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Distance Learning: A Gently Curated Collection of Resources for Teachers

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Disclaimer 1: This post was written in the Spring of 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 outbreak, so a lot of the information here is discussed through the lens of distance learning launched by a global pandemic. I have attempted to broaden the lens beyond our current situation to take other distance-learning situations into account.

Disclaimer 2: I recommend quite a few tech tools in this post. Before you proceed with them, please check with your district to make sure the tools comply with your specific use policies for age, privacy, etc.


If you’ve found yourself teaching in a distance-learning situation, especially if it’s been foisted upon you by circumstance, you’ll discover pretty quickly that distance learning offers different challenges from face-to-face instruction. And if you look online, you’ll find tons of ideas and resources that can help you tackle those challenges, so much that it’s easy to get paralyzed at the volume of it all. This is especially true if you’re expected to hit the ground running with very little notice.

To help you, I’m going to take my best shot at sharing clear, carefully curated information on distance learning. We’ll do this in four parts:


PART 1: START WITH YOUR HEAD AND YOUR HEART

None of the practical stuff is going to do any of us much good if we’re in a distracted, panicked headspace and haven’t tended to the ways our current situation has impacted our emotions. Here are three things you can do to get your head and heart in a better place.

Get Perspective

There will likely be times when the people in charge of you start to expect too much, or you expect too much of yourself.  If you’re in a situation like the one we happen to be in right now, in the spring of 2020, you may need to regularly step back from what’s right in front of you and remember that we’re dealing with life and death circumstances right now. None of this is normal, and there really is no precedent to follow. Most people are doing the best they can on any given day, and that means things will not go smoothly. And by “people,” I mean everyone: students, parents, your colleagues, your administration, your family members, and you. YOU. Giving yourself plenty of grace is key at times like this.

If you need something to help you regain perspective and cut yourself some slack, read Carolyn Todd’s editorial, Is Anyone Else Just Barely Functioning Right Now?

Now if you personally have a cool, level head at the moment, but someone else is pressuring you to do more, keep in mind that they are feeling their own unique pressure to perform, and they’re passing that on to you. It may be an opportunity to validate their feelings, or it may be time to push back on expectations that are simply unreasonable.

Get Physical

When things start to feel like too much, start moving. Decades of research has pointed to the link between physical activity and brain function, but most of us don’t need research to know that some of our best ideas come to us when we change things up and go for a walk, a run, or a bike ride. This is especially important during times when we are more likely to be cooped up in our homes, such as, say, a quarantine imposed by a global pandemic. 

Get with Other People 

One of the things that has really overwhelmed me in the process of putting this post together is knowing that everyone’s situation is a little different and not having the tools to address each situation. 

One way to alleviate this is to get in touch with others who are more familiar with your specific needs. Apart from collaborating with your colleagues, a great way to share ideas is to find and join online groups. Two I’m recommending here are on Facebook. If you’re not on Facebook, I strongly suggest you set up an account just for the purpose of collaborating with others. 


PART 2: THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF ONLINE LEARNING

Online learning has so many components to it; each one could honestly get its own whole blog post. Since I can’t go too in-depth all at once, I’ll just do an overview of all the pieces and link out to a few resources that can help you learn more about each one.

1. CONNECTING AND COMMUNICATING WITH STUDENTS

It’s essential that you have clear, consistent, accessible channels for communicating with your students. Different pathways for communication will need to be established. The first two are essential and asynchronous, meaning participants can access the conversation whenever it’s convenient; they don’t need to be present at the same time. The third pathway is optional and is usually synchronous, meaning participants must “attend” the conversation at the same time. 

Must Have: Outgoing Communication
asynchronous
On this pathway, you give instructions, post announcements, and generally inform your students about what’s going on and what’s expected of them. Some teachers are creating daily or weekly videos for this purpose, while others are writing out instructions in places like Google Docs, and others are doubling up—pairing short videos with written instructions so students get the information through different modes. 

It seems like one of the most important considerations with outgoing communication is that you keep it consistent: Pick one place to deliver and store outgoing messages and stick with that, so students know where to look, nothing gets lost in the mix, and no one gets overwhelmed with information overload.

