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Now that I know we are starting school remotely, I've been brainstorming what a meaningful start looks like digitally. I came up with a digital First Day of School Station activity that includes both synchronous collaboration and asynchronous work. This is what it looks like:
Station 1: Introductions. Students will be linked to a FlipGrid where they can record their names (so I can still learn them quickly with their proper pronunciation) and a Google Form survey that asks students other important information like their pronouns.
Station 2: Syllabus and Logistics. This is where they will find out how to sign up for any important apps (Google Classroom, Remind, etc.) and also read through the syllabus. Afterward, they will respond to what they notice + what they still wonder about this class.
Station 3: Identity Slide. Students will create a collage of pictures (personal photos or from Google) that show important aspects of their identity. This also includes a teacher example slide so they can learn more about me as their teacher in addition to seeing a sample slide.
Station 4: Who Are Your Classmates? In Zoom breakout rooms of 4, students will ask each other different questions and get to know each other. Then, they will fill out this table with the information they learned about one another.(I will likely change the questions included here)
Station 5: Community Agreements. In a small group (Zoom breakout room), students will collaborate on community agreements that they need from their peers/teacher to feel safe/empowered to learn. We will come back as a whole group to share these agreements and create a master list
Students can work with peers for 2 of the stations and then work on the other 3 on their own time. This way, I can learn more about each student and also start the year off with some collaboration! It also allows students to practice some technology skills in a low-stakes way
While I may edit this before I actually implement it (editing stations, adding/changing stations, etc.), @JessycaMathews inspired me to at least get started on something! Hopefully this is adaptable for teachers to use in your own teaching context.
If you want a copy of these slides to edit, go to: https://bit.ly/digitalfirstday Please go to FILE and MAKE A COPY to have your own editable version of this! Lastly, I wrote about First Day of School Stations originally here for anyone interested @edutopia: https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-learning-stations-kick-year
Hi! I can no longer keep up with my mentions so some FAQ: 1. I teach high school but I think this could be adapted for other grade levels. 2. I plan on doing this for a full week. The 2 synchronous stations together and the other 3 stations students can do on their own time.
3. If you asked a specific question, sorry if I wasn’t able to answer it! I woke up to a lot of mentions, I tried to get to them all and realized there was too many. I’m glad this is helpful for y’all! 
I officially muted this thread so I won’t be getting notifications of your comments/questions! I may have already answered your questions somewhere below but feel free to use and adapt this in any way that will work for your individual classroom. Thanks for understanding!
