Embedded Files
Remote Learning
Remote Learning
I certainly hope things will get a lot closer to the 'old normal' as the next few weeks and months go by but, as it stands, we're inhabiting a world where the balance of face-to-face and online communication has shifted beyond what even the self-professed nerds of the world would have hoped for!
As ever, teachers - even those who are considerably happier in the offline world - have adapted to the situation and are learning new skills in order to do the best by the young people that we serve. Let's hope that, whatever comes next, these skills will serve a continued purpose in the pursuit of a world class education for those young people.
In the pages below, I would like to collate the best of our know-how on the subject of home learning and remote working in general. I've added a couple of items to get the ball rolling but would welcome an entry from anyone who thinks they have something new to share or any corrections/additions to what's already here.
- Tim
- Tim
Remote Learning 'Top 'Tips'
Top Tip 1: Resources
Don’t reinvent the wheel: Oak Academy and Greenshaw Learning Trust are both examples of remote teaching which, whilst not replacing face to face teaching, provide an excellent second best. BBC Bitesize also have some excellent videos and quizzes. Using these ‘ready made’ resources will enable you to dedicate your time to feedback and the delivery of new content.
Top Tip 2: Instructions
Classroom instructions have always been important, but when teaching remotely our wording of tasks and expectations must be even more precise. If there is anything even slightly unclear or confusing, pupils (and indeed adults) will give up very quickly.
Be explicit with your instructions. Simple but precise instructions are key to ensuring the students understand the steps they need to take to complete the remote lesson. If you are using Oak Academy or Greenshaws, a simple template can be set up to use with each lesson you set along the lines of:
1. Go to https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/prokaryotic-and-eukaryotic-cells-6cr6ae and click on ‘start lesson’.
2. Watch the lesson, pausing the video to answer any questions.
3. Once the video is finished, go to https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/prokaryotic-and-eukaryotic-cells-6cr6ae?step=3&activity=exit_quiz and complete the final quiz to assess your understanding of the lesson.
4. Go to google classroom (class code Uz34J) and open the document’ Cells Review’. Answer the questions and ‘turn in’ the document once you are done.
Useful Tools:
PPT voice over (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/record-a-slide-show-with-narration-and-slide-timings-0b9502c6-5f6c-40ae-b1e7-e47d8741161c for Microsoft Powerpoint)
Loom (https://support.loom.com/hc/en-us/articles/360006847737-How-to-use-Loom-for-Education )
Google video
Top Tip 3: Feedback
Interaction and feedback are key motivators for students when it comes to remote learning. ComPair (TA Only) is a high impact/minimal workload way to provide opportunities for peer feedback. Simple rewards such as ClassCharts points will also act as effective motivators for students.
If you are using platforms such as Oak Academy or Greenshaw, asking a Question on Google Classroom (rather than an Assignment) is a good way of fostering discussion/interaction between peers and their teacher. It might be as simple as asking students one or two things they have learned from the lesson. This will also enable you to assess their understanding and provide either individual or whole class feedback through Classroom.
In addition to feedback, showcasing examples of student work is also an excellent motivator and can be done easily on Google Classroom:
Click on the Google Drive icon in the Classroom Stream and locate the assignment folder which contains the students’ work for the assignment you would like to showcase.
You can select more than one document by holding down the control key as you select the assignments you want to share. You can extend this by asking students to identify the key factors which make these excellent examples and use them to improve their own work.
Useful Tools:
Google classroom https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/9093530?hl=en
Compair
Top Tip 4: Promote feelings of success
Feeling successful is essential for motivation. Although it’s harder to make children feel successful when they’re not directly in front of you, it’s far from impossible. To generate feelings of success:
Pitch your tasks lower than you usually would. This is especially vital for the first tasks at the start of lessons. Ensure 100% success rate, and slowly build to more challenging tasks that require more thought. Remember: many pupils will switch off the minute they start to flounder.
Prioritise consolidation tasks over new material. If possible (and it’s not always possible), revise previously taught content rather than ploughing onward. When teaching new content, isolate the precise knowledge you want them to learn, and go over it far more than you would normally deem necessary. Allow for overlearning.
Make your praise of pupils is regular and public. If possible, offer praise and recognition as pupils start a task, not just upon completion. Build in public shout-outs to your planning cycles.
Use your normal school reward system: Use positives on Classcharts as well as personalised words of encouragement
Top Tip 5: Interaction
The more ‘active’ your learner is at home, the more they will learn. Some ideas to help with this:
Use short, recorded sections of lessons to build rapport, share learning aims or shout-out excellence. These can be used at the start of lessons to introduce a topic before pre-recorded instructional videos are used.
Questioning is still vital, even if you don’t always hear the responses. In pre-recorded instructional videos, incorporate pause points and short answer-questions to keep pupils thinking. Ask them to say the answer aloud, or point to something on their screen. Anything to make them active.
Everyone loves a quiz. Google Forms are incredibly easy to create (just switch to ‘quiz mode’ and pupils can quickly check their learning and you get instant feedback.
Peer interactions can provide motivation and improve learning outcomes
Key for motivation and learning through:
● Peer feedback
● Models of good work
● Live discussions
● Collaborative learning approaches
Useful Tools:
Google chat
Padlet ( See guide: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/staff/education-development-unit/public/Padlet-for-online-teaching-and-learning.pdf)
Quizlet live ( https://quizlet.com/en-gb/features/live)
Further reading and CPD videos:
Adam Boxer’s guide to producing instructional videos ( https://achemicalorthodoxy.wordpress.com/2020/09/22/some-top-tips-for-making-teaching-videos/ )
EEF Research guide on distance learning ( https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Publications/Covid-19_Resources/Remote_learning_evidence_review/Rapid_Evidence_Assessment_summary.pdf )
Harry Fletcher-Wood’s video on student motivation and remote learning ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XpM5eSr0h4 )
2020 Paul Kirschner: Ten Tips for Emergency Remote Teaching ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIc1lL6-tcw
Mark Enser: Remote Learning: 5 things I had to learn to make myself a better teacher ( https://www.tes.com/news/5-things-i-had-learn-be-better-remote-teacher )
SEND Remote Learning Tips
Be Specific
Instructions must be as detailed and clear as possible.
Assume nothing; give specific page numbers and include links to websites. Make sure instructions are accessible on ClassCharts or Google Classroom.
Avoid generalised instructions, for example, “write about a time you felt upset or “make notes” – students will need guidance and structure (such as writing frames and sentence starters).
Example Tips
Rather than writing ‘explain’, you may write ‘tell me’.
Point out tasks, step 1…… step 2…..
Be specific with what document they need to fill in.
Provide key word meanings.
Provide sentence/key words starters for all writing or the start of a mathematical working out after a worked example has been shown.
Model what you want them to do, show them an example. I do- We do (some scaffolding needed still) - You do. This needs to be done more with remote learning.
Stay in touch
Make sure that all students have your school email address. Reassure them that you are happy to help.
Check in with messages on Google Chat
Recap, Revision and Recall
Create simple, multiple-choice quizzes that are low stakes, but will help students recall their previous learning.
These will be particularly useful for students who struggle to retain and recall information.
You could use the same quiz for every lesson, for a particular class. This will get them used to a routine.
Modelling
For pupils to be able to work independently, they need to have these strategies explicitly modelled to them. Give multiple examples of how to present completed work.
Use worked examples, videos or voice over powerpoints to show how things can be done.
Dyslexia Friendly
Avoid big blocks of text.
Where lots of text is unavoidable, line spacing of 1.5 should be used.
Different ideas are separated and numbered or bullet points.
Simple font such as Comic Sans or Verdana.
Text size 16+.
Black text on white background should be avoided, use cream or grey, ensure enough contrast for text to stand out.
Bold text for headings.
Remote student interaction and peer feedback?
Remote student interaction and peer feedback?
We had some discussion at a recent SPT meeting about a Rapid Evidence Review produced by the Education Endowment Foundation in response to the COVID-19 crisis and, in particular, the consequent and sudden shift to online learning.
The motivation to publish such information is clear. - To avoid a huge technological false start, in which the sector rushes to procure a myriad of potentially-ineffective software packages and attempts to embed ineffective or burdensome working practices without any reference to research.
Whilst it has the same issues as any educational research, - in its ability to raise as many questions as it answers; its applicability (or not) to each unique student and educational setting; and it's tendency to confirm what we already 'know' anecdotally, - I think we would do well to take it as a starting point for the long road that may lie ahead.
One section in particular stood out to me as something fairly 'obvious' but also eminently achievable by multiple easy routes: "Peer interactions can provide motivation and improve learning outcomes"
Click here to read more about how we can develop high quality peer feedback from afar...
Google Classroom
Google Classroom
Receiving work back from students or dealing with too many emails? Here are a few thoughts on Google Classroom usage.
ClassCharts tips:
ClassCharts tips:
How do I set ClassCharts homework for selected students within a group?
Set the homework for all students in the group and then edit the homework to remove the unwanted students.
All classes - www.classcharts.com.webmHow do I set ClassCharts homework for a whole Year Group?
Click on "Cover Class" and search for the classes called '7', '8', etc. They will be under "Mr T McLardy".
All classes - www.classcharts.com.webmUsing Loom to Personalise Remote Learning
Using Loom to Personalise Remote Learning
Many of you will already be familiar with Loom from watching videos such as those produced by Oak Academy. It is a free, web based application which enables you to present your screen whilst appearing as a little video in the corner. It is super easy to use and helps to motivate students by providing them with that familiar face that they value so much - yours :-)
Here is a quick demo of how to create a video using Loom:
There are myriad ways you can use Loom to personalise your lessons. Below are a few examples to give you food for thought:
In this first example, I have used Loom to introduce my first remote learning lesson for year 7 so that they are clear on the instructions and the steps they need to follow:
8d20c236117f422a8c4e601198ad69e1 (1).mp4In the video below, Mrs Jones has used loom to narrate over a powerpoint to deliver a remote lesson:
4a17a9c27e944e499a4181e8a0ddc4f9.mp4Here Mr Houghton recaps the previous lesson then introduces Diffusion for year 7. This is a notoriously tricky concept so the teacher wanted to give his own explanation as a short introduction before the students went on to the Oak Academy lesson on diffusion:
Finally, in the next two videos, you can see how I used Loom to 'top and tail' a lesson; starting the lesson with whole - class feedback from the previous lesson then ending the lesson with a summary of key concepts:
Osmoregulation Whole Class Feedback.mp4The Kidney Summary.mp4In this article, Adam Boxer reflects on how to make effective teaching videos and what to consider:
In this article, Adam Boxer reflects on how to make effective teaching videos and what to consider:
Using Mote to Leave Voice Recordings on Google Classroom, Slides and Docs
Using Mote to Leave Voice Recordings on Google Classroom, Slides and Docs
6d263585e16245dca9cffa1588d6c0f9.mp4Teachermade.com
Teachermade.com
Teachermade.com is a website that turns any worksheets into digital ones that pupils can complete. It has a series of tools you can use and it is completely self-marked. You create the document and assign it directly to your class on Google classroom and you get the results. You can record yourself or even video yourself adding instructions to the document.
Please see the loom video here of how you can use it.
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