Blended Learning

How to Help Prepare Teachers to Thrive in any Learning Environment

September 17, 2020

As learning environments remain fluid at the mercy of COVID-19, it is important for teachers and coaches to have some tools that will facilitate instruction in any type of learning environment. One thing I always tell teachers – especially those that are technology adverse – is that good teaching practices will always be good teaching practices no matter the environment. It is important for teachers and coaches to remember their instructional foundation and pedagogy when transitioning from face-to-face to remote instruction and back again.

The same best practices that work in the classroom will continue to work online – you might just have to get a little creative. Here are five best practices for teaching and ways to address these instructional strategies in any environment.

Best Practice #1: Teacher Clarity

Whether teaching face-to-face or online, clarity of instruction is essential to good teaching. Anyone who has spent even five minutes in a classroom knows that as soon as the teacher finishes giving the instructions, students will ask “What are we supposed to do?” When facilitating learning face-to-face, teachers often have the lesson instructions posted in several different places. Teachers will verbalize the instructions, they are likely written on the board, as well as printed at the top of the assignment page. Teachers are taught to deliver instructions in a variety of ways to suit a variety of learners, in addition to the hopes of avoiding the dreaded “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do” after explaining the task for the seventeenth time.

As facilitators of remote learning, clarity of teacher instruction will be just as – if not more – crucial to the learning environment. The same multimodal instructional approach from the classroom can easily be adapted to the digital world. Teachers can post the instructions on the assignment or task itself, but can also include a video of themselves reading the instructions out loud. If students need to click on something or navigate to a particular page, teachers can make a screencast showing themselves following each of those steps so students know exactly where they need to be and what they need to do when they get there. Another advantage of video instructions is that students can go back and watch the video as many times as they need to accomplish the task. Many instructors have begun including video instructions even during face-to-face courses as it is easy to point students to the video, rather than having to repeat yourself all the time.

As an instructional coach, you can help your teacher navigate this process by showing them tools that would work for this type of strategy – Screencastify is one of my personal favorites. Maybe you create a video of yourself making a screencast so teachers have those instructions in their toolkit for reference later on. Additionally, you as the instructional coach can help teachers become more clear and succinct in the way they deliver instruction by viewing their videos and trying to accomplish the task. If you can follow the instructions easily, it is likely that the students will be able to as well. The ability to give clear, concise instruction is an essential element of teaching no matter what learning environment the students are in.

Helping teachers set up a folder in their learning management system or website for housing their collection of instructional videos creates a one-stop-shop for students to access coursework. This also allows instructors to have curated content ahead of time that can be reused in later courses. Over time teachers will develop a vast library of instructional videos that will make it easier to differentiate for the needs of each student.

Best Practice #2: Classroom Discussion

Another essential element of good instruction is the facilitation of classroom discussions. Many educators feel that when instruction becomes remote, the ability or opportunity to engage in meaningful class discussion becomes unreasonable. Though classroom discussions are an important element of face-to-face learning, they are increasingly essential during remote instruction. It does not matter if the class is meeting synchronously or asynchronously, there are many tools available that can help teachers provide these opportunities for conversation.

If your school or district allows or expects students to meet with their teachers at a designated time, facilitating a class discussion becomes as easy as it was in the classroom. Teachers can have students meet on a video-based platform like Zoom or Google Meet and facilitate a discussion through video.

For asynchronous learners, the discussion board becomes the most popular means to facilitate classroom discussions. There are several different types of discussion board tools available online that allow users to post content and reply to others. If your school or district uses a learning management system like Canvas, Google Classroom or Blackboard, a discussion board feature is already built-in to those programs. If your school does not have a designated LMS, there are a plethora of tools you can choose from (you can still use these tools with an LMS, too).

Flipgrid is one of the most popular asynchronous discussion board tools as it allows students to record their responses via video, and in turn, reply to their classmates via video as well. Flipgrid is very user friendly and was designed for educators, by educators. Other tools like Padlet and Linoit also provide opportunities for discussion, but in a more “parking lot” style. In these programs, students can type a response, or insert a video. Students can then like or reply to others using text or other multimedia tools. If external tools just aren’t your thing, using collaborative documents like Google Docs or Slides is another way to facilitate discussion. Teachers can pose a question at the top of the document and each student can reply on the same page. The downside to this method is that sometimes students start editing or deleting content that isn’t theirs, but that can be addressed in the teacher’s behavioral expectations.

