Integrating Annotating & Screenrecording Simultaneously in Distance Learning

If Only. These words seem to pass my mind more and more each day as we continue down the path of distance learning. If only I had grabbed my document camera and ten other things from my classroom.  If only that student didn't miss that Zoom lesson when I explained that question in depth.  If only I could adequately explain these steps clearly to the student when they can't see what I am referring to on their page at that moment.  If only I could get the right angle or keep the camera straight while trying to record something for my kids. If only I could write neater and meet the time limit when I screen record my computer. If only there were a way to deal with all of these problems that continue to arise. Well, lucky for you- there is! The solution is on the tips of our fingers-literally! With the pairing of screen recording, digital documents (photos, pdfs, internet), and your unique teaching style on your apple device- you have just created your smartboard on the go. I loved screen recording my laptop screen, but hated how my writing was so awful you couldn't tell what I was doing. Now you can annotate and create mini-lessons/ explanations to support your students straight from your phone. Trust me its easier than it seems!

Reclaiming Your Teacher Voice in Remote learning

One lesson that distance learning has taught me is how much I genuinely miss getting in front of the class each day and teaching. I loved being able to put my unique spin on how I would teach kids or what I want them to understand. In a sense, I feel like I have lost a bit of that- sure everything I assign shows who I am but usually its other videos or links that are teaching the concept-not me. I can't tell you how many times I have searched for videos and can't find one that has EVERYTHING I wanted to say, or I can't find one at all that I think would help my students with a specific problem. These are the moments that I wish that I could be teaching them- without any time constraints or fear that my writing wouldn't look nice. Learn how to change that by watching the video to start. 

Annotate? Screenrecord? or BOTH! 

As you can see you have the option of doing one of the other or both. If you would just like to annotate- simply just take a picture or share your document afterwards. A few ways to incorporate these skills during distance learning is:

• Using a students written response as a mentor text
• In detail explain the steps of a math problem
• Deeply explain the rubric that you have attached on your assignments
• Provide feedback on an exit ticket 
• Add a post to Class Dojo to better explains to parents and students how to navigate new information (I do this all the time-this is difficult if you do a screen recording on your laptop - works like a charm and helps parents who don't want to read a long post)
• Add feedback for a student on Class Dojo Portfolios
• Create your own mini lesson for whatever subject  you would like
• Record an already published video you want students to watch - and pause to clarify what students just watched in the video you may have linked
• Create a series of mini video recordings to form an iMovie and/or slideshow
• Teach students how to do this for more complicated problems that exceeds the Flipgrid time slot

This list exceeds far more than what I have written. So try it out- you won't be sorry! 

Lively Teaching

Jessica Magana

Balancing Life

I started this month thinking I would continue to blog about engagement. There are so many engaging resources out there that can help us to engage students during this different time. But the more I talked to my teacher friends, the more I realized we all need to learn more about balancing life. We are spending a lot of time at home, but many of us have our devices with us and are working from morning to evening. How are you balancing this new adventure? Do you feel overwhelmed? Many of us are trying to balance our own children, husbands, friends, families, and work-life. It's tough!

Prioritizing 

There are so many different ways we can prioritize our life and make sure we are balancing out the needs we have, our students have, and the needs of our family and friends. I know it will be hard at first but there will be some adjusting time. There will be a time where you will need to get comfortable with putting down your phone, your laptop, the tablet and walk away. It's okay to take time for family, they need you too! 

