Day 2 of Remote Learning. A snapshot from home from our Google Meet today for Literacy. All from the comfort of her bedroom - the 'new normal' for teaching and learning spaces in lockdown.
Showing posts with label GOOGLE Meet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GOOGLE Meet. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 March 2020
Remote Learning: The view from home
Day 2 of Remote Learning. A snapshot from home from our Google Meet today for Literacy. All from the comfort of her bedroom - the 'new normal' for teaching and learning spaces in lockdown.
Tuesday, 24 March 2020
Remote Learning: Go Live for Team 5!
As a team, we met informally after school last Friday for a quick debrief of the week that was. There was a definite vibe that schools were very likely to be shutdown at some point in the near future. Our talk soon turned into a constructive brainstorming session where we thrashed out how to LIMIT THE LINKS on our learning site so that access to learning at home in lockdown would be as streamlined and straightforward as possible.
Today, we reaped the benefits of this forward planning. While, we had started the week thinking we would have a good couple more days to trial and tweak things we quite simply ran out of time! So, six of us took the plunge with our very first Google Meets and experienced our first taste of teaching and learning remotely in real time!
What a buzz! Lots of excitement as I met with my students as a group online. Students quickly learnt how to mute their microphones while I got to grips with the technical skills like finding the correct 'view' to see all of my students at once and remembering how to click RECORD for the session. Thank you for Dorothy for capturing the moment as members of our SMT came through the block to see us in action.
Today, we reaped the benefits of this forward planning. While, we had started the week thinking we would have a good couple more days to trial and tweak things we quite simply ran out of time! So, six of us took the plunge with our very first Google Meets and experienced our first taste of teaching and learning remotely in real time!
What a buzz! Lots of excitement as I met with my students as a group online. Students quickly learnt how to mute their microphones while I got to grips with the technical skills like finding the correct 'view' to see all of my students at once and remembering how to click RECORD for the session. Thank you for Dorothy for capturing the moment as members of our SMT came through the block to see us in action.
Monday, 23 March 2020
MIT 2020 - Distance Learning 101
Hard to believe that in the space of a 2-3 days, plans for our first MIT 2020 gathering since Kuaotunu changed as many times, such was the fast changing impact of COVID19 as logistics fell into line with measures introduced by the government to stem the spread of this disease.
Plan A - carpooling and jumping on a train and heading into downtown Auckland to KPMG Offices
Plan B - relocate to Sommerville School in Glen Innes with one person self-isolating
Plan C - everyone at home joining the meeting via GOOGLE Meet
So, armed with a headset, laptop and decent internet connection I was ready to sign in and catchup with the rest of the MIT 2020 crew. It was great to 'see' everyone again after a break of 3 weeks or so and as Dorothy pointed out we were lucky we had already met in person so no awkwardness to overcome.
A GOOGLE Sheet was shared amongst us with an agenda to guide our session for the day and space to record reflections for WWW - What's working? What's not? (Barriers/Road Bumps) and What opportunities do you sense? We each took turns to unmute our mics and in 3 minutes (or less!) update our fellow MITers as to how our projects were going.
This was a golden opportunity for Dorothy and Matt to hear directly from each of us about our projects and for all of us to pitch in with suggestions and advice to steer us in the right direction. We were encouraged to rethink our projects in light of changes brought about by COVID19. The seriousness of the pandemic did not dampen our enthusiasm. Indeed, there was a lot of positive energy, excitement, solutions on the fly, clarity and a strong sense of purpose throughout our virtual meeting room - from each other, and towards each other!
I was impressed with how easily we adapted to this style of gathering. Being physically apart did not seem to be a disadvantage. We could still interact with each other in a group setting and also had plenty of opportunities throughout the day to take time out by ourselves or with other MITers to focus on our projects. Connecting online was certainly not an obstacle to robust discussion - if anything it made us more focussed, wanting to make the most of the time we had together away from our regular teaching commitments.
As I write this post, I am still processing what 'school' will now look like as as we enter a period of now certain shutdown due to COVID19. What started as a necessary work around to comply with new government health policies, is now set to be the 'new normal' as a shutdown of schools looms large.
The challenge for both teachers and students, switches to how quickly we can all figure out how best to deliver and participate in effective distance learning programmes using digital technology.
A FEW POINTS TO PONDER (for teachers and students)
Plan A - carpooling and jumping on a train and heading into downtown Auckland to KPMG OfficesPlan B - relocate to Sommerville School in Glen Innes with one person self-isolating
Plan C - everyone at home joining the meeting via GOOGLE Meet
So, armed with a headset, laptop and decent internet connection I was ready to sign in and catchup with the rest of the MIT 2020 crew. It was great to 'see' everyone again after a break of 3 weeks or so and as Dorothy pointed out we were lucky we had already met in person so no awkwardness to overcome.
A GOOGLE Sheet was shared amongst us with an agenda to guide our session for the day and space to record reflections for WWW - What's working? What's not? (Barriers/Road Bumps) and What opportunities do you sense? We each took turns to unmute our mics and in 3 minutes (or less!) update our fellow MITers as to how our projects were going.
This was a golden opportunity for Dorothy and Matt to hear directly from each of us about our projects and for all of us to pitch in with suggestions and advice to steer us in the right direction. We were encouraged to rethink our projects in light of changes brought about by COVID19. The seriousness of the pandemic did not dampen our enthusiasm. Indeed, there was a lot of positive energy, excitement, solutions on the fly, clarity and a strong sense of purpose throughout our virtual meeting room - from each other, and towards each other!
I was impressed with how easily we adapted to this style of gathering. Being physically apart did not seem to be a disadvantage. We could still interact with each other in a group setting and also had plenty of opportunities throughout the day to take time out by ourselves or with other MITers to focus on our projects. Connecting online was certainly not an obstacle to robust discussion - if anything it made us more focussed, wanting to make the most of the time we had together away from our regular teaching commitments.
As I write this post, I am still processing what 'school' will now look like as as we enter a period of now certain shutdown due to COVID19. What started as a necessary work around to comply with new government health policies, is now set to be the 'new normal' as a shutdown of schools looms large.
The challenge for both teachers and students, switches to how quickly we can all figure out how best to deliver and participate in effective distance learning programmes using digital technology.
A FEW POINTS TO PONDER (for teachers and students)
- What is your WIFI/Internet connection like - broadband? fibre? unlimited? data cap in place?
- How many number/what type of devices do you have available to use - laptop? phone? second laptop? desktop screen?
- What platform will you use for video conferencing between staff and/or students - GOOGLE Meet? Zoom? Skype?
- How proficient are you in using the chosen video conferencing platform? Protocols for interacting online
- What is your distance learning/home learning set-up going to look like - background - distracting or nondescript? dress code?
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