COURSE TITLE:

VIRTUAL, PHYSICAL & HYBRID CLASSROOM: Teaching Tools & Strategies

NO. OF CREDITS:

5 QUARTER CREDITS
[semester equivalent = 3.33 credits]

WA CLOCK HRS:  
OREGON PDUs:  
PENNSYLVANIA ACT 48:  
50
50
50

INSTRUCTOR:

Michael Boll
michael@bollnet.com

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Teaching in a virtual, physical, or hybrid environment demands an additional set of skills and strategies for teachers.   In this course, participants develop the skills needed to build a virtual classroom rich with interactive content while focusing on a positive class culture and community. Join the fun as we explore interactive apps such as EdPuzzle, WooClap, Kahoot, Parlay, and FlipGrid. This course is appropriate for teachers K – 12.  There is no text. All reading done online. 

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon completion of this course, participants will have:

  1. Understand the power of screencasting to deliver content and instructor personality
  2. Develop a class culture and community 
  3. Discover assessment options for the virtual environment
  4. Build a virtual classroom using a platform of their choice
  5. Bring their style and look to the screen

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Completion of all specified assignments is required for issuance of hours or credit. The Heritage Institute does not award partial credit.


HOURS EARNED:
Completing the basic assignments (Section A. Information Acquisition) for this course automatically earns participants their choice of CEUs (Continuing Education Units), Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, or Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours. The Heritage Institute offers CEUs and is an approved provider of Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, and Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours.




 

UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT INFORMATION

REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
Continuing Education Quarter credits are awarded by Antioch University Seattle (AUS). AUS requires 75% or better for credit at the 400 level and 85% or better to issue credit at the 500 level. These criteria refer both to the amount and quality of work submitted.

  1. Completion of Information Acquisition assignments 30%
  2. Completion of Learning Application assignments 40%
  3. Completion of Integration Paper assignment 30%



 

CREDIT/NO CREDIT (No Letter Grades or Numeric Equivalents on Transcripts)
Antioch University Seattle (AUS) Continuing Education Quarter credit is offered on a Credit/No Credit basis; neither letter grades nor numeric equivalents are on a transcript. 400 level credit is equal to a "C" or better, 500 level credit is equal to a "B" or better. This information is on the back of the transcript.

AUS Continuing Education quarter credits may or may not be accepted into degree programs. Prior to registering, determine with your district personnel, department head, or state education office the acceptability of these credits for your purpose.

ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION

REQUIRED TEXT

None

None. All reading is online.

MATERIALS FEE

None

ASSIGNMENTS REQUIRED FOR HOURS OR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT

A. INFORMATION ACQUISITION

Assignments done in a course forum will show responses from all educators who have or are taking the course independently. Feel free to read and respond to others' comments. 
Group participants can only view and respond to their group members in the Forum. 

Assignment #1: Who Are You?

Overview

Getting to know each other a little better is a nice way to start off this course. It helps us all to understand our individual situations and teaching expectations.

Assignment

Take a few moments and kindly complete a 250+ word description about you.

  • Items to possibly include:Where and what you teach
  • What it is/was like to teach during COVID
  • Any other personal details of interest

Then, take a look at some responses from other course participants. Respond with a reply and a thought or two.

Assignment #2: Record Screencasts to Build Personal Connections with Students

Overview

In a virtual or regular classroom environment, building personal connections with students is one of our primary goals. Screencasting enables instructors to deliver content and present their personalities for students.

It also frees you up to monitor the class while the screencasts are playing.

Screencasting works very well for synchronous (physical or virtual) as well as asynchronous (not at the same time) communication. I know my students enjoy the change of pace that comes with watching me on video, even if I am in the classroom with them.

For example, in the video production and coding classes I teach, I create screencasts to support the work they do. I started doing this prior to virtual school to help students view instructions multiple times at a pace that works for them and lets them rewatch as needed.

