Remote Learning - Reflections

It's been over 2 months since I last stepped into my classroom, since I physically saw my students, since the world as we knew it changed.

If I could go back to March 13 knowing what I know now, I would change so many things.  I would not have spent time reviewing for a test, I would have just enjoyed sharing the same space with my students without fear and anxiety of one of us contracting an illness from proximity.

But that world is gone for now.  I don't know what the future holds, but I think it's safe to say that in August, my classroom will look different than it ever has before.  I am hopeful that we will be able to return like a typical August, but I also think that will be a short-lived experience.  so many logistal issues... how to handle the hallways?  lunchtime?  Do I sanitize my classroom between every hour?  How do I fit 30+ students in my room?  How will my pedagogy change if I can't have students working in groups?  How will we screen thousands of kids every day? 

It's overwhelming.  

But I also know I can't stick my head in the sand and pretend it's not happening.  We have to prepare for several contingency plans and every day, when we leave our classrooms, the thought will be, "Did I grab everything I need in case we are teaching from home tomorrow?"

So with that thought, yesterday I posted a tweet and holy moly, the responses are STILL pouring in.

Read the entire thread here

From the thread, I'm really eager to learn about some of the technologies that people shared, but I wanted to answer the question as well.  I personally had two pieces of edTech that I found useful:

Most Valuable Program - Desmos

To be honest, Desmos totally saved the day for me with Remote Learning.  Because I could embed images and videos, ask formative assessment questions, do card sorts, ask for and give feedback, Desmos truly became the Remote Learning Platform of choice.

Student response re: Desmos Learning

As the weeks progressed, I explored more self-checking aspects and how to use computational layer (CL), the Desmos programming code.  Desmos allowed me to keep a lot of the same feel as I have in the face-to-face classroom but move it online.  I loved the Desmos Starter Screens and developed some of mine own to mix it up a bit.

In the face-to-face classroom, I can see Desmos being used a lot for formative assessment and my traditional card sorts

Honorable Mention - Google Quizzes

I used Google Quizzes mainly with my AP students as a way to submit their Free Response practice and give them feedback

Each week, I would send out a link to the Google Quiz and students would submit a photo of their work.  I would split my monitor into two browser windows - one to display the photos and one for me to type in the feedback.  In later weeks, there was also a small notepad document on the right where I could copy/paste common feedback comments.  I was able to give detailed feedback and scoring much quicker than if I were grading by hand, but it still took several hours in general.  

In the face to face classroom, I see myself using this a lot with a QR code on the screen for students to use their phones to quickly submit photos of their work for feedback while still being able to retain a copy for themselves instead of waiting for me to return a paper.

Looking to the Future

Who knows what next year might bring.  I know it will look different, but I don't know *how* different, and I need to use this summer to think through some of those possibilities.  What I do know is that the past 6 weeks were not how I hoped to end the year, but I learned a ton about various tech tools and how to utilize them in a variety of structures.  I've had time to explore tools because it fit a need versus "hey, here's a cool idea!"  I think this pandemic will shift our educational system but it will also shift edTech by requiring programs to really dig into the pedagogy and practicality rather than to be flashy tools that look cool.

#MTBoS2020 - Change can be scary!

Earlier this month, I posted that one of my goals was to blog at least twice a month in 2020.  Thankfully, I ran across this tweet by Jennifer Fairbanks yesterday to help support my goal:

If you want to join the #MTBoS2020 blogging challenge, you can sign up here.


As for the rest of my goals, they are just rocking right along.  I've been able to keep up with my exercise goal and have mostly lost the weight I gained over the holidays.  And I've continued to email parents (although I need to do this weekend's emails still!).  So all in all, I'm considering this a win! :)


I had my students share some of their 2020 goals as well based on a tweet I saw over Winter Break.  It has really warmed my heart to read their responses, plus it just makes my room look awesome! :)

So on to some other changes in 2020...

When I left my classroom in December, I had a Promethean board with an overhanging projector and an aging Lenovo laptop.

When I returned in January, I had a 70" TV connected wirelessly to a Surface Pro.

I knew the TV was coming as my room is a pilot room for updated technology.  But it still caused a bit of anxiety as I figured out how to use it. :)  Overall, I've been pleasantly surprised at how well it works, although my students do miss the larger Promethean board, even though the picture wasn't as clear and the bulb was dimmer by the day.  The TV has a clear and crisp image, but due to the layout of my room, there's often a glare from the windows and the perspective angle is a bit challeging for some of the tables, but it's now been 2 weeks without any major snafu, so that's a win, right? :)

But school isn't the only place where change is happening...

At the homefront, our family is growing by one!

In early November, our eldest cat, Allie, passed away after living a very good and very long life.  Also during that time, our other cat, Kenzie, had been diagnosed with diabetes, so we were learning how to manage her illness and giving her 2 shots a day.

A few weeks ago, hubs decided he was ready to maybe look for another kitty to add to our home and had been casually looking at the various adoption sites.  Saturday morning, he sends me a picture of a kitty that had been taken in this week at Animal Welfare and he wanted to meet her while we were out running errands.  Thankfully, when we arrived, she was still available and this little darling will be coming home after her spay surgery later this week.  Isn't that face just adorable?? :)  She doesn't have a name yet, so suggestions welcomed!

But the biggest change / scary moment in my life is coming up in a few weeks when I will be travelling internationally for the first time in my life, plus I'll be travelling all alone.

In my "One Word" post a few weeks ago, I mentioned that my word this year was Courage because I need some courage to step out of my comfort zone and try new things. 

When I shared with my students about going out of the country for the first time, several students started sharing their best travel tips.  One of my students is a bit concerned about my safety while travelling alone and started a list of tips and hints on my whiteboard.  My personal favorite is to not get involved with the mob, mafia, or drug lords....:)  If you have tips to add, please drop them in the comments :)