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Bitmoji
Educational TrendsGood Teaching

The Latest Educational Tool: Bitmoji Classrooms

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

I was wandering around Facebook recently and was surprised to discover the interest that educators were expressing in creating virtual, Bitmoji classrooms (and office and libraries and so much more). I had not heard of this resource before, but was interested to see what it was all about. So I joined the Bitmoji Craze for Educators Facebook Group. Wow!!!!!

What’s a Bitmoji?

Bitmoji

Bitmoji of @GwynethJones, the Daring Librarian

A Bitmoji is a personalized cartoon avatar that can appear in your Facebook, Snapchat, Slack, or G Suite tools. You create a cartoon version of yourself that can add fun to your communications. Of course, with remote learning recently, this resource became even more valuable as dedicated educators created virtual worlds for their students and themselves to live and learn in.

You create your character using the free Bitmoji app, available for Android, Chrome, and iOS. Then you can go on to design your virtual space and furnish it with more choices available to download and use than you could ever possibly imagine.

Use of a Bitmoji in the Classroom

While having an avatar is certainly a lot of fun to create (I think of it as being similar to playing with paper dolls, but with technology!), it also has a TON of uses for learning in the classroom. You can decorate the classroom with virtual furnishings from rugs to bulletin boards to shelves of library books. Each item in the classroom can be linked to a video or audio recording or a website or activity. Thus, they become interactive centers for learning. Take a look at these examples below from WeAreTeachers:

Bitmoji

Learn How to Create Your Own Bitmoji Space

TCEA is pleased to offer a two-webinar series on creating your own virtual classroom, office, or library. The first webinar will be held on June 4, 2020 from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. CST. (If one or both dates have already passed, you can still sign up to receive the full recordings from both sessions.) During this first webinar, participants will learn:

  • Uses of a virtual cartoon classroom (as a launchpad and for personalization)
  • How to create a Bitmoji of yourself using the free Bitmoji app
  • How to set up up your basic classroom with a background, furniture, your avatar, and more
  • Additional resources to use in your Bitmoji classroom

The second session will be held on June 18, 2020 from 9:30 to 10:30 am. CST and will help you to take your virtual classroom to the next level as you:

  • Add hyperlinks to key resources for student access
  • Add audio
  • Make an animated Google header
  • And more!

The cost for both webinars is just $25 for TCEA members and $74 for non-members, which includes a one-year membership in TCEA. Participants will get hands-on practice creating and will walk away with their own Bitmoji and a strong start to their virtual space. I urge you to register now for this fun adventure that will really add to any remote learning that you may do in the future!

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ed tech news
Educational Trends

Ed Tech News Roundup: Building More Connections and Looking Ahead

by Andrew Roush
written by Andrew Roush

Howdy, folks! Welcome to another in a series of periodic ed tech news roundups. We hope you enjoy this one, and if you have a story you’d like to see included, let us know.

The Graduates

Across the nation, high school and college students — along with their friends, family, communities, and schools — are celebrating graduation every way they safely can.

  • The University of Missouri offered to assist families of graduates with virtual celebrations. [EdTech]
  • For one example in Texas, here’s how Tomball High School seniors are being celebrated. [ABC 13 Houston]
  • In north Texas, seniors from 30 high schools gathered for a socially-distanced graduation at the Texas Motor Speedway. [KERA Dallas]
  • Some seniors, however, are voicing concerns about in-person ceremonies, including one Houston valedictorian. [Texas Public Radio]
  • A graduating college senior reflects on the realities of finishing college at a distance. [EdTech]

Making Connections

The jump to remote teaching this year highlights the difficulty some have accessing high-speed internet, a necessity for most remote learning. Here’s how different groups are hoping to close the “internet gap.”