1. One thing at a time, with full presence.
• Focus on one thing at a time. Focus all of your attention. It might be beneficial to make a list, prioritize what you need to accomplish first and so on. It's okay to not get to everything on your list in one day. Give yourself a break, this is ALL new to everyone. 
2. Family and close friends at the top.
• During quarantine, a lot of us are mothers, husbands, wives, and pet owners. We have a lot of important people that need us on a daily basis. Family and friends are ALWAYS at the top. Make sure you set aside time to focus on your children, husband, wife, or friends. Not only for them, but because they make us truly happy. 
3. Focus on importance, not urgency.
• As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” Do yourself a favor and think about the difference between importance and urgency, think about your obligations, and do what is important first!
4. Keep your efforts aligned with your purpose.
• Your heart already knows. Listen to it. You know what makes you happy, you know what your students and families need, and most important you know what you need to do to accomplish your purpose. Follow your heart. 
5. Play to your strengths and delegate when it makes sense.
• Don't forget that we are in this TOGETHER. Don't be afraid to reach out to a colleague, ask for some help, or advice. We are all new to this and can learn from one another. It's okay not to know everything. We can all learn something from someone!
6. Socialize and share with peers.
• Did anyone say Zoom? This has been a time where everyone is interacting with each other through technology. But Zoom doesn't just have to be for those staff meetings, meetings with students, or professional developments. Take time to interact "face to face" with your friends and family. Make it fun! Happiness is truly the key to success. 
7. Give what you can, seek what you desire.
• As teachers, we always seem to want to give our students ALL that we have, and that is an amazing thing. But sometimes, especially at difficult times like this, we need to give what we can and give ourselves some credit. We can't give everyone our ALL or what would be left for us?
8. Leave the past behind as you plan ahead.
• This is definitely a learning time. Each week changes, new things pop up. We are trying lots of things, it's okay if everything doesn't work. Keep what worked and keep on pushing. Don't worry about the past, learn from it and move on!
9. Commit to self-respect, regardless of the issue at hand.
• NO negative talk. Ask yourself, "If I had a friend speak to me the way I speak to myself, how long would I allow that person to be my friend?" I can't say it enough, we are all in this together. This is NEW. It's okay to learn together, one day at a time. 
10. Leave room to breathe.
• Always find time for yourself. Find time to do something that makes you happy. A bike ride, a long walk, working out, or even just sitting in bed watching Netflix. Find time to be by yourself and appreciate who you are and what you do for so many people on a daily basis. Breathe!

I hope during this time you find time to really learn about yourself. How much you love your family and friends, how much you love your job, your students, and your colleagues. This is the time to really spend time thinking about how lucky we are to be in a position where we get to shut down for a while and spend time with the people we truly love! I know throughout this past month I have realized I really miss socializing at work, seeing my students' smiling faces, laughing at our weirdness, but I know this time will pass and that I need to step back and find all the positives throughout this situation. I know we can do this! We are in this TOGETHER!

Digital Brag Tags

It is hard to believe that we have been out of our classrooms for over a month now! I was able to go back into my classroom to pick up a few things last week and that's when it hit me, like running into a brick wall, that I wouldn't be getting my class back the way it was before. As I tried to quickly grab things from my room that I thought would help me teach from home, I was overwhelmed with sadness. I saw books that students were in the middle of reading on their desks, the tribute wall of paintings we had made to honor #24, the late Kobe Bryant. There was a pile of classwork that I planned on hanging up for Open House on my desk, the whiteboard still had table points listed and I couldn't help but cry. Thinking about that last day with my students I remembered how I tried to prepare them for a few weeks off. I told them it would kind of be like Winter Break. I was so hopeful that things would get back to normal. I don't think I ever dreamed that would be the last day in the classroom with my students.

Thankfully, it is not the end of our story. In the last few weeks, digital learning has been all over the place for me and my students. We have all learned a lot. After going back into my classroom I knew I wanted students to feel like we are still a class even though we aren't in the physical classroom. I want to recognize students for all the hard work they are doing. I want them to know how much I care about them and want them to succeed. I also wanted to figure out a way to keep students motivated. I thought about what works in the classroom and how I could translate that into a virtual classroom. I cam up with digital brag tags. I've used them before in my classroom, the students loved them I just needed to make them relevant to what students are doing now. So I came up with a couple of different brag tags. Today in our classroom Zoom meeting, I asked students to come up with suggestions too.