Must Have: Incoming Communication
asynchronous
This pathway is for students and parents to reach out to you with questions, feedback, and updates on their ability to complete required work.

Nice to Have: Two-Way Communication
synchronous OR asynchronous
On this pathway, you and your students can communicate back and forth in a more open dialogue, where you broadcast yourself live and students attend as participants in one-on-one, small-group, or whole-class sessions.  

Video conferencing: For this pathway, many teachers are using video conferencing tools like Zoom, Google Hangouts Meet, and Microsoft Teams. These can be great for community-building and giving students a sense of connectedness with you and each other. 

It’s important to note that these platforms also have their pitfalls, one of which is that they may directly violate your school’s privacy policies, so be sure to check with the people in your district who are in charge of compliance with those policies to make sure you’re ok. This article from Edsurge does a good job of explaining the potential problems with video conferencing; it focuses specifically on Zoom, but the concepts would apply to any video conferencing tool.

This infographic, created by the Celina High School SWAT Team in Celina, TX, and their advisor, Tisha Poncio, offers tips for students when participating in video conferences:

Alternatives to Video Conferencing: If you’ve decided not to go the video conferencing route for now, you can still set up text-based discussions that can get students interacting: 

2. KEEPING EVERYTHING ORGANIZED

Ideally, you and your colleagues will have chosen a single platform for storing and delivering assignments, collecting student work, posting announcements, and so on. Many schools are already set up on a learning management system (LMS) like Google Classroom, Canvas, Blackboard, or Edmodo. If you don’t already have something in place, and you don’t have time to learn a new platform, it’s probably not a good idea to jump into anything new. 

But creating a central hub should be a priority. What parents and students are saying most often is that it’s incredibly stressful to have to keep up with multiple platforms and multiple streams of information, with some pieces coming through email, others through Remind, others through an LMS, and so on. With more than one child at home and more than one teacher per child, things can get out of hand very fast. It’s perfectly fine to use different tools as part of your instruction—you might assign Quizlet flashcards, Edpuzzle lessons, Newsela articles—but for communication, keep things as streamlined as possible.

One simple approach taken by some schools is to maintain a single document (usually a Google Doc) for the whole school. In that document are links to individual documents for each teacher. 

This type of document—which is just a really simple hyperdoc—creates a central hub where parents and students can start every single time, then click over to the places where they can find updated information for their classes. Even if you don’t use this specific model, setting up something like it will make your whole school run more smoothly. 

Individual teachers can then replicate this type of hub for their own classes, creating a central folder or file where students can find daily or weekly assignments and other communications.

3. LESSON DESIGN

Entire degree programs have been created to show teachers how to design lessons for online learning, and I wasn’t able to delve into this enough for this post. What I did find are two resources that you might find helpful without getting another master’s degree:

One principle that I’ve seen in several discussions of online learning is the idea that it works better when you give students some choices, choices in how they take information in and choices in how they demonstrate learning. The next two sections will share some possibilities for both of those.

4. OPTIONS FOR DELIVERING CONTENT

One of the main things you need to do when setting up online instruction is figuring out how students are actually going to take in the content. You have a few options, and it’s a good idea to not just stick to one avenue, since you ideally want to give students multiple modes of intake.

Readings

Videos

Video is a very popular way to deliver content online, because it has the potential to restore the voice and visuals that are lost when we move away from face-to-face instruction. Once you have a good video, you can share it directly with a link or use a tool like Edpuzzle or PlayPosit to build a complete lesson around that video.

You have two options for sourcing your content: use videos that were created by someone else, or create the videos yourself.

Created by Someone Else
Obviously, the internet is absolutely loaded with videos, and using them means you don’t have to make them yourself. What’s challenging is finding videos that (a) are appropriate for student viewing, and (b) accurately represent the content you want to deliver, in a way that’s succinct and maybe even entertaining. Finding videos that meet these criteria can be really time-consuming if you don’t know where to look.

To save time, it helps to go to sources that have already proven themselves as creators of high-quality educational videos. 

Created by You
The good thing about creating your own videos is that you have total control over the content. Probably the easiest way to create instructional videos is with screencasting software, which simply records whatever is on your screen while you narrate into a microphone. So you could, for example, create a PowerPoint-based lecture, then just deliver that lecture on your screen and use screencasting software to record it.

