each step of the way.
$425

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Professional Learning Summit 2020 - Dr. Ruslana Westerlund

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Writing Across Disciplines At English Learner Portal, we only teach what has been proven to work with English learners for consistent results and growth. Ruslana has been actively researching writing development and instruction for a well known university program for years. She's tried it all and knows what works.

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Link to Webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TspQ9l1qAY&feature=youtu.be

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How Much Should We "Push" English Learners?

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How Much Should We "Push" English Learners?

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Link to Webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R49oVkd4MJg&feature=youtu.be

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Webinar 1: Effective Remote Learning
Webinar 2: Student Independent Work at Home
Webinar 3: Live or Recorded Video Lessons

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ReadWorks.org | Solving the Reading Comprehension Crisis

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As schools and districts across the country adjust to remote learning, educators can use their FREE ReadWorks account to support reading comprehension growth at home.

Resources for Educators:

Remote Learning Webinar Series

The Remote Learning Webinar series arms teachers with research-based ideas and free resources for supporting effective, impactful learning for your students in manageable ways for you during this challenging time. Please

watch or attend our first webinar, Effective Remote Learning, before registering for the second and third webinars, as these later webinars build on the content of the first.

Webinar 1: Effective Remote Learning

Best practices for remote learning and an overview of the ReadWorks' free resources that are most helpful to getting started. You will also learn how to set up your free account to print resources or create digital assignments for your students.

Webinar 2: Student Independent Work at Home

A step-by-step guide to creating 40 minutes of daily, high-value reading comprehension practice for students to do independently. You will also learn how to assign this work digitally or create a packet for students who do not have access to technology.

Webinar 3: Live or Recorded Video Lessons

How to use ReadWorks to teach engaging live or recorded video lessons. You will also learn how to virtually build community, dig into a text together, and do read-alouds.

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As schools and districts across the country adjust to remote learning, educators can use their FREE ReadWorks account to support reading comprehension growth at home. The Remote Learning Webinar series arms teachers with research-based ideas and free resources for supporting effective, impactful learning for your students in manageable ways for you during this challenging time.

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Instructional Access: Adaptation and Modification Guide

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Instructional Access: Adaptation and Modification Guide

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Instructional Access: Adaptation and Modification Guide

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Tips for planning remote learning with the 5 E's

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Tips for planning remote learning with the 5 E's

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Tips for Designing an Online Learning Experience Using the 5Es Instructional Model - Dr. Catlin Tucker

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Covid 19 has educators and educational institutions worried about and preparing for possible school closures. What happens if students have to stay home for days or even weeks? How can we keep them learning remotely? What strategies and technology tools can teachers use to take traditional classes online?

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Expectations for Online Student Behavior

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Expectations for Online Student Behavior

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There are countless distractions while learning at home: a cat walking across the keyboard, a sibling goofing off in the background, a comfy bed to lounge on , a pantry full of tempting snacks.

As teachers tread into uncharted territory with an abrupt mass transition to online learning, many are now having to decide: How much should they be enforcing school rules via webcam?

Some teachers are making their own set of online class rules and posting them for others on Pinterest, Instagram, and other lesson-sharing sites such as TeachersPayTeachers . Many of these posts seem to replicate the expectations of a normal school day as much as possible.

"Find a quiet place, free from distraction (sibling, pets, parents, televisions)," one set of Zoom class rules said. "Video needs to remain ON to promote focus. Eye contact should be maintained. Refrain from chewing gum, eating, or drinking in front of the camera."

"Remember," the poster said, "this is a class, so treat it as such."

According to a nationally representative Education Week Research Center survey of more than 900 educators, more than a fifth said that during school-building closures, they have taught live, virtual classes at specific, predesignated times where students can interact with each other and with the teacher. That can give students a sense of normalcy and connection-but it can also leave teachers trying to keep students on task and engaged in virtual environments they are not familiar with.

As a consequence , expectations for student behavior in online classes range widely from strict adherence to physical classroom rules to much more lai ssez-faire approaches during the school building shutdowns. One tea cher, for instance, told students to dress appropriately as they would in school, not to eat or snack, limit distractions, and be mindful of their surroundings. Students who don't follow these rules will be removed from the virtual classroom and given a zero, the teacher wrote.

But t hese types of strict guidelines have raised some concern among educators, who say that students need to be given grace during a difficult, scary time.

"Student well-being and faculty well-being should be the priority at this time, and teachers should be flexible where they can be," said Ryann Fapohunda, the co-director of the Teaching and Learning Center at the National Cathedral School, an all-girls private school in Washington, D.C. "Is it more important how students dress and are presenting themselves, or their social-emotional well-being? If students are adhering to guidelines in class-participating, showing up-I'm inclined to not call them out for wearing a hoodie or being in pajama pants."

Leah Smith, a 7th grade English teacher in Litchfield, Conn., has a few basic ground rules for her live virtual classes: Mute your microphone when others are talking, don't purposely distract others (that means no practicing TikTok dance moves on video), and above all, be kind and respectful.

She hosts a 20-minute lesson each day on Google Meet, and then students can connect individually with her afterward. Teachers don't have the ability to mute the entire class in Google Meet, so establishing these classroom norms early on was important, said Smith, who adapted these norms from a colleague. (Zoom does allow teachers to mute everyone, but many schools have shied away from using the videoconferencing tool due to privacy and security concerns .)

Now, "typically when a cat walks across the screen, I'll say, 'Oh, cute cat,' and keep moving and not make a big deal of it," Smith said. "To not accept some of those funny moments is not really conducive to teaching middle school, but at the same time, it needs to be harnessed so you can get things done."

While students are allowed to work from their bed s , she'll tell them to sit up if she sees them lying down. And Smith had to remind students to keep their chatbox usage appropriate after she noticed them sharing their TikTok handles with each other during class.

Other teachers echo Smith's sentiments. T his is a scary time, and students need reassurances from their teachers, not punishment and extra rules, said Dave Austin, a 7th grade social studies teacher in Marlton, N.J.

While he hasn't yet started live online classes, he plans to maintain his normal class expectations-don't talk over each other, don't be inappropriate- while letting other behaviors slide.

'School Rules in Someone's Home'

Plus, some classroom behavior expectations are out of students' control in remote learning environments , teachers said. Students might not have their own private, quiet space to log on to class meetings. Their parents might be at work or working from home and unable to supervise. Students might also be tasked with watching younger siblings while their parents are at work.

"It's a situation where we need to extend grace," said Merisha Leak, the director of outreach for a charter school in Charlotte, N.C. "I don't think it's a school's right or a teacher's right to enforce school rules in someone's home."

Students might already feel vulnerable for opening up their homes to their classmates, she said, and teachers need to "come up with equitable practices that would work for all families in a way [in which] we aren't causing anxiety or stressing anyone out."

Teachers also need to be conscious of the fact that students are not receiving the same behavioral supports at home that they got in class, said Kenneth Schuster , a clinical neuropsychologist at the Child Mind Institute, a national nonprofit for children with mental health and learning disorders.

Children with disabilities are still entitled to special education services during online learning, which many schools have been scrambling to make work . But they might look different during online learning, which can be an adjustment, Schuster said. Even informal supports-like a teacher tapping a particularly active child on the shoulder to remind him to focus-are no longer available in a remote learning situation, he added.

And the lack of those informal supports, as well as other factors, could be having an impact on the level of attention students are giving to their online schoolwork . The Education Week Research Center survey found that w hen teachers were asked to select a major challenge for instruction during school closures, a third of teachers said their students have "a lot more trouble focusing on work at home than they do at school . "

Teachers' own morale has also taken a hit, according to the survey.

