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Virtual Learning Resources

There’s no single right way to do distance learning. Every school and every student is different. But as educators, we can craft meaningful learning experiences that happen anytime and anywhere. Although there is no instruction manual, we can all use tools, blueprints, and ideas. This is why I have created articles, videos, webinars, toolkits, an eBook, and a comprehensive course. You can find it all on this page.

Free Virtual Learning Webinars

Webinar: The Four Ways to Craft Choice Menus in Distance Learning Classes

Educator Expertise: Beginning to Emerging

Description: In this session, we explore four different choice menus you can do in your online classroom. These menus range from closed / teacher-centered to open / student-centered. I’ll walk you step-by-step through each type of choice menu so that you can craft a practical choice menu for your students.

Watch the Recorded Webinar: You can find the replay here.

Download the Slideshow: You can download the accompanying slideshow here.

 

Webinar: How to Boost Attendance and Engagement in Virtual Class Meetings

Educator Expertise: Beginning to Emerging

Description: It can be downright defeating when you lead a virtual class meeting and nobody shows up. Other times, you ask a question and there’s awkward silence. In this webinar, we cover specific strategies for improving attendance in optional class meetings (including “office hours”) and how to make all of your virtual meetings more engaging and interactive.

Watch the Recorded Webinar: You can find the replay here.

Download the Slideshow: You can download the accompanying slideshow here.

 

Webinar: Empowering Students in Distance Learning Environments

Educator Expertise: Beginning to Emerging

Description: Student engagement can be a real struggle when there is physical distance. However, the real issue isn’t simply a lack of engagement. It’s often a lack of self-direction. In other words, students aren’t taking the initiative with their own learning. In this webinar, we cover specific strategies for increasing self-direction and student ownership in distance learning classes. I’ll walk you through some specific strategies you can use in distance learning courses at the K-12 level. I also cover this topic in-depth in the upcoming professional development course on empowering students in distance learning .

Watch the Recorded Webinar: You can find the replay here.

Download the Slideshow: You can download the accompanying slideshow here.

Get the Toolkit and eBook

There is no one single way to do online teaching. It’s an experiment and it varies depending on your subject, your context, and your students. You’ll make tons of mistakes — and that’s okay. The beauty is in learning from those mistakes and iterating toward better and better instruction. Lean in to the experts in your own institution and be humble about what you don’t know. Ask students for their input along the way. And over time, you’ll develop some amazing distance learning units.

Below, you’ll find the a free eBook, along with a toolkit full of resources you can use as you shift toward online teaching. You’ll find lesson plans, writing prompts, entire projects, protocols, and guides.

Virtual Learning Workshops

As a technology coach and STEM teacher, I helped lead my district in blended and virtual options. As a university professor, I have worked as a Digital Fluency Initiative mentor, provided professional development on course design, and helped professors transform their face-to-face courses into distance learning courses.

Although I work full-time as a university professor, I also deliver keynotes and provide workshops on empowering students with voice and choice. My style is hands-on, engaging, practical, and fun. I infuse each learning experience with storytelling, humor, and movement. While I tailor each the learning to the needs of your staff, here is a sampling of what type of workshops I lead.

Better By Design: How to Empower Students in Virtual and Distance Learning Environments (Full Day)

Educator Expertise: Any level

Description: We didn’t ask for this. We didn’t anticipate this. But now many of us are teaching online and virtually. In this workshop, we explore how to boost engagement, improve collaboration, and increase student ownership in distance learning environments. We explore, step-by-step, how to improve virtual class meetings, how to use choice menus strategically, and how to get students engaged in creative projects at home. By the end, you’ll have tools, strategies, and a clear plan for the future.

Boosting Student Engagement Online  (Half Day)

Educator Expertise: Novice

Description: In this session, we cover seven specific strategies you can use to boost student engagement when doing virtual sessions. We dive into how to create meaningful small group interaction and how to incorporate movement and creativity into these sessions. We also explore how to design meaningful online instruction that takes students away from their screens.

Creative Collaboration from a Distance (Half Day)

Educator Expertise: Emerging

Description: Distance learning does not mean you have to abandon collaborative grouping. In this session, we explore how to build accountability and interdependency into student collaboration. We cover specific tools you can use for shared creative work and for both synchronous and asynchronous communication.

Taking Distance Learning to the Next Level (Half Day)

Educator Expertise: Expert

Description: In this workshop, we focus on how to take our distance learning to the next level with UX Design. We explore what it means to do in-depth choice menus, project-based learning units, and interdependent collaborative work. This is ideal for schools that have already been experimenting with virtual and distance learning platforms and want to take the learning to another level.

Empowering Students in Distance Learning (Self-Paced Course)

Educator Expertise: Any level

Description: What does it mean to empower our students in distance learning environments? How do we help them become self-directed when they are away from their classroom? We tackle these hard questions as we focus on what it means to have students self-select scaffolds, use choice menus, engage in creative projects and self-assess. Each day, you will watch a practical video with specific strategies and then create something meaningful that you will actually use in your distance learning classroom.

This course begins on April 20, 2020, with a new 60 minute lesson each day. It will last ten days over two weeks. However, the course is on-demand and all deadlines are flexible. Every video and resource will be available even after you have finished this course.

    Self-Paced Course: Empowering Students in Distance Learning

    Educator Expertise: Any level

    Description: What does it mean to empower our students in distance learning environments? How do we help them become self-directed when they are away from their classroom? We tackle these hard questions as we focus on what it means to have students self-select scaffolds, use choice menus, engage in creative projects and self-assess. Each day, you will watch a practical video with specific strategies and then create something meaningful that you will actually use in your distance learning classroom.

    How It Works: This course is designed to run about 60 minutes each day for ten days. There is an additional five hours of work that is done independently. However, the course is on-demand and all deadlines are flexible. Every video and resource will be available even after you have finished this course.

    Learn More