Screenside Chats feature online practitioners as they discuss their experiences, strategies, and tools building and interacting in pedagogically sound online learning environments.
In this Screenside Chat, IU High School social studies teacher, Christine Hitchcock, discusses how teachers can use their existing experiences, expertise, and tools to transition from brick-and-mortar to online teaching.
Please watch the video and then join the conversation below!
I definitely agree that using platforms that students and parents were already used to was the only way to communicate this past spring. Having one day was not enough to get all students in our school on board with notifications that should have been set up beforehand, even without Covid19. Dealing with over 4000 students means not every single person was ready. Some students did not receive notifications and I was forced to call home from my cell phone because it was the only phone I had access to (no school building was open to us). Anyway, not optimal and I won’t do it again. I feel like this school year getting notification settings in place for students and parents is the number 1 thing I can do to enhance communication. Our school uses Canvas and I use the ANNOUNCEMENT feature often….if parents have that notification on, then they also see the announcement. This is my hope. I am going to walk all of my students through the notification set up and either me or the school will create a parent version and I will send that home with every student. I will ask that they contact me via Canvas to let me know they (parents/guardians) have the notification settings on!
Google Classroom has a function where you can email an entire class through it. Since I have more than one section of the class, I sometimes write the email in one class and copy/paste it into the others so it is exactly the same for all. There is also an ANNOUNCEMENT function that can be used which sends a ping to the students phone – if they have it set up.
Whatever the method, it is important to always get students to communicate. I think for some this is hard because they don’t want to admit they’re struggling, don’t understand, or they are extenuating circumstances they are dealing with. This opens another whole realm of something we need to teach – asking for help is not a weakness or admission of stupidity. It’s how we learn.
I got a Google Voice phone number for my school-related calls. I found parents and students responded more often to text messages over phone calls/voicemail.
Towards the end of the Spring semester, our students (and some parents) suffered from information overload. Several of our teachers use Google Classroom, and several parents have themselves set to receive a notification every time something is posted. It got to the place where several of my students stopped checking their emails, so I had to call students/parents if I had really important messages to convey. I was able to use Google Voice to keep from using my cell number. I’m wondering if there is any sort of workaround for too many digital communications.
Is there a way to adjust settings in Google Classroom to get an email “digest” of all notifications for a day? You can do that in Canvas but I don’t know about Google Classroom. That might be less overwhelming.
Dr. Itow – I find it interesting that you encourage your teachers not to give out our personal phone numbers because so many of my colleagues – and myself – do exactly that. It is our prime source of communication with our students. This is partially because our kids do not check their email. It’s a habit that we have struggled with since Instagram, Twitter, etc became popular with them. However, each teacher sets perimeters for their students like what hours they are allowed to text/call and if there are days when we don’t want to be disturbed. As far as I know no one has had issues. In fact, over the last 3 years we have actually been able to prevent 2 suicides because a student felt comfortable enough to call a teacher they trusted and could talk to.
I understand what you’re saying about protecting the student and teacher, but right now that seems to be the best way for many of our staff to communicate. This is especially true if we have to make calls after hours and we only have cell phones available.
I do try multiple other methods of communication i.e. Google Classroom, email, parent calls, and our district has a voice Messenger they can send mass calls of information out on. I think whatever method works best is what teachers have to go with. Otherwise communication breaks down.
Thanks for this comment, Ellen. I actually insist teachers not to give out their personal phone numbers. The liability is too great. That stated, there are other ways to connect with students via phone. You can get a Google Voice number and text with students that way. The key is to have everything go through the school and have everything documented to protect the students and the teachers. We also don’t encourage being friends on social media with students. Setting boundaries in this regard is really important. When I was teaching, I did create a teacher version of a Facebook profile where I added graduated students, but that’s as close as I let most of them to my personal space.
Thanks for this comment, Ellen. I actually insist teachers not to give out their personal phone numbers. The liability is too great. That stated, there are other ways to connect with students via phone. You can get a Google Voice number and text with students that way. The key is to have everything go through the school and have everything documented to protect the students and the teachers. We also don’t encourage being friends on social media with students. Setting boundaries in this regard is really important. When I was teaching, I did create a teacher version of a Facebook profile where I added graduated students, but that’s as close as I let most of them to my personal space.
This conversation may have a formality/informality strand. We “help”; we “communicate”; but there are limits–the public space vs. the personal “space.” As the opening of the school year looms, and we will open where I live to work because there is no economic alternative, I am forced to think of responsibility. Maybe I am missing something, but the part of the equation that never seems to change is the contract: the burden of acquiring the tools and the skills and of being aware of the score is on the student. And since they are minors, the parents have to be aware. The plague has interrupted the Great Reform Advertisement to this extent: hope and opportunity are not the same. No teacher, no school, no “educational entrepreneur” can soften the duty to log in for a student and the duty of that student to make progress as defined the State. Hope is how we try to make it human. Opportunity is what the school actually offers. The burden of motivation is on the family. That is the formality of the contract.