  • Educational groups are attempting to persuade Congress to action to help connect families. A proposal under consideration would allow lawmakers to “direct $5.25 billion through the existing E-Rate program” for the purpose of connecting American homes. [Education Week]
  • Other policies might affect access to remote learning. Texas expects to receive $1.29 billion from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, but how that is disbursed is still being debated. [Texas Tribune]
  • Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency are launching “Operation Connectivity” to get Texas students the resources they need for at-home learning. [KHOU 11 Houston]

Looking Ahead

As the school year winds down, educators, schools, districts, and industry are looking ahead to this fall, and beyond.

  • Four ed tech executives share their thoughts about the future of technology in education. [Tech Crunch]
  • Dallas ISD’s superintendent, Michael Hinojosa, says the fall semester will not be “business as usual.” [Dallas Morning News]
  • How will our present moment change the future? The Stanford Graduate School of Education set out to find out. [Stanford]

Photo by Christian Widell on Unsplash

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Content AreasEducational TrendsGood TeachingPodcasts

Blog, ‘Cast, Engage!

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

How are you showcasing student accomplishments in your classroom now? One great way to do so combines video, audio, and text in a simple interface. That interface? Blogs. At the TCEA 2020 Convention, I had the opportunity to share a few ideas and resources with educators. Let’s take a moment to revisit some of those ideas, even if you missed the TCEA 2020 Convention.

Make Conversations Happen

Blogs and podcasts make it easy to engage students. After all, who wouldn’t find their own voice and performance engaging? Here are few examples of educators sharing how they are making conversations happen or how to create conversations.

Ready to explore some specific ideas? Let’s begin!

Step 1: Select a Blogging Platform

castOne of the first steps you need to take is to select a blogging platform. This is an online space to share content. Avoid getting caught up in the strict definition of a blog (e.g. RSS feed or an online space with content you can subscribe to). Another point you need to consider is that you need something you can control as the teacher. Students are often blocked from using tools like Blogger because they are for students older than thirteen years old. As a teacher, you need an online platform that makes it easy for you to manage content online and student posting.

Fortunately, we have access to a wide range of tools. You are looking for something that’s easy to set up, maintain, and support. Here are a few blogging platforms that give you control over publication content and commenting:

  1. Wakelet
  2. KidBlog
  3. Write About
  4. Edublogs
  5. Seesaw Class Blog (View sample blog)

Items two through four above cost money, while blog platforms one and five are free. Although Wakelet isn’t a true blogging platform, several educators have chosen it. The ability to embed all sorts of content, including Flipgrid shorts videos, make it a choice worth exploring. You can see one example from Jon Forney’s Wakelet class blogs collection above.

Seesaw Class Blogs is a great free alternative, but your work does end up in a system that may cost money in the future. Another possibility not listed above is the new Google Sites. While Google Sites is a wiki rather than a blog, it is easy to maintain and update. Schools may also want to use G Suite EDU’s Blogger, which is full-featured and allows for close control.

Before you commit to any one solution, be sure to run it by your organization’s technology team.

Did You Know?

Sign up for one of our Google Certified Educator certifications. You’ll learn about more than Google Meet, as well as earn 12 CPE hours per course. Use these courses to get Google Educator certified. Find out more online.

Step #2: Select Podcasting Solution

castUnless you’re engaging in full-blown podcasting which involves scripts and audio editing, use Voxer to record interviews of less than 15 minutes and then post to social media (e.g. Instagram, Twitter). Be sure to combine your media shares online via Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. In the meantime, here are some suggested tools for working with podcasts:

Need to Record on the Go?

If you are in a classroom situation, it may be prudent to set up a microphone on a desktop computer. This makes it easy to edit audio using a free program like Audacity Sound Editor. If you need recording on the go, then get a portable microphone for your smartphone or tablet.

Here are a few choices:

  • iRig Mic Cast for iOS/Android ($35) – Less expensive that the Mikey Digital, this offers solid audio recording. This is what I carry around with me for interviews. It also comes with iRig Recorder software. I like the fact that it plugs into your microphone jack on your device and includes another headphone jack for earbuds. You can also get a handheld microphone that plugs into your iPhone or iPad. As the website says, it features “unidirectional pickup pattern that minimizes background noise, making it ideal for single-source audio recording.” Learn more online.
  • Shure MV88+ (>$80) – While this version is iOS only, the MV88+ works with iOS and some USB-C enable Android devices.Learn more online.

