As teachers across the country prepare for a school year unlike any other, we know many are wondering: How will I stay connected with my students, keep them engaged and help the achieve their academic goals if I’m teaching remotely?
In our recent webinar, “Successful Remote Learning Strategies for the CTE Classroom,” we asked three seasoned CTE teachers how they plan to achieve those goals this year. Our guest panelists included:
- Rhonda Evatt, Health Science Instructor at Anderson Institute of Technology
- Alaina Tharp, FCS Instructor at Tri-Valley Local Schools
- Krysten Dane, FCS Instructor at Glencoe- Silver Lake Public Schools
Here are the strategies they shared for successful remote teaching. Keep reading to find out what they shared, access videos and other resources.
Create a class website
Health science instructor Rhonda Evatt says that class websites allow you to offer an additional level of organization for all the assets your students will need for remote learning success. This includes forms, calendars, announcements, assignments and more.
“I use my class website as a place for students to go, so they can browse pages and access any information they need,” said Rhonda. “This applies to parents, too!”
Rhonda suggests using a class website as a landing page to find all of the different items for your classes. Create an easy access link for parents and students, and be sure to share that link at every opportunity.
Building a website sounds hard, but remember: It doesn’t have to be done overnight! Start simple and add in as you are able.
Follow Rhonda’s step-by-step instructions for setting up a classroom website (and learn more about how she plans to connect with her students in an online learning environment) by tuning into her portion of our webinar below (4:45):
You can view Rhonda’s class website here.
Remember that consistency is key
Alaina Tharp, FCS instructor and FCCLA Advisor at Tri-Valley Local Schools, says consistency is key to successful remote teaching.
It’s vital that your students know how they can connect with you even if they cannot see you. Set office hours that are flexible, but also establish boundaries – if you’ve got office hours until 4pm, but don’t mind if students send you messages until 9pm, let them know. But if you’re turning off notifications between 9pm and 6am, communicate that boundary as well.
Set time to connect with each student individually. Find out their level of comfort with technology, who is on their support team, what questions they have, etc.
Establish your communication platforms, get comfortable using them, then use them regularly. Whether you’re sending weekly newsletters and emails, hosting family friendly Zoom events like “Name That Tune” or “Family Game Night,” establish a consistent method of connecting with your students and their support teams.
Learn more about how Alaina plans to keep her students engaged in an online learning environment by tuning into her portion of the below webinar (16:05):
It’s all about communication
Krysten Dane, FCS instructor at Glenco-Silver Lake High School, says her keys to remote teaching success include organization, relevancy, adaptability and most importantly, communication.
Establishing strong communication with students and parents from the beginning is vital, and thanks to technology, a plethora of great communication tools exist to help you with this.
Recommendations from Krysten include:
- Hosting morning video announcements of what students should be working on that day with any important information or directions. Not only can you use video announcements to communicate instructions consistently, but students will appreciate seeing your face.
- Use the free app ClassTag to streamline all your parent communication, share photos and videos, send calendar reminders and more (plus, it offers messaging capabilities without giving out your personal phone number)
- Use social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter to communicate with students, showcase student work, and send reminders to students, parents and community members of what’s happening in your classroom
“Online instruction is challenging for all involved, but it can also be an opportunity to grow professionally,” said Krysten. “I challenge you to use it as an opportunity try new things, practice empathy, give grace and rise up to the challenge! Our students deserve it.”
Learn more about how Krysten plans to help her students achieve their academic goals in an online learning environment by turning into her portion of the below webinar (34:30):
More resources for successful remote teaching strategies
- Watch our entire 1-hour webinar, “Successful Remote Learning Strategies for the CTE Classroom”
- Download our free guide, “5 Strategies for a Successful Remote Learning Environment”
- See the learning aids we recommend for at-home instruction
