Teacher Tools for Virtual Instruction
In preparation for the distance learning that will take place starting March 24, here are several tools for conducting your virtual classes and opportunities for you to receive support in creating your virtual class. All courses should run through Empower Learning, with the other tools as add-ons.
Kingsman Academy virtual instruction model
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• The school schedule will stay the same, with classes meeting during the regularly schedule times.
• The lesson model will be a check-in and intro on Google Hangouts for the 15-20 minutes of class, then independent work time on Empower Learning, then an exit ticket and check in at the end of the block.
• Virtual instruction will be a work in progress over the first couple weeks. We will engage in ongoing support, teamwork, and training to ensure every teacher feels capable of delivering effective instruction and support to our students.
Assigning activities and collecting student work
Empower Learning
Empower Learning has everything we need to engage students in virtual instruction. All courses should be set up as Empower Learning Groups. We will engage in professional development, training, and support so that all teachers and students can take full advantage of this platform.
Google Classroom
This is a platform to distribute work from students, collect work from students, and share feedback and grades. Google Classroom elements can be linked into Empower Learning activities and playlists.
Secondary options
Class website
You can create website pages with all of your course materials. This is pretty easy to do with Google Sites.
Google Drive
You can distribute work by sharing files from Google Drive and collect work by having students upload work to Google Drive. This is essentially what Google Classroom does for you.
The simplest way to send and receive work with students it to just email it to them. This method will require a lot of organizing by the teacher, but if it's only one student or a very small class, email may work just fine.
Quizzes and Tests
Empower Learning
Empower has a quiz module. It is also where we enter grades.
Kahoot
Many Kingsman Academy teachers already use Kahoot in your classes, so stuents are familiar with it. You can also use Kahoot to give students a quiz virtually.
Google Forms
This is a very simple and effective way to give a quiz. There is an option to shuffle question order, making it a little harder for the kids to give each other the answers.
Class Marker
There are many other online quiz and test options you can consider, including Class Marker.
Connecting live with students
Note: Facetime is not recommended for connecting live with your students because Facetime does not have a screen share capability. Facetime might be okay for a one-on-one counseling session.
Google Hangouts
This is a video chat application that will allow you to connect with dozens of students at once. All Kingsman Academy students and staff are already online with Hangouts through our school gmail accounts. They key feature for teachers is the screen share capability to show students a digital whiteboard or lesson materials on your computer or to look at what is on their screen.
Note: Google is in the process of turning Google Hangouts into Google Meet. You might get redirected from one app to the other or to something called "Hangouts Meet". For now, everything should connect together.
GoToConnect
This is the app version of the Jive system our school phones and voicemail run through. All teachers will be able to receive phone calls through the school phones and to the GoToConnect app on your cell phones.
Presenting to students -- digital whiteboards
To engage in live instruction with your students, you should:
1) get your students into a video conference
2) share your screen and teach using a digital whiteboard.
You can upload images and PDF worksheets onto the digital whiteboards. You can export the digital whiteboard lesson for students to reference later.
Smart Notebook
This is the software the smartboards use and is very powerful and robust. All teachers have access to Smart Notebook because we have a license that comes with the smartboards. If you have never used, you may need to contact Arshad to get a registration key.
If you have trouble with the Notebook software, there is also a web app that runs online, though the downloaded software version works best.