Here are two affordable, popular options for screencasting:

Static Slide Presentation

Slideshows that combine text with appealing visuals can be a nice alternative to text readings. They’re also much quicker and easier to create than videos, and viewing them requires a lot less internet bandwidth.

These kinds of slideshows, which students would click through on their own, should ideally be designed with that independent experience in mind. Unlike a presentation that you give live, these would not be simply a support for a speaker; they’d need to stand completely alone, with all the necessary text on the slides, rather than in the speaker notes. 

Rather than sharing these as a file, which would require you to adjust editing permissions and would likely result in the student looking at it in editing mode, you can share it in presentation mode so the slides take up the full screen and it feels more like an experience, like in this sample presentation. Learn how to set this up with a Google Slides presentation in the video below:

Audio

Content can also be delivered via audio, which can be a nice change of pace for students who are used to text or videos only, and because audio files are much smaller than video files, they’re less likely to strain home internet capabilities.

Interactive Learning Experiences

Some tools have come along in recent years that allow you to create interactive online learning modules, where students click through various instructional components, play games, take interactive quizzes, and so on. Although some activities may not justify the time it takes to put these interactives together, they can offer something different and more fun than the standard fare. You can find these on sites like GoConqrDeck.Toys, BookWidgets, and Wizer. The one platform that seems to have the most robust collection of options is Genially. Take a look:

5. OPTIONS FOR DEMONSTRATING LEARNING

Just as there are many different ways to get the content into students’ heads, you can also offer choices for how students demonstrate their learning. Probably the quickest, most traditional way to measure whether students learned the material is to give them some kind of test or quiz, but that may not be the best way to get students to experience the content in a deep way. Sticking only to tests also favors students who work well in that mode, rather than allowing other students to shine in areas they might be stronger in. Beyond all that, it’s not much fun. 

On Twitter, I asked teachers for some fresh ideas for “end products,” and got tons of ideas back. Below I’ve listed some really good ones. Before you jump on these, be mindful that these end products still need to align with your instructional goals and are not what we call Grecian Urn assignments, creative-looking projects that don’t ultimately have much instructional value.


PART 3: GENERAL TIPS AND ADVICE FROM TEACHERS

Begin again.

If distance learning has been introduced suddenly, where it takes the place of face-to-face learning rather than being the standard from the start, treat the beginning of the shift the same way you’d treat the beginning of a school year, by establishing routines and protocols before digging deeply into content, and giving extra energy to rekindling culture and relationships on the new platform even if they were already established in the face-to-face setting.

Keep home responsibilities in mind. 

When schools are closed district-wide, all children are out of school and under one roof. This means older kids may be shouldering some responsibility for caring for their younger siblings, and that could impact how well they are able to keep up with deadlines, log in for synchronous events, or respond to communication in a timely manner. Letting students know up front that you get this, and maintaining flexibility with deadlines, can go a long way toward keeping lines of communication open and avoiding misunderstandings. 

Make social interaction a priority.

When we are kept apart from one another for whatever reason, our need for human interaction increases. So if you’re teaching a distance learning course that was set up that way to begin with, it’s important to build in structures to keep students interacting with each other and with you. 

This principle is even more vital in situations where distance learning is coupled with large-scale social isolation. 

Some of the tools and systems I mentioned earlier, like video conferencing and discussion boards, can meet this need; even your own outgoing video, audio, and written communication can be used for more “human connection” reasons. A good general rule to keep in mind is that you don’t need to use 100% of your time for instructional purposes; allowing space for regular conversation, venting, and laughter can be incredibly important.

Keep messaging to a minimum.

I mentioned this earlier, but it’s important so I’m repeating it. If kids and parents are receiving multiple messages from multiple teachers every day, and families have multiple kids, they can become overwhelmed really quickly, and things will start slipping through the cracks.

Try to limit the number of platforms you and your school are using for distributing information. Ideally, you’ll have one clear channel for sending out announcements and messages, and those will be limited in number. Parents and students will have one place to look for all important information, and that “place” will be clean, simple, easy to navigate, and updated regularly so that all users can count on the information being current. The closer you can get to this ideal, the more smoothly things will go.


