so now we& #39;re two weeks into #virtuallearning with less than a week to go before kids return. here& #39;s what I& #39;ve learned so far: a thread
this BS about "you can& #39;t build community online" has to go.

you can do it. it takes hard work, authenticity, vulnerability, and intention.
you WILL make mistakes. trust me, I& #39;ve made quite a few. most have been hilarious and the kids and I have had some good laughs. #andioop
show your students you& #39;re human. that it& #39;s okay to make mistakes and to fail. they& #39;re pretty forgiving, tbh when you do mess up.
i play #music for the kids as I& #39;m letting kids out of the waiting room (I use Zoom). always some kind of happy, upbeat jam. today it was Duckwrth& #39;s "Crush" (props to @MrMathieuTweets for the heads up on that tune) #musicappreciation #notjustascienceteacher
provide the kids with the roadmap for the day at the beginning of class. I do this with a Bitmoji version of me standing in front of my actual whiteboard with the day& #39;s agenda. I also have a copy of this in my LMS for them to view if they miss class. #classroommanagement
breakout rooms, breakout rooms, breakout rooms.

learn them, love them, use them. #Zoomtools
realize that redesigning your usual f2f lessons and assessments for #virtuallearning takes 2-3 times longer than you think it does.

so does the grading.
give your #eyes a rest from the screen every 10-15 minutes or so. chances are good your eyes aren& #39;t old but they& #39;re sure as hell not getting any younger. #vision
also? some of those wacky things you& #39;d do if students were in your physical classroom learning f2f?
you can still do those virtually too. like when I teach sexual selection to my kids, I normally do the blue-footed booby dance.

you best believe I& #39;ll be doing that dance next semester when I teach that lesson and I& #39;ll do it on camera if i have to.
now next week when I& #39;m expected to teach both f2f students and virtual students I& #39;ll have some more insights and tips. we& #39;ll see how it goes. I& #39;m anxious for multiple reasons, most of which center on my safety.

gonna be tough to be the best #teacher me I can be when I& #39;m afraid.
You can follow @thebiospace.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: