Online Programming for Community & Engagement

*Reposted from Monday, January 11, 2020

Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider.  

This week’s Mantra is:

As I work with educators I am finding that it can be easy to get hyper-fixated on a particular tool (Teams, Seesaw, Forms, etc). This focus can create a tunnel-vision where educators are only seeing the features of that particular tool and end up designing their lessons around that tool rather than focusing on pedagogy and how particular tools can help address their learning goals.

Even though our teaching environment may shift from the classroom to student homes, our focus still needs to center on pedagogy and what we know about the developmental learning needs of our students.

• Discussion with Others
  • Do your learners have opportunities to speak directly with you? (not just watch along with a video lesson) (text and audio)
  • Do your learners have opportunities to speak directly with their peers? (social communication plays a huge role both in engagement but also content understanding)
  • Do your learners have opportunities to work with experts on particular topics? (video guests)
• Local Context
  • Learning and understanding should not occur in isolation
  • Do you learners have opportunities to transfer their understanding to various situations?
  • Can they use their understanding within the context of their home environment? their community?
• Independent Reflection
  • Have you guided your students through how to effectively complete work independently?
  • Do they have opportunity to reflect on their own work? Complete, fail, and rework their understanding without penalty?
  • Are their options for independent practice?
• Manipulate Items
  • The use of a screen for content deliver and interaction should not equate to 100% use of a screen
  • Do your students have an opportunity to:
    • read hard-copy texts
    • physical write
    • create 3D items
• Showcase Understanding
  • How can your students share their understanding with you?
  • Do they have opportunities to: answer through typed/written responses, record an audio explanation, film a video demonstration, create a model, etc

What would you add to this list? Do you feel that your online/remote instruction still allows for these options?