Big 3 Ideas Video

 

Presentation on Best Practices in Online Teaching

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Motivation or Skill Deficit

 Students who are not participating in class could be doing so for two reasons; lack of motivation or lack of skill. In other words, they either don't want to do the task or can't do the task. There is an assessment, the can't do/won't do assessment, to determine whether your students actually don't understand something or are simply unmotivated to do it. You first select a task that the student performed lower on than expected. Next, identify what motivates the student, whatever you pick needs to be a highly desired reward for this specific person. The student then will complete the initial task once again, this time knowing there is a reward at the end. Finally, you need to analyze the data. If the student improved by 15% or more, motivation was the issue, if they did not improve by 15% or more, it was a skill deficit. If the student improved but still does not have a passing grade, it may be a combination of the two. 

To support a student that has a genuine skill deficit, meaning they do not understand the work, you need to further assess them to see what the issue is. Reach out to the student and have a talk about what exactly they might be struggling with, and ask what you can do to help them further understand. Often times the student just needs more time to process information or maybe needs more visuals in order for them to fully grasp the concept. 

To support a student that has a lack of motivation, meaning they can do the work but don't want to, a rewards system may need to be set in place. As mentioned earlier, students typically respond well to getting a reward after completing a task. These rewards can be anything from snacks, extra computer time, small prizes, and anything of the sort. The key is to lessen the rewards over time since you'll likely have to start with larger rewards, the goal is to not have to give any rewards eventually. 

5 Student Engagement Strategies for Online Learning

 There are plenty of strategies to help facilitate student engagement in online learning, but I found 5 that I think are the most effective. These strategies combined or on their own are great ways to ensure your students are getting everything they need in terms of their education. Firstly, discussion boards are great for peer engagement. Going along with that, group work is an effective way to keep students engaged with the class and their peers. Another important strategy is simply being present for the students; making sure you are there if they have questions or need help with anything. Providing effective feedback can also ensure that students are able to fully understand what they may need help with, or what they're doing well in. Lastly, providing some sort of course schedule or syllabus can help students stay on track throughout the semester.

One of the main challenges with online learning is getting and keeping students engaged in their learning. This is much easier in person because students are physically there with their teachers and peers. It can be hard to remain focused while on a computer at home, so getting to know different strategies can be extremely helpful in keeping students engaged. Making sure that students can keep in contact with their peers is a great way to ensure their engagement, it's always nice to have someone to talk to in the same class. This can easily be done using discussion boards and open-ended prompts. Group work is also great for engaging students with their peers and classwork; working in groups is often done during in-person classes but can also be accomplished online. A pretty obvious strategy is making sure that you are present; in other words, being openly available to students whether it's through email or another form of communication. This goes hand-in-hand with providing a good amount of feedback. If students are able to consistently see what they're doing well on and what they need to work on, they are more likely to be engaged. Lastly, just making sure that students have all of the materials they need when they need them. Whether this is accomplished by a syllabus or a course schedule, students are bound to pay more attention when they know what to pay attention to. 

Online Student Performance

 

Nearpod: Benefits and Limitations

     Nearpod is an online tool teachers can use to create an interactive learning experience. Teachers can create polls, videos, collaborative boards, and quizzes for their students using interactive presentations. Nearpod allows access to tons of pre-existing lesson plans for K-12 or you can input your own for a more personalized experience. Even though Nearpod is a virtual tool, it can be used both in virtual and in-person classrooms to keep students on task. It works on any device (iPads, tablets, computers), and the teacher has full control of what the students see on their screen. By providing a code for students to input, the teacher is able to see each student's name and only allow access to certain slides at a time, to ensure everyone works at the same pace and no one is off track. Students are able to work by themselves on their devices, or Nearpod can be used in small groups for things such as guided reading groups.

    Nearpod has great benefits but also comes with some limitations. The free account (silver) only allows 40 students to join each lesson, so if you wanted to use this tool on a larger scale, you would need to upgrade your account. As with any online education tool, there is a bit of a learning curve if you aren't familiar with the concept. Nearpod also doesn't fully integrate with other tools such as Google Classroom, so you may need to switch between different technologies to create a full lesson. Also, according to reviews, Nearpod doesn't have a great filtering system and students are able to create inappropriate profile names for themselves. Teachers don't have much control over this, and I can see how that may be frustrating. 

    There are plenty of ways that teachers can implement Nearpod in the classroom. Teachers can create live formative assessments such as customized polls, quizzes, matching pairs, Draw It activities, and open-ended questions. There's also a self-assessment option, which is great for students to evaluate their confidence levels. Typically a traffic light indicator on the top of the screen shows red for a poor confidence level, yellow for fair understanding, and green for a very good understanding of the topic. Lastly, teachers are able to provide a student-paced code so that students can access Nearpod at home on their own time, and complete homework activities. 

Using VR to Enhance The Classroom Experience

     While searching through various VR and AR tools that can be or are being used in classrooms, I came across Google Expeditions. Google Expeditions is a website and an app that allows you to take highly immersive field trips to various places. It consists of five subjects to explore: Arts, Geography, Natural History, History, and Science & Technology. This VR technology offers hundreds of virtual field trips all over the globe, with each including movable photos and explanations to go with them. Google Expeditions has options for everyone of all ages and can enhance the classroom experience for students. 

    Anyone, including teachers and students, can use this specific VR tool. K-12 and beyond can benefit from these virtual field trips, as they allow for a fun and interactive learning experience without leaving the classroom. Google Expeditions can be used in History classes, Art classes, and just about any class that a field trip could normally take place. Not only is this helpful for students, but it also allows teachers to get a better visual understanding of what they're teaching. This tool, of course, can be used outside of the classroom too for anyone interested in taking a virtual trip around the world.

    Google Expeditions allows students and teachers to take trips around the world and get a better understanding of what they may already be learning about in the classroom. This free-to-use app and website does not require a trip to France to actually see France, and that is quite the upside of VR tools. Students who maybe can't afford to take field trips are now able to do so from their classroom or even at home; everyone can now be included at the same time in the same place. Any visual learners will especially appreciate this VR tool, as it allows for a very visual virtual experience they may not have otherwise had the opportunity to see.