Remember, you don’t have to have a microphone for your smartphone. But audio quality will improve if you decide to use one.

Quick Ideas for Podcasting in the Classroom

Wondering how you can use podcasting in the classroom? Here are a few.

  • Current Events Newscasts: Practice nonfiction reading skills by having your students do weekly or monthly podcasts on an interesting current event.
  • Reading Radio: Have your students make short radio broadcasts summarizing the books they are reading.
  • Roving Reporters: Send your students out into the “field” (a.k.a. the school) to interview key players in important school events.
  • Celebrate Culture: Have your students record podcasts about important cultural months like Black History Month or Hispanic Heritage Month and then present them to the school or parents to commemorate the events.
  • Podcasting Library: Have your students collaborate to create a library of podcasts from which future students can learn.
  • Music Casts: Have band or orchestra students create podcasts for each instrument, detailing specific notes, sounds, and characteristics of each instrument.

You can find more ideas online with a quick Google search. Start small and build up.

Step #3: Decide Where to Save Content

When podcasting, it can be difficult to find a reliable place to host your audio or video over the long term. Consider one of these locations:

  • Enhanced podcasts (video)
    • YouTube
    • Google Drive
    • OneDrive
    • Seesaw Class Blog (vidcasts)
    • Flipgrid
  • Audio only
    • Google Drive
    • OneDrive
    • Seesaw Class Blog (vidcasts)
    • Write About

My recommendation? Rely on YouTube for video-casts (vidcasts), if possible. Otherwise, take advantage of whatever cloud storage solution your school or district uses. For example, G Suite EDU provides unlimited storage, and Microsoft OneDrive for Schools is about the same. Need more inspiration? Check out the TCEA TechNotes podcast series.

Step #4: Make an App

Want to reach your audience, which includes students and parents? Appify your podcast using a tool like Glide. It is a service that lets you add information to a Google sheet, then quickly create an app from its contents, all without coding.

You can save your blog entry links (or links to audio/video) to a Google Sheet, then have Glide put it into an app. Just pick one of your sheets and Glide assembles it into a polished app that you can customize, share with a link, and even publish to the app store. You can view a tutorial online.

Showcasing student work has never been easier. With a few quick steps, you can publish your students’ creations online to a global audience. You can then appify that content and make it accessible for your local community.

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remote teaching
Educational TrendsGood Teaching

Five Resources to Help with Remote Teaching

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Remote teaching has its challenges. Though you may be able to tweak many of your classroom lessons to work in a remote learning situation, you may discover that the learning activities have to be completely rethought.

Here are several resources for ideas and support as you look to make learning for your students meaningful and fun without driving their parents crazy.

TCEA Community – Remote Learning Resources

The Remote Learning Resources group is focused on resources, ideas, and solutions for enhancing student engagement in digital learning. Share best teaching practices, websites, apps, tools, and creative ideas for helping students to learn with technology. Access to this online community does require TCEA membership. Other Community groups include Student Engagement, Ask Your Fellow Techsperts, STEM, and Robotics, as well as others.

COVID-19 Parent/Teacher Learning Resources (SplashCircle)

The Parent/Teacher Learning Resources group is a Facebook group that has lots of ideas and support to help teachers and parents manage the shift to remote learning. You’ll find answers to questions, learning resources lists, daily schedules, interesting links, tips, and updates related to PreK-5 learning.

Educator, Parent, and Caregiver Resources

Cartoon image of owl and books

The Ohio Department of Education has provided a nicely categorized set of Parent and Caregiver Resources to help support engaging students in learning during the school building closure period. A separate but equally organized set of Educator Resources is also provided. Consider exploring both lists for helpful ideas and activities.

Scholastic Learn at Home

Scholastic Learn at Home contains four weeks of activities to help your child with day-to-day activities to foster reading, learning, and growing. Besides the grade-level grouped resources, you will also find a section for families, teachers, and tips and tricks.

Teaching Ideas Group

The Teaching ideas is a closed group on Facebook and averages about 75 posts a day. Even if you don’t post, be sure to look through what others are asking and the resources shared. If you are a “specialty” teacher, then here are some groups that may be a better fit for you: Teaching Theatre thru Remote Learning, K-12 Art Teacher Group, Teaching Choir Remotely, Early Years Remote Learning, and Remote ASL Teaching.

What other resources would you add to this list? Be sure to let us know in the comments below. We look forward to hearing from you.

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Educational TrendsGoogle Tips and TricksMicrosoft

Creating Virtual Backgrounds for Zoom

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

If you happen to be using a PC or Mac (not a Chromebook) to connect with Zoom, then you may have noticed that you have the ability to do virtual backgrounds (assuming it has been enabled in the settings). Other than using the background photos that Zoom provides, where can you find additional great choices that will set you apart in your next Zoom meeting? Continue reading to find out!

The Specs for Zoom Backgrounds

Before we jump in, we should clarify that photos for Zoom virtual backgrounds should be in 16:9 ratio with the ideal resolution of 1920 px by 1080 px. If you use a photo with a different ratio, then you can expect to have black bars appearing on the sides since Zoom will fit the photo in the 16:9 space. This will definitely identify you as a newbie.

GIF, JPG/JPEG, or 24-bit PNG images can be used. Be aware that, if you have a photo with any transparent pixels, these will show as white. Also, if you are planning to add a logo or text, don’t add them to the bottom of the background photo, as Zoom may superimpose your name over it while in the meeting.

Step 1: Find Good Photos

Having a great photo is the key. You don’t want something that is too busy or distracting and you do want something that is true to who you are. Be sure to check out the copyright to see what attribution is required.

Here are five websites to get you started with finding great photos.

Pixabay has so many great photos for you to choose from. Plus, they offer some fantastic ways of filtering through the photos so that you can find that perfect graphic quicker. After you search for the topic of background (i.e. wall, nature, sunrise, clouds, celebration, trail, etc.), set the orientation to horizontal and choose the most relevant category; I usually choose backgrounds/textures.

NOTE: If you create a free account with Pixabay, you don’t have to identify that you are not a robot each time; logging in with your username/password allows you to skip that step.

Pexels is another great tool for finding images that you can use with hesitation. Be aware that there is an overlap between Pixabay and Pexels so you will find some commonality in the search results. But there is enough difference to check out each. Similar to Pixaby, just type in the topic of interest.

Though Pexels doesn’t provide as many filters, you can set the orientation of choice as horizontal. You can’t specify the ratio or the pixel width/height, but you can choose the size (small, medium, or large). I recommend choosing large and seeing if you are satisfied with the results. You can always trim down a photo, but you run the risk of pixelating the photo if you try to enlarge it to fit the Zoom ideal.

A few other sites to consider include Unsplash, Reshot, and RawPixel. Each has its own interface, so you’ll have to explore each one and learn how to best search and filter to find the photo that you want to use.

Step 2: Edit Your Photo

You can use a simple online photo editor such as Pixlr, BeFunky, Fotor, or Adobe Spark if you need to work in the cloud to edit your chosen image. Here is how I go about creating Zoom backgrounds in Photoshop, PowerPoint, or Google Slides. The main thing to remember is that the end result should be a photo that is preferably 1920 px by 1080 px, but at least fits the 16:9 ratio.

Editing in Photoshop

Begin by opening your photo and select the Rectangle Marquee Tool. For the sake of instructions, we’ll assume we don’t know what ratio the photo is. With the Rectangle Marquee Tool selected, choose Fixed Ratio from the dropdown and set the width to 16 and height to 9 (refer to the image below).

Video demonstration for cropping a photo to 16:9 ratio in Photoshop.

