So, unexpectedly, you are teaching from home. Frustrated, isolated, and exhausted, you need some basics here. Here is a FREE e-Book "Beginner's Guide to Online Teaching."
Before we discuss part 2, you should start with part 1. After part I (setting up teaching content), you will need to communicate with students. Help is here!
Most important: Students need YOU!
Students need to hear from you and you from them. It's pretty basic but teachers sometimes make it complicated. Okay, I don't really send students to my personal Gmail, do I? You probably have a school email but do you really want to be getting thousands of the email asking the same questions? I don't! Make a plan!
Voice Over the Internet:
You could set up a free instant messenger service like Skype and create a group! (Of course, this assumes that your students will make a Skype account and agree to add you as a contact.) The bonus value is that it's available on mobile in case you aren't at your computer...which we know "of course you always are"! With Skype, you can text, video, or audio call just one student or the entire group!
Here is exactly how to do that.
Sign up for Skype and download the app to your device.
Create a username and password and sign in.
Add your students as contacts.
Create a group. (New Chat ---> New Group Chat)
Create a group name for your class and add your students as members. Now you can group text, video call, audio call or even send files, links, and attachments!
Use an App!
Perhaps Skype is not your thing. Okay, I get it. No one wants people Skyping at all hours of the day. Let's try another option: Remind! Also, free, of course!
Remind allows one-way and two-way communication within the class. (You can also create a parent account to send one-way messages to them, by the way!) Here is how:
Create an account and a group that will act as your class. (Grab the mobile app if you are on the go like me...)
Add people to your class. (You can do that with their phone numbers or send them a class code.)
You can now:
Send messages and files.
Send (or schedule) announcements.
I hope you have enjoyed and found something useful from these emergency online teaching tips.
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