PART 4: TROUBLESHOOTING

Two specific problems tend to come up more often than any others when it comes to distance learning. Although neither one is completely solvable, here are some of the ways schools are addressing them:

1. Students Who Do Not Have Home Access to Tech

The whole notion of distance learning becomes a problem if some of your students don’t have devices or reliable internet access. Here are some ways to address this problem:

2. Meeting Special Education, RTI, and Language Learning Needs 

So many of our students have individual needs that we have figured out how to meet in a school setting. When school moves to a distance-learning model, both teachers and parents are often at a loss for how to continue working with students with IEPs, those who receive RTI support, English learners, and other students who get one-on-one time with educators specifically trained to meet their needs. 

Since this one is really far out of my wheelhouse, I reached out on Twitter for help. Really, your best bet is to read the replies to see what might work for you. You’ll not only get some good ideas, you’re likely to connect with people you can reach out to for even more good ideas.

Apart from that, I have a two more resources to share:


As I neared completion on this post, I opened up my inbox and found five other resources that had been sent to me for possible inclusion in this post. Looking through them made me realize I had missed gobs and gobs of information here. I felt completely deflated and overwhelmed all over again, but then, as I have often had to do in the past couple of weeks, I took a deep breath, closed up the things that were distracting and upsetting me, and said to myself, “Today you have done enough.” 

I hope this has helped you in some way. If not, tomorrow is another day. 


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78 Comments

  1. Valerie Sartor says:

    Dear Ms Gonzalez,

    I have read your blog for years and am a great fan. This year I was in Kazakhstan as a teacher trainer and introduced my colleagues and students to your work. You are now known in Central Asia!

    I just wanted to add one great resource for online teaching: QM, Quality Matters. They have helped me tremendously as I learned to teach online. My university paid for their training – I wonder if they would cut you a deal because you are influential and such as great asset for all kinds of teachers…

    Anyway, thank you again for your efforts and the useful information you bring to all teachers.

    Valerie

  2. Christyna says:

    I have been teaching college kids online for the last three years, and I’ve got a sophomore and 2nd-grader. Thank you for putting this exceptional resource together!! I’ve shared it with my children’s teachers, my educator network, and will also be drawing on it for my teaching practice, too. I am truly grateful for the work that you do!

  3. Christy Ehn says:

    Hi Jennifer,

    I, too, am a follower and a fan of your blog.

    As a teacher, I am always looking for affirmation in my craft and ways to improve my craft.

    I have been been thrust into a distance learning situation, but my expectation of providing my students effective instruction is no different.

    I had seen your tweets asking for resources and information for the purpose of this article. Thank YOU for condensing it and organizing it the way that you did!

    Reading the article gave me assurance on the parts that I feel I have established and then also gave me insight on areas that I can continue to build.

    Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
    Christy

    • Halim Johnson says:

      You are the 2nd person on here that follow her

      I think I might start following her myself……..What platforms do you follow her on?

      As a first year teacher on the high school level I can definitely use the extra advice

    • Hi everyone! I know that finding exciting content to engage your students has been difficult over the last year. I wanted to share these new teacher resource packages developed by the Petersen Automotive Museum’s world-renowned staff that may be a big help to your efforts. You can schedule a virtual tour with a museum educator and allow your students to have one of the world’s largest transportation museums come into your classroom virtually from its home in Los Angeles to explore the history and science behind the automobile.

      The museum presents various exclusive exhibits to provide education on topics from renewable energy and electric vehicles to the exciting new “Supercars: A Century of Spectacle and Speed” exhibit that highlights performance vehicles that drive automotive innovation.

      To learn more about the virtual tours, such as the tour descriptions, prices, and how to sign up, please visit the link below or reach out if you have questions!

      https://www.petersen.org/distance-learning

  4. Allison says:

    Thank you for the great resources as always, but perhaps the biggest gift you gave was permission to use your last line. “Today you have done enough.” Thank you for reminding all of us to go through this time with grace.

  5. Rakel says:

    We love all your ideas. Really helpful!!
    Thanks from Spain!
    Rakel

  6. Jennifer! Thank you, thank you.
    Simple and helpful and much needed. I have been a fan for a few years…and have introduced you to my teachers. This will be shared and is very appreciated! You are amazing!!!

