E-Learning Classroom Resources and the Purposes They Serve

E-learning can present many challenges. Chief among these is the struggle to find resources to help us with a specific instructional goal that effectively supports distance learning.  Below are resources listed underneath the instructional purpose best supported by these digital tools.

1. Whole Group Discussions, Lessons, & Morning Meetings

First, ask yourself if you want to have students interact and discuss during your lesson in “real-time”, much like a real lesson. Pre-recorded lessons can be utilized for students to work at their own pace through your material, with the power to pause and resume when able.

Real-Time Options

• • Zoom: Use Zoom and mute students until you are ready to interact with them.  Check out this quick instructional video on how to utilize the features of Zoom specifically for whole group lessons.
  • Google Hangout: Send a student email or copy the shareable link and post it on your classroom digital platform (Facebook, Class Dojo, Canvas, etc.).
  • NearPod: Use free lessons or lessons you create yourself and invite students to join you through email using the “Live Lesson” option.

Pre-Recorded Lessons

• Most digital learning platforms will allow you to upload a video of yourself teaching a lesson (itsLearning, Canvas, ClassDojo, etc.).
• Utilize YouTube or Facebook to post videos of your lessons for students to comment with questions or images of their work.
• Screencastify short videos of your presentations on Google Slides, PPT, Prezi, or Padlet. Place them in Google Slides with response sections and allow students to type answers to questions or ask their own questions.
• Facebook Live is a great tool for helping students feel they can interact with you by prompting them to take action during certain parts of your lesson.
• Nearpod: As well as having the ability to upload a Google Slide lesson, you can also let students complete your created lessons in the “Student-Paced” option.
• SeeSaw: Students are able to interact with lessons you create or assign to them.  Then, they are able to record videos in response to questions you ask. There are also interactive components like drag and drop or games that are included with some of the pre-created lessons.

2. Small-Group Lessons

Consider all of the recommendations for whole group classes, BUT use one of these ways to release information to smaller groups of students.

• Use platforms that naturally allow you to assign resources to select students or only send codes to certain students for meet-ups.
• Create separate resources on social platforms for specific groups. Example: Hosting Book Clubs? Change your classroom Facebook Group to a Learning Center and create units for each book group.
• Push out Google resources only to students who are part of small groups.

Simply want to meet with smaller groups of students? Break your students up alphabetically and assign specific times for Zoom meetings or Google Hangouts. Want to work with family schedules more? Allow students to sign-up for specific lesson times using an editable Google Doc. In one column put the time and in the second column allow students to sign-up for all the times they are available. Then create and push out a master schedule.

3. Student Presentations

• SeeSaw: Create your own assignment on SeeSaw and allow students to present their assignments.
• Set a Google Hangout, Zoom Meeting or Skype with student presenters scheduled.  If using a video conferencing tool like Zoom that allows screen sharing, consider allowing students to present using digital tools like Glogster or Prezi.
• Breakdown how to use ScreenCastify and allow students to record their screen and voice during a digital presentation. Post the videos in a Google Folder or as the first slide in a Google Slideshow they create.
• Easel.ly is a great way for students to create infographics to present. While there are no tools for them to record on Easel.ly, students can use Screencastify to explain the infographic they create in Easel.ly.  As well, students can download the image and place it into Google Slides for comments from peers and feedback from instructors.

Let students play with video creation in tools like PowToon, Moovly, FlipGrid, or Animoto and post their videos in a Google Folder, classroom social media page, or learning platform.

4. Group Collaborations or Projects

• Nearpod: The collaboration and brainstorming tool is a wonderful way to have whole class or small group brainstorming sessions. Teachers can push out questions and students post their responses in real-time.  This is a great tool for Project Based Learning facilitators who want to brainstorm solutions to Driving Questions, discuss Know and Need to Know lists, or many of the other discussions needed to move PBL units forward.
• Padlet: Specifically comes with collaboration through link sharing. Students create a project and send the link to their classmates to work collaboratively on.
• Google Docs/Google Slides: Commenting tools and features allow students to work together and comment on documents without making irreversible changes.
• Video Conferencing Meet-ups: Allow students to meet up in Zoom. Schedule a meeting and simply mute yourself as the facilitator. Let students talk with each other during a designated time and work on one of your other trillion tasks. This way caring adults feel safe letting students meet up with peers and students do not lose the valuable component of collaboration.

5. Gathering Information/Research

It can be difficult to allow students free access to the web to gather information or complete research. When we want students to navigate the web and complete their own research, it is important we offer them options to do so.

My favorite way to do this is through a HyperDoc, in which students can click on icons on a slide that lead them to websites I find to support the information they are gathering. I often create graphic organizers on Google Slides or questions that need to be answered on Google Forms and then allow students to find the answers and fill them in as they are researching.

This method is especially helpful for individual student PBL units or inquiry-based projects, such as Genius Hour or Passions Time.

6. Bringing the World To Your Students

The following resources have been covered by so many blogs and online resources. If you are interested in any of these, I encourage you to do a quick search and you will find so many resources.

• Virtual Field Trips
• Facebook Watch and YouTube Videos from zoos, museums, galleries, etc.
• Authors and Resources that frequently Zoom, Skype, or host Hangouts
• Contact a local resource or person and invite them to a whole-class discussion or pre-recorded session (see 1).
• Hands-on experiments and activities that can be completed in most homes. Be sure to encourage students to record these and post them. This way students who are unable to complete the activity can still witness the outcomes.

7. Hear Student Voice & Give Student Choice

• Create HyperDocs with choices built-in for learning. Example: Click on any of these links to learn about frogs (video option, article option, podcast option).
• Google Forms that allow students to vote for topics of interest.
• A digital I Wonder Board for students to post their curiosities. Use those to help you choose articles, pick word problems, or design lessons around student interests.
• If students are completing a project or presentation, allow them to complete a selection of activities. Check out my Genius Hour/Passions Project resource for a digital student choice menu.
• Use Emojis to show students’ voices on videos you record. Example: Hearts show you would prefer our class host Morning Meetings muted unless I ask. Smiley faces show you would prefer our class to be unmuted during Morning Meeting.

Do you have a resource or method you prefer for E-Learning? Tell us the purpose you use your resource for and share it in the comments below.

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