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Lauren Dennis

How to Save Time Creating Lessons

February 17, 2021

As a teacher of 27 years, one problem, of many, facing teachers has been the amount of time it takes to create lessons. There is no magic wand to make this process painless, but there is a way to make lesson planning and creating more efficient. Our current Covid, pandemic reality has exacerbated this issue. Now is the time to find the routines that will allow for quicker planning, increased engagement, and stickier learning for students.

In the fall of 2019, I returned to the classroom after being a teacher on special assignment for eight years. I faced new standards, new textbook adoptions, at a new school site. I was creating everything new without an onsite support system. Then March 13th happened! Within a couple of hours, my students were packed up and out the door with their belongings. Little did we know that it would be our last day face to face.

Our transition to distance learning/crisis learning was rather smooth based on the fact that I had been implementing the EduProtocols from Jon Corippo and Marlena Hebern. Not only were my students flexible in their use of technology and the EduProtocols, but planning and lesson creating began to follow a workable routine.

“Planning the perfect week” became an effective routine for my students’ academic success and my sanity in planning and creating content.

Step #1: Identify your routines

You may not even be aware of the routines you actually have when it comes to planning. Take a few minutes to reflect on your planning. I noticed a few commonalities in the planning of a concept/unit/week. I started to chunk the material into more manageable tasks. You will notice that I reference many EduProtocols. These will be explained in more detail through a series of blog posts. Here is a link to my first iteration of this process.


Students appreciated the routines established and the familiarity of the EduProtocols. Because they had their interactions with the EduProtocols scaffolded, they were able to apply the cognitive skills with higher level materials/content as the year progressed.

Step #2: Consider the “flow”

I found myself planning a week at a time by breaking apart Hyperdocs. Hyperdocs are powerful tools that allow a teacher to plan a whole cycle of learning by identifying the moving parts into a routine streamlined planning process. The 5 E model: engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate work well when planning, pacing, and delivering content rich lessons that allow for student choice.

After modeling the 5 E model or other iterations, my students became content creators for each other! Towards the end of the year, students self-selected topics, with parameters, and moved from consumers to creators! They felt empowered and thoroughly enjoyed making lessons for each other. 

There are a variety of templates for Hyperdocs that can help ease the planning and creating time.

Step #3: Leverage Templates

Stop thinking that you need to change up the graphic organizer every time you use it. Stop “making it pretty.”  I am a self-proclaimed font snob and pretty preso maker! Let the kids make the slides eye-catching. Make use of the slide master in Google Slides to grab some fonts and layouts that always work. Please consider the visual needs of students when making font and color choices. That super cute font may not be readable by some of your students. Your color scheme may look appealing on your screen, but once on a display, it goes awry. There are many EduProtocol templates ready to implement…make a copy and go! Check them out at www.eduprotocols.com

Step #4: Get Organized

I don’t know about you, but my Google Drive is a hot mess. I created a spreadsheet with my EduProtocol templates so they were ready-to-access. Make a copy, rename, and you are up and running. 

For distance learning, I plan and post the whole week. I created a simple template in Google Slides. I adapt the colors and bitmojis for the season/holiday. Every week looks the same: slide with links, FYI, weekly tasks, ELA, Math, Science or Social Studies. Links on the Weekly Planner go directly to the assignment in Google Classroom. It takes a few weeks to get kids trained, but then the rest of the year will go smoothly! 

I honestly don’t know how I would be surviving our current situation without leveraging the power in the EduProtocols. Not only have they saved me hours, they have made me a more effective teacher. My students are more effective and engaged learners. They are learning how to learn…acquiring knowledge through routines, practice, and feedback.

Looking for more lesson design support? Get access to proven protocols, customizable templates, and interactive support at Untamed Learning. Click here to learn more! 

