If you were able to share the Halloween Escape Room activities I shared last week via email, I am guessing you were pleasantly surprised at the level of collaboration and problem solving your students exhibited. You might also be surprised to learn that it is relatively easy to create your own Escape Room activities using simple tools like Google Sites and Google Forms. Check out the resources below to use some teacher-created Breakout activities or learn how to create your own!
Digital escape rooms, also referred to as digital breakouts, are a great way to bring gameplay and problem solving to any lesson or unit. They can be an exciting and engaging activity for the whole class or as an option for early finishers.
In a spin on the popular escape room challenge, a digital version combines:
a virtual “room” (often a Google Site) filled with clues that must be figured out
a digital lock made from an online form (usually a Google form) that students try to unlock
any theme for the escape room that will engage your participants
an appropriate level of difficulty (easy or extremely difficult) depending on the intended audience
This post is full of everything you'll need to use free digital escape rooms -- or even create your own!
Zoom and Google Meet are two video conferencing platforms you can use to conduct synchronous meetings with students. Which one you decide to use is up to you--there are advantages and disadvantages to each.
First off, it is important to recognize that "Zoom Bombing" is real! Many of our remote secondary teachers have reported that students have been sharing links to virtual meetings with students who aren't enrolled in the class. Those students then assume a name of someone enrolled in the class to get past the teacher's waiting room and are immediately disruptive, usually with profanity.
As fun as playing cat and mouse with students can be, I think we have finally built a better mousetrap to ensure that virtual meetings are secure, regardless of whether you use Zoom or Google Meet.
If you use Zoom to facilitate synchronous remote learning, you can require students to "authenticate" (i.e. log in) to join Zoom meetings. This will give teachers a better handle on who exactly is attending class meetings and hold disruptive students accountable. Most likely, elementary teachers will not need to take this extra step, but secondary teachers may want to consider it to ensure the integrity of their virtual meetings. Check out the video below to learn how to require your students to authenticate to join Zoom meetings AND require them to use their WG gmail address.
Require "Authentication" to Join Zoom Meetings
View the video below to see the student POV, showing how to log in to an "authenticated" Zoom meeting with a school Google account. Feel free to share this link with students to show them what to do.
Sign in with Google to Join a Zoom Meeting: Student POV
Zoom Usage Reports: Review Meeting Attendance
To review your Zoom meeting attendance, you can generate usage reports. Learn how in the video below.
If you decide to connect with student via Google Meet, you can set up a link within Google Classroom. For the sake of meeting security, please note that the only students who can join a meeting are those who are enrolled in that Classroom (unless the teacher decides to invite outsiders separately). Students are unable to join a Meet unless the teacher starts the meeting first. To ensure that no students are able to rejoin the meeting unsupervised, the teacher should be the last person to exit the Meet. Learn how to use Google Meet within Google Classroom via the video below.
What if you had to teach remotely on short notice? I asked our Team Remote teachers to share what they have learned so far. Check out their advice in the Padlet board embedded below.
The next Superintendent's Conference Day is scheduled for the afternoon of Friday, October 16th. Many of you will be collaborating with your grade-level and subject area colleagues and catching up on planning for remote, hybrid, and in-person learning. If you are interested in learning more about the Flipped Classroom approach to teaching and learning, you are welcome to work you way through a Flipped Learning HyperDoc I put together. You will have the opportunity to
explore some Flipped Learning resources to wrap your head around the concept
learn how to use some of the instructional technology tools that can support Flipped Learning
design a flipped lesson that you would like to use with your students (and eventually share it with them)
reflect on your Flipped lesson
connect with the Flipped Learning Network to collaborate with other Flipped Learning practitioners
There never seems to be enough time in the day to cover all of the content we would like to and interact with every student in meaningful ways. Throw into the mix the fact that we are running hybrid and remote classes amid a global pandemic and the challenge becomes even greater. If you had the gift of time, how would you use it differently to help students learn?
According to Melanie Kitchen, Instructional Technology and Staff Development Coordinator at Erie 1 BOCES, educators can meet the challenge of teaching during a pandemic by adapting their approach to instructional design in the following ways:
Teacher Collaboration is More Important than Ever
working closely with specialists to make sure lessons and materials meet the needs of all students
partnering with others in our content areas to plan instruction
working together on cross-curricular projects
dividing up all the things all students need (like digital citizenship) among teachers on a team or grade level so students aren't doing the same lessons over and over and our work isn't duplicated
"Face-to-Face" Time Should be used for Active Learning
Online instruction is made up largely of asynchronous instruction, which students can access at any time.
Keep direct instruction, things like brief video lectures and readings, in asynchronous form, using checks for understanding like embedded questions or exit tickets.
Use synchronous meetings for more interactive, engaging work
Consider establishing "campfire groups"--permanent groups of about four students that stay together for long periods of time, allowing students to get to know each other better and establish more trust.
Small group strategies might include the following:
Hybrid/Remote instruction is not conducive to covering large amounts of content so teaches will have to choose wisely, teaching the essential standards at a slower pace.
Some questions to consider:
What really holds leverage for the students? What has endurance? What knowledge is essential?
What knowledge and skills do students need to have before they move to the next grade level or the next class?
What practices can be emphasized that transfer across many content areas? Skills like analyzing, constructing arguments, building a strong knowledge base through texts, and speaking can all be taught through many different subjects.
What tools can serve multiple purposes? Teaching students to use something like Padlet gives them opportunities to use audio, drawing, writing, and video. Non-digital tools can also work: Students can use things they find around the house, like toilet paper rolls, to fulfill other assignments, and then submit their work with a photo.
Instructions Should be Easy to Find, Explicit, and Multimodal
Provide instructions in a consistent location and at a consistent time. Set up lessons so that students know where to find instructions every time.
Make instructions explicit. Read and re-read to make sure these are as clear as possible. Make dogfooding your lessons a regular practice to root out problem areas.
Offer multimodal instructions. If possible, provide both written and video instructions for assignments, so students can choose the format that works best for them. You might also offer a synchronous weekly or daily meeting; what’s great about doing these online is that even if you teach several sections of the same class per day, students are no longer restricted to class times and can attend whatever meeting works best for them.
Emphasize Feedback
Put the emphasis on formative feedback as students work through assignments and tasks, rather than simply grading them at the end.
Use Private Comments in Google Classroom so students can see your feedback and engage in a conversation about their work.
Feedback should be frequent and specific.
Provide pathways for students and parents to give YOU feedback on assignments as well.
Summative Assessment Should Focus on Creation
In online learning, there are so many ways students can cheat. A great solution to this problem is to have students create things like videos, podcasts, art, writing pieces, comics, etc.
For assessment, ue a detailed rubric that highlights learning goals that the end product will demonstrate
Help students discover tools to work with. Feel free to share the Creation Tools Cheat Sheet to offer students choices.