    • Thanks, Kim! I’ll make sure Jenn see this.

      • Anba says:

        Dear Jennifer,

        I pleased to say that the materials that you have shared has given me an instant uplift. It is so timely especially when my colleagues & I have been asked to do online teaching at half the pay rate.

        I didn’t realise until you talked about it that the others i.e. the school’s management, staff & parents are also panicky & pressured in the own ways. And the stress is passed to one another.

        However, the pointers you have provided will go a long way for me & other readers. You have helped me put things in the right perspective. It will surely help.

        Thank you very much, Jennifer!

        Best regards, & best wishes!

        Anba
        Singapore

        • Katrice Quitter says:

          Thank you so much for sharing your positive feedback! I’ll definitely share this with Jenn–it will make her day!

      • Garrick Teckenburg says:

        Last two paragraphs were the absolute best resources and reason for this reply.

        We live in a world where it’s really hard to know what is real and what is not. Even when it is, determining the motive is a critical yet frustrating challenge. Let’s face it, my 5 year old has know for 2 years “free” means having to click an annoying x to close out the click-bait marketing ad laced with a motive that tricks you into buying their game. They even trick tech savvy dad’s some times. Shhhhh 🙂

        Your raw was real. Thank you for ending it the way you did. We are all tired, and I needed to read your mic drop ending.

  7. Halim Johnson says:

    Wow! What a first year of teaching I am experiencing! However podcast like this, and my colleagues definitely helps with some of the anxiety.

    • Katrice Quitter says:

      Halim,
      I will always remember my first year as a teacher! It was unique and challenging in a different way. I’m so glad that you and your colleagues are finding Cult of Pedagogy useful. Please reach out to us if you need help finding anything at all. Sending our best to you as you navigate the remainder of your first year!

  8. As always, Jennifer, you have taken a massive amount of disparate information and brought it together in a cohesive organized manner. This post is perfect for helping teachers focus on what’s needed and how to do it.
    Thank you, thank you, thank you!

    • Ingrid Hornickel says:

      I loved this podcast. This is by far one the best I’ve heard. Thank you!

  9. Danielle Jones says:

    Wevideo is another easy to use tool for creating videos. I have found it useful because you can record your screen and yourself through the webcam at the same time and then overlap the videos so students can still see your face as they watch a prerecorded lesson. It helps continue that feeling of connection for asynchronous lessons.

  10. Jennifer, I’m a huge fan of yours and can’t thank you enough for the work you do. This resource is extremely helpful for those who are feeling anxious right now. You are all over it!

  11. Anne Paulson says:

    Thank you, thank you, for this superb podcast! I’m a school librarian, completely overwhelmed, almost paralyzed, with trying to curate information, support teachers, and create some sort of online lessons for my K-5 students. Your podcast has given me so much excellent information and also helped me calm down!

  12. Love these suggestions! Thanks for compiling these great resources!

  13. Lisa Mortimer says:

    This is an excellent resource. Thank you so much for your clarity and breaking everything down for easy reference.

  14. Belinda says:

    This is just awesome!! Thank you Jennifer from Part 1 to Part 4 you have given so much to build on, to consider and to explore, all the while ensuring we deliver excellence and equity to all our students.
    I will be ensuring my team of secondary teachers carefully considers your “gently curated collection of resources for teachers “ 🙏🏻

  15. Colleen says:

    Thank you, Jennifer! This post is amazing. I bought your argumentative writing unit and my students have produced some of their best work using your resources. You are making a difference to a lot is teachers!

  16. Karen Dymke says:

    You are amazing! Thank you. I plan to share these tios and introduce people to this website.

  17. Janice Robertson says:

    I’ve shared this podcast/transcript with every teacher I can think of because I really believe you did a fabulous job of breaking down how what they need to think about, and offered solid support and quality ideas without overwhelming them. I’m recently retired but during this time I’m hunting for useful nuggets that will help teachers help their students because I know it’s such a challenging time. Thank you again for such a wonderful thoughtful and timely post.

