Roxi Thompson

  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 t he 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. A...

Google Forms are a great tool for collecting responses from students. If you are using Google Classroom, it is super easy to add a Google Form for your students to access. However, there are some things about Google Forms that make them a little different from other assignments, such as Google Slide or Doc assignments. Here are four tips for using Google Forms with Classroom: Find Form Responses You can only access student responses from the Google Form itself. You cannot see individual student responses from within Google Classroom like you can when you assign Slides or Docs. You can see student responses by clicking on the edit button (the pencil icon in the bottom right corner) and then selecting the "Responses" tab at the top of the form. There are several ways you can organize the responses from this view. You can also create a spreadsheet and view the responses from that sheet.  Include a "Name Question" Always, always, always add a question that prompts stude...

There are many things that are unknown about the upcoming school year. However, one thing we know for sure in my district is that ALL teachers will be teaching their students online until at least Labor Day. We also know that it is going to be super important for teachers to spend some time developing relationships and building a classroom community with our students. This will be challenging, especially for teachers who are not feeling very comfortable using technology. However, with the right support, I think all teachers can find ways to do this in an online setting. One tool that can be used to build community is Google Classroom. This is a great place to start because most of our teachers went through training with Google Classroom when schools were closed in the spring, so they have a basic understanding of how it works.  Stream The stream is the first page you see when you enter a Google Classroom. One thing that I always recommend is that teachers change the settings on the...