Video conferencing & distance learning ideas to liven up lockdown

Structure your video conferences, or Zoom chats, to avoid audio issues and big groups. Get creative with forms and polls and shared cloud documents where productive discussions can take place. Create a system of ‘thumbs up if you have a question’ or other hand signals to avoid too much chatter. If you are using Zoom, get friendly with the ‘mute all’ and ‘unmute’ functions.

Teachers can use video conferencing tools to host optional small group #instruction sessions, #discussion & conferencing! https://t.co/yF5TwlPZnS #remotelearning #remoteteaching #edchat #adminchat #TOSAchat #education #satchat pic.twitter.com/aKjcy0RHaY

— Catlin Tucker (@Catlin_Tucker) March 28, 2020

Unsurprisingly teachers are finding it difficult to deliver a synchronous timetable. Please think carefully about your approaches. I hope that this little infographic helps.#RemoteLearning #DistanceLearning #HomeLearning #edtech #elearning #edutwitter pic.twitter.com/lEa9ihRMTG

— ✨ Mark Anderson ✨ (@ICTEvangelist) March 25, 2020

Consider hosting a Zoom or Skype meeting with parents to clue them in on what their children can do while e-learning and what parents shouldn’t expect. The last thing families need is to feel overwhelmed by trying to recreate a classroom environment in their homes, and many parents will be totally unfamiliar with the curriculum anyway. Managing expectations at home will dramatically help your learners engage and mitigate anxiety. 

Held a zoom meeting with our parents tonight, walking them though google classroom, assignments and so much more. They were very appreciative. @NISDMurnin #distancelearning #NISDathome @ambermfreeman pic.twitter.com/hHqWozxrr6

— Olivia Ramirez (@oliviaram_17) March 31, 2020

Set yourself up with a work zone! The environment you are working in will model how your learners set up their own work environments. This could be a good task to set. Having a specific space at home for e-learning will help with ‘transition time’ so you and your learners can mentally prepare for teaching/learning and find it easier to focus. 

My little classroom for the next ?? Days! #distancelearning @4EarlyChildhood @NjohnsonPierce Welcome Students! pic.twitter.com/Bx7kDx7X7d

— Christina Perez (@cperez11111) March 31, 2020

How cute is TRay in his little homemade classroom 😍📚🖍 #distancelearning pic.twitter.com/5bLa0nPzoU

— Sarah Moraida (@S_Moraida) March 31, 2020

Encourage your class community to maintain productive social bonds. Teachers online have been encouraging students to share photos of their pets and log activities they are doing at home to keep active or practice self-care. There are different apps and tools that allow this but it could also just be the first thing you talk about during a video call. Accountability is a powerful tool when warding off distraction and if students know they need to share what they did for their daily exercise or activity they will be less likely to spend an extra 10 minutes playing Animal Crossing!

I had my kiddos make a @Flipgrid video showing what they are doing to stay active while quarantining! They are making super creative responses from full on workout routines, to walks with pets, to chasing little siblings #distancelearning #tusdTHRIVES pic.twitter.com/q2RNGobaxZ

— Alicia Fortier (@Miss4TA) March 31, 2020

This one goes without saying but make use of all the new resources at your disposal on Google Classroom or whatever software your school uses. They tend to have handy student task ideas and teacher wellbeing advice too. 

Google Classroom is so much more than just a worksheet machine! Check out these student task ideas for teachers.
via @LadyWesner and @TeachLearnInnovate #remotelearning #onlinelearning #distancelearning
Doc can be downloaded here:https://t.co/7b059tJ254 pic.twitter.com/kcS3ijewQf

— Lee Araoz (@LeeAraoz) March 30, 2020

Finally, remember this too shall pass! It’s a wildly challenging time for everyone but maybe this lockdown will stop us all from taking the little things for granted when we return. School communities are a little bit (maybe a lot!) in mourning at the moment  for lost routine, connection, and some children have even lost their safe space in school. We need to do everything we can to keep lines of communication open and reach out to one another. 

I miss my kids. I miss our daily banter and fist bumps. I miss being made fun of for my lame attempts at being a comedian. I miss giving my ‘teacher look’. I just miss my kids. #distancelearning pic.twitter.com/EMvWhdXwML

— Tanna Stansfield (@Tanna10) March 30, 2020