"I think we really should remind teachers that they're doing a great job, this is uncharted territory, and we're all figuring it out," said Fapohunda , from the National Cathedral School in Washington. "I would really encourage them to adapt a less-is-more approach. What success may have looked like when they're physically in school will look different now."
Image: Lamar Elementary School principal Erin Honeycutt sets up a Zoom class for 1st through 5th graders to learn art from Holly Triplett in Meridian, Miss., on March 24. -Paula Merritt/The Meridian Star via AP

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Expectations for Online Student Behavior Vary During Coronavirus School Closures

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There are countless distractions while learning at home: a cat walking across the keyboard, a sibling goofing off in the background, a comfy bed to lounge on , a pantry full of tempting snacks. As teachers tread into uncharted territory with an abrupt mass transition to online learning, many are now having to decide: How much should they be enforcing school rules via webcam?

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Recommendations for Grading During Covid-19

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Recommendations for Grading During Covid-19

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Recommendations for Grading During COVID-19 (Apr 2020).pdf

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Education Week - Peter DeWitt's Finding Common Ground

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Today's guest blog is written by Thomas R. Guskey, senior research scholar, University of Louisville, and professor emeritus, University of Kentucky.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to educators throughout the world. Schools have had to change entire instructional programs in widely varied contexts with inequitable access to technology and other vital resources. School closures and requirements for social isolation have created untold hardships for students and their families, especially those with multiple children at different grade levels, whose parents cannot stay at home, whose English may not be the primary language, and where the parents are also teachers.

In making these changes, educators recognize that we can't do everything we did before. We must examine our purposes, establish priorities, and decide what is truly most important. When it comes to assessments and grading, two major needs influence these decisions.

First is the need to encourage and support student learning. We need to provide the best possible learning experiences for students under these constrained and demanding conditions. We also must do our best to ensure all students learn well, achieve important academic goals, and are not hindered in their learning progress.

Second is the need to document and quantify student learning for the purposes of accountability. Schools need to verify the success of these alternative instructional programs. For students, we also need to complete report cards and fill in transcripts. For graduating seniors in many schools, we need to calculate class ranks, identify the top 10 percent, distribute academic honors, and name a valedictorian.

Unfortunately, under the adverse circumstances we currently face, these two needs pull us in different directions and prescribe different courses of action. To accomplish one means sacrificing aspects of the other. This brings new importance to establishing our priorities, especially in light of issues related to fairness and equity. For educators who make encouraging and supporting student learning their priority, however, the direction is clear.

Assessments
When it comes to assessments, supporting student learning means focusing on feedback instead of a score or grade. It means helping students to see assessments as learning tools that have an integral role in the learning process, rather than as evaluation devices that mark the end of learning. It means making clear to students that the primary purpose of assessments is to verify what they've learned and to identify any learning problems so we can work together to remedy those problems. Hence, cheating on an assessment serves no purpose other than to delay our efforts to help all students learn well.

An emphasis on feedback also means we must plainly articulate our learning goals and the criteria we use to determine when students meet those goals. We need to be clear about how we will know if students "get it" and not worry about quantifying their performance on a scale with 101 different levels. Most important, we need to plan alternative approaches to help students when they don't get it. This change eliminates the need to distinguish formative and summative assessments. If our focus is on feedback, then all assessments are formative until students get it. When results show they get it, then the assessment becomes summative.

Grading
When it comes to grading, encouraging and supporting student learning means ensuring grades accurately reflect what students have learned and are able to do, not when or how they learned it. As schools physically close and move to online learning, most attempt to accomplish this in one of two ways.

In schools required to give grades for the current term, even when not all students have adequate online access, grades are typically based on evidence of student learning gathered up to the time of school closure. But then they do three things:

1. Add an asterisk to the grade to indicate it is based on the portion of the course completed up to the time of school closure.

2. Develop specific procedures that allow students to improve that grade by redoing assignments or assessments, even when the grade remains based on only a portion of the course.

3. Develop additional procedures for students to fulfill all course requirements and complete the course, with assistance from teachers, in order to remove the asterisk from their grade. Schools vary in the timelines they set for both #2 and #3 because the length of school closures remains uncertain. Ensuring fairness and equity for all students remains paramount in making these decisions.

Other schools, however, recognize the extraordinary nature of our current situation and are taking the same path as many elite colleges and universities: They are shifting temporarily to "pass/fail," "satisfactory/unsatisfactory," or "credit/incomplete" grading for the current school year. The University of Chicago, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University, along with many others, all recently decided to temporarily shift to pass/fail grading after switching to remote learning this semester in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The key to successful pass/fail grading rests in establishing clear criteria for "pass" and making those criteria challenging, rigorous, and attainable. This doesn't mean lowering standards. Rather, it means being clear about the standards and doing all we can to ensure students meet them. Excellent examples of similar pass/fail grading include certification examinations in medicine, nursing, law, military, or civil service.

The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates said, "Desperate times require desperate measures." What he meant is that in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected under other circumstances may become the best choice. And these are certainly desperate times.

Pass/fail or credit/incomplete grades may prove to be the fairest and most equitable grading option available to educators in these desperate times. By making student learning our primary focus; helping students share the same focus; ensuring the criteria we establish for passing or earning credit are clear, rigorous, and attainable; and then doing everything we can to help ALL students meet those criteria; we will make the best of these difficult and trying times.
Connect with Tom Guskey on Twitter. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

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Assessments and Grading in the Midst of a Pandemic

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Today's guest blog is written by Thomas R. Guskey, senior research scholar, University of Louisville, and professor emeritus, University of Kentucky. The coronavirus pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to educators throughout the world. Schools have had to change entire instructional programs in widely varied contexts with inequitable access to technology and other vital resources.

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As the nation's schools lurch into an unprecedented experiment with distance learning, with all of the hiccups and false starts that entails, teachers and administrators alike are starting to wrestle with a question deeply at the heart of the learning enterprise: How are they supposed to assign grades?

It's a tough call. Districts must balance what's fair for students, considering that many don't-or won't-have full access to their teachers. There's also an art to the messaging-they don't want to communicate that they're blowing off the rest of the school year.

The Mountain Empire district in California stretches more than 660 square miles, includes students from three Native American reservations, and serves a half dozen distinct communities. Internet access ranges from decent to nonexistent. The district will be offering instruction both online and, for families who lack sufficient access, photocopied work packets.

That hasn't stopped the district from trying to put together ambitious learning plans for its 1,700 students, like an interdisciplinary project for them to explore a topic of interest over several days.

Read More: See Which States Have Cancelled Spring Tests Because of Coronavirus

But it does mean that students will have varying types and intensity of interaction with their teachers.

Given those disparities, the district plans to recommend that, as long as students participate, teachers should revert to their previous progress grades. Students could potentially improve those scores, but they wouldn't be penalized.

"I don't want to give everyone an A because we're just trying to be nice," said Patrick Keeley, the principal of the district's single high school. "But we don't want to ruin people's chances in the future, either," especially when it's due to factors outside of their control.

Contrast Mountain Empire's context with that of the Salem City district in Virginia, near Roanoke.

The district serves a small, fairly compact city. Every student in grades 3 through 12 has a Chromebook through its one-to-one program. Salem has about 200 "hot spots" for WiFi connectivity, and a cable company has agreed to provide free internet access for students qualifying for free and reduced-price lunches.

So when its spring break ends on April 13, the district plans to make a legitimate go at covering the most essential of its remaining state standards via online learning-and to continue issuing letter grades for students' work.

"We realize that if we tell kids today, 'Hey, your grade can't be any lower than it is now,' or if we tell them we're not going to grade them for the rest of the year, we're going to have a big chunk of kids check out," said Curtis Hicks, the district's assistant superintendent. "And that's not healthy for them for the short run, and it's not healthy for the long term, if students are underprepared for what comes next."

Those two anecdotes outline the different tension points surrounding grading, but there's also potentially a larger conversation to be had.

Grading has been on the backburner as educators have focused on other measures of student progress, like graduation rates and standardized tests scores, but the coronavirus is prompting new questions about how it should work.

It comes down to this: What is the point of grading, anyway? And how might it need to evolve in the age of the coronavirus?

Cross Purposes?