Similarly to instructional strategies, each of these discussion board tools are applicable in all settings. There may be a time in the classroom when you have some students who are out for various school events – athletics, band, college visits, etc – and miss what discussions go on in the classroom. The teacher could record the discussion that occurs live and then post that video to one of these platforms, thus allowing those absent students to listen to the conversation and respond with their own thoughts. Too often when students miss school they just go without the conversation from that day, but digital tools have allowed for opportunities to keep them in the conversation even when they can’t physically be present.

Best Practice #3: Feedback

No significant learning has ever occurred without feedback. I cannot count how many times feedback is addressed in conversations with students, teachers, and administrators. In face-to-face classes, students get feedback from their teachers about their behavior, their thinking processes, and their academic work. It is just as critical for teachers to continue providing feedback to students even when working remotely.

While some teachers may find it easier to provide feedback in face-to-face settings, there are some tools that help provide feedback even in remote settings. Some teachers have started to integrate computer adapted programs into their lessons like NoRedInk.com or CommonLit which provide self-grading practice questions at the end of a lesson. Teachers can also use tools like Google Forms which has a feature enabling certain feedback depending on the answer choice the student selects.

If verbal feedback is what you’re looking for, there are tools that will allow teachers to record voice notes they can then link directly to the student’s assignment. Teachers could screencast themselves reviewing student work and share the video with students. Teachers can use the Talk and Comment extension to create voice notes that leave a link directly on the document or assignment being viewed. Teachers could even use their phone to record a voice note and email the link to students. Many teachers have found the ability to talk through their thoughts while reviewing student work to be more efficient and effective regardless of the learning context. These voice notes allow students to review the feedback multiple times as well.

Best Practice #4: Formative Assessment

In addition to providing feedback to students about their progress, teachers need to also collect data to determine how students are grasping the material. The best way to gather this data is through formative assessment. In the traditional face-to-face context of the classroom, this data can be collected via exit tickets, quizzes, written assignments, and other learning activities. Similar to the aforementioned best practices, there are a growing number of formative assessment tools designed specifically for digital learning.

Flipgrid can be used as a discussion tool, and a formative assessment tool. Many teachers pose questions at the end of the lesson like they would a traditional exit ticket. Edpuzzle is another popular tool that allows teachers to embed video content into a Q&A type platform so students are prompted to answer questions as they watch the video of the lesson. This is a great resource for teachers to record themselves facilitating the lesson and embedding some check for understanding along the way. Google Forms is a popular formative assessment tool, in addition to traditional discussion questions facilitated by tools like Socrative.

Many teachers typically opt for digital formative assessment tools because of the data they are able to collect and interpret from students. Many tools allow for opportunities to provide instant feedback to students, so both learners and teachers are getting an accurate picture of the learning that’s taking place. These formative assessment tools are available and applicable in both face-to-face and remote learning settings, and many will seamlessly integrate with your school’s learning management system to create a one-stop-shop for students.

As an instructional coach, you may spend a lot of time researching the best tools to elicit the data each teacher is looking for, in addition to providing instruction or resources on how these tools function. Oftentimes teachers need their coach to model how these tools can be used for learning in their classroom, so don’t be afraid to get creative. You can use Flipgrid in PE and Foreign Language classes, you can use Edpuzzle in athletics and math – remote learning provides you as the coach more opportunities to introduce tools to teachers who may have never used them before.

Best Practice #5: Metacognitive Strategies

The final best practice to remember, regardless of the learning environment, is to incorporate opportunities for reflection. As an instructional coach, reflecting on the challenges of our teachers and the strategies they implement is part of our practice. As teachers, reflecting on our lesson plans and student data is required. As a student, having an opportunity to reflect on your learning is essential.

During times of crisis like COVID-19, students need the chance to talk about their thoughts and feelings as well as their learning. Students are thrown into an unfamiliar environment and expected to succeed as they always have. Students do not innately know how to learn, learning is a skill that needs to be taught, especially in a new environment. Remote learning provides teachers with an opportunity to teach students how to manage their time, how to use the resources available to them, how to problem solve, and how to adapt to new environments.

Students, teachers, coaches, administrators, parents – everyone will be feeling anxiety during this time. Providing opportunities for reflection will help students understand their own progress through this journey, as well as provide teachers with a clearer perspective on their student’s learning. Too often teachers forget to build in these opportunities which does a disservice to the students. As an instructional coach, constantly encourage your teachers to reflect on their teaching and remind them to provide reflection opportunities for students as well.

