By Liz Fox, Collaborative Teacher I’ll be honest, as a child of the ‘60s, calling attendance on Zoom made me feel like one of the hosts of Romper Room. To move to the 21st century, I knew I could expand my efficacy as a teacher by learning more about ways to utilize Zoom. So I asked my colleagues to share and did some digging myself. For those still concerned about privacy basics, this is a good place to start. To avoid Zoom fatigue, read this. For tips on how to best present yourself online, here are some stylist tips.
I’ve been diving into the social-emotional aspect of Zoom as well, learning about the power of allowing students to collaborate. One article described the power of friendships to increase student engagement and learning, while another discussed ways to build community online. Just this week one of my favorite bloggers shared a bunch of ways to promote engagement in and out of the classroom in her latest post. One thing I enjoyed doing during Zoom meetings is asking students to share one good thing in the chat before leaving the meeting to complete the assignment. I also used breakout rooms for students to discuss with each other answers to questions I posed, and then I asked them to verbally share with the whole group. Next week I plan to have a record of their contributions. I was inspired by this post from a fellow English teacher who used Padlet for just that purpose. I share with gratitude what colleagues added to the conversation: Fellow collaborative teacher Allysen Lovstuen had some great tips:
Brett Wilker added this tip: “I would suggest setting up polls to conduct with your students. They pop up on the screen and you can collect formative data on what they are thinking to use in your discussions and then they have to pay attention to the Zoom in order to see them come up.” Another member of the DHS math department Paige Hageman shared this: “I started scheduling small group conferences with students during class time. This was a good way for me to check in with them or reteach a topic to a few students at once. It's also easier for me to get to know them in smaller groups! At first I let them sign up for their own time, but now I am only scheduling them for students I need to talk to. If they don't come to their conference time, I count them absent for the 'B' part of class. They can also share their screen with me so I can walk them through how to turn something in or find a missing assignment. If they need to keep working but want to stay on so they can ask you questions, you can put them in a breakout room by themselves.” Gina Holthaus added: “I’ve tried breakout rooms, and when I’ve entered into their rooms, they seem to be having good discussions. They don’t always notice me right away, so that helps me to know if they’re focused on the discussion at hand.” Here are some other tips I have collected from various educators over the past few months:
I hope that some of these suggestions will work for you during these unorthodox and challenging times. Do you have any Zoom tips that have worked for you? Please share in the comments!
5 Comments
Michelle Nesteby
11/24/2020 05:29:11 am
Thank you, Liz. A much needed resource as we move into this weekend of concentrated planning. And thank you to all of your collaborators as well.
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Tyler
11/24/2020 06:59:43 am
These are all great ideas that help teachers develop their zoom-abilities as well as create a virtual well-being between students and teachers. Teachers have done incredible things collaboratively and individually to make the most of this new instructional tool!
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Sarah Elsbernd
11/24/2020 06:19:31 pm
This was a great post Liz! Thanks for the collective wisdom between you and those that also contributed. I really appreciated the ideas about the different breakout rooms towards the end.
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Zachary Fromm
11/25/2020 09:23:48 am
Really practical tools/suggestions anyone could benefit from.
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Sarah Zbornik
12/1/2020 09:12:46 am
Thanks, Liz! Very useful and timely information. I've shared some of these tips (especially having two - or three - devices during a zoom) with college professors and educators from other states!
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