 

As an educator for 27 years, Kim has been an innovator in and out of the classroom. Kim incorporates best practices including WICOR, UDL, ELL. She believes in identifying learning objectives FIRST and then applying technology. Literacy in all content areas is the goal…and literacy must include new media. Kim strives to meet teachers where they are and move forward. In the classroom, Kim weaves pedagogy and technology in meaningful ways. Kim is an adjunct professor for Hope International University and serves as the CUE BOLD Director.

Blended Learning, Blended Teaching, Distance Leanring, lesson design, remote learning, Remote Teaching Leave a Comment

Teacher Organization Hacks: Declutter your Digital Workspace

February 10, 2021

Raise your hand if your digital workspace could use a good declutter! You find yourself spending 25 minutes searching for that one Doc you need or you can’t even open your inbox because that unread number causes your stress and anxiety to shoot through the roof.

We’re here to help with some tips for managing multiple Google accounts, organizing bookmarks, and taking control of your inbox. Are you ready to go Marie Kondo on your digital workspace? Let’s dive right in!

All of the tips below include G Suite tools and demonstrated inside Google Chrome.

Tip #1: How to Manage Multiple Google Accounts

If you’re like us, then you have multiple Google accounts. You’re constantly signing in and out of your personal or work account, but things get messy this way. Something always gets created under the wrong account making it even harder to find what you’re searching for. Our solution…separate your digital houses. There are two ways to access your Google account: log into your account inside your preferred browser or create a separate Chrome profile for each account. Spoiler alert – option two is the one you want! In the video below, Amanda Taylor is showing you exactly what we mean by “separate your digital houses” and how to switch between your accounts with the click of a button to keep everything separated so you can always find what you’re looking for inside your account.

https://www.edtechteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/separate-digital-houses_QVq8dt9L.mp4

Tip #2: How to Organize Your Bookmarks

This might seem like a simple tip, but trust us when we say that it’s a game-changer! Go and look at your bookmarks. How many do you have? How often do you actually use what you have saved to your bookmarks? Now, what are those top 6-10 websites you visit every day? Are they bookmarked or do you find yourself typing out the websites in your search box again and again because somehow it just feels easier?

If you’re like the majority of people (even us!) you’re bookmarks are a little out of control. The thing about bookmarks is they can save us so much time if they are used correctly. We’re talking about saving icons to your bookmark bar to take up less space, utilizing folders, and organizing your bookmarks so you can quickly and easily access what you need and use the most. In the video below, Amanda is showing you how to do all of this step-by-step.

https://www.edtechteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/clean-up-your-bookmarks_6eVJGqOS.mp4

Tip #3: How to Take Control of Your Inbox

We’ve saved the best for last…taking control of your inbox. If we had a dime for every time someone said they were excited to open their inbox we would have about 2 dimes. Shocking we know, but most people dread opening their inbox. We want to change that! We want to help you manage your inbox and get you to the point where you maybe aren’t excited to open your inbox, but you don’t feel that overwhelming stress when you see that unread number.

We’re showing you how to remove old emails from your inbox (quickly!), create filters & labels so you can easily search and find what you’re looking for, and how to set up your inbox so it best works for you. Dive into Amanda’s top tips in the video below.

We’ll be tackling Google Drive, Calendar, and Chrome extensions in another post, but for now, we hope you found all of these tips helpful and you can start to declutter your digital workspace. Let us know in the comments below if you’ll be incorporating any of these tips into your daily workflow.

Looking for ways to tried and true techniques, customizable templates, proven protocols, and interactive support to create high-impact learning experiences in your classroom?

Check out our virtual conference – Untamed Learning and get access to 32 sessions to help you ignite your teaching practice in 2021! 

 

Blended Learning, Blended Teaching, Google, remote learning, Remote Teaching, Teacher Tips Leave a Comment

Rethinking Summative Assessment: Giving Students Voice and Choice

February 9, 2021

Think back to an assessment you took in your elementary years.  Do you have it in your mind? If not, that’s the problem that needs to be addressed! The assessments you took were not that memorable; you probably didn’t have a lasting connection and there was absolutely no impact on you as a learner whatsoever. But do you remember maybe a science fair project? A public speech that you made? A birdhouse or table that you made in shop class? A portfolio of photos that your art teacher let you create? Those are the culminating pieces that you remember! So why can’t we do that in a class that [only] allows for traditional assessments? That is what we are going to dive into today. 

