Teachers: The COVID-19 pandemic and Alternative Learning Opportunities
You are a hero. In the past few weeks, many of you switched to an entirely different learning model. Some of you may have journeyed from tip-toeing into using technology in the classroom to full integration as your students shifted to government-mandated learning at home full-time with very little time for schools to prep.
Technology has been an important factor in my own academic success. I wasn’t always the best student. I’ve earned a D and C’s in elementary and junior high school, even though I'd been tested into my school’s gifted and talented program. Once I had computer access and was supported by teachers who let me go to the computer lab to work on my assignments, I started producing amazing work, and my grades increased dramatically.
The forced quick, increased technology adoption due to COVID-19 is an opportunity to help students develop useful skills needed for continued learning and collaboration in college, the workforce, and entrepreneurship. The following are examples of how employing personalized, alternative learning models can benefit from the use of technology.
Think-Pair-Share Learning and Group Learning. Students learn better by articulating their ideas to others. Also, students doing well in the classroom can help students who are having challenges. This learning will reinforce what is learned through traditional classroom instruction while potentially freeing up your time. Students can use Google’s G-Suite (Google’s free, online Microsoft Office alternative) to collaborate outside of class on their projects now that one-to-one computers are more common. Additionally, they can simultaneously share and collaborate online within the same documents without anyone’s work being lost. Using G-Suite and other cloud-based tools ensures that students are working on the latest versions of their shared files. Collaborating using a video conferencing tool such as Hangouts would also be useful.
Project-Based Learning. Outside of school, work usually is often completed as a project and involves critical thinking. With project-based learning, students aren’t just memorizing facts, but they are presented with a question or real-life problem to solve and are encouraged to collaborate to come up with a solution. One of the first things I have coached budding engineers and interns on is learning to present and sell your ideas confidently. What better way to facilitate collaboration than using Google Workspace, which is the same tools that professionals use in the workforce? Additionally, tools such as Canva for Education allow students to use their creativity to showcase their solutions. They will also learn to work in the cloud, with backups of their work. So many students and professionals have contacted me over the years about losing work due to a hard-drive crash, computer ransomware infection, or a damaged flash drive.
Tiered Lessons. Have a basic assignment and then a challenging reach assignment for students that finish the basic assignment early. You can create a minimum, base assignment and students who finish early can spend extra time polishing their presentations with animations and graphics or make them more interactive.
Flipped Learning. I am more of a visual learner than an auditory learner, so I love having the option to read ahead before a class so that some of the topics sink in better. Teachers can use Google Sites to create Google Workspace documents or project-based websites to share resources, which can include YouTube videos or links to other websites. Also, students won’t be stumped by losing printed paper resources, which will allow them to work more efficiently. If everything is in Google Classroom, you won’t have to spend time doing individualized communication with a student who may have missed class due to an emergency.
We’d love to hear your feedback on how you use technology to enhance your classroom instruction.