Since our awesome write-ups are primarily being distributed to building and district administrators, I wanted to make sure that I shared them within the team as well. Since we're just getting back into the swing of the VW, I don't want to overwhelm you with three weeks of write-ups, so you'll get a selection today, but I hope to share the prior week's write-ups in future VanWeekly editions.
From Susan Brandon, METI at Lake Windward ES
Flipgrid- Online Morning News Program
A morning news program is a great way to start the day and bring a sense of community to students. This is where we share everything from the weather to important school-wide announcements. You can easily make a student's day by celebrating their birthday and special accomplishments. Being out of school provides an opportunity to get creative with your news program.
Here is one way to take your morning news program online:
- Create a Teams group for your news crew so you have a place to create and house scripts, post schedules and communicate as a team.
- Create a Wiki tab in Teams so you can create an interactive schedule. Students can sign up for days to create scripts and host the show.
- Create and post a script template that students can use to update and record the news.
-Be sure students use first names only when they post their video & when sharing information such as birthdays. (Example: Happy Birthday to Susie in 1st grade)
- Use Flipgrid for your anchors to record the news show. (Be sure to set it to moderated and Have them put the title of their video as the broadcast date).
-Post a link to the morning news Flipgrid on your school website and share via email.
-Each day, students will go to the Flipgrid and click on that day's date to watch the news.
-Encourage your news crew to come up with fun weekly challenges to continue creating a sense of community among your students. (Use a moderated Flipgrid or Padlet wall for students to post evidence they participated in the challenges).
https://www.fultonschools.org/Page/17988
Have fun with your online news program!
From Jennifer Evans, Teacher at Ridgeview Charter Middle School:
Asynchronous Gradual Release
What it is:
Asynchronous learning consists of any activities where students receive instruction at their own pace on their own time. The gradual release education model has also been referred to as the “I do, you do, we do” model of instruction. This is when the instructor gives direct instruction, transitions to an instructor supported guided practice, and then culminating in a independent formal or informal assessment of what was learned.
Direct instruction (I Do):
I have used short instructional videos (FlipGrid, screen recording using PowerPoint, etc.) of guided or focused notes so that students can follow along and get the initial information. An annotated PowerPoint is another way for students to get the initial information for a lesson.
Guided practice (We Do):
There are many apps and websites that allow teachers to give questions to students that give them immediate feedback. Quizizz in “homework” mode is one I use on a regular basis. Students can review exactly what they need to review in their own time. Microsoft Forms also can allow for students to practice. They can be set up to give hints for incorrect answers and students can go back and edit incorrect answers until they are all perfect.
Assessment (You Do):
This portion can consist of either formal or informal assessments. Students can explain what they have learned in a FlipGrid which can be done at any time. Students can also just complete something as simple as a handout in Teams on their own time. In addition to this, students can complete a quiz or test in Microsoft Forms or Illuminate which would be a more formal way to assess. The main difference here being a lack of assistance during the assessment.