The plan is that I will give the brag tags out weekly to students on google classroom. The students will download the brag tag and insert it into a Time to Brag Google Slide. When they fill up a slide with Brag Tags that will mean they have earned a reward. I am thinking I might try to mail them something or maybe just have them come get a prize next school year. Either way, students are super excited about it. I have already seen a lot of them going back to last week's work so they can earn a brag tag for 100% completed work. The motivation so far is working! Here is a short video of what I did to get started.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L_K-rKBPszsnHsepDrlgAyeuJrYw1VhO/view

This is the link to the Time to Brag google slide I made. Feel free to use it if you like.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1PBd2tB32YVSNVXmRgZp4AKl6ITlYkmCp7t5FOEt2ed0/copy

Learning and Teaching With Grace, Alina

Distance Learning Restorative Circles

Distance Learning Restorative Circles

The best part of teaching first grade is the last trimester.  My students finally “get it."  They laugh at my jokes, they interact together, and they’re learning.  It’s a magical time and my favorite time to be a #firstgradeteacher. 

And suddenly, here comes 2020 and a worldwide pandemic.  Now we are distance teaching, and I MISS MY KIDS.  I miss their laughs, I miss their smiles, and I miss seeing their academic growth.  Yes, I can do distance learning, Dojo them all, and hold Zoom meetings, but it’s just not the same!

So if I’m feeling this way, I can imagine that my students are also going through a myriad of emotions right now.  How can I help my students (and myself) navigate through this challenging time?  It’s time for a Restorative Circle.  The difference is that we will be doing this circle in a Zoom meeting instead of face to face, and our “circle” will become a “grid” of all the students’ faces.

According to the International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP),  “a circle is a versatile restorative practice that can be used proactively, to develop relationships and build community or reactively, to respond to wrongdoing, conflicts and problems. Circles give people an opportunity to speak and listen to one another in an atmosphere of safety, decorum, and equality.”  

While a Circle has many benefits, I used my recent Circle for healing, support, and relationship development.  Specifically, I wanted to hear how my students were feeling and let them know they are not alone in their feelings, and that I am here to support them. 

Here's how I held my Long Distance Restorative Circe:  The first thing I did was set up a Zoom meeting and time, and sent out invitations.  I made sure all my students were muted upon entering so that I could go over the rules for our Distance Circle.  The same rules apply as in the classroom:

*only one person speaks at a time, everyone else listens

*we speak sequentially so that each child has a chance to share

*any child can pass if they do not wish to share, but at the end, I always go back to that child to offer them another opportunity to share once everyone else has expressed their feelings/opinions

*we always respect each other and our feelings/opinions

Since we consistently hold these meetings in the classroom, my students were familiar with my expectations.  Still, I felt it necessary to go over the rules again since this was a completely different learning environment. 


Once I had gone over my expectations, I explained that I would unmute one student at a time to answer the question "How are you feeling about distance learning and what are you doing at home?"  I also told them they could ask any questions of me they wanted. I also reminded my students that everyone on our Zoom could hear them, so if they had anything they wanted to share privately, they needed to Dojo me separate.  As I initiated this process, I was amazed to see that my students were nervous about speaking. They spoke quietly and did not have much to say.  My class usually is very open and honest about their feelings, and we have developed a close relationship where every student feels valued and free to speak their mind.  I realized this was a manifestation of their feelings of nervousness and insecurity about this new learning environment.  SO, I decided to run through the Circle TWICE!  The second time, it was evident that they began to feel more comfortable, and they talked and shared more.  In fact, no one passed.  The students were extremely attentive, even with all the background noises in some of the households.  Their feelings were clear, and they were full of stories and questions!

It was evident that they needed this!  Look at this picture and notice those happy faces!!  By the end of our Circle, we were all sharing stories and sharing our pets on Zoom (my puppy included). The kids were smiling, laughing, and happy.  The question I was asked the most was, “When can I go back to school?”  It broke my heart, but at the same time, it gave me hope that they were looking forward to going back to school. You’ll notice I only have 11 students on my Zoom. While this was disappointing, I learned that two of the students who didn’t attend had technical difficulties, and four more had parents who had to work at our designated Zoom time.  As for the last three students, I am having trouble connecting with them, despite all my efforts.  I will continue to try and reach out to them daily and hopefully, they will attend our next Zoom session.