When virtual school time came along, I realized these screencasts gave me a whole additional content delivery method.

There are multiple recording options out there from free to paid. I use a paid version for my professional recording, but use free ones for more casual feedback to give to students. 

In general, the free versions are fine.

Assignment

  1. Sign up or try out one or more of the screencasting options in the resources section below. 

  2. Create a screencast (with video) of you providing a short lesson for your students. If school is not in session, feel free to just demo it as if you were doing a real lesson. 

  3. In 250 words or more, reflect on the process and how you could use screencasting in the future.

    1. Add a link to your screencast.

Resources

Assignment #3: Interactive Content Delivery to Maintain Student Attention

https://www.youtube.com/embed/3J_A85hO4D8

Overview

In the virtual teaching world, lecturing or talking with students is even less effective than in the classroom. It is tough to get a good sense or the “pulse” of the classroom and if they are engaging with your efforts.

In the physical classroom, giving the students some time and space to engage in interactive content helps them focus on the task at hand and individualize their experiences.

Assignment

  1. Explore and review the websites below to help you decide which sites work best for you

  2. In 250 words or more, brainstorm some ways that one or more of these services can be used in your classroom. This includes the physical and virtual classroom.

Resources

https://www.youtube.com/embed/kq9Qcrr3UB0

Assignment #4: Grab Student Attention With Stylistic Lesson Designs

Overview

We spend lots of time making our classroom look warm and appealing. We might share student work, add a variety of colors, and divide the room into unique learning spaces.  

We can do the same in the virtual world and, thankfully, there are a variety of tools that help a non-artist like me, able to create something that looks great and is fun to both build and view.

Assignment

  1. Explore the tools in the resource section and how they can help you to build interesting and appealing lessons for your online content.

  2. In 250 words or more reflect on the tools you explored and how they can improve the look of your class and start page.

Resources

Bitmoji

Bitmoji is a super fun way to create a caricature of yourself for the classroom. It’s an extremely versatile tool that lets us all communicate a range of emotions such as humor, warmth, and caring.  I strongly recommend that you do NOT have your Bitmoji classroom look like this one. ;-)

Bitmoji Ideas and Samples

Canva

Canva brings a wealth of resources and tips for building great graphics and designs. With many suggested templates, Canva lets you customize the look until it meets your needs.

Assignment #5: Bring Your Personality to Feedback and Assessment

Overview

In our traditional world, feedback may be given via a written note(s) alongside student work as well as a face-to-face chat.

In the digital world, it is now easier than ever to provide substantial and long lasting feedback to students using audio and video. This skill works in both the virtual and physical classrooms and helps students feel connected to us as caring adults.

Assignment

  1. Explore the tools in the resource section

  2. Create a FlipGrid account and build a quick exit ticket for students to use. 

    1.  Here are a few ideas.

    2. Copy the link

  3. In 250 words or more reflect on the tools you explored and how they can improve feedback in your classroom. Please include the link to your FlipGrid exit ticket.

Resources

Assignment #6: Share Student Work and Build Class Community

Overview

When we look at our physical classroom we often see examples of student work all around us. We enjoy the community feel of a shared space where students are part of the look and feel.

Thankfully, there are many tools to help us build, share and distribute student work to build those community connections.

Assignment

  1. Explore the tools in the resource section

  2. In 250 words or more reflect on the tools you explored and how you envision some of them enabling student sharing.

Resources

Assignment #7: Decide on a Distribution Platform

Overview

With a virtual classroom, there is added pressure to design an attractive look that is engaging to students and helps them easily track what they need to do. This applies to the physical classroom as well. When posting work for students to complete on the web, having an attractive and consistent start page brings a sense of warmth and community to the experience.

A start page is simply the first place students go to see what they need to do. From there, you link to your resources. For example, a Google Classroom or Seesaw page.  

Having a consistent start page gives you full control over the message for the day so students know where to focus their attention.