You are now able to click and drag a selection area of the photo. If the photo is already 16:9, you should be able to drag from one corner diagonally to the opposite corner and encompass the whole photo. If the photo is NOT 16:9, you’ll notice that the selected area doesn’t fit perfectly. That’s okay since we can move the selection around to choose the area we want to use. Once you have a 16:9 area selected to use, click on Image –> Crop. If this photo is now the finished product you want, click on File –> Export –> Quick Export PNG. If you would like to continue editing to add a logo or text, save your file now as a Photoshop (PSD) file; this will allow us to continue editing it with layers which we are about to add.

Now to add text to our image. This could be your district or school name or it could be some other information that better identifies you and/or connects you with other viewers in the Zoom meeting.

Let’s begin by clicking on the Horizontal Type Tool and then click on the photo where you would like to start typing – but don’t start typing just yet. On the screenshot below, you’ll notice what appears when you are using the Horizontal Type Tool. Select your font from the drop-down list and set the size. Click on the appropriate alignment option and confirm the color of your text (indicated by the color box just to the right of the alignment options). Once you have these set, it is now time to start typing. NOTE: We can start typing before setting these options, but I typically find that I have to select the text and go back and change the options afterwards when I’m in a hurry.

Video demonstration for adding text in Photoshop.

You may have noticed that a new layer appeared when you click on the photo. Though it looks like you are typing on the photo, you are really adding text over the photo in a transparent layer. If you realize that your text should be moved some, then click on the Move Tool and then click and drag the text to the new area; be sure that your mouse is over some of the text itself as it will assume you want to move whatever is under the cursor.

If you are looking for fonts to use, my go-to sites include dafonts, FontSpace, and 1001 Free Fonts. You’ll find plenty of fun, festive, and even professional-looking fonts to use on your background.

Video demonstration for adding a logo in Photoshop.

In our final step, let’s add a logo. This could be a school mascot, your bitmoji, or other image. Open the logo in Photoshop as you initially did the original photo. Click Select –> All to copy the logo to the clipboard. Now go to the Photoshop tab with your Zoom background photo. Click Edit –> Paste. If your image does not have a transparent background, you may need to remove it.

You may also need to resize the image. Click on the image to the right to view the brief tutorial showing how to insert, remove the background, and resize the logo.

Editing in PowerPoint

Video demonstration for creating a simple Zoom virtual background in PowerPoint.

You don’t have to have a high end photo editing tool to get great results. And you might find that using more simplistic tools (or actually re-purposing such tools) may make the process much faster.

I prefer to start with a blank slide in PowerPoint – that is, no text boxes for the title or anything. Click on the Design menu –> Slide Size –> Wide Screen (16:9). We now know that the ratio will match that of the Zoom background. Insert your photo and resize to perfectly fit the slide. If it doesn’t fit perfectly and you don’t want to stretch part of it, consider centering the photo on your slide and adding a border to hide the gap, similar to adding a mat over a photo that doesn’t fit a picture frame perfectly.

We’ll use the border of a transparent rectangle placed over the image for our border. Begin by inserting a rectangle. With the rectangle selected (and sized to fit the slide), set the shape fill to transparent (Shape Format menu –> Shape Fill –> No Fill); you should now be able to see the photo. Now make the border coordinate with the photo by clicking on Shape Format menu –> Shape Outline –> Eye Dropper. As you move the eye dropper around, you will notice that a small color square is indicating what color will be picked if you click at that location of the photo. Click somewhere to choose a color.

Now let’s make the border thick enough to cover those gaps. We don’t want to add a border directly to the photo because it will just highlight the fact that it is a different ratio; adding the border to the transparent rectangle on top retains the 16:9 ratio and hides the imperfection. With the rectangle still selected, click on the Shape Format menu –> Shape Outline –> Weight –> More Lines. Increase the width until all gaps are covered. Don’t be surprised if the number is large.

You are now ready to save the slide out as an image. To do so, click on the File menu –> Save As and locate the folder where you want to save the Zoom background. For the file type, choose PNG Portable Network Graphics Format. When asked if you want to save All Slides or Just This One, choose Just This One. Your background is now ready to be used in Zoom.