In the United States, grading is almost exclusively a local prerogative, with rules set by its more than 14,000 school districts.

To try to give some shape to this far-flung, locally developed system, states and other public and private bodies have built a variety of policies around grades to force them, imperfectly, into a common currency.

Every state sets credithour requirements for graduation, for example. Grade point averages are used for college admissions, scholarship programs, and even eligibility for participation in extracurricular activities and sports.

Some states use grades to determine whether students are eligible for special programs, like magnets or gifted education; a handful use them as part of their 3rd-grade reading laws to determine whether students should progress to 4th grade.

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing states and districts to give some serious reconsideration to nearly all of those policies.

Most states are attending to the most pressing needs first-those of high school seniors set to graduate. To date, the states of Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, Oregon, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin have all waived various graduation requirements, including certain mandated courses, end-of-course examinations, and minimum attendance hours. Many of them are now allowing districts to decide whether students have met the requirements for graduation.

The broader question of grades, though, is complicated by the fact that the purpose of grading has become a bit of a muddle, said Jack Schneider, an assistant professor of education at the University of Massachusetts Lowell who is co-writing a book on the history of grading.

Sometimes grades are meant as motivation, to help spur students to do better. Sometimes they're supposed to communicate mastery of content to parents. And sometimes, in their most weighty function, they're used to compare students to one another, as when colleges and universities look at transcripts.

Most of the time, the A-to-F grading system is pressed into supporting all those goals even though some of them arguably work at cross-purposes, Schneider noted. And that effectively makes it harder for districts to tease out what to do with grades during an extraordinary disruption-like the school closures wrought by the coronavirus.

"People will begin to realize they do want feedback, for instance, from their student's teachers on how their kids are doing," he noted. "But unless the playing field is equal or they're getting the same type of supports they usually get, they don't want that kind of communicative effort to end up living forever on a student transcript."

Equity Concerns

Most of the districts interviewed by Education Week still want teachers to be providing lots of feedback to students on the assignments they complete. But they're less certain about the other functions of grades.

Many districts cite equity concerns for wanting to take a pause from traditional grading schemes, pointing to ways in which grades could penalize students who are low-income, lack access to a device and the internet, or who cannot rely on parents to help with home-based learning.

"Already our achievement scores are reflective of poverty in Ohio," noted Michelle Novak, a school board member for the 6,400-student Middletown City district, in Middletown, Ohio. Her district serves many students in poverty who come from single-parent households, and the opioid epidemic hit the area hard. It estimates that 1-in-5 students don't have access to both a device and the internet.

"If we want to give our kids grades during this time, we're really going to be grading what their home life looks like," she said. "And I don't think it's fair to do that to anyone."

The Mountain Empire district, for now, says it wants teachers to focus their feedback on students' progress towards standards, rather than assessing simply to build a grade. As for the end of the term, "If they have an A and are participating, then they'll have grade maintenance. ... If there are kids sitting there that want to try to improve their grade, we'll allow for them to try to build that grade up," Keeley said.

Part of the decision, he added, is because admissions to the University of California and California State University systems are based on "A-G" subject requirements, and it's not clear how the new distance learning will impact that structured sequence, he said. (Other states, like Texas, have similar college-entrance systems that depend on students' GPAs or class rankings, which means that any decisions about grading will have to be squared with those systems.)

For their part, many colleges nationwide appear to be favoring a pass-fail, or pass-no credit system for work completed this quarter or semester, and some K-12 districts are inclined to follow them.

The Highline school district, in Burien, Wash., will assign scores of pass or no credit for work completed during its period of remote learning-the idea being that those students who don't initially earn credit could get opportunities to do so later in the summer or beyond.

"I think the whole grading issue is one where we've just got to wait and see," said Susan Enfield, the superintendent of Highline who also sits on the board of the nonprofit that publishes Education Week.

One of her rationales behind the temporary grade freeze is that there are over 100 languages spoken in her district. While the district has done a swift job translating learning materials into the top five mostly widely spoken, serving English-learners who speak other native languages will be much more challenging in a distance-learning environment.

A Question of Pedagogy

Teachers who have made the often-rocky leap to distance learning are advocating for a cautious approach, too.

Bobson Wong, a math teacher at a Queens high school in New York City, has noticed that his lessons are taking longer to deliver remotely. Partly that's because it is much more difficult to check for students' understanding and make teaching adjustments in an asynchronous learning environment.

He's focused on trying to get students through the remainder of the curriculum before the system's spring break, which begins April 9, and wants students to be motivated to finish-not frustrated.

"I feel like the most important thing I want to accomplish right now is to establish a routine in this environment and a sense of order and progress that we are actually moving forward, and this is not just 13 days of busywork," he said. "I have no idea how you could give a numerical grade for anything here."

But at the same time, Wong said there's some value in determining which students appear to have mastered the content, and which students will need more help in the future.

"You need something to differentiate a kid who is clearly doing a lot of work and walks away with some kind of knowledge, and a kid for whatever reason just hasn't- their parents may be sick, or they may lack internet access," he said. "Grades aren't a judgment of character."

And he agrees that a larger conversation about grading could ultimately benefit students.

"Perhaps we emphasize them too much, or we use them in ways we shouldn't be using them," he said. "Maybe we should look at why we give grades in the first place, and what we should be doing with them."

Students are getting in on the action, too. In Georgia, more than 70,000 had signed a petition on Change.org calling on the state to void fourth-quarter GPAs.

"Without the proper help from teachers or having the ability to actively question teachers and receiving rapid responses, students are not truly learning, but rather grabbing the information temporarily," its organizer, Ellison Gonzalez, wrote.

'You're Going to Make Mistakes'

As a testament to how fraught the issue of grading is, the nation's two largest school districts, both of which have begun their remote-learning plans, are keeping things open on how they'll determine grades.

The guidelines in the Los Angeles district say teachers should "continue to grade and give timely feedback to students," with opportunities for those who cannot access instruction to make up missed assignments. But it doesn't say what will ultimately appear on students' transcripts. A spokeswoman declined an interview, saying the district would issue more guidance in future weeks.

New York City expects that teachers should continue to assign and grade remote work, but says it will give them the flexibility to adapt if students don't have the same access to devices or outside learning supports.

Some states are offering guidance where they can, though they are aware that districts must make the final calls on their own.

In Virginia, the second state to close school buildings and in-person instruction for the remainder of the school year, the Virginia School Boards Association and Virginia Association of School Superintendents recommended some practices for districts to consider if they move to pass-fail systems. They might choose to institute pass-fail only for certain courses rather than instituting a blanket policy, for example.

Though the Salem City, Va., district is holding to traditional grades for now, it wants to give students a fair shot. Teachers will stagger the days they're instructing so students aren't slammed with assignments for seven courses every day. They're being told to boil down the state standards to the most essential ones.

The district also plans to establish safeguards: If at the end of the school year students feel that their grade is not consistent with their academic history, or negatively impacted them, they could lobby to have that grade counted as pass-fail and drop it from their GPA calculation.

The flexibility is intentional, Hicks said.

"If you try to make decisions too fast, you make mistakes. If you try to make decisions that are projecting well into the future, you're going to make mistakes," he said. "We don't want to paint ourselves into the corner."

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Grading Students During the Coronavirus Crisis: What's the Right Call?

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As the nation's schools lurch into an unprecedented experiment with distance learning, with all of the hiccups and false starts that entails, teachers and administrators alike are starting to wrestle with a question deeply at the heart of the learning enterprise: How are they supposed to assign grades? It's a tough call.

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EFFORTLESSLY BUILD ENGAGING INSTRUCTIONAL CONTENT, RIGHT FROM GOOGLE SLIDES

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Design brilliant slides & engage your class

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DROP IN FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS

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Formative Assessment in Distance Learning

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The pandemic has closed schools, but schooling goes on—and it remains crucial that teachers find ways to see what students are learning.

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Giving feedback that is non-evaluative, specific, timely, and goal-related will provide students with opportunities to revise and improve their work and deepen their understanding.