Assignment

  1. Explore the options below for designing a start page and distribution platform

  2. Decide on a platform for distributing content.  If it is not listed below, for example if your school uses a system such as Schoology, then please feel free to use that one. 

  3. In 250 words or more, explain which platform you intend to use, why that one was chosen, and what you see as its strengths and challenges.

Resources

Assignment #8: Virtual Teaching Support Groups and Resources

Overview

Teaching in a COVID and post-COVID world is dynamic and evolving. Luckily, there are many support groups out there to help.

Assignment 

  1. Take a look at some of the support groups and decide if you would like to join

  2. Explore my Rabbit Hole of resources. Really there are too many at first, but after you dig in for a while they start to make more sense.

  3. In 250 words or more, explain your thoughts on the support groups and if you plan to participate in one. Add a favorite resource you found too.

Resources

ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS REQUIRED FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT

B. LEARNING APPLICATION

In this section, you will apply your learning to your professional situation. This course assumes that most participants are classroom teachers who have access to students. If you do not have a classroom available to you, please contact the instructor for course modifications. Assignments done in a course forum will show responses from all educators who have or are taking the course independently. ​Feel free to read and respond to others' comments. Group participants can only view and respond to their group members in the Forum. 

 



Assignment #9: Build Your Virtual Classroom

Overview

Now that you have done a thorough review of all the tools, it is time to build a virtual classroom for your students. This classroom is designed to work in both the virtual and physical classrooms.  

Assignment

Using the resources above and below, complete the following:

  1. Decide on a platform for distributing content

    1. Think about the style and look of the page using Bitmoji and Canva

  2. Build up your platform with at least 3-5 (or more) lessons you can use in the classroom

  3. In 250 words or more, describe the platform you chose, the first lessons you decided to build and why you chose the platform you did.

Resources 

Assignment #10: Articulate Your Class Culture and Educator Impact

Overview

You, the teacher, are the most important and impactful part of the classroom experience. It is not always easy to bring in “you” and what you represent to the virtual world and this assignment is designed to help you outline your goals and communicate your class culture.

Assignment

In 750 words or more explain how you will bring your personality and create a class culture to the virtual teaching words.

Suggested areas of focus

  • Your Mission. What is your overarching goal as you teach?

    • Example 1: My virtual classroom is a safe, interesting and entertaining space where students are members of a community.

    • Example 2 (Short): Virtual education that keeps student attention

  • Imparting your personality. How will you continue to show who you are through expectations and lesson design or look?
  • Class community. What tools should you leverage to ensure a feeling of class community with limited or no face-to-face interaction?

  • Fun. How do you keep your class run and interesting? 

  • Assessment and feedback. How will your feedback change and evolve?

  • Parents. How are parents involved and how do you manage their expectations? 

Assignment #11: Integrating the Virtual and Physical Classroom (500 Level ONLY)

In addition to the 400 level assignment, complete two (2) of the following assignments: 

Overview

If your school is in an all-virtual or hybrid state, you may be very focused on how your learning from this course applies to your virtual teaching. But what about when the virtual teaching is in the past and most or all of your time is devoted to the physical classroom? 

This assignment focuses on bringing the learning from our efforts in the virtual world to the physical classroom. Thankfully, nearly all of the tools were originally designed with the physical classroom in mind, and we can mine our learning for ideas to use in the future. 

Option 1
Write a 750-word paper where you reflect on what you have learned and how you can apply it to your teaching practice going forward into the future.
Be sure to focus on:

  • Relationships and personal connections with students.
  • Improving interaction and student engagement.
  • Interesting and interactive content delivery.
  • New opportunities for assessment and feedback.
  • The balance between personalized learning and whole group learning.
  • The impact this education has on students who typically struggle in school.