  18. Temple says:

    Question: Is there a tool you would recommend for online 1 on 1 tutoring where both the student and teacher can work together drawing on a page or ? I have been using Google Drawing as a shared document and then drawing out math problems but it’s slow. That way we can talk on the phone and both draw on the document at the same time. I teach 5th grade. I just bought your Tech Resources from TPT but did not immediately see a solution. Thank you for guidance! You are one my most trusted sources of ed advice and inspiration. When I woke up this morning I thought, who would give the most practical ed tech tips? Cult of Pedagogy immediately came to mind. Also, thank you for discounting your Tech Resources guide right now.

  19. Great podcast. Thanks for sharing. I have shared this with all the team leaders in my school in New Zealand.

  20. Jacqueline m Frey says:

    LOVE IT

  21. Shawn Castleberry says:

    Thank you so much for sharing information and most importantly your experiences concerning online learning! It is wonderful to listen to an informative perspective such as yours!

    Shawn

  22. Thank you so much for putting this together. I will spread it in our FB Group full of other free resources: https://www.facebook.com/groups/senecaforteachers/

    This will be a lovely addition. Thank you!

  23. To assist in distance learning measures, Legends of Learning is offering free access to all of our premium features.

    Website: http://www.legendsoflearning.com

    What is it: Legends of Learning offers 2,000 3rd through 8th-grade math and science games and simulations correlated to state standards. Teachers create playlists of games based on standards and students work through completing each one, while the teacher receives real-time data from each student. Using our various assignment options, teachers can create custom playlists, or have a playlist built for them with a top-rated game.

    What We’re Offering: The basic Legends of Learning site is always free. We are offering free access to all premium features for schools closed due to the outbreak for the duration of their closure. This includes assigning an unlimited number of assignments, creating customized assessments for students, and integration with Google Classroom, Clever, Classlink, or Schoology.

    Sign up here: app.legendsoflearning.com

  24. Taryn says:

    Thank you for making this post. I have definitely been feeling paralyzed by the sheer number of the amazing resources out there, and it was reassuring to read the intro of your post and know that this struggle isn’t just due to me being a second-year teacher. I love your posts and your podcast, and I’m looking through the links in this post as I plan my lessons for the next week of E-Learning. Thank you!

  25. Shane Johnson says:

    Thank you so much, Jennifer. This is outstanding and so helpful for the millions of educators that are finding themselves in this predicament right now.

    Kind regards,
    Shane Johnson

  26. Ruth Porritt says:

    Hello, and thank you so much for doing this article!

    Your site is my favorite for educators, and is also my go-to.

    I am so glad that you gathered (and described) a TON of wonderful resources for teachers and parents! 🙂

    I am keeping this article on my desktop for easy reference.

    Sincerely,

    Ruth

    p.s. Also, I immensely enjoyed the article on SEL. (Thanks again.)

  27. This is a new podcast and video show with the news for 4 year olds and up, created by a Head of School in New Jersey. It’s completely free for teachers during the pandemic. There are 67 episodes to date and yesterday was the latest episode.

    It’s easily found on YouTube and a little sample video is here:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI2xqTYx4Sg&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR1b3SVOf0Yl6fbVXvHv9FP_nWJX9FH-jOT8yzdudXgMp0AtxmGAL2U4HuM

  28. Jennifer,

    Thank you! Your content is always timely and comprehensive!! Wonderful list of usable items for this time of crisis AND great reminders for all around good practices for all times!

    Jonily

  29. Hi you all – Kenie here from the National Geographic Education community team. We have developed a Learn at Home collection from our free resource library with the following in mind: Plenty of low tech/ no tech/ and minimal supplies needed options. We’ve also adjusted our popular Explorer Classroom live broadcast events to happen daily at 2pm ET/ 11am PT so folks can plan ahead with confidence each day. Here’s a link to view information on both: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/classroom-resources/learn-at-home/

    This all being said, we’re eager to hear from educators on how we can do more to help meet your and your students’ needs. My inbox is always open for feedback, ideas, questions: khuber@ngs.org.

    Thanks for all you do for your students and fellow educators each and every day!

  30. Thank you for this Collection of Resources.

    BoomWriter ( boomwriter.com ) offers free writing tools that allow teachers to improve students’ writing skills. We also have added features that help teachers get the most out of BoomWriter and its students. These are part of our paid subscription, BoomWriter+.

