This is not genuine, you might have read it elsewhere on how to keep in touch during a pandemic or maintain the relationship with your students remotely, something like that. I consider the articles I have read interesting and perhaps I should record my thoughts on it. I will link the articles I have referred to by the end of the post.
What does it suggest, holding hearts?
In our tangible classroom, we meet and greet our students. We project emotions; we anticipate responses and we expect feedback. The same goes for online learning. However, emotions are not clearly expressed by emoji and words, let alone being felt. And feedback...
Let's retrace our steps. Before the tasks are assigned, what did we do? Did we merely instruct? Did we give orders? Or simply just a hand over of task?
We have to understand that the transition from school to home is not easy, let alone is not an enjoyable one. Our students might have a myriad of things to do at home before possessing the time to attend to their learning. They might barely receive the support they require from their parents to accomplish their tasks. Overwhelming!
I think it is not too late to consider this. To hold their hearts. To let them know that we are here, and we care. We care so much about their mental well being, about their challenges and their learning in this new environment.
So here go, three ways you can hold your students' heart.
In Malaysia, we have a programme called "Guru Penyayang" or simply Loving Teacher programme. One of the initiatives is to greet students upon arrival. To wish them a great day ahead and to acknowledge their presence at school on that day. A similar principle goes for a remote classroom. We can say hi, or simply share our morning in a one-minute video. It comforts the students to identify that their teacher is there, ready and accessible for learning to take place.
Make the effort to call students sometimes, to talk to them and see how they are doing. We can focus the conversation on their daily life so that we can understand their learning challenges. It can be a one-to-one conversation or a small group video call, it depends. Just checking on them like we habitually do at school.
Instead of having them perform the task you have given, how about them assigning you something? Or have a class challenge out of the school task? For example, showcasing secret talent, learning a song then performing together online or a photo contest? Students are creative, they can throw you a challenge without much thought. The key point is to have fun together.
As promised, these are the articles I've read.
7 Ways to Maintain Relationships During Your School Closure by Sarah Gonser
4 ways COVID-19 could change how we educate future generations
How to stay creative and keep your family sane during lockdown – from one of the world’s best teachers
What does it suggest, holding hearts?
In our tangible classroom, we meet and greet our students. We project emotions; we anticipate responses and we expect feedback. The same goes for online learning. However, emotions are not clearly expressed by emoji and words, let alone being felt. And feedback...
Let's retrace our steps. Before the tasks are assigned, what did we do? Did we merely instruct? Did we give orders? Or simply just a hand over of task?
We have to understand that the transition from school to home is not easy, let alone is not an enjoyable one. Our students might have a myriad of things to do at home before possessing the time to attend to their learning. They might barely receive the support they require from their parents to accomplish their tasks. Overwhelming!
I think it is not too late to consider this. To hold their hearts. To let them know that we are here, and we care. We care so much about their mental well being, about their challenges and their learning in this new environment.
So here go, three ways you can hold your students' heart.
1. To broadcast good morning video every school day.
In Malaysia, we have a programme called "Guru Penyayang" or simply Loving Teacher programme. One of the initiatives is to greet students upon arrival. To wish them a great day ahead and to acknowledge their presence at school on that day. A similar principle goes for a remote classroom. We can say hi, or simply share our morning in a one-minute video. It comforts the students to identify that their teacher is there, ready and accessible for learning to take place.
2. Make a video call.
Make the effort to call students sometimes, to talk to them and see how they are doing. We can focus the conversation on their daily life so that we can understand their learning challenges. It can be a one-to-one conversation or a small group video call, it depends. Just checking on them like we habitually do at school.
3. Connect with their world.
Instead of having them perform the task you have given, how about them assigning you something? Or have a class challenge out of the school task? For example, showcasing secret talent, learning a song then performing together online or a photo contest? Students are creative, they can throw you a challenge without much thought. The key point is to have fun together.
As promised, these are the articles I've read.
