Tips & Tricks for Teachers
When I became a teacher I was taught to be prepared for a plethora of situations -- HOWEVER, I was never taught to be prepared for a global pandemic that would close down every school in the country.
I think this is how a lot of us feel right now, and it's a valid feeling. It's easy to become frustrated with the current situation, but I am of the mindset that you can only control what you can control and you have to make the best of everything else. So I wanted to share a few things that I've personally found helpful while trying to teach during this pandemic.
GOOGLE CLASSROOM: My school district transitioned pretty seamlessly to using google classroom (at least, it was pretty seamless for me). We already used this tool in the classroom setting, so we had a base established for everyone once we moved to distance learning. However, being a math teacher I use the white board a lot... and I didn't exactly have a home set up where I could record myself teaching on a giant whiteboard. This brings me to my next helpful hint...
RECORD YOUR IPAD SCREEN: I was able to draw everything I would have drawn on the whiteboard on my iPad and record my voice simultaneously. I was then able to post these videos in my google classroom so that every student could watch (and re-watch) these instructional videos to help them learn the content. If students had questions this was especially helpful because I could respond directly to their question with a quick video, but also post that video in our Google classroom because (as you all know) students tend to ask the same questions as their peers.
BE ABLE TO ADAPT: I would say this is an area where I felt an advantage to some of my peers. I am also a coach, so I am used to always adapting to the situation. However, many of my peers had a hard time adjust to things like Zoom calls, or the new standards we were using to grade student work. In order to do a successful job for our students, we've got to be able to be flexible and adjust 'our method' in order to fit what will best serve their needs. Don't be too hard on yourself, and allow yourself to try new things. I believe innovation in the classroom is one of the keys to allowing our students to reach their full potential.