Currently, we are in such an opportunistic time in education. It can be difficult with the adversity families, learners, teachers, districts and communities are facing.  Educators are adapting to different learning models – hybrid, remote, hyflex, and back to face-to-face; but with these different learning models, we cannot forget the learner’s voice, choice, and engagement with their learning. Right now, we may have learners that are still engaged and are attending class daily; but we definitely have some learners that are struggling to stay connected to their education due to circumstances that may be outside of their control.  As educators, it is our responsibility to see this disconnection and to do what we can to cultivate that relationship again and empower our learners. 

One way to do that is to ditch that paper-pencil test! Read that again, ditch that paper-pencil test. There are some skeptics to this idea because it contradicts everything they have done as a teacher, and in their time as a student. Just think of the monotony and repetition of learning a new topic, practice that topic, test, repeat. We are in a personalized digital era where learners are increasing their knowledge of technology at a rapid rate, definitely surpassing the teachers’ knowledge. Let’s embrace that!

How can we use technology and tap into our learners’ interests to make assessments more meaningful? How can we empower our learners and build community at the same time? If you’re ready to approach these questions, continue reading!

Tip #1: Ask yourself if you’re ready to give up control and make a change

6 questions to ask yourself to see if you’re ready to give up control to your learners:

  • How do I know what a learner knows when I give them a test or essay prompt?
  • What are the ways a learner has shown me their thinking?
  • What are some ways that a learner can show me their understanding that I haven’t tried yet?
  • What if I gave my students a choice on how they want to be assessed?
  • Will the learning objective change?
  • Is learning the variable and time the constant? Or is learning the constant, and time the variable?

These questions can be uncomfortable to dig into at first for many reasons. It’s natural for people to think of the barriers first.  Your district probably has common assessments that you have to give to your learners for accountability purposes. Those assessments are designed to capture what that learner knows at that very moment on the topic you just covered for the last couple of weeks.

Sometimes your content or district team might tweak the questions from one year to the next. The school district might be switching from a traditional grading system to a standards-based system, or even to a proficiency-based grading system. You have 35 weeks to complete 19 units, so your time is very tight.  These are all very real circumstances and barriers that have made change difficult or assessments inflexible. 

The next tip is going to help you transition from inflexibility to innovation. We will dig into questions that may arise when you consider the idea of giving up control to your learners, and making assessments more meaningful.

Tip #2: Build intentional time to ideate [with your learners]

Once you’ve answered the above questions honestly, your gears may start to turn. I remember when I first answered these questions, I had so many “what if,” “will you,” or “could I” kind of questions. But I realized that I need to involve my learners in these questions if I want to give them voice and choice in the matter.  

Will I provide the options on how I want to assess my learners? I had one or two ways in my mind of how a learner could demonstrate their understanding, I thought they could make a video showing me they could solve a series of math problems that were the toughest in the unit. They could make an infographic on a Google Slide detailing their research, calculations, and linear models on a particular healthy restaurant as a Public Service Announcement. I shared these ideas with my learners, and that’s when the ideas started flowing.

I created a prompt on Padlet, and they all posted their ideas.  Their excitement and awe that they had a choice in the matter was palpable. This is where the real community building and engagement started.  One student loves board games so much she ended up making a chutes and ladders dice game involving simplifying expressions; she glow-forged a piece of wood, produced a bag of game materials, and made the game objective rule sheet, along with other supporting materials. She then filmed herself playing it as a way to prove that she was able to not only create the game but do the math behind it as well. Another student created an iMovie by screencasting his iPad while he narrated a live lesson on solving square root and cube root equations on Notability. These two examples definitely have a math focus, but just think…how could you extend this to Science? Social studies? Art? Music? Literacy? 

