Dear Future Teachers (and current teachers!),
Depending on where you live, it is likely that you will be teaching via Zoom or another online platform this school year. While the classroom continues to evolve in technology and there are a lot of online resources in regular classroom structures now, teaching fully online is a different experience altogether. This can be uncharted territory for many of you and it may seem overwhelming. Rather than scroll through countless sites looking for ideas, I wanted to compile a list of resources I have found all in one place to make it easier to find neat ideas for hosting online class!
Click: Everything You Need To Know About Online Classroom Management by Teaching Dunn Simply Blog
The link above is a blog introducing online classroom management tips and tricks! This blog includes online classroom management expectations for students, suggested attention-grabbers, and a resource that provides a template for "morning meeting slides" to begin your Zoom lecture.
Click: Five Ways to Engage Students in a Zoom Classroom by Apple Slices Blog
This link provides 5 tools that can be used in Zoom classrooms to engage students. It's pretty easy to zone out of an online class session or lecture that isn't interactive, especially for younger students. Check out these suggestions to facilitate student participation through Zoom.
Click: 20 Free Tech Tools for Online Teaching By Write On With Miss G Blog
This blog contains a comprehensive list of tools, websites, and other engaging resources for online teaching. Not only is this blog post very affirming and warm, but it has great ideas to incorporate into your online teaching tool belt. The blog is organized, including links to tutorials and examples to help you navigate each resource that is suggested. From hyperdocs, to digital learning games, this post is an excellent place to seek ideas when planning for your upcoming year. I highly recommend it!
Click: Redefining Classroom Management for Distance Learning by Teach Create Motivate Blog
This blog post lists different classroom management tools for teaching online, including parent communication and creating a consistent structure for your kiddos! Classroom management via Zoom is daunting, but there are things that can be done to make distance learning flow just a bit easier.
Click: The Building Blocks of an Online Lesson by Catlin Tucker
This article highlights the building blocks of a regular classroom structure and provides tips to implement these building blocks in an online setting. When planning your lessons, I recommend this post to help you structure your class sessions and resources appropriately. Not only does it keep you organized, but it allows students and their parents to easily navigate their online courses and assignments. The article even includes a template for you to download and use for yourself!
Click: Teachers Are Creating Virtual Bitmoji Classrooms on We Are Teachers Website
I wanted to include this post because it's an idea I've seen lately that is super cute! Almost everyone is familiar with the Bitmoji characters that you can personalize to your liking. Due to many classes turning remote, teachers are starting to get creative to bring some fun to their virtual classroom! This post includes many examples of Bitmoji classrooms for all different kinds of classrooms ranging from elementary school to AP level courses, AND it includes a tutorial for you to create your own unique Bitmoji classroom!
I hope these resources are helpful for those teachers who are going to participate in distance learning this school year! There are so many resources out there, so don't feel that you need to go through this alone! Now more than ever, we should seek to learn from each other to provide a space for students to continue to learn. I would like to say that this post does not contain resources for students who don't have access to WiFi or a computer at home, as this is a complex situation with no simple solution. I am no expert when it comes to providing equitable learning opportunities for online classes, but if any of my readers have recommendations for students who don't have easy access to online learning, send them in through my Contact Form on my Home Page or email me at dearfutureteachers@gmail.com!
Much Love,
Emily B.