Providing students with feedback on written work can, at times, feel like a burden. Dozens (perhaps even hundreds) of papers clutter your desk, and commenting on each is nearly impossible.

Still, we know, both from our experiences and from research, that feedback is essential. John Hattie, Professor of Education and Director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne, Australia, believes that feedback must be timely, relevant, and action-oriented. The good news, according to Hattie, is that "students want feedback just for them, just in time, and just helping nudge forward." To that end, he encourages us to "worry more about how students are receiving your feedback . . . than increasing how much you give."

So how can we provide this kind of feedback -- the kind that students actually listen to, understand, and use -- in a timely manner? Before looking at specific technologies that can assist us in the process, let's first explore how other experts describe feedback as a key tool in the formative assessment process.

Feedback as Formative Assessment

Anyone involved in standardized testing knows two things: the results take entirely too long to get back and are completely impersonal, making that kind of feedback essentially irrelevant. In short, feedback needs to be personal, and it needs to be fast. To that end, educators are beginning to refocus their attention on relevant, practical feedback for students during lessons or very soon after, rather than relying only on summative assessments.

For instance, Margaret Heritage of UCLA's National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing, describes it this way (PDF, 396KB):

[F]eedback that the teacher provides to students is also an essential resource so the students can take active steps to advance their own learning. In reality, the feedback to students can be understood as instructional action.

Additionally, NCTE's Assessment Task Force, in their report Formative Assessment That Truly Informs Instruction, makes the case that good formative assessment, among other key factors, "includes feedback that is non-evaluative, specific, timely, and related to the learning goals, and that provides opportunities for the student to revise and improve work products and deepen understandings."

One last idea that I have encountered in the past few months -- and that I hope can help shift your thinking on how and why to give feedback -- is the RISE feedback model. Introduced by Emily Wray, the RISE model encourages us to provide feedback that is not simply informative, but moves students toward improvement.

Thus, seeing feedback as a teaching opportunity can help us shift our perspective from correction to collaboration, from merely fixing students' work to moving students forward in their learning. Here, there are many technologies that can help us in the process of providing feedback.

Feedback in Action

The tools available for providing feedback continue to multiply. I've heard how, back in the day, college professors would record their comments on audiotape, trading cassettes with students when handing back papers. We've moved forward a bit since then.

First, there are a number of tech tools that enable timely, relevant, and action-oriented feedback. Many of them -- from Microsoft Word to Google Docs to Wikispaces -- allow us to insert comments directly in the margins of students' writing. And while voice-to-text tools like Dictanote (Chrome Extension) and Dragon Dictation (App) can help speed this process up a bit, some colleagues may be looking for other methods.

For those of us interested in providing audio feedback, MS Word allows audio comments to be embedded within a document. And the web, of course, has provided us with new tools to provide voice comments, such as Kaizena, which allows us to embed audio comments in a Google Doc, and Voxer, which is described as a tool that combines a walkie-talkie with voice mail so that "you can hear messages as people speak, or listen later if you are unavailable."

There are visual tools for providing feedback, too. Skitch (by Evernote) and Snagit (by TechSmith) allow users to easily capture and annotate screenshots. This ability can work for students -- as they can capture images of their work and reflect on it -- as well as for teachers providing feedback. For instance, when using a visual tool such as Glogster, it is impossible to embed comments like we could in a Google Doc. Therefore, as shown in this screencapture I made with Skitch, we can provide students with focused feedback on visual texts that do not innately support annotation. Taking it up a notch, we can offer dynamic feedback via screencasting using tools like Jing or Explain Everything.

Feedforward

I have often told my students, "You are only as good a writer as you are a responder." That is, you learn how to write by providing feedback to other writers. Given this perspective, my hope is that you are willing to share your feedback with students generously, all the while modeling for them the kinds of feedback that you would want them to give one another.

In so doing, we can create a culture of feedback that, ultimately, feeds our students' interests and "nudges" passions forward, making those piles of papers on our desks feel a bit more manageable as we engage students through authentic response.

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Make It Count: Providing Feedback as Formative Assessment

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Giving feedback that is non-evaluative, specific, timely, and goal-related will provide students with opportunities to revise and improve their work and deepen their understanding. Providing students with feedback on written work can, at times, feel like a burden. Dozens (perhaps even hundreds) of papers clutter your desk, and commenting on each is nearly impossible.

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 Parents as First Teachers: Supporting Reading Development at Home in Culturally Responsive Ways.

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 Parents as First Teachers: Supporting Reading Development at Home in Culturally Responsive Ways.

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Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain

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Webinar recording for "FERPA and Virtual Learning during the COVID-19" presentation. This webinar is intended to provide information on privacy best practices and insight into helpful resources available to the education community during this critical time of national emergency.

We will address commonly asked questions related to the challenges of complying with student privacy laws like FERPA during this time and present a series of scenarios which highlight privacy best practices and considerations when adopting distance learning approaches.

Early Childhood Educators

Postsecondary School Officials

Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA)

The purpose of this guidance is to answer questions that school officials may have had concerning the disclosure of personally identifiable information from students' education records to outside entities when addressing the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

For a spanish language version, please click here

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is working with Census to share updates on the 2020 Census.

(Spanish language version) El Departamento de Educación de EE.UU. (Departamento) publica estas Preguntas frecuentes sobre la Ley de Derechos Educativos y Privacidad Familiar (FERPA) y la enfermedad de coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) y más comúnmente conocida como "coronavirus".

Webinar recording for "FERPA and Virtual Learning during the COVID-19" presentation. This webinar is intended to provide information on privacy be

Webinar slides for "FERPA and Virtual Learning during the COVID-19" presentation. This webinar is intended to provide information on privacy best practices and insight into helpful resources available to the education community during this critical time of national emergency.

We will address commonly asked questions related to the challenges of complying with student privacy laws like FERPA during this time and present a series of scenarios which highlight privacy best practices and considerations when adopting distance learning approaches.

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FERPA and Virtual Learning during COVID-19 (Webinar Recording)

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Webinar recording for "FERPA and Virtual Learning during the COVID-19" presentation. This webinar is intended to provide information on privacy best practices and insight into helpful resources available to the education community during this critical time of national emergency.

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CEC  eLuma Webinar Slides Teaching Special Education Online During COVID19

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Official guidance and best practices amid COVID-19 continue to evolve.

APTA is curating critical advice from trusted sources such as the CDC and CMS in addition to developing resources to support you during the pandemic.

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources for the Physical Therapy Profession

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Official guidance and best practices amid COVID-19 continue to evolve. APTA is curating critical advice from trusted sources such as the CDC and CMS in addition to developing resources to support you during the pandemic.

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COVID-19 is changing the landscape of telehealth and other communication technology-based services. Explore this page for guidance on use of remote communication technologies for physical therapist services, and see our coronavirus webpage for updates related to the pandemic. Please beware of misinformation circulating online and via social media, including confusion about a new CMS rule that stops short of allowing PTs to conduct real-time "face-to-face" telehealth services.

Different Telehealth Modalities and PTs' and PTAs' Eligibility to Use Them

Telehealth is the use of electronic information and telecommunication technologies to remotely provide health care information and services. In some cases services are reported using the same codes that describe services typically provided in person but instead are being furnished "face to face" remotely using real-time audio and video with the PT observing the patient and providing cues based on the patient's movement or actions. As of now, Medicare does not cover these types of telehealth services when provided by PTs and PTAs, which typically entail using codes in the 97000 series. (Scroll down to "Advocacy: Use Your Voice To Call for Expanded Use of Telehealth" to help the profession advocate for face-to-face real-time telehealth services provided by PTs and PTAs.)

However, a recent CMS rule in response to COVID-19 makes it easier for PTs to furnish certain services using other forms of telehealth that don't entail live face-to-face interaction. These include e-visits, virtual check-ins, remote evaluation of recorded video and/or images, and telephone assessment and management (medical discussion) services. Some of these modalities are conducted in real time (but without face-to-face technology) while others use "store-and-forward" technologies, which allow for asynchronous electronic transmission of medical information, including documentation, digital images, and prerecorded videos.