Option 2
Create a 5 – 10-minute presentation to give to your staff or another group of educators. 
Cover some, or all, of these areas:

  • Life before virtual teaching.
  • Early struggles with moving to an online environment.
  • Understanding what areas to focus on as an educator (what was/is really important).
  • Your favorite tools that help you provide instruction.
  • How you plan to leverage your new content delivery skills in the physical classroom.

Option 3

Prior to COVID, there were rumblings that one day face-to-face instruction will become obsolete. 

Physical classrooms and buildings will be repurposed or abandoned, and all students will learn at their own pace with a personalized curriculum. Personalized learning at its best!

Thanks to this “grand experiment,” we have more information and experience than ever before to comment on the idea of education happening away from a classroom.

In 750 words or more, reflect on the differences between online learning and face-to-face learning.

  • What are the strengths of face-to-face learning?
  • What are the strengths of online learning?
  • What are the downsides of face-to-face learning?
  • What are the downsides of online learning?

And perhaps most important of all, what have we learned about the future of online learning and how it impacts our wide variety of learners?  Feel free to offer your views of that future. Speculate away!

C. INTEGRATION PAPER

Assignment #12: (Required for 400 and 500 level)

SELF REFLECTION & INTEGRATION PAPER
(Please do not write this paper until you've completed all of your other assignments)

Write a 400-500 word Integration Paper answering these 5 questions:

  1. What did you learn vs. what you expected to learn from this course?
  2. What aspects of the course were most helpful and why?
  3. What further knowledge and skills in this general area do you feel you need?
  4. How, when and where will you use what you have learned?
  5. How and with what other school or community members might you share what you learned?


INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS ON YOUR WORK:

Instructors will comment on each assignment. If you do not hear from the instructor within a few days of posting your assignment, please get in touch with them immediately.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHING THIS COURSE:

Michael Boll is an Apple Distinguished Educator and former Technology Coach at international schools in China and Thailand.

Now based in the United States, Michael is an enthusiastic instructional designer and presenter. He works to make his courses and presentations information-packed, slightly provocative, and fun. 

Michael has an adult son with profound autism and is keenly interested in the special needs community and its population of diverse learners.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

VIRTUAL, PHYSICAL & HYBRID CLASSROOM: Teaching Tools & Strategies

Carey, Benedict. “What We're Learning About Online Learning.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 13 June 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/06/13/health/school-learning-online-education.html?referringSource=articleShare.

Fingal, Jennifer Snelling and Diana. ISTE, 16 Mar. 2020, www.iste.org/explore/learning-during-covid-19/10-strategies-online-learning-during-coronavirus-outbreak.

Heick, Terry, and TeachThought Staff. “10 Virtual Teaching Tips For Beginners.” TeachThought, 21 May 2020, www.teachthought.com/technology/virtual-teaching-tips-for-beginners/.

Huynh, Tan. “5 Virtual Teaching Strategies We're Using.” MiddleWeb, www.middleweb.com/42522/5-virtual-learning-strategies-weve-developed/.

Krueger, Nicole. ISTE, 24 June 2020, www.iste.org/explore/learning-during-covid-19/4-tips-teaching-tech-online-learning-edition.

Lee, Kyungmee. Lecturer in Technology Enhanced Learning. “Coronavirus: 14 Simple Tips for Better Online Teaching.” The Conversation, 19 June 2020, theconversation.com/coronavirus-14-simple-tips-for-better-online-teaching-133573.

Majumdar, Arunima. “5 Teaching Techniques In The Virtual Classroom.” ELearning Industry, 18 Sept. 2019, elearningindustry.com/5-teaching-techniques-virtual-classroom.

The TFA Editorial Team. “7 Tips for Being a Great Virtual Teacher.” Teach For America, 24 Mar. 2020, www.teachforamerica.org/stories/7-tips-for-being-a-great-virtual-teacher.

Valenzuela, Jorge. ISTE, 23 Apr. 2020, www.iste.org/explore/learning-during-covid-19/3-ways-make-remote-learning-more-engaging.