7 ways you can assess your learner’s understanding beyond paper and pencil

  • iMovie (video tutorial)
  • Infographic or anchor chart
  • Slideshow lesson notes
  • Board game
  • Spoken Word performance
  • Quizlet
  • Mini-lesson to you or a small group of peers
  • Virtual Tour with Google Maps

Will I develop a rubric or checklist to assess their understanding?

I came from a district that shifted towards standards-based grading, and we had common assessments with a rubric at the top of each test. When we shifted towards proficiency-based, the language changed towards what a student is able to do at that particular grade level, and what are the next steps or supporting steps. So I sat down with my learners and asked them, “What have we covered so far in this unit? What was a struggle for you? What has challenged you? What have you conquered in this unit?” Those are the items that we put into a rubric that we developed together.  With this conversation, I not only asked their opinion, but I involved them in the decision making process. Their voice was heard, acknowledged, and implemented. We are building a community of learners, together! The parts that were on the original rubric of the test were on there, but in a completely different way: applicable and personalized.

How much time will I allow for this?

I wasn’t sure about this one. We were at the end of one unit, and I asked my two classes if they would be interested in doing an alternative summative project rather than a paper-pencil test. You’ll get the students who just want to take a test, and you’ll get the learners who are hesitant, and the kids who absolutely hate tests and will do anything but test. All three categories create wonderful opportunities to dig deeper. You could pose statements or ask questions such as, “tell me more,” “how do you know if you’ve never done it before,” “what’s been your experience with a test [or project]?” 

We decided that in the last week of the unit, we would start to allow class time and encourage time outside of class to start creating their project. At this point, some learners opted out and continued down the traditional path of reviewing and taking the paper-pencil test. However, some students opted in and started to develop their iMovie, board game, memory matching game, etc. Some students only needed 2-3 days, others needed 3 school days and the weekend to complete it. We would provide meeting times throughout the week to check the status of the project and give suggestions.  I can’t tell you how long it should take because every teacher, student, class, content area, school, and district is different.  You have to ask yourself, what’s more important- the test and its results or creating life-long learners who are now committing to their learning out of choice? 

What if this fails?

This is a relative question. How do you define failure? A student doesn’t complete the project on time, if at all? You can give them the test. (This was an agreement I made with the students beforehand.) What if the student doesn’t do well on this project? What a wonderful opportunity to confer with your learner to discuss their process! Teachers can be their own worst critic, but to know that you have tried and continue to try to involve learners in the assessment process, provide meaningful opportunities for them to share their voice and perspective, not to mention their creativity and identity! What if it’s a success because the aforementioned was a byproduct?

Tip #3: Reflect!

Whenever you try something new or add a new layer to your pedagogy, always reflect. If you’re challenging yourself to release control to your learners and make your assessment process more meaningful and applicable to your learners, then why not reflect with them?

  • What was something you appreciated the most about this project?
  • Given more time, what would you add to your project?
  • If you did this again, what would you change?
  • How is this different to you from a traditional test/essay?

You could ask these questions on a Google Form, a Padlet, Jamboard, or even on a virtual call with breakout spaces. You could ask this in a community circle style within your classroom. You could choose to have the learners who opted out of the alternative project to be a part of the discussion in hopes to pique their interest. The opportunities are endless!

When I first started offering alternative assessments, I started with one unit, in one class, with a small group of students who were interested. It then grew to a second class to more students that were interested. I wasn’t quite ready to dive in and release control to too many students. But once I did, I didn’t regret it. They were asking me if their ideas were acceptable, and asking to use their extra work time to work on their project.

When the projects were turned in I conferred with them using the rubric or gave them feedback on the rubric in Google Classroom. Some students really took advantage of this opportunity and blew me away with their creativity. A smaller group of students definitely under performed; this opened up the doors to a great discussion and making next steps. Whether the project was a success or a “failure,” I always counted it as a win because I let go of the control, I invited the learners to own the assessment process, and the intentional time for feedback and conferring was invaluable.

