As teachers of writing and ELA, what do we value? Kids as creators, critical thinkers, and conversationalists. So what can we do to enact that, and what tools can we use to get them there?
In the shift to more hybrid, remote, and virtual learning environments, our primary focus as educators should be helping students to create, think, and converse. This involves a courageous shift away from teacher-generated content, passive clicking and consuming, and text-speak chat boxes.
Sometimes new technologies and platforms (Pear Deck, Flipgrid, Edpuzzle) can provide creative new ways for accomplishing our goals, but sometimes they can be more of a shiny new toy or yet another new technology to learn. This can be both a distraction and a limit on accessibility (for teachers and students).
To achieve our goal with minimal involvement of new technologies and platforms, here are some best practices in a remote/hybrid/virtual teaching ecosystem:
1. Write together and talk together. A simple writing prompt and google doc can be used for collaborative notes and writing. Follow up with sharing and discussing (in pairs, small groups, or large group "reading").
2. Move around the (remote) classroom. Minimize frontal teaching at students by moving in and out of breakout rooms. Create opportunities for students to listen to and learn from each other.
3. Create a culture of face-to-face dialogue. Provide a clear rationale for when and why 'text speak,' 'mute buttons,' and 'black screens' interfere with a teacher's ability to teach and a student's ability to learn. Sometimes we need to see each other, hear each other, and have a fully fleshed out conversation. Explain why this is true and most students will get on board.
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