The Week That Was...in Remote Learning

After a four-day week of "Strong Start" (Seattle's term for the abbreviated first five days of school), we had our first week of remote learning using our regular schedule. Our traditional six-period school day is now split so that we have three classes a day, with each 1hr. 45min. class period divided into synchronous(whole class) and asynchronous (individual/small group) time. 

The "Strong Start" schedule, while frustrating and exhausting, also allowed us a low-to-no-risk setting in which to see what would succeed and fail once nearly every student in the was logged on to the same platforms and the network limits would be tested by the extreme rise in use. The SPS tech department worked diligently to update whatever needed to be broadened, strengthened, or otherwise adjusted to suit the district's needs. Even now, going into our third week, we are frequently advised to reboot our district laptops (often more than once) so that our hardware and software are performing based on the most recent updates. Especially in the context of other districts that have been suffering from a lack of leadership and vision, I feel fortunate to be working here. 

"Strong Start" also gave us teachers the opportunity to put theory into practice and then spend our afternoons addressing the problems that came up. Breakout Rooms in Teams, for instance, proved to be chaotic when students weren't signed in using their district credentials and used the browser version rather than the app. There were sites that I had expected students to be able to access easily through the links I provided, only to discover that they were being asked to log in and could not easily determine how. Meanwhile, we were also able to use that time to get to know our students and let them get to know us. 

I take great pride in my eye-catching color choices and 

clear-to-read font choices.

After the four days of continuous trial and error, we began our first week of full classes in a much more prepared and confident place. I spent a lot of time planning the timed out details of the class, mindful of the restlessness to be expected from my students. I would keep them at the screen for no more than 15 minutes, and would ensure that they get scheduled time away from it.

In adapting my traditional curriculum to the remote learning format, I had to think about how I was going to translate the interactive elements of my class. The first substantial writing assignment I am giving is the "Where I'm From" poem. They start off by reading published examples by George Ella Lyon and Willie Perdomo, and then move on to examples written by former students of mine. Each of the poems takes a different approach to the concept, hopefully encouraging students to feel confident in approaching the task. We also analyze how the poets use imagery and sensory detail to appeal to the senses. 

Once we've analyzed what others have done, the students are sent off to spend some time observing, daydreaming, and recording the sensory details they associate with "where" they're from (for some it is the physical location they are in, for others it is not). Back in the days of in-person teaching, I would have chart paper taped up around the room, each titled "Where I'm From (insert sense here) like..." The class spends some time wandering the room, adding their details to the posters and examining what others have contributed. They gather, they look, they laugh, and they see lots of great examples that might be helpful to them later as they draft. It's one of my favorite activities, and I have always found it incredibly valuable, so I didn't want to have to give it up. 

Fortunately, the answer was not hard to find. In recent staff meetings and training, our principal had used a word cloud engine online, Mentimeter.com. 

When the time came during the class period, I released my class to spend 10 minutes daydreaming, brainstorming, and jotting down the sensory details that came to mind (or nose, or ear, or hand, or tongue, or eye). They were instructed to, upon their return, enter their words and phrases into the links. Once enough students began to contribute, I put the presentations up on my designated "share screen" for them to see as they developed. As they watched, I asked them to use the meeting chat to call out any that they found particularly relatable, vivid, or otherwise stood out to them. While I love the look of the hand-written word cloud, the virtual substitute did the job it needed to do.

Based on what I've experienced and what my colleagues here have relayed, it could be said that this represents our current state. The virtual substitute may not necessarily be preferable to the "real deal" (although some students and staff, myself included, are finding some advantages), but it's doing the job we need it to do.