Teaching Remotely

As with nearly every other teacher in the country and many around the world I am currently taking a real world crash course in remote teaching. Just for some context I was teaching a fairly normal day on a chilly Tuesday in March, it wasn’t actually a normal day but the details of that are not pertinent to the story. After school we had a staff meeting where it was announced that we would not be having school the rest of the week. By Friday it became clear that we would not be returning to school for at least a few weeks. By Monday I had set up Google Classroom for all 6 of my classes and was venturing into the unknown realm of  virtual instruction. Here are my tips, in no particular order,  for any teachers beginning this journey.

1. BEG, BORROW, STEAL, AND BE THANKFUL

Do not reinvent the wheel. Teachers Pay Teachers should be the Target equivalent of your teaching life. You should already be subscribed to teaching newsletters and be reading content from a variety of teachers (like this one, good job!). Tap into the existing resources. If your school subscribes to a particular curriculum there are likely online resources that you may not have been using already. If you team teach or are part of a department, communicate with your other teachers and see what they are planning to do. I have been incredibly thankful for my fellow teachers who have shared their successes and failures. Before you start recording your own lessons see what videos are available with your own curriculum then look at YouTube. Be thankful that we live in a time where the internet provides a plethora of options and that you do not have to start from scratch. 

2. PICK A PLATFORM

If your school has not chosen any remote learning platform for you; choose one and stick to it. I personally chose to go with Google Classroom, but whatever you choose will be fine. One of the items of feedback that I got from students and parents was that early on it was confusing where to find information. There should be one central hub where everything they need for success can be reached. This does not mean that you can’t tap into other resources or accommodate where needed, but there should be a clear central space. Your remote environment should mimic your physical classroom in some ways. For example, if you have one space in the classroom where you post objectives and homework, you should find an electronic equivalent. 

3. KEEP IT SIMPLE

I believe that this rule applies whether you are teaching remotely in normal conditions or just under quarantine. In our current global condition parents, students, and teachers are all struggling to make this work. Many parents are completely overwhelmed by managing their child’s education full time for the first time. If you give too many assignments or if the assignments you give are too complicated you are just going to add unnecessary frustration. Remember what your objectives are and teach and assess those only. If you can assess something in 5 questions instead of 15, do it! Try to replicate classroom activities and assignments so that they are familiar to students and they will feel successful doing them. 

4. KEEP UP THE CONNECTION

Whether in the classroom or at home; students need to know that you care about them. This can be achieved in a number of ways, but here are a few of my suggestions. Send them a hand written note. If you are an elementary teacher this may mean sending 25 cards. If you are a secondary teacher you may be sending over a hundred. A handwritten note communicates caring even more than it once did, since it is a rarity in modern times. Call your students on the phone. This may be especially important for students or families who are not responding to emails or aren’t turning in work. For some, hearing your voice will help motivate them to keep working hard.  Probably the most important is that you set a time for video conferencing. Whether you use Google Meet or Zoom, pick a time and get your students together. Gathering via video chat may be the closest you get to a real face to face connection. Whatever you choose, keep connecting with your students. 

5. BE PATIENT AND KEEP LEARNING

First of all be patient in this process. If you are just getting started with remote teaching be patient with others and be patient with yourself. Teaching with technology can be wonderful, but it does present its challenges. Give yourself time to get used to this new method of instruction and don’t fret if things take a few weeks before they feel comfortable or before they work smoothly. Also, as with any part of teaching, keep learning. Seek out advice from others who have done this before, read tutorials, watch videos, take classes, and just keep learning. An excellent teacher knows that there is no end point to being a teacher, we must keep learning and growing.