This is the first year that our district is running an official K-8 Distance Learning Program (DLP). We currently have 17 teachers and just over 400 students enrolled. We had intended to start with a much smaller program, but circumstances with COVID led us down a different path. It has definitely been challenging. However, we just wrapped up our first quarter this past Friday and it finally feels like things are settling into a rhythm. With teachers on Fall Break this week, it's a good time to reflect on what has worked and what we could improve on in the future.
Google Classroom
Google Classroom is the main tool we are using to organize teaching and learning materials. Most of our teachers had experience using the platform from the previous year of teaching online, and several teachers were using it prior to that.
I love Classroom because of its versatility. Teachers can customize the way they use it depending on their content, students, and teaching style. As a tech coach, I always try to emphasize to teachers that there isn't one "right way" to use this platform. I want them to figure out what works best in their classroom.
That said, we have found that some things work better for our full-time distance learning classrooms. Today, I want to focus on three practices involved in the initial setup of the classes.
Create Separate Classes for Each Section/Group
When we first started training teachers on using Google Classroom, one of the most common questions I heard was, "Should I create a separate class for each of my sections, or should I make one classroom for all of my students?" I always felt like there were benefits and drawbacks to both strategies.
However, it makes much more sense to keep them separate for our online classes. One major reason is because of the other tools we use, including Google Meet and GoGuardian. Keeping groups separated in Classroom allows teachers to use the Google Meet links generated for each class and to import classes to GoGuardian rather than have to create them from scratch.
Use Google Meet Links in Classroom
We are currently using two approaches to Google Meet links for our live sessions. Our K-4 teachers are using "lookup" nicknames that are a combination of their last name and the grade level they teach. For example, if I taught 5th grade, then my nickname would be "thompson5." The K-4 principal felt that was easier for parents to remember. On the other hand, our 5-8 teachers are using the Meet links generated by each class.
While both strategies make sense and are secure, there are some recent updates to the Classroom-Meet link integration that give it a slight advantage over the regular nickname links. One major update is that the students are now placed in a waiting room if they get there before the teacher. In my opinion, that is much less confusing to students and families than the screen they usually see when they try to enter a Meet room before the teacher.
Include Class Times in the Name
One thing our 5-6 teachers decided to do was to include the time of the live session in the class name. This has been really helpful for students/families who were struggling with the Calendar schedules. Having the time in the class name was a great reminder, especially during the first few weeks of school.
As a coach, having the teacher's last name in the class name is helpful, also. I am a co-teacher in every DLP classroom. It is much easier to find the class I need by scanning or searching for the teacher's name.
Moving forward, I would like to see these practices used in all our DLP classrooms. What strategies have you found to be effective with using Google Classroom for online learning?
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