I’ll always remember the following words, time is the variable, and learning is the constant.  When my grad school professor stated those words, it shook me.  If we’re worried about Day 50’s lesson not going into Day 51, we are leaving kids behind.  If we have to give this test to this one kid on this day no matter what, we’re leaving that kid behind.  If you have a student that has a hard time writing their thinking and that’s the only way you’re assessing that student is through writing, you’re leaving that student behind.  Once you start to release control to the learners and what they want, you find yourself doing it more and more. The learning becomes the constant; the learning becomes more meaningful; the learning becomes fun.  The more we lead with this in mind, the deeper your connections and trust will be with your learners, and your learning community will be just that – a community of learners with a shared purpose and sense of responsibility for each other’s learning.

If you have any tips, suggestions, or want to share your experience, please comment below. 

 

Bryn Grosskopf is a secondary math teacher in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Bryn earned her Masters of Education at Carroll University focusing on Personalized Learning and Teacher Leadership. She has worked at the Waukesha STEM Academy for eight years, developing a community of empowered learners and pushing her colleagues to do the same.  Teacher leader, innovator, and a learner-centered educator are just a few ways to describe how Bryn pushes the envelope on implementing personalized learning strategies and creating life-long learners.

Assessment, Blended Learning, Blended Teaching, remote learning, Remote Teaching Leave a Comment

What Does Effective Coaching Look Like in a Any Learning Environment?

January 28, 2021

 

What type of learning environment are you currently coaching in right now? As you read this, you might be in a remote learning environment, but that could change in the next 2-4 weeks. Depending on where you are in the country or world, you might be in a face-to-face learning environment.

All of these changes make it increasingly difficult to create consistent coaching cycles and you might even find yourself serving as tech support more than anything these days. Coaches, along with all other educators, have needed to adopt a strong sense of flexibility to support teachers through big periods of transitions. As you move forward, you need core tips and strategies you can rely in any learning environment and through any transitions.

In this post, I’m sharing my top 6 tips for coaching effectively in any learning environment. These are core tried and true tips you can add to your coaching toolbox to use now, as well as in the future.

Tip #1: Check-in with teachers by phone or text to provide encouragement

Teachers are busy, you’re busy as a coach, and whether you find yourself in a remote, blended, or in-person learning environment, face-to-face interaction can be difficult to come by. Teachers are overworked and overwhelmed. They are worried about the health and safety of themselves, their families, and their students. They are being asked to mimic the learning experiences of a normal school year in an environment that is beyond abnormal.

Any seasoned instructional coach will tell you that the first step to coaching is building relationships. Even in a normal educational environment, coaching does not begin with tools or instructional strategies, it begins with getting to know the teachers on a personal level and building a sense of trust and support. These relationships become increasingly more essential when learning environments are constantly changing. 

At a time when teachers are worried about the health and safety of everyone around them, instructional coaches need to begin with concern for the health and safety of their teachers. Instructional coaches should set aside some time each morning to check in with the teachers on their campus(es) and provide some support or encouragement. This small gesture can remind teachers that they are not alone and that others are looking out for them in the same way they are looking out for their own loved ones.

Tip #2: Offer Tech Support as Appropriate

While tech support may not be in the instructional coach’s job description, this is an evident need in the current remote learning environment. In many cases, both students and teachers are being asked to use devices and programs they have never used before, often with little or no training. As an instructional coach, we have the opportunity to help both teachers and students navigate these new tools and unfamiliar domains. While some instructional coaches will read this and say, “but I’m not tech savvy” or “I don’t know how all the different tools and platforms work” – that is okay! 