No matter what this year throws at us, we can conquer anything. With your help as an instructional coach, teachers can be equipped to thrive in any learning environment. At the end of the day, good teaching is good teaching and remembering these best practices will lay a strong foundation upon which learning can occur.

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.

How to Create an Engaging Virtual Classroom

September 14, 2020

Excitement and anticipation comes with the beginning of any new school year no matter whether you are a teacher, parent, or student. That is certainly true even more so now. In fact, with all that is going on in education as a response to the pandemic, we could give these emotions more honest monikers like anxiety, worry, trepidation, fear, and discomfort. We have all had our comfort zones completely demolished. As teachers, we are normally expected to plan and be ready to pivot in case the unexpected happens, which it always does. This is usually something that, as we gain in experience, we are able to do with greater fluidity.

As a planner, I write out my plans for everything, school, home, and family. You name it and I probably have a set of “To Do’s” for it. As a teacher, normally by this time in the summer I will have mapped out my plans for at least the first month of school. This includes all of the labs and hands-on activities that are so vital in Chemistry for grabbing my student’s attention and building the necessary relationships from teacher to student and from student to student. However, this year we are tasked with planning for the ultimate unknown. We do not know who will be in our class or how many of them will attend. Will they be in-person or remote? How will we reach out to them and connect to build relationships? What will work best to reach them if they aren’t communicating? How much support will they receive from their homes? What struggles have they experienced during this time? Do they have connectivity? Do they have to watch their siblings? When will we get to meet them in person? This doesn’t even include any of the content that we have to cover on a pretty tight schedule.

Building relationships with my virtual students seems to be the first and largest stumbling block. To solve this problem I started paying much closer attention to my email inbox where I found several articles on engaging students remotely and creating a powerful remote learning experience. It was overwhelming, to say the least, and there are so many resources, tips, and techniques that you can use.

I started down a rabbit hole and jumped from one resource to another. I was going nowhere fast and getting frustrated with all of the options promising solutions to my challenge of how to engage my students from day one. I finally decided that I needed to start with my virtual classroom and was inspired by WeAreTeachers. I know that many have jumped on the Bitmoji Classroom train and this is not a new idea or original idea, but this looked like fun and I really wanted to try something new. The old back-to-school get to know your stuff was really no longer relevant and I wasn’t going to be able to do a Mad Scientist Demonstration or the Re-Enactment of Laboratory Eye Safety that I have always used.

How to Create a Bitmoji Classroom

To get started I did what my students do, I consulted the all-knowing internet! I found and used the Youtube channel for Thomas Blakemore who teaches in Dubai which helped me be able to get started. My first step was to make myself a Bitmoji. To do this, I had to use my cell phone to download the Bitmoji App. When I opened the app, I was directed to take a picture of myself which, amazingly, turned me into a cartoon character!! I am constantly surprised and have that feeling of, “Well would you look at that! What will they think of next?!!!” I know I am not ahead of the times and this app has been around for a while, but it was new to me!

The videos I have watched of the very insanely talented teachers who use their own virtual classrooms to teach their online students strongly recommended that you should make the classroom look as close as possible to your real classroom. This way when they do get to come back to the classroom, it will seem at least a little familiar. The first step was to create the base of my virtual classroom. To do this, I created a new Google Slides Presentation and selected “insert” from the top menu, “image”, and then “search the web”. I searched for “wall and floor”, which brought up several options to choose from.

From here, I started building my virtual classroom with inserted images that mirror the furniture, posters, whiteboards, etc. that fill my real classroom. I learned that using the term “transparent” after any term helps you find the type of pictures needed to design your room more realistically. Once you have all of your elements, you can customize everything to fit in your room.

I do want to emphasize that I am in no way am I an expert at this. In fact, this process of designing my virtual classroom took me the better part of a day and I’m still refining and adding things.

The purpose I had for this virtual classroom was for it to be a spot where students could look for references, tools, and information. To accomplish this, I began inserting the links that I wanted my students to be able to find and use. Linked to the corkboard in the upper left of the classroom is a Padlet app that will act as our class’ virtual bulletin board. As a part of their first-day assignment, I will have my students post a picture of themselves in their workspace at home. I hope it not only shows me what they look like but gives me just a little glimpse into their environment. In the future, I will continue to use this space to celebrate awesome student work and facilitate relationship building.

