Curriculum Connection
Updates, Information, and Ideas for DCSC Staff
March 9, 2020
In order to be respectful of everyone's time, I have broken the newsletter down into information that staff "Have To Know" and information that is "Nice to Know." In addition, I have tried to break things down further by grade level or subject area. Please ensure you read and/or respond to anything in the "Have To Know" section that applies to a grade level or subject area you teach.
If you find any ideas, websites, books, etc. that you think are worth sharing out, please send them my way and I am happy to include them!
Morgan Walker
Director of Academic Services
Certified Teaching Staff K-12
With a confirmed COVID-19 case affecting Avon Schools, it is prudent for us to begin considering the possibility of needing to utilize eLearning Days for prolonged instruction. As of the time this update is being sent out, no eLearning has been planned and these are just cautionary measures. Please read through the information below for further guidance.
Should DCSC choose to utilize eLearning for one or more school days, the following steps will help all classroom teachers prepare:
- As you are lesson planning, place information/resources/links on Schoology. Include a folder (published or unpublished) for each day of instruction and label it clearly with the date so it can be found easily if needed. At North Elementary, grade levels may want to work on creating Google presentations for a few days in advance (you could label the folders eLearning Day #1, eLearning Day #2, etc.). Continue to keep your Schoology pages updated at least 3-4 days in advance, similar to normal lesson planning.
- eLearning Days should mirror school days! Take a look at the lesson plan template. How will you provide an anticipatory set? How can you check for understanding throughout the lesson? What do you do for students who start the lesson with a solid understanding? What will you do for students that struggle?
- Remember to bring your mobile device home with you each night along with any teacher manuals you may need that cannot be accessed electronically.
- Students will have additional time to finish once we return to school but attendance will need to be tracked for each day. Schoology can track this easily if you ask students to complete something each day of class. Plan to have at least one thing to complete in Schoology per day (a discussion item, a survey question, a "quiz" that indicates they emailed you something, etc.)
- Teachers should have all assignments up by 9 AM daily and be available to answer questions, give feedback, participate in discussion items, etc. between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at a minimum. Questions asked by 2:30 should be answered by 3:30.
-As you are creating work for an unplanned eLearning Day, please keep the "lessons learned" below in mind. If you would like me to look over anything, I am happy to do so. Send me the course/s you want me to look at and I can log in (I can see things that are unpublished, too).
Lessons Learned
- Be mindful of the amount of time your assignment for the day will take students to complete. If you give an assignment in class that is taking students longer than you anticipated to finish, you have the ability to adjust. Because you don't have this same ability on an eLearning Day, you may want to include types of activities you have tried before in class and you know are doable in a normal class period (or less). Our goal was for each class to take students between 20-45 minutes to complete.
- Every class that you devote time to during the day should have an "assignment" of some kind to complete. You can be creative with this work, but if there is not work assigned or it only takes students 30 seconds to complete, you are essentially telling parents you don't believe your class is worth spending time on (which we know is not the case).
- Parents (and sometimes students) get frustrated trying to access sites outside Schoology in the younger grade levels. If you want elementary students to access another site, please create detailed instructions (with screenshots if applicable) or even a how-to video and add it to Schoology. This is something you can create ahead of time and share among grade-level teachers.
- Please do not ask students to print something out at home. While we are able to provide computers to most of our students, many parents commented they don't have a printer at home and felt that they couldn't complete the assignment. If you have an assignment you want them to complete at home that is on paper, let me know and I can help you digitize it!
- Creating some sort of assignment, test, quiz, discussion, etc. in Schoology helps staff to take attendance after the fact. If you want something turned in, Schoology is easier than email because you can easily track who has completed the assignment and who hasn't.
- Parents would love a checklist, if possible, at the elementary level. This would help parents understand what is expected of students and when they have completed things. Here is an example, although Schoology would make this easier because all sites would be in one place.
- Video instructions are really appreciated! Parents commented that they really loved videos walking them through directions and/or explaining concepts! There's just something about hearing it from a teacher's voice that makes an impact!
- You are all amazing! (Duh!) :-) SO many parents commented on the survey that they can't believe our teachers work with an entire class of students every day- when they were struggling at times to get work done with just their one child. Props to each of you!
All teachers, K-12
BAM! Take Schoology Up a Notch!
- Add video! From explaining directions to reading a story/passage aloud, there is power in having students hearing directly from you. Here are the instructions for Screencastify if you would like to use it to record!
- Add discussions! Let students interact with each other even when they can't be together in person. Ask for student's opinions, ask students to respond to others' ideas, etc. (Directions for adding shared discussions among classes are below.)
- Get students moving and away from their computers! Can they walk around their house to find an item? Can they call a family member and ask them questions?
- Use other methods to submit work- Draw something and take a picture of it to upload in Schoology, they could record themselves reading/explaining something via a microphone, etc.
- Check out fun sites like Flipgrid and have students record video responses and respond to other students.
- Add in humor- bring the same fun and personality to your eLessons as you do in person! Add in a video, record yourself telling a related story, etc.
Schoology Expert Tip (repeated from a previous Curriculum Connection, but good reminder now)
Did you know that you can share Course Discussions to involve multiple classes that you teach or combine a discussion with another teacher’s classes, including teachers from outside your organization? Shared discussions can be a great way to get a broader perspective from students of different age groups, geographic areas and diverse populations. Think about connecting with other classes to:
Have older students mentor younger students
Learn about different cultures and perspectives
Practice language and writing skills with students in another country
- Exchange and evaluate data on collaborative projects
A few things to keep in mind before you get started:
Shared discussions are not available across linked sections.
You must share the discussion with at least one other course you administer in order for the Share ID to appear so it can be given to other teachers. If you only intend to converse with another teacher’s students, you could share the Discussion with a Sandbox Course of your own and then distribute the Share ID.
See the attached Help article and Video tutorial for detailed instructions.
(Note: In the video, the Share ID is shown at the bottom of the Discussion. As you can see in the Help article, the Share ID now displays at the top of the Discussion.)
How Do I Share Discussions? – Schoology Support
https://support.schoology.com/hc/en-us/articles/216858657-How-Do-I-Share-Discussions-
Shared Discussions Video
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a9HoWufaZVju5B0RrvSFdvpofsEeA1aC/view?usp=sharing
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DCSC Curriculum Connection
Contact: Morgan Walker, Director of Academic Services
Email: mwalker@danville.k12.in.us
Website: www.danville.k12.in.us
Location: 200 Warrior Way, Danville IN 46122
Phone: (317) 745-2212
Twitter: @walker8208