    Now to also assist the parents, BoomWritter released The Haunt ( boomwriter.com/haunt ), a great new resource that I think will help many parents and be enjoyed by many kids during this challenging time. The Haunt is a writing club for children ages 9-12.

  31. Wow this is an amazing list of resources to use! As a parent in the Chula Vista School District (http://chulavista.ss12.sharpschool.com/) I hope they implement resources like these into their online learning plans!

  32. Michele Ruhl says:

    Thank you for sharing this wealth of information. It was so beneficial for myself in terms of knowing what resources are available.

  33. Michele Ruhl says:

    Again……Wonderful resources that are “Usable”!

  34. question
    I just read Learning for Hope.
    I am catholic school art teacher of 420 students. I was wondering if you have recommendations for specialist classes: how to sanitize art supplies, sit at tables, groups… etc. It might be able to video telecast i to two classrooms at a time. Just looking for ideas.
    Thank you for your time. Tami Smith

  35. For anyone looking for more online tutoring resources; this program is a free, student-led online tutoring program!
    Bored of Boredom provides free individual and group enrichment opportunities in both academic and non-academic subject to those who are receiving inadequate or no remote schooling. Our program strives to bring enrichment opportunities to those who have historically been excluded from them; as such, many participants in our program are neurodiverse or English as a second language students. While our program is free so as to accommodate lower income families, we do request that those who are able make donations to Close the Gap or Para Los Niños so that we can have the larger social justice impact of helping to close the digital divide so that more people can access these kinds of programs both during times of crisis and year round.

  36. Joanne Iasso says:

    Question: I’ve been using Screencastify to record lessons and I post them through Edpuzzle so I can insert questions for my students. Recently I purchased the narrative writing unit (LOVE IT!!) and I immediately went to the next logical step of using the narrative unit slides as my backdrop to the instruction I record on Screencastify. If I put them in an Edpuzzle for my students and assign it through Google Classroom, am I violating any copyright law? My intention is for only my students to use them. I have searched Edpuzzle privacy policy and I cannot figure it out–it seems like only my students can see my assignments, just not 100% sure. I love your advice and your products and want to support you to keep these great things coming. Please let me know. Also if Edpuzzle isn’t private enough, perhaps you know of an alternative way to ensure my students are watching my entire videos? About a month ago I caught them skipping my videos on Google Classroom and jumping right into the practice work, so that’s why I use Edpuzzle.

    • Hi Joanne! Thank you so much for checking in on this. Jenn said this is exactly what she would expect teachers to do, especially right now! It’s no problem, and I hope it goes well.

  37. Tina Stump says:

    Thank you for this wonderful curation. I’d like to share my experience with Google Voice. When I found out that our schools were closed due to the COVID-19 crisis, I tried to set-up a Google Voice number. It was not possible to set it up with my school district credentials as our superintendent deemed it too expensive. I then set-up a Google Voice number connected to my personal phone number. A week later, I learned that this decision was ill-advised and I subsequently deleted my Google Voice account. When you use your personal credentials to do school related business, you open the door to potential liability issues. Please recommend that school personnel discuss using Google Voice with their union representatives before they consider using their personal phone number in connection with Google Voice.

  38. I really enjoy your podcast.

    One thing I started thinking about during our distance learning was “What positives can I draw from this?”

    At the end, I put together a list of good things that came out of teaching during a pandemic: 10 Silver Linings of the Pandemic for my Practice.

    https://shipguy.wordpress.com/2020/06/19/10-silver-linings-of-the-pandemic-for-my-practice/

  39. Jay says:

    First 7 minutes of fluff arghhh

  40. I have been teaching preschool kids online for the last three years, and I’ve got a sophomore and 2nd-grader. Thank you for putting this exceptional resource together!! I’ve shared it with my children’s teachers, my educator network, and will also be drawing on it for my teaching practice, too. I am truly grateful for the work that you do!
    Or actually I running a Preschool in manila Philippines https://www.thereadinghouse.ph

  41. Ms. Sheila says:

    Thank you for this! Super helpful in general, with a couple of absolutely game-changing ideas!

  42. Jacqueline Van Epps says:

    I loved all the guidance on distance learning.

  43. Mary says:

    Thank you

  44. Gonul Turkdogan says:

    Thank you very much for these great resources. I truly appreciate your hard work during these difficult times. I shared your resources on my social media and coworkers. Thanks again!