If you click on my Bitmoji, you will get a link to a video I created in Screencastify of the real me introducing myself. Other links include chemistry safety rules behind the Minion, our classroom management system, Canvas, an interactive periodic table, the log-in for our online textbook, and our class syllabus.

My plan is to have my students take the time to investigate all that my virtual classroom has to offer and then see if they can answer the questions found in the virtual scavenger hunt I will post in a quiz format. I really want them to interact with it enough so that we can build engagement and I hope it works. My plan is to modify this classroom once a week and add in things that are relevant to the learning for that week, the whiteboard will have a new announcement, and my picture will have a different video for further directions. My virtual classroom is nowhere near as awesome as some of the teachers’ I have seen and I could second guess myself into doing nothing new or different, but what if it works? Or what if it opens the door to learning for just a few more kids? Then my efforts are well worth it. If you have any good ideas for how you are going to build engagement in your virtual classroom, I’d love to hear about it please share in the comments below!

Jennifer Schero

How to Effectively Coach in a Blended and Remote Learning Environment

September 9, 2020

The rapidly changing nature of the world is having a dramatic impact on society, the workforce, and ultimately education. Just a few months ago, educators across the country were asked to uproot everything they knew about teaching and learning to transition to a new form of teaching amid a global pandemic. Though the dust has not yet settled, educators are becoming increasingly more equipped to handle teaching in this new environment. As instructional coaches, it is our obligation to support our teachers through this difficult time and ensure that students are still getting the education they deserve. As teacher’s roles have, and will continue, to change, so will the role of the instructional coach.

While some districts may be fortunate to return to face-to-face learning come fall, even those environments will likely be vastly different from what has been the norm for decades. Some districts are offering a blended model of learning, and still, others are opting for complete remote instruction. Regardless of which circumstance you find yourself in, there are instructional coaching strategies applicable in all settings.

Here are five tips for navigating blended and remote instructional coaching.

Tip #1: Relationships Still Matter

Whether you are coaching face-to-face, in a blended model, or completely online, there is one thing that will never change – relationships matter! Regardless of the context, it is important as an instructional coach to establish a relationship with each of the teachers you are coaching. While remote coaching may make this opportunity a little more difficult, it is imperative to find a way to speak with each teacher live. You can set up a Zoom meeting, socially distance at school, or connect on the phone if all else fails, but it is important to start with that human connection.

Once that initial connection is established, the relationship needs to continue to build throughout the coaching cycle. Now, more than ever, teachers are feeling anxious about returning to school. Teachers are scared for their health and the health of their family. Teachers are worried about their students and the learning they will be able to provide them. Teachers feel isolated and alone in their feelings and often cope in silence. As an instructional coach, I have often joked that a significant element of my job is providing therapy to teachers and allowing them to vent their feelings and frustrations – but that is no longer a joke, it has become a job requirement.

As you coach teachers throughout the school year, and especially this fall, it is important to not only provide technical and instructional support, but moral support as well. Check in with your teachers often, ask about how they are doing, and how things are going at home. Offer to counsel and support them in any way possible. Just as teachers often worry about their students beyond the school day, you will find yourself as a coach worrying about your teachers.

Whether you are coaching face-to-face, in a blended model, or remotely – a trusting relationship is going to be essential. Things may not go smoothly, things may fail miserably, and things may not work the first time. It is important to be available to support teachers when things go awry, it is important to have troubleshooting resources available for teachers, and it is important to be someone your teachers feel comfortable reaching out to.

While relationship building is important in traditional coaching environments, it is imperative in blended and remote coaching models. Without a relationship, it is highly unlikely teachers will prioritize coaching – especially in the context of this pandemic. Building relationships will not only help teachers be successful, but it will help prioritize coaching.

Tip #2: Include Both Synchronous and Asynchronous Support

While many schools are offering both virtual and face-to-face learning options, instructional coaches need to follow suit. One of the good things that has come out of the COVID-19 pandemic – if you can find any good things – is the integration of both synchronous and asynchronous learning. Teachers have been saying for years that learning does not just occur in a classroom, and now is our chance to really prove that. In addition to broadening the scope of learning, teachers and schools are becoming more accepting of students learning at their own pace, on their own time.

