I hope you were able to take a week to breathe, relax and rejuvenate during Spring Break. Although, being the dedicated educators that you are, I've heard from a few of you this week, so I know you are still working, and basically being there for your students and parents. The job you are doing is more difficult these days, but you have all risen to the occasion, and very quickly figured out how to switch to an online teaching format. So many parents have communicated their appreciation for all you do. Take a minute and look at all the tweets that have been posted nation-wide who feel the same way. Pat yourself on the back and gear up for finishing the school year strong together...apart. You've got this!
26 Tweets From Quarantined Parents That Prove How Underpaid Teachers Are, from We Are Teachers by Jaime Santos
If you need some appreciation for all the hard work you are doing right now, read on! It's about time society started showing teachers some love.
I received this gem in an
email newsletter from Ask Woody. It was written by Lincoln Specter.
You've been stuck in the house for weeks. You've lost any skills you might have had for talking to others — especially when they're not in the room. Follow these few rules so people won't think you're an idiot, slob, jerk, or troll.
- What are you wearing?! Sure, you're at home, but that doesn't mean others have to see you in stained sweats, a Power Rangers bathrobe, frayed pajamas, or something less. Business suits are not required, but do try to be presentable.
- What's in the background? If you let window light flood the room behind you, no one will see your face. In other words, check your lighting. Also, take down those potentially rude or offensive items within the webcam's view. The Zoom service lets you apply generic virtual backgrounds, but they might just make you look weird (see Figure 5).Figure 5. Zoom's virtual background can do really strange things to your image.
- Check, check. Is this thing on? Before the planned meeting, party, etc., make sure everything is working. Zoom, and undoubtedly other services, includes an AV test.
- Don your headphones. Depending on your room's acoustics and the volume of your speakers, you might get intolerable feedback. And if you have kids at home, you'll definitely get feedback. Dig out your headphones and test them. Better yet is a good pair of USB headphones with an attached mic.
- Hey! You're not paying attention. Place the video window as close to the camera as possible. That'll give others at least the impression you're following their conversation. And look into the camera when you talk!
- Introductions, please. If there are people in the virtual meeting who don't know each other, start with a round of introductions. And if someone comes late, call them out — and then do the intros again.
- Give me that number once more. If you need to give specific information such as an address or phone number, use text chat rather than speech. The info can be easily copied to somewhere more permanent.
- Let others get a word in edgewise. Sure, you like to hear yourself speak, but others … maybe not so much. And if Aunt Edna is droning on and on about her toy poodle, raise your hand. One family group reportedly agreed to signal a speaker timeout by moving themselves out of camera view.
- Beware of trolls! There have been numerous reports of unwanted "guests" crashing virtual parties — especially if the sign-in information was posted on public areas such as Facebook. Avoid this problem by sending invites via text messages, email, phone calls, or other private communication channels. You can also assign a participant as a co-host, so if trolls manage to get through, you'll have someone who can help block them. For more info, check out the PC Magazine article.
Staying in touch: As we've all discovered, it's a strange new world we're living in. Isolation is a real and significant problem that video-chat tools can help alleviate. But most of all, keep calm and stay healthy! We truly are all in this together.
Lincoln Spector writes about computers, home theater, and film and maintains the blog, Bayflicks.net. His articles have appeared in CNET, InfoWorld, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications.
Some Great Add-ons for Hangouts Meet to Help Teachers, from Educational Technology Guy by David Andrade
You may have already heard of Meet GridView, but have you tried Nod? This is a good way for muted students to quickly respond to a question without un-muting. If you would like me to push this out to students, please let me know.
Use Read Receipts to Make Sure Students Know They Have Google Classroom Assignments, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Read Receipts in Gmail can be used for any reason, not just Google Classroom. Not sure if your students received their assignments, or the latest Hangouts Meet invitation? Send the messages with Read Receipt and you know.
6 Ways to Secure Your Zoom Chat and Why You Need To, from Make Use Of by Gavin Phillips
Zoom has become a wonderful tool for connecting with friends and family, but it is not very secure or private. This is why we are not using it for students. There are a few precautions you can take to make it less hackable, if you are choosing to use it for your personal use, but it still won't be completely private.
How to Create Simple Videos on a Chromebook - No Apps or Extensions Needed, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Easy to create and save the video as long as you don't need to edit it.
Three Ways to Make Whiteboard Videos on Your Chromebook, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Missing your white board in the classroom? Here are some ways to make videos with a virtual white board.
20 Virtual Field Trip Ideas and Activities for Your Classroom, from Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller
Right now virtual field trips are the only field trips that will be happening. Visit National Parks, have a Hangouts Meet with someone from the community, or play a game together online.