  45. Rachel says:

    Thank you for this awesome resource-I’ve bookmarked it for reference! It helped me to reassess all of the things that worked (and didn’t work) in the spring when we quickly transitioned to distance learning situations. In particular it allowed me to analyze my own conceptions of curriculum and focus on how to best relay content, sentiments and the values of my in-person classroom in a learner-centered, on-line or blended situation. I found a new perspective thinking about connecting and communicating with students in terms of asynchronous and synchronous pathways and will incorporate this into my planning and instructional goals. I also appreciated your comment on giving students choices in how they take information in and choices in how they demonstrate learning. I found this was key to motivating my students. I wonder if you have further information or resources on offering choices at the elementary level to engage and enhance learning? Thanks again for your guidance and best practice reminders!

  46. This is a very comprehensive set of advices. Thanks for sharing Jennifer.

    If anyone needs to use a different voice recorder I have created a free one that works on all browsers at https://voicecoach.ai/voice-recorder .

    Improving someone voice is very important , but unfortunately I learnt this late in my life. So I set a goal to create tools to help me improve but also I am planning to share with the rest of the world.

  47. Cailee says:

    Thank you so much for this helpful information!

  48. Teresa A Sigmon says:

    Thank you for this podcast including the text. I tend to comprehend more from reading text as oppose to listening. You have a provided a lot of good ideas for sources. I have familiar with several but I also have found some new ones.

  49. Haley says:

    As a college student pursuing a degree in education, this is a scary time for learning. It’s terrifying to know how to prepare for my classroom someday when no one knows how classes will be conducted by the time I am graduated. However, reading this post made me feel a sense of confidence. I will be referring back to this often, for different ideas of resources and tips and tricks. Thanks so much for sharing!

  50. elisa demars says:

    I really liked the ideas and the way things can be done through google during this hard time throught this pademic, may I borrow a few throught here?

    • Katrice Quitter says:

      Elisa,
      Absolutely! Glad that you found this post valuable–I’ll be sure to let Jenn know!

  51. Rob Hales says:

    Very useful information. Thanks for sharing with others.

  52. Dedra Miller says:

    I like the ideas and look forward to using them.

  53. Judy T Peacock says:

    I enjoyed the Book Creator for my students to learn and create a memory for their families and for years to come.

  54. Lisa Faggart says:

    Very useful information, looking forward to using some of the ideas in more detail.

  55. Michelle Fite says:

    Love to use just one platform for students.

  56. Jeff Street says:

    Really enjoyed exploring genially.

  57. Victoria L. says:

    Just amazing. I find it so funny how these online platforms were developed and discovered by instructors during the time we needed it most. I’m not sure how long these resources have been available, but I’m sure we never thought that we’d be getting as creative as we did! Hopefully we can transfer some of the new technological skills we have learned in this past year and incorporate it into the classrooms when we move back to in-person instruction.

  58. This is a tremendous list of resources, and I would also like to add our recently launched one to the list. The brainchild of experienced educators, AMA is a virtual education community that has re-imagined remote learning. With programs like study halls, small group workshops, one-day intensives, and individualized tutor matching, we are a one-stop shop for students of all abilities, backgrounds, and needs.

    We believe that the key to authentically helping students, especially during remote learning, is to provide them with individualized assistance and actionable feedback from experienced educators. We also know that those educators need assistance as well, which is why we enable them to plan lessons, workshops, tutoring around their own schedule and from the comfort of their own home.

    Our site (www.amaafterschool.com) has all the information on our services as we plan to run our first programs (once the pressure of the school year has begun to wane down a bit)

  59. Hello Jennifer,
    Your logics for the distance learning and online learning is absolutely awesome. I got amazed after reading your blog. You covered each and every point in a well systematic manner. Today I get best points from your blog and going to apply in my life. Thanks for sharing best information with us.

  60. Thank you for the very detailed list of resources included in this post Jennifer!

  61. Rosaura Torres says:

    Awesome resources! Thank you for sharing these great resources.

  62. It has been a learning experience to teach in the what might be call the ” OLD FASHION WAY” and now adapt to Online teaching. But we all have to grow with the times.

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