I developed this wonderful relationship with my students this year, and it’s not time to let that go.  The Circle helped us connect and let the kids express their emotions in a safe environment.  It was easy, and it was fun.  I got a little bit of “my favorite time of the year to teach” back.  Not all of it, but it will have to do for now.  


Why not try a Distance Restorative Circle with your class?  If you would like to read more about circles, click here:

https://www.iirp.edu/defining-restorative/5-2-circles


I promise you will feel better if you do, and so will your students!

Teaching at a Distance,
Roni Weink

Diary of a Kindergarten Teacher and Coronavirus

I am still in disbelief that it has been 26 days since I last saw my kinders at school. That week was surreal for me. I started having flu-like symptoms on Saturday, March 7th. I could not sleep throughout the night. I was tossing and turning, slight fever, chills, nausea, dry heaving, headache, and body aches. I had some other symptoms, but that is TMI. I woke up Sunday morning and made my husband take me to urgent care. I was the first one there. The doctor checked my symptoms and vitals. She checked my lungs and cleared me of coronavirus and diagnosed me with the flu. I was sent home to get lots of rest and fluids. I missed the next four days of school. Then, the virus took over the news and the possibility of school closures was looming.

I went back to work on Friday, March 13 of all days. The front office was slightly frantic on getting distant learning packets ready. I was told to prepare them "just in case" of a school closure. But, I knew that if LAUSD closed, we would be next. Thirty-five minutes after my students arrived at school, we got the email from the Superintendent. The school would be closed. I had to quickly organize packets, pull resources, and keep the students busy. They worked on phonics and centers. However, at one point, I had to put on a video for them. This was their last day of kindergarten and no one knew it for sure. I wish I would have taken more time to enjoy them. I didn't get to hug them goodbye, all I said was we're going on vacation sooner and I hoped to see them soon.

Schools are closed and students are learning from home. Laptops were distributed and teachers began teaching in a whole new way. But, I had to take a moment and think about my kinders. Do they know what is going on? How did parents explain the virus? Do they know what social distancing is? Do they understand the importance of social distancing, the virus, and washing their hands??? I began to worry about this. I am still their teacher and wanted them to understand what is going on. So, I found a resource by Tara West on TpT. She had created books for students to understand the Coronavirus. I downloaded and printed them. I recorded myself and put it on my classdojo. I hope my students understand what is going on and why we are not in school. I miss my kinder babies and hope to see them next year. I hope they know that this won't last forever. We will get through this together.

Grateful and Thankful,
Maricella Mesa

Distance Learning Brain Breaks

Let's not forget about Brain Breaks!

Unfortunately, due to this pandemic, we have to do some different and unconventional things like close our classrooms and teach students from our homes. Social distancing is necessary to stop the spread of the virus, but it creates some unique situations for teachers, students, and parents. As teachers, we've been taught that students need to get up and move numerous times a day to be successful learners. As a society, we've been told that a child shouldn't sit in front of a screen for long periods of time. But due to the pandemic, many students need to log in and participate in online learning daily. As all of us are experiencing, we are sitting in chairs for long periods every day. This is especially difficult for kids to do. Their little bodies weren't meant to sit still that long-they NEED to move.  There is an easy solution for students to get the movement they need while participating in online learning.  Brain Breaks!

Activity brain breaks serve an important purpose in and OUT of the classroom. As we know, school is hard work for kids. As teachers, we expect students to cram so much into each day, learning a ton of information that they need to retain and put into practice. It can be exhausting. In our classrooms, Brain Breaks allow kids to take a minute to refocus and release some energy. Distance Learning is no different. Students need active time incorporated into Distance Learning too. Kids need opportunities to have movement throughout their day while they are participating in at-home learning.  

What is a Brain Break?

Brain Breaks are breaks from whatever students are currently working on... but something to remember is the break can be both fun and educational. Also, Brain Breaks can be simple or more complex. Moving around, even if it's just stretching, gives the body a boost by increasing blood flow. In turn, this provides the brain with increased blood flow, which provides kids the edge they need to help retain information and stay focused. By taking a break and moving around, kids receive a necessary tool they need to help them succeed at whatever it is they are working on. Movement is vital when it comes to brain breaks. Moving the body also helps relieve stress, which we all know many kids are experiencing right now. Movement, in turn, will give kids a release that allows them to get back to work and refocus.