7 Ways to Maintain Relationships During Your School Closure by Sarah Gonser
4 ways COVID-19 could change how we educate future generations
How to stay creative and keep your family sane during lockdown – from one of the world’s best teachers
As the MCO dawns its third week on Malaysian, teachers are looking for alternatives to teach remotely. As expected, we turn faithfully to social media to help us in this quest. Countless platform to explore with an endless array of materials to choose from, do create excitement (initially?), then confusion (which one?) and anxiety (oh my god, oh my god!).
Digital Classroom provided by the ministry may help to reduce this anxiety (or so I hope) by grouping the noteworthy educational apps that teachers can use in its platform. I will not get on to that, but you can check out my previous post here and here.
What I wish to cover in this post is how teachers can use WhatsApp to facilitate learning. Yes, you read it right, the WhatsApp. Based on my survey for teachers in my district, it is the most popular social media platform I can't assume for the whole of Malaysia, but if you ask around, everybody is into it.
1. Create a focus group.
To ensure the success of the learning and efficient delivery, first, we must set up a focus group. The focus group might be according to the proficiency level, interest or outcomes desired. While it is easy to just disseminate instruction and tasks in a larger group, but as a conventional classroom, there will be backbenchers and it will be harder to spot them in an online setting.
2. Set the learning objectives.
You must have a sense of direction in your TnL. Discussions need to stay in its course amid the emojis and all other noises. At the end of the interaction, it will be easier for both teachers and learners to evaluate the outcome of the session and take further action.
3. Assign one task at a time.
It is helpful when one task is being given at a particular time. It helps learners to maintain focus on the content as well as the discussion. The teacher may set a time frame for a task to complete its cycle before proceeding to the next task.
4. Tag students when replying.
It is important to highlight feedback to students. Using the reply feature is not enough when you have many students that have the same problem. Tagging them to the feedback you made serve to alert them and point out to things that require their attention. Tag also useful when highlighting achievement, conveying praises and acknowledging hard work.
5. Mind the language.
Never forget to cultivate good language used (I don't mean just grammatically correct sentence) and observing manners. Apart from teaching the content of a subject, teachers must instill good values in their learners all the time. Reality check...I know in some ESL classrooms, mixed-used languages do occur, but we might want to keep it to the minimum. We would like WhatsApp to become not only a tool for learning to take place but also for learning to take its place.
While there are issues concerning students' engagement and internet connectivity, I think teachers' efforts are all that matter. We must not think that our effort goes to waste, but rather as an investment to our questions bank and personal growth as an online tutor. After all, the ministry has long encouraged the use of online learning as a tool to educate and don't you think that NOW is the right time?
I attended a Digital Classroom workshop recently, and I find it interesting to note that a lot of Malaysian Teachers are getting into digitizing their TnL. These are some of the apps reviewed during the workshop which I find useful in the classroom. Overall I find using digital tools in your teaching and learning will engage the learners today.
On the flip side, you need to think of how to use these technologies towards achieving the aspiration of the National Education Philosophy. In the midst of our bundles of gadget and gizmos, we might overlook this matter as we are tangled in stuffs and stuck in trends! Read more on how to use technologies and incorporating what matters in these notes from Microsoft. Caution: You will need some time to read and ponder upon the content, but hey, it is worth the trouble.
I have also used other apps for coaching my teachers. Check out this post.
Apps on the computer
One Note
Draw board PDF
Quiz maker-Quizizz
Random Name Picker
Fish Bone Diagram
Time Line Maker
Classroom Screen
Apps on the phone
Xodo Docs
Textfairy
Air More
Aurasma
Textfairy
Zoom
....and there are countless on the internet and trust me, you can't keep up as these app makers are keen on reviewing our needs! Be strong, review some, evaluate its purpose and adapt it into your classroom.
What are you waiting for, give it a try, and you will see some smiling faces in your class!
....and there are countless on the internet and trust me, you can't keep up as these app makers are keen on reviewing our needs! Be strong, review some, evaluate its purpose and adapt it into your classroom.
What are you waiting for, give it a try, and you will see some smiling faces in your class!
