Reflecting on Global Online Academy - Designing for Online Learning

This past week, I was lucky enough to have the chance to engage with a whole bunch of other educators from across the globe (and at my school) in a course offered by Global Online Academy (GOA). I have to say this was just what I needed right now as I am trying to wrap my brain around what could the fall look like? Will we be in hybrid mode? Online again? How can we take the good things we learned about education from this weird online experience and apply them while we get rid of systems and processes that just didn't work well for students and teachers? There are so many questions floating through my head right now.

The best part of this week was having conversations with other educators from many different contexts and hearing a lot of cool ideas. I also appreciated being able to affirm that a lot of what I was thinking about online teaching with little ones was actually on the right track. There were amazing resources that I know I will be going back to over time.

Here are some big take-aways for me from the week:

• Synchronous and Asynchronous work are equally valuable.

As we went through the spring semester, I kept hearing how we needed more synchronous touchpoints with students. I heard that they needed to see us more, hear our voices, and talk to us. At the time, I knew that all of that was important, but I also felt like we weren't always using synchronous meeting times well. Was it an effective use of all of our time?

We need to think of the purpose of how we are using our time and asking students to use theirs. Asynchronous learning allows students to work at their own pace, take time to reflect, and to think of how they would like to respond and express themselves. It also allows for time offline. Synchronous learning allows students to discuss ideas, ask questions in real time, and share prepared work. It allows for community building and connections.

GOA offers these key questions to consider while thinking about planning and time:

• What types of learning experiences require synchronous connection? 
• Which synchronous experiences can be turned into asynchronous experiences?   

• Think holistically about teaching time.

As a teacher, I am always thinking about time. There never seems to be enough for everything that we want to do. So, why not think about our time in a different way. Perhaps ask yourself these questions:

• How much total time will you have with the students for the week?
• What learning needs to happen during that time?
• How will you break up the time so it makes sense for your group?

I love planning this way - thinking about the experiences that students need to have and adjusting time accordingly. 

• Detailed daily feedback from teacher to students is not sustainable. 

When we went to remote emergency learning, I thought that since we assigned work, and students were completing it, I had to give comments on everything that came back to us. That was exhausting to keep up with and definitely not sustainable. 

This week in the GOA course, I came across an awesome idea for teacher feedback. She suggested again thinking about the week.

• One day, give detailed, individualized feedback to each student.
• One day, give quick notes or suggestions.
• One day, write a letter to the class (or film a video), talking about trends and patterns overall.

Set the expectations for students, so they know how to use each kind of feedback to grow. 

This teacher to student heavy feedback also didn't follow our classroom practices of having students buddy check math problems, peer review, and discuss their thinking. We don't just have a culture of only teacher to student feedback in the classroom. The way I was thinking about using the tools was getting in the way of progress! In the fall I hope to:

• Use breakout rooms in Zoom more purposefully, so students can meet in smaller groups or partnerships to discuss and share ideas.
• Use the Seesaw Blog feature! (I only started looking into this at the very end of the year.) It could be a great way for students to share their best thinking.
• An important step to using the blog is to both teach students that there are different ways to communicate and think about the purpose of a blog. Also, to teach students how to comment on each other's posts in a kind and constructive manner. 

• Intentional wayfinding can empower students.

This was an interesting idea to me. The GOA course talked about how purposeful and intentional wayfinding for online work can empower students. 

• Make your set up predictable - students should know what tools are used for which kind of work.
• Set an online routine. Will you post a daily schedule? When? Will you meet with students at the same time every day/every other day/each week?
• Use lots of visual redundancy. Don't assume that students will understand right away. Be repetitive! Use symbols that have meaning to your class.
• When writing instructions, anticipate what students may need. Write like a reporter, and answer the 5 Ws & 1H.
• Who is doing the work?
• What is the intended outcome?
• Where is the work done?
• When is it due?
• Why is it important?
• How is it to be completed?

• Curate, don't dump!

Whenever we start a new unit, or students mention something they are interested in, I start searching for resources. I can tend to go overboard sometimes. Jennifer Gonzalez, who writes the Cult of Pedagogy blog, asks, "Are you a Curator or a Dumper?". This is a fantastic and very practical read. 

What resources are we going to give students that will help them, not overwhelm them?

• Let the experience dictate the app you use, not the other way around. (Or "Don't get distracted by shiny new apps!)

A reminder today from the GOA staff was to think about all the learning that we did this week. (Also, all the learning that we all did this spring!) We all have learned about new tools and apps that can help students do amazing things and are fun! I love to mess around with a new app and see what I can do. 

HOWEVER, all that said, if we have too many toys and shiny new apps, we are going to confuse students. It will not be predictable and not empower students. Think about the experiences you want your students to have, then choose a few flexible tools that will help them learn and grow.

• Utilize the digital tools available in your LMS for quick and efficient formative assessment.

How might you help students build momentum and stay focused on the learning goal? 

Engaging in regular formative assessment can help students stay on track. It allows them to integrate feedback and adjust their learning progress. Utilize the tools in your LMS that can help you collect and analyze data quickly so students can keep growing! 

• Relationships are everything.

Every teacher knows this. In all of the discussion spaces, videos, chats, and posts this week, relationship building came up again and again. How do we build relationships in a digital world? 

There were lots of worries around this topic, and also lots of ideas and suggestions. As I said at the beginning, chatting with other teachers and sharing ideas was the best part of this course. A few ideas on relationship building that were proposed:

• Sign on to a Zoom class 10 minutes early. Mute yourself and allow students to chat and catch up.
• Have themed days each week (Fun Fridays!): Bring your pets/stuffies. Wear a silly hat/hairdo. Have a virtual background day. Come dressed as a superhero. The list goes on and on...
• Begin your class meeting with a game. 
• Before school starts, host a BINGO night or a Trivia Night for students and families. 
• Have students send you a snapshot of their day. 
• Be yourself! Be human. Be present.

The last thing that I truly appreciated about this course was that it was presented in such manageable pieces. All the videos were around 5 minutes long and articles were around a page. It made me feel like "I can do this!" because the information was presented so clearly. I ended the course today thinking that if we are online next year, I want my students to feel the same way.