Also in response to COVID-19, some commercial payers are covering telehealth services furnished by PTs and PTAs via live "face-to-face" video/audio and other forms of remote care. You'll need to first determine if your state practice act enables you to legally provide services via telehealth and, second, check with each payer policy to see if PTs and PTAs are included as providers eligible to be paid for telehealth services.

Before you begin providing services via telehealth or using telecommunications modalities, consider federal and state legislation and regulations that govern your practice, risk-management implications, billing and coding issues, and hardware/software requirements. The resources below identify areas most important for you to investigate and consider.

Recommended Resources

Telehealth Modalities PTs and PTAs Can Use During the Public Health Emergency
Medicare and some commercial payers are covering various forms of telehealth, including e-visits, virtual check-ins, and other remotely furnished services. (April 7, 2020)

Thinking About Providing Telehealth? Here's Our Top 10 'To-Do' List
Step 1 is knowing what's allowed, and what isn't. (March 27, 2020)

Asking the Right Questions About Telehealth
It's not enough to ask if telehealth is permitted by a state agency or payer: You need to ask specific questions to understand what you can and can't do.

New CMS Rule Includes Therapy Codes in Telehealth, Stops Short of Allowing PTs to Conduct Telehealth Services
CMS has announced "sweeping" temporary changes that give a nod to the potential for true telehealth by PTs even though regulatory barriers still prevent that from happening. Could it be a sign of more to come? (March 31, 2020)

Furnishing and Billing E-Visits: Addressing Your Questions
Recent waivers by CMS that allow for limited digital communication with patients have triggered a wave of questions. Here are our answers to our top 50 questions. (March 30, 2020)

Telehealth in Physical Therapy In Light of COVID-19
The coronavirus pandemic demands that health care providers rethink how they deliver care in ways that reduce risk of further spreading infection. (March 16, 2020)

Interactive Audio and Video Telecommunications System Matrix
APTA's Health Policy & Administration Section Technology SIG and the APTA FiRST Council have created a matrix of vendors that provide audio and video telecommunications services that could be used for telehealth and e-visits.

Courses and Webinars

Digital Telehealth Practice - Connect for Best Practice, Compliance, and Healthcare
Recorded webinar and Q&A session provides the status of PT telehealth coverage during COVID-19, including PTs' ability to practice telehealth according to scope of practice acts; APTA's advocacy efforts on this front and how you can get involved, best practices implementing telehealth in a smaller organization, and other considerations for telehealth. Free to APTA members! (April 7, 2020)

Implementing Telehealth in Your Practice STAT: Practical Guidance from Experienced Telehealth PTs
Provides insights into current practice models and clinical decision making in digital care delivery. Free to all!

Additional Free Courses From the APTA Learning Center
The opportunities include both live and recorded telehealth webinars.

Check on the Status of State Emergency Mandates and Payers Allowing Telehealth

As things rapidly develop regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, mandates and payer policies around telehealth and e-visits are continuously evolving. APTA has developed a series of summaries of the status of federal, state, and commercial payers regarding eligibility of PTs to provide telehealth services and payer coverage of some form of telehealth or e-visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, based on information the states and payers have released. APTA will update these resources weekly with new information that has been confirmed. These are summaries only; refer to the payer policies and state laws for the most accurate and current information.

Latest Articles

Aetna Now Covers Telehealth Delivered by PTs
Aetna joins UnitedHealthcare among the commercial insurers that have expanded coverage from more limited e-visit provisions. (April 2, 2020)

UnitedHealthcare Allows Telehealth for Physical Therapy
Beginning immediately, the payer will reimburse physical therapy delivered via telehealth services. (March 27, 2020)

COVID Stimulus Package Includes Payment Increase, Opens Possibility of Increased Telehealth
An increase to Medicare payment, temporary relief for some student loans, the potential expansion of telehealth allowances, and help for small businesses are among the provisions that are especially relevant for physical therapy. (March 27, 2020)

Advocacy: Use Your Voice To Call For Expanded Use of Telehealth

On March 27, APTA joined AOTA and ASHA in calling on CMS to use its 1135 waiver authority to meet the medically necessary needs of Medicare beneficiaries by immediately expanding Medicare coverage of telehealth services to include audiology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology.

Use these template letters to advocate for telehealth. Instructions are included at the top of each letter.

Additional Guidance on Practicing Via Telehealth

Before adopting any telehealth solution, investigate issues such as eligibility under your state's practice act, legal and privacy considerations, payer policies, and liability; and review practical considerations for when you begin using telehealth services. Please note: The information provided is offered for general informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended, nor should it be relied upon, as legal advice. Legal doctrines, statutes, and case law vary from state to state. You should consult with your own attorney for specific legal advice on particular legal issues.

Here are some things to consider:

Eligibility, Compliance, and Payment

Check your state practice act to verify that you can provide telehealth services in your state. Your state recently may have changed regulations (or may in the near future) because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so ask now even if your state previously prohibited or was silent on it. APTA provides links to all state practice acts.

Document the legal and ethical reasons you are converting patients to telehealth visits. While the COVID-19 pandemic offers a good reason, you still need to document.

Have your legal team review and approve your emergency policies and procedures. (Example: If your patient falls at home while you are working with them, what process do you have in place to address this emergency?)

Contact and contract with private payers regarding being eligible for payment for furnishing, implementing, and using telehealth to provide services.

Use secured portals and have Business Associates Agreements in place with your telehealth vendor and any other related business associates.

Liability and Informed Consent

Check with your malpractice insurance carrier for any coverage policies specific to telehealth and e-visits prior to providing physical therapy using these modalities. APTA advises all PTs, PTAs, and students to have professional liability insurance from Healthcare Providers Service Organization. HPSO provides a helpful article titled "Telemedicine: Risk Management Issues, Strategies and Resources (.pdf)."

You must get consent from each patient, with right to refuse, and give them the option to be seen in the office. Include the patient's consent in your documentation. Additionally, before conducting services via telehealth and e-visits, consult your state practice act, state law, and individual payers for any informed consent requirements. Some jurisdictions require informed consent only on the first telehealth visit, while others requiring it after every visit. Some explicitly require physical therapists to obtain informed consent before practicing telehealth, while others require informed consent for all providers practicing telehealth. The Center for Connected Health Policy provides a report on telehealth laws and policies (.pdf) and resources on informed consent.

Practice Considerations

Determine your primary needs. For example, if you want to provide live video visits, then you will look for a telehealth product with strong live video capabilities. If your primary goal is to increase communication with patients, you may want to choose a product with a secure texting solution.

Learn how to use your technology. Practice using the equipment with your colleagues to understand the technology and to learn the multi-tasking skills needed.

Prepare policies and procedures before you start. Have contingency plans for what to do if, for example, you lose audio or video connectivity, the internet stops working, the patient has additional complications while you are working with them, or your patient decides they don't want to proceed with telehealth services.

Get the highest bandwidth internet connection you can. Consider having a backup with a different type of system. For example, if your main connection is fiber optic, use cable or DSL as a backup.

Be aware of your surroundings and determine if you're in the best surroundings to conduct telehealth visits. You and the patient should be somewhere quiet and with good, even lighting so you can hear and see each other. Other people should not be nearby you or, ideally, your patient, as this is a HIPAA breach.

Be wary of sub-optimal telehealth platforms. Use due diligence in researching the vendors you're considering.

Maintain a hybrid approach of telehealth and in-office visits when possible.

Additional Resources

Telehealth Ethics, Best Practice, and the Law: What You Need to Know
As physical therapist practice expands to include telehealth, securing patients' protected health information (PHI) is more critical than ever before. (August 28, 2019)

Why Use Telehealth

The complex US health care system is under a tremendous pressure. Many traditional health care business models are designed to allow high-volume, low-cost procedures to offset the costs of low- volume, high-cost procedures. An upward shift in the aging population is projected to result in a large increase in demand for health care, and new legislation such as the Affordable Care Act has added uncertainty to the future of health care business models and payment.