It is no secret that teachers do not have much downtime throughout the course of a school day – that’s usually one of the reasons they avoid being coached at all costs. However, if coaches could provide both synchronous and asynchronous support to teachers, coaching not only becomes more accessible, but it also allows the coach to accommodate each teacher’s different needs. As an instructional coach, I encourage you to develop tutorials, handouts, or a collection of general tips that you can share with teachers. These instructional pieces should be easy for the teacher to understand and follow on their own, in addition to being accessible at any time.

In addition to offering support to teachers asynchronously, teachers can request help from coaches asynchronously as well. While some teachers may be teaching face-to-face, it might not be safe or comfortable to have additional bodies in the room for classroom visits. In this case, the teacher can record themselves facilitating a lesson and send that video to the coach to receive feedback. The coach can analyze the video and make notes or suggestions based on what they see, which would provide some talking points for the next coaching meeting.

Tip #3: Develop a Cadence

While flexibility will be the name of the game in 2020, it is still important for an instructional coach to develop a cadence for coaching. Typically coaching takes place in cycles and each cycle has a cadence for meetings and classroom visits. While meetings and classroom visits may look a little different this year, it is still important to develop some kind of coaching rhythm to keep yourself on track.

The first thing you should decide is whether or not you want to establish coaching cycles, how many, and for how long. Some coaches may want to stick to 8-week cycles, some may want to adapt them to 6 or 9 week grading periods, while others may want to rotate teachers by month. Once the length of the cycle has been determined, it must then be decided how many teachers will be coached. My word of advice – just because more teachers will need help during this time, that does not mean you have to serve them all at once. Decide what load is manageable for you, and enlist the help of some rockstar teachers when needed. Some teachers just need help setting up their Google Classroom, while others need more in-depth assistance. Determine what your teachers need and prioritize who gets your support.

Once you have determined how many teachers you will coach and for how long, the next step in the cadence is determining how to structure your weeks and your days. Depending on whether students are remote learning or face-to-face learning will have a significant impact on what you decide. Maybe one day a week is video conferencing with all of your teachers being coached, while another day is spent researching best practices and putting together resources. What is important is that you as a coach find and develop a cadence that works for you, and you stick to it!

Don’t be afraid to schedule things on your calendar to keep yourself accountable. In these uncertain times and unfamiliar environments, it is easy to get sidetracked and distracted from your goals.

Tip #4: Don’t Forget Pedagogy

While many teachers are celebrating digital learning opportunities, others are less than thrilled. As evidenced by the remote learning transition in the spring, many teachers went into survival mode and began posting worksheets online for students to complete at home. While this type of instruction was appropriate for initial crisis management, it has become increasingly important for teachers to rethink and redefine the ways they are approaching remote learning. As an instructional coach, it will be critical for you to keep pedagogy at the forefront. Many teachers will want to just post worksheets in Google Docs or have the students watch a YouTube video and answer some questions about it, but in these contexts that may not be the best facilitation of instruction.

As the environment changes, the instruction must change with it. It is important for teachers to engage their students just as they would in the classroom, despite the difficulties presented by distance. Some teachers will look for the latest and greatest tech gadget, and their students will end up playing with toys instead of learning the content. As the instructional coach, it is important to ensure that teachers are not throwing pedagogy out the window, especially in remote settings. Good teaching strategies will always remain good teaching strategies, and there is almost always a way to facilitate those same strategies remotely – you just might have to get creative.

At the end of the day, schools are asking students to return to learning because it has been deemed important, so we need to make sure we are providing a quality education for our kids. Don’t be afraid to hold teachers accountable and let them know when the pedagogy has been neglected, just be sure to have some suggestions prepared to provide support. Now, more than ever, your PLN (professional learning network) is going to be a great resource for new ideas, support, and growth.

Tip #5: Be Prepared for Anything

As previously mentioned, flexibility is the name of the game for 2020 and you must be prepared for ANYTHING! It is easy for me to sit here and prescribe suggestions or resources, but those may become obsolete in seconds depending on what happens with COVID-19 and government regulations. Teachers need to be prepared for face-to-face instruction, remote instruction, blended instruction, and for those environments to change at the drop of a hat. As instructional coaches, we need to be ready to support teachers in each of those environments as well as help them make the transitions between the platforms.

