学校关闭当然不理想. However, if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s to look at the positive. It’s time to look for the silver linings in the Covid cloud we’ve been enduring for nearly a year now. One of those silver linings might actually involve the virtual 学习 model into which educators, 学生, 家庭也不情愿地受到了冲击. 你看到, online 学习 essentially lends itself to consistency, 开放的沟通, and transparency between 父母 and teachers. 如果使用得当, 父母 can use virtual 学习 platforms as a front row seat to everything that their child is reading, 学习, 和创建.
邀请父母进入虚拟世界
教师是否在使用Canvas, 谷歌的教室, or any of the other instructional platforms available right now, 父母 should be encouraged to join as participants or viewers. Many schools made this information available at the start of the school year; however, not all 父母 were aware of the advantages that this form of “virtual classroom participation” would give them and their children. Educators should consider some of the following measures:
- Send out a mass email to 父母 and guardians about joining the virtual classroom if anyone has yet to do so.
- 一定要编写类代码, 课程数量, and Zoom login information visible on your course home page; you can also include this information in the mass email to 父母.
- Post “parent-friendly” announcements to your course homepage to ensure that 父母 see these important notifications directly at the top when they login to check grades, 检查作业, 等.
- 针对长期缺勤的学生, reach out to 父母 via email and/or phone about their child’s absences in case they are unaware of the missed classes.
- Use the Canvas “grades” page to send mass emails to specific 学生 and their “observers,” i.e. 父母, when they have missed an important assignment deadline. This function allows teachers to email anyone who hasn’t submitted the assignment all at once without showing other recipients.
- When interims or the end of the marking period is approaching, post a message to all 学生 and “observers” about final steps and tasks for successfully rounding out the marking period.
- Set up a parent page in Canvas for each course where 父母 can find important course information, 班级日历或周日历, 教师联系方式, 变焦登录, 办公时间, 和常见问题.
- Use Screencastify to create how-to tutorials for 父母. These videos could include information on how to check grades, how to see if assignments have been submitted, how to view teacher feedback on written tasks, 如何使用Kami, 等.
- Push out a parent survey using Google forms to obtain vital information about how e-学习 is going at home. 问这样的问题: How much hands-on homework support do you provide to your child on the average night? Does your child have access to his/her own computer for 学习? Is there an older sibling or parent in the home during the average instructional day to provide tech support? 家里有技术问题吗? Where does your child do most of his/her classwork? How many children are in the home participating in virtual 学习 at the same time? On average, how much sleep is your child getting on the typical school night? How much time is spent on homework over the weekend? What frustrations are you seeing with regard to virtual 学习/instruction? Do you have easy access to your child’s grades, course materials, school resources, 等.? What steps could I take to provide more transparency/clarity to 父母 about our class? If your child needs more instructional support, do you know where/how to obtain those resources?
- Finally, teachers should create engaging assignments that encourage discourse within the family. These family-centered prompts require 学生 to bring their 父母 into the assignment for support and guidance, which allows 父母 to see firsthand what you’re teaching. 例如, ask 学生 to interview a member of their household for a formative assessment on sentence structure. Have 学生 write a personal essay about how they got their name, including direct quotes from their 父母 or guardians. Have 学生 create a “family album” on Google slides including photos and fun facts about siblings, 宠物, 父母, 爷爷奶奶, 等.
