On this episode we take a critical look at what #VirtualLearning has exposed good and bad about education. Our goal continues to be to provide take aways for now and later. We will discuss things that need to be tossed when we return to school and things that need to stick around.

On this week's episode we share our thoughts, feelings, and reflections on our first full week of remotely educating our students from home. We take a look at what's worked and what struggles we're having during this time.

In this episode we address some very pressing teacher needs. What do you do with many days of virtual learning in a row? Remotely educated students have very different needs. Our conversation starts with what to do if your district is not so fortunate to be 1:1 in the tech world. We then share some go to tech and ideas to maximize learning when the teacher is not directly present. This is a difficult but potentially valuable task.

School Closings due to Health Related Emergencies

Here we are in a crazy time. In attempt to flatten the curve and manage the transmission of COVID-19 many schools across the country have closed for 14+ days. For many this is around spring break and thus lessening the unplanned burden on families and teachers. For others there is no good time for this to happen. We are placed in an awkward situation trying to prove our classroom value in a rather difficult to manage situation of delivering quality instruction to our students remotely for 2-3 weeks.

Equity is an Issue

In our districts we are fortunate to be 1:1. Our districts have made arrangements to provide Wifi hotspots for students without internet, which is actually a small number. Not so many areas of the country are as fortunate. Expecting a teacher to deliver through technology may not be a luxury. We also worry about those who depend on school for breakfast and lunch. Its been heartwarming to see the many companies step up to provided assistance for those in need. I just saw a tweet where a local cable company is offering free internet for families without.

No Tech Ideas

What it really comes down to, we must just do the best we can. If given the preparation you may need to put together a packet or documents to guide the students. Maybe there is a way to communicate to the families, but the consistent use of tech is not. This packet may be the only option. There is the possibility of designing a bingo board. Maybe including measuring your room or reading for 20 minutes.

Another approach is to emphasize reinforcement of skills. At this point of the year we've taught our students many things. What can we go back to in our curriculum that can be emphasized? Without instruction we worry about poor practice without the opportunity to provide quality feedback. At least in the short term, "Reinforce the things they already know, skill building and sustaining the knowledge they already got rather than building on it." For the long run we can work to build some virtual instruction than can then work toward new learning targets and goals.

Non-Negotiables for Virtual Learning

It can't just be something to do: Maybe write a rationale to show the purpose. Something similar in the "real" classroom should be practice anyway, but communicate why they are completing what they are. Reasonable amount of work time: We operate in classperiods from anywhere from 45 minutes to 70 minutes. Expecting the kids to replicate a 7-8 workday is crazy talk. 30 minutes is plenty for each class. Afterall this might still be a 3-4 hour day depending on the requirements of other classes. We are thinking a 10-20 breakdown. Start with instruction, a video, a podcast, etc. for 10 minutes. After that assign 20 minutes of work, note-taking, writing, processing, etc.Accountability: We have to be sure that they are doing what we asked them to do or we lose the potential value in these virtual days. In our district we are using these daily checks as evidence to count the students present or absent. We are also hosting Google Hangouts during "office hours." We have a district wide 2-hour window when all teachers are available. Canvas or Google Classroom/Docs are great for electronic turn-in and feedback.

This week's episode is a conversation with Eric Nelson, creator of FanSchool. FanSchool is a platform that gamifies world politics and increases global competence through a fantasy sports type competition. This is an incredibly engaging tool to engage students in world and nation news. It offers games that interact with states, countries or even US congressman. It is definitely worth the time to consider and even pass along if it does not fit your classroom. We enjoy it because it doesn't have to dominate your class time, but is a great reference for talking about the happenings around the world. Or as Eric says in the interview, "If I was the distributor of news to my students, they were not as interested in it."

On this episode we take a look at what is a bit of a new revelation to us as teachers. It is definitely something that should've been (it might've been) explained to us in our teaching education. This revelation is the concept of effective note taking. Furthermore it is less the focus on what is written and more on what we have the students do with it after it is written. This is where the episode gets its namesake. After note-taking or any learning for that matter, some sort of processing must be done. This must be done in many repetitions to avoid what is sometimes referred to as the curve of forgetting.

On this week's episode we converse on some equitable ways to welcome a student into your classroom especially in the middle of the year. The statistics on student mobility are just as shocking as the experiences that are causing students to move; some necessary, some unfortunate. We will share some easy strategies to help that student become a learner among your learners.

In this episode 30, Luke considers the possibility of pursuing his National Board Certification. In this discussion, Tom, who is NBCT and a certification cohort leader gives his best sales pitch on why this is something all teachers should do and do it now.

Episode 29 shares our thoughts on creating plans for a substitute teacher that will ensure success in your classroom while you are away. We share some of our secrets and discuss some potential dos and don't that may go onto your plans. After listening to this, you will deserve a day off. Luckily we got you covered with these recommendations.

In this timely episode as we come to the end of the 1st semester, we share our 5 keys to writing the perfect parent email. We share some strategies to be sure we infuse empathy, concern, compliment and even gratitude into even the most difficult to write email. (*disclaimer: a phone call home will always be better*)

On our first episode of this new calendar year, we share our favorite ways to get kids engaged into high quality discussions centered around your classroom content.