In addition to being ready for supporting teachers in all settings, you must also be prepared to perform job duties that are both new and familiar to you. Even though our job title is ‘instructional coach’ we all know that teachers are often asked to take on “other duties as assigned.” Do not be surprised if you get additional duties added to your plate, depending on your role in your school or district. These are uncertain times for everyone and school leaders are doing their best to provide the type of education students deserve. Teachers will be asked to wear many hats this year, and as coaches, we likely will too. No matter what gets thrown at you, it is important to be flexible, work to the best of your ability, and always keep a stash of chocolate around for emergencies.

How to Choose Your LMS: Canvas vs. Google Classroom

July 30, 2020

So here we are, in the midst of a pandemic, adapting as teachers do. In the last six months, everything around us has changed, and we must now redefine what it means to be a teacher. We’re overwhelmed. We’re stressed. A million questions are running through our heads. Where do you even start? Well, my gut says we should start by picking an LMS. You’re going to have to choose some kind of learning management system before you move forward, and most of your decisions from there are going to depend on the choice you make regarding your LMS, anyhow. So, why not start there?

In this article, I’ve done my best to layout for you the two main choices for secondary LMS, since I myself am a secondary teacher. We’ll talk about some of my favorite features of Canvas and Google Classroom, and the benefits that they bring to the table. Moreover, we’ll discuss the learning management system that I prefer, and the benefits of it that help me to be a more effective and unique teacher, even when teaching remotely.

Pros and Cons of Google Classroom

Google Classroom has been around since August of 2014 and has been well-loved by educators throughout its lifetime – as it should be. There are a lot of really great reasons to choose Google classroom, especially for teachers who are not experienced with technology. The LMS comes with an extremely simple set up, requiring only a course name and then you can easily select a premade theme that “customizes” your course to be different from other courses. There are also some things that make Google Classroom incredible, like the class-shared resources in Google Drive and a shared Google Calendar for all members of the course to mark due dates and important upcoming events. The LMS is also rather easy for students to navigate and understand, and when used across the board by all of their teachers it becomes even easier, as all google classrooms look the same and operate in the same way. The mandatory course home is a stream of activity where the teacher can reference work, post announcements, or even allow students to ask questions. When you switch to the classwork tab, you find that work can be very easily separated into modules and ordered exactly the way you want it to look. Google Classroom also sort-of interacts with popular LTIs (learning tool interoperability) like EdPuzzle, Kami, and Quizizz. Finally, there is also an app that both teachers and students can download on iOS or Google Play that allows the students to access the Google Classroom and turn in work, and allows the teacher to assign and grade work.

Like all things, Google Classroom has its downsides and limitations, primarily in the customization of the classroom itself. All Google Classrooms look exactly the same, and teachers aren’t able to do much other than add a picture and change the color settings to make it their own. The inability to customize is like the inability to decorate your room and express yourself as a teacher, and I find that to be a huge drawback, especially as this new school year starts and I will not have the ability to meet some of my students in person first. One complaint you may frequently see about Google Classroom too is that the assignments NEVER CLOSE. I had experience first hand with this over this summer as I was teaching online summer school, where a student didn’t realize that I was using a different LMS (because he didn’t check his email) and he completed two weeks worth of massively late work in his previous teacher’s classroom rather than completing the appropriate assignments for summer school. This can be frustrating because no one wants to get work 3 weeks late, let alone in the middle of summer. Also, many school districts have policies about late work and not letting students turn things in after a certain amount of time. My final downside was never really a problem before the pandemic, but now that we are where we are, it’s important to note that Google Classroom doesn’t log student activity or interactions within the course, something that is about to be incredibly important for attendance purposes.

Honestly, in short, I would say that Google Classroom could work for any subject, grade level, or student group. Most importantly: Google Classroom is extremely user friendly, making it ideal for young kids, basic clubs/groups/courses, or the not-so-technologically-advanced students and teachers as it doesn’t require much maintenance, upkeep, or training to get started. Personally – I use Google Classroom for clubs that I host or academic groups on campus because the stream is incredible for student officers to communicate with their peers, and I can assign permission slips, different things I’d like to give to the whole group before the next meeting, etc via the classwork tab. Google Classroom is also perfect for a blended learning environment, as a supplement to an in person classroom, where you have all the students in a single room and can teach them and communicate with them directly in person, and have students submit work online.

Pros and Cons for Canvas

I would wager to say that Canvas is like the older brother of Google Classroom. First launched in 2011, Canvas has grown and become one of the most widely used Learning Management Systems in the US. Since Canvas was used by my campus when I was working on my master’s program, I have had experience with both sides of the Canvas Classroom (Student and Teacher) and I still adore the program.

