Recently, my school switched from in-person to remote learning, and I thought it might be useful to share how I approached establishing norms for our online “classroom.” (Zoomroom?) Normally I’d write this kind of thing down, but time is tight these days, and a video is better than nothing. (That’s also why I’m hosting a […]
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How I Handled Misbehaviors on the First Day of Zoom Classroom
On the first day of synchronous learning at my school, I had a pair of students doing something I hadn’t seen before while the class was completing a writing warm-up. They were taking turns flashing their videos on and off, making funny faces each time they’d appear. I could tell they were getting a real […]
Things That Help: “Good Times”
While I don’t necessarily recommend the book,* Ben Courson’s Flirting with Darkness: Building Hope in the Face of Depression did give me a concept that’s been helpful in the days since I read it one night. It’s this habit amongst elite military groups of responding to adverse turns in events with the phrase, “Good times.” […]
My School Just Went Remote: Here Are Ten Things That Are Helping
The last couple of weeks have seemed like the capstone project for my master’s degree in pandemic pedagogy. (You know, that master’s degree program that we all enrolled in together about eight months ago this Friday?) For nine instructional days, I was on quarantine while my students were (mostly) in class — so I taught kids […]
Things That Help: Lisa Van Gemert’s Content Capsules Method for Creating Joyful, Knowledge-Rich Learning Spaces, Remotely or In-Person
Note from Dave: This summer, our colleague Lisa Van Gemert reached out to me to tell me about a new book she had written. I’ve always appreciated Lisa’s work, and I was particularly eager to share it in this case because it’s 100% in line with what I believe to be the best avenue for […]