Recently, I came across the work of Sara G, a teacher on the North Shore of Chicago who hit a home run humanizing herself in an intro video to her online learning space. (For more on this idea, see my extended article on how to humanize online learning spaces.) Let’s take a look at Sara’s […]
Archives for August 2020
What to Do When Your Asynchronous Video Lessons Aren’t Great But You’ve Got to Post Them Before You Go Crazy
The answer is obvious but difficult: we’ve just got to go ahead and post them. In fact, I’ll explain in this article why the rule of thumb we need to aim for is never re-recording our asynchronous instructional videos even though this certainly means we’ll be publishing work that is beneath our best sometimes. Why? […]
How (and Why) to Leave Audio Feedback on Student Work This Year, Whether During In-Person or Distance Learning
In 2007, researchers from West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina thought up an interesting study. In asynchronous distance learning scenarios, what would happen if one group of students received audio-based feedback on their work while another group received traditional, text-based feedback? Their findings were remarkable — especially now that so many of us find ourselves […]
Catchphrases that Work: “Is this a Mosquito Wing Thing?”
After reading my recent article “People, not Passwords: Why You Need a Catchphrase or Two to Define Your Challenges This Fall,” one of our colleagues wrote in with a catchphrase she plans to lean on especially hard this school year. Julie Holderbaum is an English teacher at Minerva High School in Minerva, OH. For years, […]
Eight Tips for Using the *New* Editing Practice that Sticks
We have a new offering for teachers out this week — Editing Practice that Sticks. Click here to learn more. What follows is a list of eight tips that Doug Stark has written for guiding teachers to use these exercises to the greatest effect possible. Tip 1: Where possible, give your students a physical copy […]