In physical therapy, our patients/clients are asking for more time-efficient and less costly care models. Their busy lifestyles also can make it difficult for them to attend traditional appointments.

Applications of telehealth in physical therapy already have roots that expand throughout patient/client care and consultation, as it allows PTs to better communicate with patients/clients and provide more flexible care. Telehealth will not replace traditional clinical care. However, it will give PTs and PTAs the flexibility to provide services in a greater capacity. Examples:

Patients typically in clinical or hospital settings could be managed from their homes

Quicker screening, assessment, and referrals can improve care coordination within collaborative delivery models such as accountable care organizations or patient-centered medical homes

Telehealth can facilitate consultation between providers or in clinical education

Increasing Access to Physical Therapist Services: Research on Telerehabilitation (.pdf)
This issue brief contains information on studies that demonstrate the potential for cost-savings, improved outcomes, increased access, and higher patient satisfaction through the use of telerehabilitation.

Telehealth in Action: Physical Therapists Share Their Stories (.pdf)
Get first-hand accounts of how PTs are providing physical therapist services via telehealth to clients and patients.

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COVID-19 is changing the landscape of telehealth and other communication technology-based services. Explore this page for guidance on use of remote communication technologies for physical therapist services, and see our coronavirus webpage for updates related to the pandemic.

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Professional development courses for teachers created by expert educators We offer flexible classes that address the needs of teachers and schools to support today's classrooms and increase student success Sign Up for Free For School Districts Live

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Prepare to be challenged. Prepare to be informed. Prepare to be...prepared. Welcome to That's Unheard Of, a simple resource for keeping up with cultural competence for your practice. This site was created to help you know what you don't know - to fill gaps in your soft skills and increase your hard knowledge when it comes to working with an increasingly diverse population.
Learn More

The Knowledge You Want

It's the information you might not have considered. The best practices you may not know. Or the guidelines that have changed. All those things that may be unheard of to you - all in one place.

The Tools You Need

Videos. Quizzes. Role-play. New challenges require new tools - whether to help you assess your own gaps, or to help achieve better outcomes.

The Care You Provide

These tools and this knowledge will give you a deeper understanding of the impact of culture, and help you better connect with clients, patients, and students.

Not sure where to start? Check this list to get you started.

Factoid cards to sort, share with friends, make a game and help you know what you don't know. Make your own. Grab a friend and get started today!

Ask right questions at the right time.

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That's Unheard Of: Build Your Cultural Competence

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Prepare to be challenged. Prepare to be informed. Prepare to be...prepared. Welcome to That's Unheard Of, a simple resource for keeping up with cultural competence for your practice. This site was created to help you know what you don't know - to fill gaps in your soft skills and increase your hard knowledge when it comes to working with an increasingly diverse population.

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Great PD for Speech and Language Therapists and Early Childhood

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Great PD for Speech and Language Therapists and Early Childhood

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$5 ASHA CEUS and resources for parents

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"I purchased the book on autism and have watched the #400s series podcasts. Laura Mize has been more effective in teaching autistic tendencies, than many professors, shadowing professions, and the 100s of books, articles and classes or videos, or live workshop speakers, have been at teaching effective practices for a child with ASD. Some of the many lessons she has taught, which I will now use, to be a more effective Interventionist, include but are not limited to: red flags, typical behaviors, self-stimulating behaviors, not taking away toys, rather showing child to play with toy appropriately. She gives examples of child's actions, "inappropriate," explains the reason for: why the child is engaging in these behaviors and how they can be replaced with more appropriate, effective fuctional and age-appropriate skills."

"I'm sure Laura gets these messages all the time, but I thought I'd share. I stumbled across Laura's "Autism or Speech Delay?" YouTube video when I really needed it. This video finally listed and explained some of the red flags my son was showing for autism. I share the link anytime a parent is questioning in my FB autism group. This mother I don't even know said Laura's video changed her life. I know exactly how she feels because It changed families too. Thank you to everyone at Teach Me To Talk."
LINDSAY

"Good Morning Laura,
I received your book (The Autism Workbook) yesterday and it is absolutely amazing! As I evaluate young children (0-3) for developmental delays and write plans for them with their parents, there are a ton of ideas that are ready to use. Others that reinforce what I have been doing, and saying, all along. Thank you so, so much for writing this incredible book and pulling everything together in one place!"
FRANCINE IN MICHIGAN

"Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge, experience, and guidance.
I'm a parent who bought the autism workbook and it's the only clear resource I found to make a change in my son. I'm really thankful to Ms. Laura for helping out people like us all over the world."

"Laura Mize, all I have to say is that ALL YOUR STRATEGIES WORK."
ANNE, YouTube viewer

"We have 7 SLPs in our preschool (public) program for special needs children (ages 3-5) and we use your courses, books, and techniques every day! 🙂 We have seen our preschoolers make such great gains!"

"I just received Teach Me to Play With You, and it is ALREADY WORKING! WOW!

Girl...my son is 3 years old, and he NEVER asks for something using words. We were playing "Get Your Belly" (from Teach Me to Play WITH You), and after several times, he laughed and screamed "BEWIEEE!!!" It was a hoot. And I can't believe he said it! I have played with him like this before, but this time I took your advice and acted CRAZY!! I will act like a total lunatic if it will get him to talk to me! Now I can give him "the look" from across the room, and he will say it. That manual is so amazingly practical, and it is a GODSEND right now! Thank you SO MUCH!"

"I wanted to send you a quick email to say thank you. I started watching your videos/podcasts about 4 months ago. My son has gone from losing words he previously used, only having about 7 words at his 2 year check up in August (assessed at a blended 10 month language level) -- to now having so many words, increased social engagement, following commands, spontaneously requesting things, and naming letters & numbers (not in order) as well as colors. We had our monthly meeting with our SLP through the state infants & toddlers program and it felt like we were just bragging the whole time, but I knew in the back of my head it was because I have been using strategies you taught me.

We still have so much work to do with our sweet boy, but I know in my heart he would not have succeeded without the education you provided. I will continue to read your emails & watch videos as we go along this journey and face challenges, but credit is due to you, Laura.

Thank you so much, endlessly."

"I just want to tell how fortunate I feel to have found your website and you!! I became a special instructor in EI almost a year ago and I started with hardly any applicable training. I felt so lost and confused as how to help the kids I work with learn how to use words and play. Honestly, I didn't even understand the importance of play, although I always played with my kids. But, once I started to watch your podcasts and get some of your manuals I felt a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and that I could finally teach these kids and their families something of value from a real therapist and based on research!. Thank you so much for seeing the need to help other EI service providers and providing a forum to share your knowledge and years of valuable experience. I'm sure you get a lot of these emails every week if not every day, but I wanted to make I could add to those notes of gratitude!! THANK YOU again!!"

"Just wanted to say a HUGE thank you for these emails and your books, I have them all and they have seriously saved and improved my sessions with my kiddos. Huge thank you."

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Teach Me To Talk - Speech Language Development | teachmetotalk.com

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"I purchased the book on autism and have watched the #400s series podcasts. Laura Mize has been more effective in teaching autistic tendencies, than many professors, shadowing professions, and the 100s of books, articles and classes or videos, or live workshop speakers, have been at teaching effective practices for a child with ASD.

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We know that you are working hard to stay safe and healthy, take care of your families, meet the needs of the individuals you serve, and find creative ways to connect from a distance. ASHA members' and volunteers' safety is our top priority, and we're here to help you during this uncertain time. Check for the latest updates and resources, including on telepractice.

Please contact the Action Center (800-498-2071 or actioncenter@asha.org) with any questions.

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We know that you are working hard to stay safe and healthy, take care of your families, meet the needs of the individuals you serve, and find creative ways to connect from a distance. ASHA members' and volunteers' safety is our top priority, and we're here to help you during this uncertain time.

