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The coronavirus pandemic changed everything about life in 2020 — but education perhaps saw the biggest spotlight and shift. Last week, we reviewed what educators were writing about for their peers before the pandemic hit in the spring and today we’ll look at some of the most poignant posts that were influenced by the pandemic’s effect on P-20 education.
Read What did educators talk about, pre-pandemic?
Here are some the topics most influencing P-20 learning after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020:
Remote learning: What we’ve learned during the transition by Jelena Pavicevic, Sunitha Gorthy, Chris Poulsen and Aman Narula
Originally published on April 21, 2020
Themes: Rapid shift to remote learning. interactive learning, remote learning etiquette
Excerpt:
“When you have more than 10 young students all trying to talk or comment at the same time, it can get noisy pretty quickly. To teach them good digital habits, we decided to create some fun warm-up games that not only build creativity, but also teach them how to mute and unmute themselves or how to turn off the video, and why these features are useful in a classroom. Our hope was that, at least for upper elementary students, instead of the teacher muting the class, students learn to be responsible themselves.”
Staying connected to students and families during COVID-19 by Roland Rios
Originally published on May 12, 2020
Themes: Digital communication with parents, online communities, remote learning
Excerpt:
“Parents want to stay a part of their child’s education no matter where they are. Being able to post work on our website and on social media is a huge benefit to us. We don’t wall off our domain, so our students can share their Google Docs with their parents’ military address so that parents can still help them with their essay, even if they’re in Iraq or Germany or somewhere else in the world.”
5 pragmatic practices for educator self-care by Michelle Kinder and Kevin Baird
Originally published on June 9, 2020
Themes: Teacher burnout, stress in the classroom, nurturing relationships
Excerpt:
“Working our social-emotional muscles is important to mental well-being. Identify practices that keep you grounded and then prioritize them by putting them on your schedule. When are you most at peace? What gives you energy? Pick a few things like meditation, running, or reading, and build them into your day. These practices are not about adding to the to-do list; they’re about tricking ourselves into recharging our own batteries.”
3 tips for teaching special education online by Lee-Ann Mertzluft
Originally published on Aug. 4, 2020
Themes: Special education in remote settings, accessibility, parent empowerment
Excerpt:
“Checking off learning boxes for special education students is challenging in the physical learning environment, where there’s a classroom. It gets even more difficult in the online-learning space. Getting students to attend class is an effort in and of itself. It’s even more unpredictable online because teachers don’t always know what students are doing while they’re at home.”
4 from-home STEM lessons in nature by Jacie Maslyk and Kristen Nan
First published on Oct. 6, 2020
Themes: STEM learning outside, hands-on discovery, assessment
Excerpt:
“Planting flowers, bug hunting and weather watching are all activities that can be done using social distancing guidelines and are acceptable during quarantine. For parents of young students, going outside during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a blessing. As educators navigate changes this unprecedented school year, we know project-based learning will be an essential aspect of every curriculum. The right lessons can align PBL, STEM and a love for the outdoors.”
Katie Parsons is the editor of SmartBrief’s EdTech daily news briefing. Send your TechTips pitches to her at [email protected].
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