What shifts need to be made when transitioning from face-to-face teaching practices to online learning? In this session we explored best practices with regard to community building, communication, and instructional design for supporting successful blended and online learning environments.

Establishing a positive classroom culture and community is important no matter the learning environment, but it is even more critical to their success for students to feel connected in blended and online learning environments. In this session, we explored tools and strategies for fostering and supporting meaningful connections between all classroom community members. 

Helping our students transition to a new learning management system (LMS) and actually engaging with online learning will surely pose some unique challenges, but the idea of a “virtual classroom” can help bridge the gap between cyberspace and the brick and mortar school. Virtual classrooms become a consistent, easy to navigate place for students (and parents) to easily get to assigned work and important announcements using fun graphics in a visual format. In this session, we dove deep into the new trend of interactive “Bitmoji Virtual Classrooms” that can be embedded right into the Schoology LMS.  

One of the most effective ways to move instruction online is to create asynchronous lessons with instructional videos. In this session, we examined best practices and explored screencasting tools for creating instructional videos. We also looked at different options for packaging digital asynchronous lessons, incorporating student accountability as well as formative assessment.  

In order for students to be successful in a blended or online learning environment, they must receive a steady flow of quality formative feedback. It is important for students to know exactly where they stand in their progress toward achieving personal learning goals and have guidance about where more work is needed. In this session, we examined tools and strategies that can be used to efficiently and effectively provide feedback to students.  

Research tells us that engagement and student agency positively impact student learning, but how do we do that in a blended or online learning environment? Universal Design for Learning and Choice! In this session we explored and share ways to encourage student agency and engagement through learning styles and choice.   

Start the school year off right by introducing Smart Starts in the first few weeks. Smart Starts are activities designed to help members of your classroom community get to know each other quickly so that meaningful relationships can be established. At the same time, they also introduce students to important tech skills and specific lesson frames called EduProtocols that can be used to deliver infinite learning possibilities throughout the school year! In this session, we tried out some popular Smart Starts.  

EduProtocols are customizable, student-centered lesson frames that use your content, no matter the grade or subject area, to put learning in the hands of the learners. As students master the protocols, they will also be mastering academic content with very little prep time from you! In this session, we explored some of the most popular protocols and how they can be used in a variety of learning settings.   

Don’t get stuck in the rut of using the same old, worn out ways for students to show their thinking. Leverage video response technology to provide a new way for students to make their thinking and learning visible. In this session, we examined innovative ways that Flipgrid and Screencastify can amplify student voice and provide fresh new ways to demonstrate learning.   

We know how Pear Deck works to engage learners in a traditional brick and mortar classroom environment, but how might this innovative tool be used to engage students in blended and online learning too? In this session, we examined ways that Pear Deck can be leveraged for both synchronous and asynchronous lessons in less traditional learning settings.   

Empower all students to succeed in any learning environment--face-to-face, blended, or online with the magical tools of Read&Write. Using the magic of Read&Write (R&W) your students can independently access material,complete written assignments, collect and define vocabulary words, collect notes from various resources. Learn how these tools can be used in your instruction to promote student learning and success.