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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(children are younger but you may get some good ideas relevant to preschool)

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Create a new spreadsheet and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Sheets to edit Excel files. Free from Google.

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Free webinars from CEC on Remote Learning

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Free webinars from CEC on Remote Learning

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Webinars to assist during COVID-19

CEC and partner agencies are providing these FREE webinars to the special education community during the COVID-19 crisis. This is customized information to help with your immediate needs as you meet the challenges of teaching remotely, adhering to IDEA, maintaining student privacy, and other important topics.

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Webinars to assist during COVID-19 CEC and partner agencies are providing these FREE webinars to the special education community during the COVID-19 crisis. This is customized information to help with your immediate needs as you meet the challenges of teaching remotely, adhering to IDEA, maintaining student privacy, and other important topics.

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Office Hours with Lucy Calkins Thursdays at 4:00

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Office Hours with Lucy Calkins Thursdays at 4:00

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For teachers who support students with the Teachers College Units of Study

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Heinemann. A division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

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For teachers using the units of study

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From a Parent Perspective

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Jason A. Haap

My son takes anti-psychotic medication to silence the voices in his head. These voices tell him he is worthless. Although therapy and medication have helped him make progress, adjustments in his prescription complicate how he behaves in school. Last year, while in the throes of coming to terms with all these changes, I attended a parent-teacher conference at his high school. When I asked the teacher for an example of problematic behavior, he talked about giving lecture notes one day when he noticed my son staring out the window. He presented this as evidence of my son being unprepared, off-topic, and even disrespectful.

After hearing this anecdote, I turned to my son, who was present for the conference, and asked, "Why were you looking out the window?"

"I was thinking," he replied.

I turned to the teacher and told him my son was thinking. I received an eye-roll in response. I remember the flush of anger flooding my cheeks. I had a teenager struggling with mental health issues, literally fighting against the voices in his head, but his teacher felt miffed because he interpreted window-gazing as a personal affront. We never really know what's happening in someone else's mind, and this experience haunts me whenever I consider what it means to be a trauma-informed educator.

Private Logic, Explained

I watched my son, who is in 11th grade, become victimized by a system that often fails to consider basic tenets of a trauma-informed mindset, such as the idea that behavior is communication. Students who have experienced trauma often manifest negative "private logic," an unconscious set of beliefs that can influence our view of the world and how we act within it.

Imagine a student whose private logic says, "Nobody loves me." Such a child may lack a sense of belonging and shy away from developing meaningful friendships. How does it serve that student to label her "antisocial"? That word has a negative connotation, and using it may impart a negative attribute to a child who aches to feel like she belongs. As we seek to counterbalance students' negative private logic, we must reframe our private logic, too. That means shifting the words we use when thinking and talking.

Our words affect our reality. Consider how different it feels to speak about a student who "just wants attention" versus one who " needs attention." If somebody "wants" something, it feels unnecessary-like a privilege only bestowed upon the worthy. But if someone "needs" something, that's an entirely different circumstance. How can we deny a child in need?

A Trauma-Informed Mindset

These are not just semantic arguments. When it comes to adopting a trauma-informed mindset, our words have an effect. The more we practice reframing our private logic, the more natural it becomes to engage in new thinking patterns and habits, whether it's the things we think or say to one another about our students or how we talk to students about their behavior. Students who have experienced trauma or are dealing with mental health issues need teachers who act with an eye toward growth and healing as opposed to anger and punishment.

When working recently with a school faculty, I provided an activity where teachers had to reframe sample private logic statements. The first said, "That student knows how to push my buttons." One teacher reframed this to say, "That student knows me well."

How might those two examples of private logic influence our view of classroom discipline? If such a student were to misbehave, who would we see-someone who knows how to push our buttons and wants attention, or someone who knows us well and uses that knowledge to get the attention she needs? Would we be surprised to find the former mindset might lead to a punitive consequence while the latter might lead to a restorative conversation?

Many of us have traditionally been socialized to think of punitive consequences as a natural response to negative student behavior. But we can reframe behavior, too. A child suffering from the effects of trauma or other struggles won't learn from detention, especially if he's hungry or fighting private logic that says he'll never be worth anything. If children who need attention learn from teachers that they are "greedy"-as if seeking attention is a privilege only for the "deserving"-it becomes impossible to heal a traumatized brain.

As soon as we consider that behavior is communication, a new reality emerges. A student who refuses to work could be an example of "disrespect" or "disobedience" or it could be an attempt to communicate. Maybe he feels inadequate and avoids work for fear of failure. Maybe he feels overloaded and needs a break. Or maybe he was struggling against the voices in his head while gazing out a window.

I once collaborated with an elementary school to revise their discipline matrix. We considered what certain misbehaviors might attempt to communicate, such as "refusing to work." Maybe such a student is hungry, or tired, or just in need of a break. Instead of quickly going down a punitive pathway, we programmed interventions that could address these other needs. Now, when a student refuses to work, teachers try giving a snack, an activity break, or an opportunity to do something else while completing work later. As a result, office referrals have drastically reduced and students are responding more positively to the new school culture.

Imagine a world where everyone takes a similar tact, responding not to behavior but to what behavior might communicate. Although we might never truly know what happens behind someone else's eyes, we can reframe our attitudes to be more compassionate. No matter our students' experiences, a little compassion goes a long way.

Jason A. Haap has been teaching for more than 20 years. He is currently a school improvement consultant with Hamilton County ESC. His experience includes literacy across the curriculum, problem/project-based learning, systems change, and trauma-informed systems of supports.

More on This Topic: How Leadership Principles Can Relieve Trauma

ASCD Express, Vol. 15, No. 15. Copyright 2020 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Visit www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.

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The Private Logic Behind a Trauma-Informed Mindset

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Jason A. Haap My son takes anti-psychotic medication to silence the voices in his head. These voices tell him he is worthless. Although therapy and medication have helped him make progress, adjustments in his prescription complicate how he behaves in school.

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A Resource Bank of various webinars for TAs

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A Resource Bank of various webinars for TAs

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webinars on a range of topics from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Conflict and Consequences: Learn the New Roadmap to Behavioral Change

As we do our part to minimize the spread of COVID-19, families around the world are spending more time at home together than ever before. Extra family time is nice, but stressful situations paired with close proximity inevitably cause some conflict.

So, how do we respond to conflict and misbehavior? If we opt for traditional punishment, we're likely to see little to no behavioral change in children. That's because in most cases, misbehavior is communicating a missing skill. Until children learn the skills they are missing, no punishment or consequence will work.

So, how do we respond to conflict and misbehavior? If we opt for traditional punishment, we're likely to see little to no behavioral change in children. That's because in most cases, misbehavior is communicating a missing skill. Until children learn the skills they are missing, no punishment or consequence will work.

In this webinar, Master Instructor Jill Molli outlines a roadmap to behavioral change. Learn to see problems differently, assess what your child's behavior is communicating, shift from unregulated to regulated adult, and effectively teach missing skills. By following these steps, you'll equip your child with essential life skills and pave the way to a more peaceful, cooperative and connected time at home.

To help you on your journey to behavioral change, download Jill's Social Skills to Teach (Social Skills Cards) for free.

Webinar Outline

00:01 Introduction of Jill Molli and topic

00:19 Conflict and Consequences

00:33 We were raised with punishment

00:48 How do I stop this behavior?

00:55 Introduction of Roadmap to Behavior Change

01:25 See the problem differently

02:04 Cognitive flexibility

02:35 Missing skills and behavior change

03:29 In this moment, what is my child feeling?

05:08 First Stop: See the missing skill

05:17 Second Stop: Is my child feeling threatened or disconnected?

