Learning at Home – ELA Source

remote-teaching

Some people prefer to call it ERT, or Emergency Remote Teaching, so as not to normalize the lack of preparation and training many teachers have been given for teaching online this past spring and this fall during a global pandemic. Like many of you, my institution decided to switch to “remote learning” at the last minute, after a summer of promising and preparing to be in-person.

I have some experience teaching online courses and I enjoy it under normal circumstances, but I’ve been exploring different options for course delivery this fall, which includes things like remote synchronous (teaching “live” during scheduled class time), asynchronous (most traditionally online courses are delivered this way) and HyFlex (a combination of three delivery methods when and if in-person instruction is also available). I will be using this post to provide a curated list of resources and links to all three approaches. In helping other teachers, I believe in simplicity, so instead of including an exhaustive and comprehensive list of resources, I’ve included the three I find most helpful. I will also be writing up a few posts about the approach as I plan my fall classes, and will be making up some free resources (such as active learning graphic organizers) to share. Please follow this blog for more!

HyFlex Course Model

Hybrid Flexible Course Design by Brian Beatty

“Student Choice, Instructor Flexibility: Moving Beyond the Blended Instructional Model”

A Closer Look at Hybrid Flexible Course Design

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If you’re like me you’ve been inundated with free resources, too many to look at, too many to count. I realized that university and classroom teachers, as well as homeschooling parents, are probably overwhelmed by the options, so I spent some time curating and pulling together a streamlined list of which resources do what and how well they do it.

First, I have a few rules for choosing resources:

Choose only resources that are always free

So many companies are offering their resources “free” to teachers who are impacted by the Coronavirus. But a closer look often reveals that these are only the standard free trials that most companies offer. Also, I don’t want to get comfortable using software or a subscription that I will have to pay big bucks for in a month or two or even a year. Now, if you have the resources and desire to pay for software and subscriptions, that’s fine, but I’m focusing this guide on stuff that’s always free, or always has a free level of membership available.

Focus on your learning goals and objectives

At one I found myself printing out skill and drill worksheets for my kids at home, and then I realized that these are at odds with my teaching philosophy, which is a more holistic approach to language. No worksheets needed! We read out loud and silently, talk about our reading, and write about our reading. For skills assessment I do have my kids copy unfamiliar vocabulary and spelling words from their own reading and writing and we do “drill” these through practice and quizzes.

Prioritize sources that fit your needs

I don’t know how to teach math and science, so I’ve focused my hunt for homeschooling resources on math and science. My kids’ schools have provided access to Reflex math and Zearn, and I’m also allowing my students to create self-directed projects in science and social studies, so I’m creating little resource banks for them in Google Documents that they can use to create their own educational slide shows.