How many Brain Breaks do kids need?

According to research, kids need to take a 3-5 minute break every 45 minutes of working. As each teacher adapts and creates their Distance Learning routines, they need to remind and educate parents and students on how to incorporate Brain Breaks into their day. I have been letting my families know that it is essential to have frequent breaks during learning. As a First Grade teacher, I am suggesting students work for 30-40 minutes, with a 10-15 minute break twice a day. So my students are working a total of 60-80 minutes with two 10-15 minute breaks in between. I have also suggested that my students add in 20 minutes to read to self or with someone else. These breaks will vary based on age, grade, and individual students.

What are some at-home Brain Breaks my can students do?

There are several Brain Breaks to suggest to parents and kids to help them thrive during this time. I've given parents the advice to help their child pick something they can transition to and from easily. I make it a point to say that they know what works and doesn't work best for their child. I also recommend staying away from screen time here because they are using screens for many hours a day already. I have also tried to encourage parents and siblings to join in on Brain Breaks. This situation is stressful for parents too! So if they can be goofy and/or active with their child during this time, that can also be helpful. All of these Brain Breaks can be used during our online platforms for Distance Learning. I recently had my first Zoom meeting with my kids, and after answering questions and explaining assignments, we ended our session with a group GoNoodle. They left that meeting with smiles from ear to ear. Incorporating Brain Breaks into our Distance Learning/Teaching will help students feel some normalcy and routine that they are missing from their classrooms.  

Movement Brain Breaks

1. Breaks can be as easy as jumping jacks, push-ups, and stretching to getting outside to toss a Frisbee, kick a soccer ball, a game of tag, or even a walk or bike ride.

  

2. Dance Party- When brains need breaks, nothing beats turning on a song and having a dance party. Have kids choose a song to play and let them move around and dance for the entire song.  

3. Secret Handshakes- For a quick Brain Break, have a family/sibling handshake. Take a quick minute to make up and practice a fun handshake to do anytime your child needs a break.

4. Yoga- Yoga will give kids a break they need in between tasks. Encourage kids to be mindful as they move through favorite yoga poses.  Cosmic Kids Yoga is a favorite Youtube channel with tons of themed yoga videos kids will enjoy!  

5. GoNoodle- This website gives kids a fun and silly way to work out the wiggles! Kids will love jumping, moving, and singing along to their favorite GoNoodle videos. You can stream the videos on Youtube or on your SmartTV.

6. Sami Circuit- Sami Kadar, a long-time fitness expert has recorded circuit videos on Youtube. The circuit combines a high-energy, age-appropriate music mix, sound and lighting effects, and exercises tailored to the participating age group.

Brain Break Games- Kids love playing games. Games give kids the chance to take a moment and simply have fun.  

1. Freeze Dance- This game is like freeze tag and musical chairs rolled into one single fun game. Turn on the music and have kids dance around the room. When the music turns off, kids must freeze in whatever dance moves they were doing.  

2. Would You Rather (Animal Edition)- This is just a fun game of asking the question- Would you rather be a ____ or a _____? Have students act out the animal they chose. This is a fun question to ask students during a Zoom Call or as a question of the day in your Google Classroom.  It can even turn into a writing prompt.

3. Hot Potato- Use a beanbag/ball and have families toss it around the room as the music plays. When the music stops, whoever is holding the "potato" is out.  

4. Simon Says- This game makes a great brain break for families. Kids need to pay attention as they attempt to do what Simon says.  

5. Rock Paper Scissors- This is a fun, quick way for families to engage for a brain break.  

Educational Brain Breaks- These are fun ways for your students to take a break and practice skills they might have already learned.

1. Air Spelling- Challenge kids to "air write" their spelling or High-Frequency words. Parents can have fun guessing the words.

2. Pop- Practice skip counting during a Brain Break. Pick a magic number, then have kids play with families taking turns counting, with the word POP replacing multiples of the magic number. If skip counting by 3's, the sequence would be 1-2-POP-4-5-POP...

3. Syllable Clap- Have kids talk to their parents or siblings, but while chatting, they need to clap (or stomp) the syllables of the words they say. They can also do this brain break activity with spelling words.

4. Categories- Name a category, and each person has to name a word that fits into that category. For example- Beach- then you could say words like such as sand, umbrella, etc..

No matter which of these Brain Breaks teachers, students, or parents use, I'm sure they will help our students be more successful at home throughout this quarantine. And most importantly, kids will learn and have fun!  

Positively Teaching,  

Randi Muehlen

Let's Talk Nearpod

Another free resource is Nearpod. It has interactive lessons for just about every grade level and subject. A lot of their lessons are free and you can save them to administer with your students when ever you see fitting. Because of our current situation Nearpod is completely FREE!😄 You can administer live lessons where your students follow your lead. This allows you to control their computer screen by moving from slide to slide when you do. Or you can choose the student paced delivery where students can complete their Nearpod lesson on their own.

Here is a quick review of the perks of Nearpod: 

1. You can communicate with your students live
2. Administer any assessment or comprehension questions with teacher friendly reports 
3. User friendly, Google Slides or Power Point presentations can be uploaded 
4. All students need is a log-in code or link to join 
5. Nearpod is completely free right now (lessons, live & student paced mode)!

Here is a video of my students and I hosting a collaborative board live! This made my day since we were able to connect and chat during the beginning of our remote learning journey.

If I persuaded you to incorporate Nearpod into your teaching here is a video of how to create a free account, explore their lessons library and lastly how to administer a Nearpod lesson. 

Thank you for reading/watching my blog. I hope you are taking advantage of all of these free resources that allow us to connect with our students on a digital platform. Thank you for your time and I hope you are all staying safe and healthy. 

Learning & Growing,

Nancy Vargas 

nancy.vargas@omsd.net 

Feel free to contact me with any further questions about Nearpod 

Organizing My New "Classroom"

I LOVE Google Classroom and have for years, but I never thought it would be my actual classroom. Over the past couple of years, I have tried to introduce more and more digital learning into my classroom with the use of Google Classroom. I would push assignments, videos, and articles out to students for them to annotate, analyze, color-code, and use for collaborative projects. My students were getting better and better at navigating through Google Classroom and using Google Docs, Slides, and Forms. We even started working on a joint, Google website early in March.

Since my students are so well versed in Google Classroom, I wasn’t too worried about the two-week distance learning plan. I knew my students would know to check in Google Classroom for their assignments, utilize the tools we’ve used in the classroom setting, and turn in their assignments once complete. When I sat down to upload the tasks they needed to work on for the first week, I found myself overwhelmed at the lack of organization on the “Classwork” page. My first thought was that I’d start organizing my virtual classroom better next year. Then, the school closure was extended to May 1st, and I knew I needed to do something to help my students find assignments with ease. 

Setting Up Google Classroom For Distance Learning (please watch the video for detailed instructions):

1. I had to start by going through and organizing all of the old work. I created topics by sub-subjects (writing, reading, listening, research, social studies, etc.). Many teachers already do this, but I had never taken the time to do this. I will start organizing work this way, starting next year.
2. I created topics by dates. I decided to organize the new work by workweek. I also added an emoji of a computer to represent virtual learning (ex: 💻 Week of 4/6-4/10). 
3. I organized and shared a calendar for the week. On this calendar, I embedded links that would take them to the doc, slides, websites, articles, etc.
4. I decided that I wanted to upload all of the work on Sunday nights, so students would not get overwhelmed by getting assignment notifications non-stop. This way, they can see what they need to do for the week and use their time management skills to complete everything promptly. Since I don’t know what their home lives are like right now, I thought that this might help. Maybe they are the new babysitter for their younger siblings. Perhaps they are sharing their device with multiple people. Having the assignments labeled with the day, they should be working on it, and when it is due will help them prioritize their time. Also, it allows them to ask for help ahead of time during our Zoom meetings.

Let me know if you have any organizing tips!

Happy Organizing, 

Jenni Merry