As an instructional coach, providing tech support is not necessarily about being tech savvy or having the IT knowledge and skills to be knowledgeable of all the different tools that are out there. Providing technical support as an instructional coach often means conducting research regarding a particular error message teachers keep running into or creating a screencast of how to login to the school’s digital resources. There are many times teachers will be using a digital tool and it just does not function the way they are anticipating. As an instructional coach, I can take the time to research what issues are happening so the teacher can continue their lesson and provide support to students.

Tip #3: Create a One-Stop-Shop of Resources

As instructional coaches become more knowledgeable and proficient with developing resources to share with teachers it is important to curate those resources into a one-stop-shop. There is a significant chance that a question one teacher has will later be asked by several other teachers; and more importantly, when you solve one teacher’s technical issue, several more will ask how to solve that issue as well. For these reasons, it is important for instructional coaches to organize any tip sheets, videos or links they have found into an easy-to-navigate resource for teachers. Some coaches like to use Google Classroom, while others post everything on a Google Site. Regardless of the platform you choose, it is important that this resource be easy to find and navigate. As teachers come to you seeking support, you can direct them back to your resources to find the answers they may need. 

Tip #4: Ask to Be Invited as a Co-Teacher or Co-Host During an In-Person or Online Class

One of the benefits to being an instructional coach is the ability to visit multiple classrooms each day to understand and support teacher challenges. If you’re still in a remote learning environment, classroom visits can go virtual. Many instructional coaches have joined in a teacher’s Zoom, Webex or Google Meet lesson to understand what the virtual learning environment is like for both students and teachers. By participating in the video conference, coaches can not only observe what is going on, but they can also provide additional support as a co-teacher, a modeler, or even guest teach a lesson.

In addition to providing support during active lessons, instructional coaches can also provide support through a teacher’s virtual classroom space. Many schools have transitioned to a learning management system during this time – if they were not already using one before – in order to create a virtual classroom environment for students. Whether you are using Google Classroom, Canvas, Blackboard, Schoology or something else, ask teachers to add you to their class as an observer or a co-teacher. Becoming part of that virtual classroom environment will allow you to see how the teacher is organizing their class materials, what types of lessons or activities they are posting, as well as provide insight as to what tools or strategies to recommend.

Tip #5: Provide Feedback on Remote, Hybrid, or In-Person Learning Plans

This leads me to my next tip – providing feedback on learning plans. Because it may be difficult to observe certain instructional moves or challenges during a live classroom experience, understanding those challenges as they relate to the learning plans is essential for providing effective coaching feedback. 

As an instructional coach, because much of the learning plan lives online, it is important to provide feedback on that plan. Coaches can discuss with teachers how they are providing feedback on various activities or lessons, how the teacher is helping students navigate the different resources they need to complete their work, and how teachers can provide practice and reassessment opportunities for students to continue progressing their skills. This would be similar to a coach sitting down with a teacher and discussing their lesson plans for the upcoming week. Good instructional practices remain good instructional practices throughout all learning environments.

By joining a teacher’s learning space, coaches can provide feedback to teachers asynchronously which is crucial during this time. Many teachers have been granted “other duties as assigned” and may be covering for sick colleagues during their regularly scheduled off periods. While it is important to have live discussion with teachers, much of this legwork can be completed prior to meeting with your teachers which can help streamline the coaching conversation.

Tip #6: Offer “virtual office hours” for anyone who wants to connect

Lastly, teachers often don’t know what they don’t know and questions can come up at any time. As an instructional coach, consider scheduling virtual office hours where teachers can connect with you for whatever questions or issues they may be having. Some teachers will pop in frequently, while others may have a quick question, but this availability goes a long way in reminding teachers that they have support even when teaching remotely.

While nothing about this school year is normal, there are still ways instructional coaches can adapt their practices to support teachers and students in all learning environments. As I often tell my teachers, anything you can do in a traditional face to face classroom can be done virtually if you are willing to think outside the box – the same goes for coaching. While your cycles may look different, your classroom visits are more infrequent, and your coaching conversations a bit more complex, good coaching strategies remain good coaching strategies even in a blended, remote and in-person learning environment. Providing support, resources, and feedback are still the most effective ways to provide coaching support to teachers, the ways in which this is done may just look a little different for now.