In perks, Canvas can do JUST ABOUT anything that Google can. You can create assignments, organize modules, have a class calendar, even create “Google Cloud assignments” which is just like creating an assignment on Google Classroom. Canvas, however, takes everything a step further. One of the things that I love about Canvas is the PAGES. You (and your students, if you let them) have the ability to create pages with content or information and can add these pages into individual modules. So if I wanted to tell a bunch of students about myself, I could create an “About the Instructor” page, referencing my biography and some interesting facts about me with my picture, contact information, and office hours for students. Essentially, a content page is whatever you want it to be, and I love that. Canvas also allows teachers to have their courses be completely unique. Other than some of the links being the same, teachers can edit the entire structure of the course, choosing if students can see only modules and announcements, or allowing the students to see and interact with other parts of the online system. A teacher can combine these two wonderful features to create their own homepage for their ‘website’, and tag it as the first thing students see when they enter the course. Canvas also has the ability to cross-list sections into one giant ‘shell’, so that you have all of your “Algebra 2” students in one course, and can have a separate course ‘shell’ for your “Algebra 2 Honors” students. Canvas also gives interaction and access reports to teachers, allowing you to see when students were last online and what they accessed while they were there – essential data as we are to move forward with online learning. If that wasn’t exciting enough, Canvas allows users to directly embed LTIs like EdPuzzle, FlipGrid, and countless other learning tools. Also, via either iOS or Google Play, there are different apps performing three different functions for canvas – Student, Parent, and Teacher allowing anyone to submit assignments, message, or view course content with their mobile device. The different apps allow the experience to be unique to the obviously completely different roles in the course, which is nice. I could go on and on and on about all of the amazon features of canvas, and WILL in future posts – I promise!

Unfortunately, I must reference the Peter Parker Principle (yep, Spiderman), and state that with great power comes great responsibility. Canvas takes a lot of effort to set up to be exactly what you want, and a high level of understanding of technology to be able to operate it at its fullest potential. You have to be patient with yourself as you move forward, and understand that you’re probably going to be tweaking things frequently as you move forward and updates for new features come out. Students also sometimes need an overview and explanation of the course structure, as it can vary so much from course to course. I usually do this with a quick screencast & EdPuzzles combo (more to come on that SOON!) to show students how to navigate the course, submit assignments, and check their grades. Canvas also lacks attention in the physical drive and storage capabilities. I really enjoy the fact that Google Classroom has a classroom Google Drive, where all students’ assignments are submitted and updated live, providing options for the use of other tools like Slip-N-Slide, which require other solutions if operated solely with Canvas.

Canvas is hard to set up, and it can be difficult to learn the ins-and-outs, but with the right support, Canvas is an appropriate tool for any grade level and any subject. I would say however, that I would not choose to use a Canvas course for a small group of students like a club or organization because of the high levels of maintenance and setup that the LMS requires. When used across the board by all teachers and students with the appropriate comprehensive training, Canvas can change the way that we all perceive remote learning.

My Recommendation

I’ve gotten to choose, and I’ve had the decision made for me by my district. Both times – the decision for my classroom was Canvas. I understand technology enough to be able to develop and maintain a pretty extravagant Canvas course, and I like the extra tools and settings that it provides me. For instance – I can message students directly to talk about their missing assignments or anything else I might need to chat with them about, without the need for a secondary app or email. Students and Parent observers can also message me directly about assignments, and I get the notification on my phone through the Canvas App so I can reply quickly and easily, almost like a text message! I also love to embed different activities and provide a wide variety of assignment options, and Canvas, with all its LTIs, allows me to do that. Going forward, my district has mandated that all courses will use Canvas as their structural LMS and as a supplement to in-person courses because of the settings and features that it provides.

All-in-all, your choice for LMS will likely depend on your district, what you need as a teacher, and what you want your course to look like. Both options are incredible, and either way, you are doing the very best you can to put forth an engaging and interesting learning experience for your students. You’ve gone above and beyond just by reading this article, and I respect you for that.

Keep your eyes open and blog notifications on as I can hardly wait for the next post in our Survival Toolkit Series, breaking down how to set up your courses to be effective, efficient, and to help you express yourself regardless of your LMS! In the meantime – Take that first step! What LMS are you going to use in the upcoming school year?

