This week, Fahmida, Mike, Jacquie and Josie prepared a fantastic presentation on Tools for Distance and Online Education. The group highlighted the foundations of various tools that are used for online learning, as well as emphasized the need for anti-oppressive pedagogies while using these online education tools.
Online Tools I Use
I have experience using various technologies across the elementary grades, having taught Pre-K through to Grade 6. However, my use of these technologies could definitely use some honing. I am certain I have not used them to their full potential nor fully realized their disadvantages. Tools I have used for online and blended learning include:
- Seesaw
- Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Meets, Google Classroom
- Microsoft Word, Microsoft Powerpoint
- Kahoot
- Menti
- Remind
- MysteryScience (Mystery Doug)
- Mathletics
- Epic!
- RazKids
- GoNoodle
- Flipgrid
- Padlet
- Quizlet
- Kami (pdf extension app)
From this list, the tools that were most relevant while moving online during the pandemic were:
- Google Classroom – This is where I posted assignments, instructional videos, rubrics and feedback for my students to access throughout the week at a time that worked best for them.
- Google Docs – This is how I created my weekly schedule for students and assignments/feedback. I provided students with a daily schedule and a weekly schedule to keep them organized.
- Seesaw – This is a tool I used pre-pandemic and during remote learning to communicate with students and families. I send activities that students complete digitally. Students are able to send video and voice recordings back to me as evidence of their learning. I can then share this with families.
- Epic/RazKids – Students are able to read at home using these programs. I appreciated being able to see who had logged on, the duration of their reading and what they were reading (fiction/nonfiction).
Learning Experiences
When the pandemic hit, I was teaching Grade 5/6 in a rural South Central school. I had a class of over 30 students. Many of my students were sharing technology at home with their siblings. Many were sharing a poor internet connection with everyone in the house, as family members were now working remotely as well. A handful of my students had no digital access, as they live in a geographical area with extremely poor internet. I was eager to connect with my students through Google Meets and utilize online tools a bit more. This eagerness was also met with frustration when trying to troubleshoot tech problems.
When I think about the tools I was using during this time, most were not new to me and my students, but some were. The main tool that I used was Google Classroom. My Grade 5/6 students were already set up on Google Classroom pre-pandemic, so they were familiar with it. Google Classroom was the “hub” of our class activity. Most importantly it allowed me to interact with my students by setting up Google Meets that were easy to join. Students didn’t need to worry about other apps like Zoom or Skype. In the Ananga article, the importance of teacher-learner interaction was highlighted and was deemed “very essential.” Furthermore, the article pointed out that “instructors and learners value synchronous discussions that allow them to interact in real time.” I wholeheartedly agree with this statement, as my students really thrived during this time. They thrived because they could interact with me, their peers and it gave them the social interaction that they missed from synchronous learning.
Another tool that I used was the Kami pdf extension for Chrome. This free tool allows you to add text boxes, annotate and draw on pdf’s. I mainly used it to provide feedback on my students writing and comment on assignments that were scanned to me. It worked, but it was somewhat cumbersome. To help my students and their families, I created a visual instruction sheet and video showing them how to add the extension and how to use it. In the end, about half of my students were using this tool. Other students preferred to complete their “paper package” bundle of work and drop it off at the school. It is important for educators to provide choice to students. My classmate Jacquie wrote about providing her students with choice in terms of connecting with content, peers and the teacher. She wrote that some students had anxiety connecting virtually and preferred to connect through messaging even though they were present in class. She clarified that she was reminded “of the need for intentionality in the classroom and how inclusivity is a conscious choice to offer choice to students of how they interact with the content, their peers and myself.” Reflection and a critical review of the tools we use is important as we navigate digital technologies and online and blended learning in the future.
If you were to ask your students about online learning tools, what would be their most liked tool? Why?
Wow, thanks for sharing. I appreciated how you through in one that I am unfamiliar with. Kami seems to work well, and I like how you provided a visual of it. Very neat. I will have to try it.
Like you, I also had families that had to share technology with more than 2 people, and it was very challenging for them to engage in online learning. The fringe gap that was there before, has turned into a pretty deep sinkhole. Hopefully, our school divisions and the government will strategically plan and come up with some good ways to support learning through pandemic recovery.
I too liked Jacquie’s post about intentionality and ensuring that technology is used with a purpose and not just say that you are using it to check off boxes.
Thanks for the post!
I think that if I asked which tool student liked most, it would be Microsoft Teams. They enjoyed interacting in breakout rooms and that is definitely when I had the best sense of community and enjoyment as they were learning. My high school students didn’t interact much with each other unless there were in breakout rooms.
During my two weeks of remote teaching this year and the end of the 2020 school year, I only purposefully used Seesaw and Zoom with my grade 2/3 students. They also had their Mathletics and RAZ Kids log-in cards so they could access those apps from home. My students were very familiar with Seesaw and the other two apps as that is what we use on the school iPads. To answer your question Rae, my students liked Zoom a lot because of the social connection. They were thrilled to see their friends’ faces and chat with them. This was especially important during periods of lock-down and lots of restrictions in the community. However, the chat feature that allowed them to send a message to anyone but the teacher (host) had to be disabled on day two after an incident in a middle years class. And Mike, your high school students remind me a lot of some of my Master’s courses on Zoom (i.e., silence in the main room and deep conversations in the breakout room).
Rae and Kelly, sharing a single device in a multi-sibling household proved challenging for my school as well. Our school policy was that only one device could be lent out to a family. Teachers staggered their language arts and math lesson times on Zoom to avoid time conflicts as much as possible.