Like a lot of teachers around the country right now, I'm spending a lot of time talking to black boxes with names on them. (also known as: teaching via Zoom).
It's disconcerting, even eerie sometimes, because rooms full of children are not generally quiet or still. It feels lonely, and at the same time, I feel a lot of pressure to be even more dynamic and enthusiastic and clever than ever before, like I've suddenly become a YouTube star, with a captive audience.
Teachers develop a lot of skill in reading body language . . .skill that doesn't serve us anymore when we cannot see the students. I feel suddenly blinded and deafened, lacking 2/3 of the information I usually use to engage a room full of kids.
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It's not really better if all your students turn on the cameras (which they may not be able/willing to do: camera function, limited bandwidth, privacy concerns, etc.) because then you have a wall of faces to try and read quickly, like the Brady Bunch on overdrive. Not nine faces, but more than thirty at a time in some classes.
By necessity, kids are spending a lot of time on mute because there is SO MUCH background noise, connection issues, feedback, and poor zoom meeting etiquette going on, that they *have* to be muted just to keep the whole thing from devolving into chaotic white noise.
Don't get me wrong. This is better than not having any semblance of live meeting time. Last spring, during our sudden shut down, there were kids I NEVER HEARD FROM AGAIN, despite all the ways I tried to reach out: email, LMS system, phone calls, snail mail . . .especially once the state decided to remove external accountability in terms of grades and testing.
But still, how do we engage kids? Here's what I've been trying:
1. Use ALL the interactive tools the software offers.
For me, in Zoom, that means asking kids to type responses in the chat box, use reactions, put up different symbols in the participation box, polls, popping links into the chat to outside apps, and (to the extent possible) unmute in turns and speak aloud.
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2. Keep track
Teaching has always been partly about record-keeping and documentation to some extent, but I'm finding it extra important to keep good notes: Who didn't show up for Zoom? Who showed up but was unresponsive? Who is not completing the assignments?
I only "see" my students twice a week under our current plan (the other days are asynchronous online learning), so I have to pounce as soon as a kid begins to fall behind or it's going to get dire quickly.
I have a standing policy right now of emailing kids who don't show up for Zoom right after the class ends and asking them to update me on what's going on. I'm getting good responses to that, and it's helping with the relationship piece because the kids know that I noticed they weren't there and I care about why and want to help.
3. Give options:
Don't rely on a single path to show understanding. Technology is wonky, so you always need alternatives, other ways that kids can show that they "get" what you need them to "get" even if their microphones don't work or they have to come to class with their baby brother on their laps.
I'm building as much differentiation, scaffolding, and enrichment into every assignment as I can. Whatever I provide live, I also provide asynchronously, making instructional videos, presentations, etc. available through our LMS (Learning Management System, in this case: Canvas).
Due to privacy concerns, we can't record and share our in-person classes, but I can record a brief lecture giving the same information without the interactivity and it's good for reference, backup, and review.
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4. Balance flexibility and accountability:
Where there's a will, there's a way, right? So, it's up to me to help my students develop persistence (or grit!) and not give up when they hit an obstacle.
Communication is key for this: reaching out to find out what's in the way, and doing my best to remove or mitigate those obstacles.
Kids still HAVE TO DO IT, even if they need alternative ways to do so. Some obstacles are external and others internal, but all can be overcome if only we don't give up.
Luckily, I'm darn stubborn. :-)
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