Megan Purcell is a Digital Learning Specialist and Certified Dynamic Learning Project coach in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD located in Carrollton, TX. She enjoys working with teachers to help them elevate their teaching through the use of impactful technology tools and strategies. Megan holds a masters degree in Educational Technology, which she earned overseas at the National University of Ireland in Galway, in addition to being a certified Microsoft Innovative Educator and Apple Teacher. She is a former high school English teacher who loves learning, technology, and helping make life easier for her teachers. She believes that every student should have access to current technology in order to develop 21st century skills necessary for participating in a global society.

Coaching Tips, Instructional Coaching Leave a Comment

How to Create Digital Lessons in Google Slides

January 26, 2021

Creating lessons in a face-to-face learning environment is challenging enough, but trying to translate lessons to a digital format takes it to a whole new level. So, we’ve called on Emma Pass (the Hybrid Teacher Guru) to walk through a simple workflow you can use to create lessons quickly and easily inside Google Slides. Whether you’re teaching in a remote, blended/hybrid, or in-person learning environment, this lesson system will work for you! Below, Emma is walking you step-by-step through how to use this plug and play system so you can start putting it to use right away. Say goodbye to staying up until 2 a.m. creating lessons! Let’s dive in.

Tip #1: Best Practices for Creating Lessons in Google Slides

In the video below, Emma is showing you a couple of examples of what effective lessons look like in Google Slides. She’s also walking you through the main elements she always includes in a lesson and how to create a new slide deck.

https://www.edtechteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Best-Practices-for-Lessons.mp4

Tip #2: How to Set up Your Slides

You’re probably thinking that there’s nothing new here, but there’s a shortcut in the video below that will save you a ton of time setting up your slides all while still looking nice.

https://www.edtechteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2-set-up-your-slides.mp4

Tip #3: Add in the Learning Target

You always want to make sure you add in the learning target at the very beginning of your lesson. In the video below, Emma shows you how to do this so that your students actually see it.

https://www.edtechteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/3-add-learning-target.mp4

Tip #4: Always Add a Video (It’s Easier Than you Think!)

Emma always adds a video to all of her lessons to switch up the content and keep students engaged. This might seem intimidating or sound time consuming, but Emma is showing you a quick way to embed videos in your slide deck without leaving Google Slides.

https://www.edtechteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/add-video.mp4

Tip #5: Ask Your Students to Go Do Something

This is the section of the lesson where you can really give your students some voice and choice. Emma is showing you how you can create a choiceboard right in your slide deck and really make the lesson interactive.

https://www.edtechteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ask-your-students-to-go-do-something.mp4

Tip #6: Add a “You’re Done!” Slide

Emma always adds a “You’re Done” slide at the end of all her lessons for students to click and turn in their assignment. In the video below, Emma is showing you how she connects this to Google Classroom, but you can use whatever LMS works for you.

https://www.edtechteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/6-Youre-Done-Slide.mp4

Tip #7: Grade Your Lesson in Google Classroom

If you’re using Google Classroom then this whole lesson design system is even easier for you. In the video below, Emma is walking you through how to create a copy of the lesson for each student, keep track of student progress, use rubrics and grade the lesson all in Classroom. Super easy and streamlined workflow to help you save a ton of time!

https://www.edtechteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Grading-in-Google-Classroom.mp4

There you have it! A plug and play lesson design workflow you can use in any type of learning environment. We hope you found this blog post helpful and if you try out this system, leave a comment below and tell us what type of lesson you created.

Also, if you’re looking for more support on Google Classroom, check out our blog post here on how to get set up.

Blended Learning, Blended Teaching, Distance Leanring, Flexible Learning, Google, lesson design, remote learning, Remote Teaching Leave a Comment

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