How to Prep for the Next School Year [5 Actionable Strategies for Instructional Coaches]

July 21, 2020

Educators nationwide are holding their breath waiting for information about what school will look like in the fall. Some districts are offering both face-to-face and remote learning options, other districts are hopeful that school will be able to resume as normal, and even more are planning for complete distance learning. Regardless of what the physical educational environment looks like in the coming days, here are some tips for educational coaches to prepare for a new school year that apply in both face-to-face and remote learning environments.

Strategy #1: Develop Your Goals and Vision

Each year, school administrators typically develop a shared goal and vision for the campus to adhere to that year. As an instructional coach, it is important to develop your own goals and vision for working with the teachers you serve. It is important that coaches support campus initiatives and have a clear direction as to how they want to best support staff. Perhaps this year you will focus on integrating one tech tool into each classroom. Maybe you want to get the entire English department using Google Classroom. Your goal may even be to serve a certain percentage of teachers or to coach at least one teacher in every department.

Whatever your goal may be, it is important that you be clear and precise and develop actionable steps for reaching that goal. Maybe you need to plan out your cycles ahead of time to ensure you can serve everyone. Maybe you need to prepare some learning materials or handouts for teachers to keep on hand as they facilitate lessons. Maybe you need to develop instructional videos for your campus so teachers can refer back to them after PD. Whatever this goal may be, this is a great time to look ahead and plan so you’re ready for whatever the fall may bring. Coaches can also use this time to conduct their own research or study topics that interested them from the past year, that they never got around to looking into. Now is a great time to play with different digital tools, read about different instructional strategies and really fill up that toolkit. With your toolkit full, you’ll be ready to tackle any issue regardless of the physical learning environment.

Strategy #2: Target Your Teachers

The start of the school year is a great time for coaches to begin recruiting teachers for instructional coaching. Unfortunately, many teachers are often resistant to participate in coaching at the start of the year because they are trying to get their classrooms up and running themselves and just see coaching as a burden or hindrance to that. Try connecting with some of those new teachers and offer to partner with them at the beginning of the year in order to make their transition to the school year more seamless. To get these teachers on board, it is important that you have developed your hook – or reason to encourage teachers to be coached. You might consider contacting these teachers even before the year starts and sharing with them the services you offer and the benefits you can provide them through a partnership. Many new teachers may feel less overwhelmed at the start of the year if they know there is someone there to help them with whatever challenges they may face.

Ready to get prepared now to support your teachers in blended, remote, and face-to-face learning?>>>

Strategy #3: Develop Universal Resources

Because no one knows what school may look like in the fall, it is important to develop tools and resources that can work in both face-to-face and remote settings. Preparing handouts, one-pagers, screencasts and other professional development resources that are asynchronous are always a good idea. If you have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with teachers on campus, you will already have these resources ready to go, but if you are working in a remote setting, it is easy for you to share your research for teachers to go through on their own.

This is also a good time to explore different tools that may help you achieve your coaching goals, whether that’s using video conferencing tools, collective documents or some other means of communication.

Strategy #4: Determine Teacher’s Needs

As this pandemic swept the globe, teachers were asked to make a lot of adjustments very quickly and with little resources. As an instructional coach, you have the opportunity to support teachers through these difficult times. At the beginning of the school year, it might be beneficial to conduct a needs assessment for your teachers to determine how to best serve them in the coming year. If you don’t want to wait, reach out to your teachers or your PLN and ask them what they anticipate their needs to be in the fall. That way, you can be prepared before students begin learning again and are ready to help with whatever is necessary.

Strategy #5: Be Flexible and Take Care of Yourself

Though last school year didn’t have a clean end like the years usually do, it is important that as you begin to think about next year, you take time to have a break. Yes, there continues to be anxiety over what decisions lawmakers will make about the return to school, but you need to take time away from the worry. Make time to unplug for the summer and not think about school. Take a vacation or stay-cation to unwind and relax. Clear your mind with your activity of choice and set yourself up to come back to the school year refreshed. There is no doubt the fall will require flexibility and it is easier to be flexible when your mind and body have been nourished.

As I have often told my technology reluctant teachers during coaching – good teaching is good teaching, regardless of the tools. Instructional coaching is no different. Good coaching is good coaching, regardless of the educational situation. Whether schools decide to resume face-to-face instruction or continue with remote learning, your position as a coach remains the same – to provide guidance and support to teachers.