Well I know I am not alone in saying that this is not how I saw spring break playing out!  As we get ready to return to some sort of schooling whether it be virtual, distance, remote, home or some combination we can be sure we are all in uncharted territory together.  Teachers, parents, students, administrators and support staff are all waiting, wondering and working to understand what the next month will look like. Fortunately, we do have some have some resources and tools that we can leverage to try and provide some continuity of learning for our students and support each other as we work through these extraordinary times.  With that in mind I thought I would post a few things that may be of use for people to explore as they consider how they might go "online" with their classes.  

I am a take care of the easy stuff first type of person so these links are all to things that I have already used to support my classes in the past and require very little tech skill and leverage free tools.  Feel free to use any of the material posted or link to anything you think would be useful for your students.

Moving your course online
These are examples of websites I have used over the years to support my face to face classes.  I usually start with a blank page and then every few days I post the material we cover.  It is a way to support students who may be absent as well as make my life easier so kids aren't constantly asking me for missing assignments.  By the end of the semester I have an entire course uploaded so these are the latest versions of these courses I have taught.  

20th Century World History 12

Human Geography 12

Social Studies 10

​Providing instructional support
Often we get caught up in trying to provide virtual lessons and video instruction when we think of online learning.  The reality is that the internet is full of instructional videos on every topic and most are much better than you or I will be able to produce within the constraints of our time and or ability.  I try not to re-invent something just to put my stamp on it but rather curate really good sources and information to provide it for my students.  You are better off to use you time with video to make more personal contacts with students than recording full lessons.

This is an example of a math support page I put together for my students that allows them to quick and guided access to some online instructional support.

Math Support Resources

Online class discussions
Synchronous class discussions through video conferencing or learning portals can often be tough to manage and frustrating on both sides.  However, there many of ways you can facilitate asynchronous class discussions online and in many respects this is one area that the online environment can be better than the face-to-face classroom.  Discussion boards give everyone an opportunity to share and provides thinking time before responding to others.  

I have used class blogs for years and have found they are an excellent way to extend discussions beyond the class, bring in outside information and resources such as current events and focus students on big essential questions.

These are a couple examples of discussion blogs that myself and colleagues have used in the past which take minutes to set up and are completely free.  Some of the pages haven't been used in the last few years as other social media options have become available  but they remain easy to set up and highly useful for those who want to avoid things like Twitter, Snapchat and Facebook.

Soc11Eh - Social Studies 11 Blog

Social Studies Whatcha Thnkin? - Blog to Support Social Studies 10-12 

Of course there is a lot more to talk about when we are facing such a huge shift in practice in such a short amount of time.  Over the coming days and weeks I will continue to share personal experiences, best practices, resources and tools but for now I will leave it at what I have posted.  Just now we are in this together and we can get through it if we work together and keep our focus on students' needs.