05:34 BIG Part, BIG Change

06:10 My state regulates their state

07:10 Teach Skills with Social Skills Cards

09:00 Critical to know

10:00 Review of roadmap

10:50 Tools on ConsciousDiscipline.com

11:07 Conclusion

Resource Mentions

Helpful Next Steps

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Webinar: Conflict and Consequences: The New Roadmap to Behavioral Change | Conscious Discipline

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In this webinar, Master Instructor Jill Molli outlines a roadmap to behavioral change. Learn to see problems differently, assess what your child's behavior is communicating, shift from unregulated to regulated adult, and effectively teach missing skills. By following these steps, you'll equip your child with essential life skills and pave the way to a more peaceful, cooperative and connected time at home.

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How to Support Your Students During School Closures

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How to Support Your Students During School Closures

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SEL for students

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Using SEL Strategies to Navigate in Times of Crisis

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Using SEL Strategies to Navigate in Times of Crisis

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A look at understanding Social/Emotional needs in remote learning

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Social Emotional. Learning

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On any given day in schools across America, many students exchange warm greetings with a smiling teacher, then perhaps move on to a morning check-in, followed by a quick mindfulness exercise to start the day grounded and mentally focused. Surrounded by peers they've known for months, or perhaps even years-and a teacher they see daily-kids feel connected.

In spite of some critics who downplay the importance of social and emotional learning and the value of belonging-the number of such skeptics is falling, to be sure-the research is clear and has been for some time: When kids spend their daytime hours in safe, supportive schools where adults work every day to build strong relationships with every student, they are simply better, more engaged learners.

But how should educators foster that sense of belonging in this new, decentralized world-with teachers and students tethered loosely together via Wi-Fi and cellular networks?

"Right now, it's all about the technology-the mechanics of how to teach remotely. But when I speak to my colleagues who are high school teachers, it's about: 'How are we going to hold our students' hearts?'" says Mays Imad, a professor of pathophysiology and biomedical ethics at Pima Community College.

So we asked dozens of teachers, and peeked in on Instagram and Twitter threads, to find some of the best ideas that teachers are experimenting with to maintain the relationships that drive engagement and learning.

1. Try to Say Hello Frequently, If You Can

Try to make sure your kids know you are thinking of them, care for them, and miss them. For kids with access to technology, simple daily hellos via video might be the only time the student sees the teacher on some days-and that sense of connection is important to sustain.

First- and second-grade teacher John Thomas' masterful, fun hello video to his students is a great example.

For students without internet connectivity, try calling by phone; consider rotating through small groups of students each day to make this a more manageable task. "Taking the time to reach out and call each kid takes forever," says sixth- and eighth-grade English teacher Cathleen Beachboard, but she's seeing a big impact: "The first few days, I had only a few kids logging on, but now I have almost 98 percent attendance," she says.

2. How to Maintain Morning Meetings

Routines that foster connection are a core part of classroom life, and finding ways for students to experience these at home will go a long way toward easing students' transition to home-based learning. "If you do morning meeting, reflect on the elements you have in your meeting and what could be completed virtually at home," writes Thomas. "If technology allows, record and share daily video announcements and read-alouds."

Margaret Shafer, a third-grade teacher, has kids respond to daily prompts during her morning meetings. Kids can see each other's responses and react if they want to. "My relationships with my students are part of my instruction, and their relationships with each other are critical to their enjoyment of school," she says, underscoring the fact that maintaining relationships is not an afterthought. "So when I planned (very quickly!) to start distance learning, the first thing I wanted to start daily was a way to comfort the kids and let them know that I still care about them and their friends are still out there."

3. Reimagine Temperature Checks

Routine, everyday check-ins- roses and thorns or selecting an emoji to match your mood, for example-shouldn't fall by the wayside. Keep it quick and simple: "I posted on Schoology to give me a thumbs up, thumbs sideways (meh), or thumbs down to describe their day.... I encourage them to take selfies of their thumbs," says high school teacher Javier Rivera via Twitter.

Along with checking in with her students herself, Imad is making connecting with peers part of her students' homework: Each student is assigned the task of connecting with one classmate. "Then, I'm asking them to write to me and tell me how, say, Jackie is doing today. They can decide how they want to check in-email, text, Skype," she says, adding that she sets up guidelines and models the practice for her students first. "This exercise might work even better with K-12-'My homework is to check on Allie.'"

4. Try Snail-Mail Pen Pals, Phone Pals, or Virtual Turn and Talk

We learn better in social contexts. For many students, transitioning to learning from home is complicated by the impact of being cut off from peers-even though many older students might communicate with friends via social media and texting.

"If technology doesn't allow, create pen pals or other paper-and-pen activities by sending home envelopes, paper, and stamps if your school is able," says Thomas. "Or mimic 'turn and talk' by setting up phone pals where students call each other on the phone several times a week to discuss specific topics or prompts."

Third-grade teacher Michael Dunlea follows his whole-group instruction via Zoom with breakout rooms so that peers can reflect on the learned material together. Then he seeks deeper connections with students individually: "I keep one student on for a one-on-one conference and ask them to read out loud for a few minutes. This time also provides an opportunity to check on their emotional well-being and see if they need clarification on assignments."

5. Create Virtual Tables (but Don't Just Group Friends)

For older kids, says Kasey Short, an eighth-grade English teacher at Charlotte Country Day School in Charlotte, North Carolina, teachers can set up virtual table groups. Short uses Google Classroom for this because her students are already familiar with the platform. "I will set up discussion threads with four to five students so they can discuss assignments, ask each other questions, and stay connected," she says.

Though many kids will stay in touch with their circle of friends, she says it's important to think about pairing kids with peers who aren't in their immediate social circle-and then mix up the groups weekly. "There will also be spaces for whole class discussions, but I know many students will feel more comfortable sharing ideas in a smaller group setting," she says.

6. Consider Including Parents

Dunlea, the third-grade teacher, asks students to invite a parent online, giving the adults an opportunity to ask questions, express concerns, or request advice.

Beachboard, the sixth- and eighth-grade English teacher, connects with parents each day-she uses the messaging platform Remind, or a dedicated Google Voice phone line for parents who don't have text messaging. She also connects with families by email. "I check in with them once a day with a 'How are you?' and 'Do you need anything?'" she says. "It's important at this time, more than any other, that we are looking out for the mental health of our families and students."

7. Get Kids to Name-and Process-Their Own Emotions

Writing assignments, says Short, the English teacher, offer valuable opportunities for students to process the complex mix of emotions they may be experiencing as a result of their upended routines and schedules, social isolation, and the challenges of being cooped up at home.

"I am going to use some writing opportunities for students to get their thoughts, feelings, fears, and questions down in a creative format of their choice," she says. "I will give them an option to share with the class, or only share with me. This will not only allow them to share out their feelings but also give me a place to check on them and follow up if I see any of them expressing sadness, fear, etc., that their parents may need to know about."

Most important, says Short, "I am going to be honest and as understanding as possible to let students know we are all in this together and will likely all need a little grace."

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7 Ways to Maintain Relationships During Your School Closure

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Suddenly, you're not in the same physical space as your students. We asked teachers to share strategies for maintaining relationships-both peer-to-peer and student-teacher-when everything's gone remote.

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Provided by newsela

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Connect with an Expert: A Panel on Distance Learning

During this panel webinar, you'll hear from and have a chance to connect with expert practitioners of distance learning. We'll discuss:

Trusted approaches from experts who have practiced distance learning prior to COVID-19

Strategies for engaging students online and offline, even when digital access is limited

Specific and actionable examples from educators who are doing distance learning well

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Connect with an expert: Leading through distance learning with flexibility

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During this panel webinar, you'll hear from and have a chance to connect with expert practitioners of distance learning.

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Synchronous Learning vs. Asynchronous Learning in Online Education

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Synchronous Learning vs. Asynchronous Learning in Online Education

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Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Classes: What's the Difference? - TheBestSchools.org

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Should I take a Synchronous or Asynchronous Online Degree Program? Here is an explanation of each program type, including pros and cons.

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Authentic Activities for the World Language Classroom

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Authentic Activities for the World Language Classroom

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.