7 last minute ideas for #virtualclass

 It is almost here, FINALLY! I am so tired of professional development and agonizing over every last assignment and detail of class. I have never been more ready to get started. The 2020 school year starts here fully virtual on MONDAY! So here are some last minute tips that are helping me:

1. Have a daily check in form. -  I will not be able to judge students moods when they walk into the room, which I think is a crucial part of how class goes for the day. I created a quick Google Form. The one for the first day includes some questions about their background in Spanish as well.  When creating a Google Form, don't forget a question for their name.

2. Print those rosters. Print them in a spreadsheet format (it is a report choice in Infinite Campus) so you can quickly note nicknames, attendance, grades. Also do a run through of names so you don´t butcher them too badly on the first day. If it is a tough name make sure to ask how the student pronounces it....and try to say something positive!

3. Set those alarms! - The alarm to wake up is important, but I have set alarms on my phone for 5 minutes before each class starts so I can remember to get logged into the class meeting so students can get in. Did you know that if you use the class meeting code through Google Classroom, students can´t enter before you do? Works for nicknamed meetings too. 

4. Post ¨Getting Started¨ items - There are many students and parents with questions and having a few things posted they can do right away not only makes me look organized, but makes them a little more relaxed as well. I posted the syllabus with a Google Form to indicate acceptance, the code to join Remind, and the code to join the Flipgrid class. 

5. Reread all the directions - I know, I know. Students are not famous for their direction reading ability. However, it is our job to OVEREXPLAIN. Try not to give any excuses to a student for not doing the work. If possible, even have someone else read them to try to make them as clear as possible, especially in these first days.

6. Host a live Q&A - I sent a message to all parents and students with a meeting code (nicknamed of course) and a time so that they could come a a Google Meet and have the chance to ask questions. I did it on our Open House day. I had a meet from 3-4 and from 7:30-*=8. I had about twenty parents/students show up and they got the chance to ask some questions, and I had the chance for some one-on-one interaction with a few of my students.

7. Have a mantra - Mine is positive change. All of these changes in the world are happening because we needed to make positive changes. I am going to try to project this idea (especially the positive part) as much as humanly possible. I know virtual wasn't the start most wanted, but there are some great things about it. (How am I doing?) This also helps when there is one more meeting, one more PD, etc. Just keep saying it to yourself and try to project it.

I hope this helps. Wishing everyone a great start to the year. I know many have directives that are challenging to implement, but just focus on those relationships with the students. It will be a year of changes, but we've got this!

Let's get organized - Organizing your virtual classroom

The hardest part of planning for virtual learning is trying to organize information and assignments so that it will be easy for students, parents and me to keep up with the class information. In the spring, I just utilized Google Classroom and grouped content and assignments together week by week. This worked, for some but there were still some that were confused and used it as an excuse to give up. I knew I needed something better.

I have seen all the Bitmoji love, and was reluctant to jump in because I know how much I love the chance to be creative and thought I would get lost down the rabbit hole. So, I decided to go with an online bulletin approach to keep things simple. I think this makes is clear for parents and students and is easy to follow. Best of all it was pretty easy to create. I started a new Google Slides presentation, chose a transparent background, drew some shapes, inserted text boxes, and linked everything. And yes....I did update my Snapchat Bitmoji to Spanish and used it a little bit. 

My plan is to post this each week to Google Classroom and send it home via email to parents. As for the actual assignments, I am going to create a Topic for each week and then add this board and the assignments for the week as well as the recordings of the live class under that topic individually. This should simplify the view for students so there is no confusion about what is due each week.

Here is a picture of the landing page. I still have a few things to do, but the ideas are there. I am excited to record myself saying all the vocabulary we will be using so students can refer back to it. I worry about connectivity issues when everyone is streaming live, so I thought this was a good backup.

  

I added another slide for each class day. (We are going to alternating blocks with Friday for extra help.) With the block, Monday and Tuesday are together and Wednesday and Thursday are together. I made sure to have the Unit Goals and the State Standards just as I would for lessons in my classroom. You never know when an administrator will pop in! Those are both Google Docs. 

I decided I am going to list assignments for the day and provide links to Google Classroom. Originally I was going to link to each assignment and then I realized how much updating that would be on my end, and decided against it. By using the list, parents can follow up with students about each specific item.

It is not fancy, but clear and simple. I think it will work well and really help keep me, students and parents on the same page. If you want the template, or have any questions or comments I would love to hear from you.

Check out the whole board live here.