In an ongoing effort to support Educators during the COVID-19 Pandemic Shaelynn Farnsworth and I continue to look for ways to use research-based instruction during remote, hybrid or face-to-face instruction. This week we look at Formative Assessment, how it works and why it can be a powerful tool no matter what your teaching and learning looks like.  One of the challenges many educators face during learning is understanding where students are on their path to understanding and how teaching can adjust. Traditionally, teaching has been a one-way enterprise with the teacher dispelling knowl ..read more

The whole reason we are even talking about remote learning is because science tells us the way we stay safe is to stay home. Some will disagree with that decision but ultimately it can (and will) save the lives of students and the passionate educators who have been working tirelessly to provide them an education in the middle of a pandemic.  Sure the word of the year in education has been "remote learning."  But it's more than that.  It's really remote leading.  Teachers are having to blaze new trails, figuring out how to teach in these remote circumstances. Principals, Cu ..read more

In March 2020 nearly the entire world’s education systems were thrown into the unknown when the COVID-19 Global Pandemic shuttered schools and teaching and learning moved to remote means. Still to this day in many parts of the world schools are shut down for the foreseeable future. There is hope however. In places like Canada, Denmark and Southeast Asia schools are opening back up and students heading back to the classroom. To call it a traditional space wouldn’t be accurate. Many new health and safety measures like physical distancing and mask are the order of the day. What school will l ..read more

This school year has been anything but normal. Many educators have settled into a grove of creating the best learning experiences they can for their students while still providing some meaning during distance learning. But as the days turn longer and the weather turns warmer, it’s time to begin thinking about how to celebrate all that has been accomplished. It might not seem like there is much to celebrate but there truly is. You and your students survived. You made it through what can only be described as the most challenging school year in decades. And while there were bumps in the road ..read more

Remote Learning... What the we as the the collective group of educators need to realize is that no matter how well we plan lessons and learning in virtual environments it just won't be enough for our most vulnerable learners. Nor will it meet the differentiated needs of our students with special needs. Instead of focusing on the Edtech tools and ways to keep learning going (which is a valiant effort) let's instead look at the (perhaps more important) non-edtech ways to encourage learning and creativity during these times of isolation. Here are 10 Remote Learning Ideas that require no tech ..read more

Odds are your students (and if you are like me, your own children) are learning at home currently due to the outbreak of COVID-19 across the globe. Every state in the U.S. and countless other countries have closed schools to help flatten the curve of infection. According to Education Week: 21 states and 3 U.S. territories have ordered or recommended school building closures for the rest of the academic year. School closures due to coronavirus have impacted at least 124,000 U.S. public and private schools and affected at least 55.1 million students. There are at least 98,000 publi ..read more

This is the third in a series of posts I am doing while many of us are facing an unprecedented time of isolation. The first was about reducing stress and anxiety and the second about building community, even at a distance. If you have an idea for something you want me to talk about, academic or not, let me know on Twitter, @web20classroom.  This is an incredibly difficult time. Most educators are being thrust into the world of remote teaching with little to no preparation or guidance. All are doing the best they can navigating these waters and attempting to provide learning in a meaningful ..read more

This is the second in a series of videos I want to do while many of us are facing an unprecedented time of isolation. The first was about reducing stress and anxiety. If you have an idea for something you want me to talk about, academic or not, let me know on Twitter, @web20classroom.  Millions of students and teachers find themselves thrust into a world of unknowns. Just a few short weeks ago kids were waking up and heading to their classroom to learn and grow in a community of learners. Now many of them are isolated at home, far from their classmates and their teacher.  Building communit ..read more

This is the first in a series of videos I want to do while many of us are facing an unprecedented time of isolation. If you have an idea for something you want me to talk about, academic or not, let me know on Twitter, @web20classroom.  Over the last the several days many adults and kids have had their world turned upside down with the closure of school and recommended social distancing to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus. For myself, in just a matter of 3 days I went from a calendar full of travel and events to isolation in my home. Even my own daughters had school on a Friday to no s ..read more

A while back I was having a conversation with a colleague about creativity in learning. We debated back and forth about what creativity looked like and could you really teach creativity. All this stemmed from a comment I made about me not being creative. Sure, I’ve written books, I talk in front of teachers and leaders often and create professional development to deliver. But does that mean I am creative? As educators, when it comes to creativity in the classroom, we can take the path of least resistance and take creativity out of the learning process or we can create an environment that f ..read more