Editing in Google Slides

Video demonstration for creating a simple Zoom virtual background in Google Slides.

Editing in Google Slides is very similar to the PowerPoint process. Begin by clicking on the Insert menu –> Image. You have several options as to where get your image (upload from the computer, search the web, Drive, Photos, by URL, or camera).

Once you’ve located your image and added it to your slide, resize the photo (making it larger or smaller) to cover the slide area. If you want a logo, locate that image and add to your photo noting that the ideal placement is most likely the top left or right corner but allowing a bit of a gap between it and the edge of the photo.

Since Zoom will have your name showing at the bottom (assuming that the host did not turn off showing names), any text that you add to your background should probably avoid the bottom third (where the name may appear) or the middle section (where you will appear). You may find it helpful to put contact information such as a phone number, email address, or social media identifier to encourage other users to connect with you outside of meeting times.

Knowing that these words may not be very legible if other participants are looking at a small stream of you, consider keeping the text to a few words at best. You don’t want the text to compete with you in the video stream, but you do want it to be readable.

Step 3: Enjoy

You are now ready to enjoy attending Zoom meetings with your fantastic virtual background. You may even find that other folks will ask you for a copy of your background or to create one for them. You don’t have to tell them how easy it was. That will be our secret.

twitter-bird-looking-at-laptop

So, what will you create? Will you use Photoshop, PowerPoint, Google Slides, or another tool to edit your image? The main thing to remember is to be creative without being distracting. We’d love to see what you create! Share your background via Twitter and use the hashtags #tcea and #zoombg.

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10 years ago
Educational Trends

Things That Didn’t Exist 10 Years Ago Challenge

by Diana Benner
written by Diana Benner

It’s hard to believe that it’s the year 2020! Looking back, 2010 seems like it was eons away. It’s amazing to think that many of the things we use and take advantage of today didn’t even exist 10 years ago. Many inventions introduced in these 10 years have fundamentally altered the course of our lives. Let’s look at a few things that didn’t exist 10 years ago, and then let’s see if you accept the challenge and add a few yourself.

Alexa

10 years ago

Amazon debuted its smart home speakers in 2014 with the Echo. If you had called out, “Hey, Alexa!” prior to 2014, you probably would have been talking to a human, not a robot. Alexa is just one example of a personal virtual assistant that can do anything from turning on the lights and providing you with a news briefing to making online purchases for you. Many people have gotten hooked on the convenience of having a virtual assistant. In addition to performing pre-set functions. Alexa can also perform additional functions through third-party skills that users can enable.

Sideways Elevators

Elevators usually travel up and down, but in 2014, a German company, ThyssenKrupp announced another option. They created an elevator that would travel from left and right. The elevator, named ‘Multi’, transports passengers sideways.

Touch Screen Gloves

If you wanted to text while wearing gloves 10 years ago, you couldn’t do it. However, in 2010, the first pair of gloves that enabled us to type at the same time debuted. Agloves were launched on September 29, 2010, and the gloves incorporate silver-nylon yarn to conduct the body’s bioelectricity to the touchscreen device.

Siri

iPhones weren’t new 10 years ago, but voice command on the iPhone was. Who would have thought that you could ask your phone to call or text someone simply by saying, “Hey, Siri”? Apple debuted the Siri voice command feature in 2011.

10 years ago

Drone Delivery

The way we used to get our packages ten years ago is a lot different from the way we get them now. In 2014, Amazon, Google, and FedEx started testing drone delivery. Now we can receive our packages in no time.

Take the Challenge Now

Can you name one or two things that didn’t exist today? Take the challenge and enter them on this Google Slide. Be sure to include the date the item debuted and only go back 10 years. (By the way, this is a great activity to challenge at-home students with!)

years
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transactional distance theory
Educational Trends

Remote Teaching: Transactional Distance Theory and Dialogue

by Tiffany Barton, Guest Author
written by Tiffany Barton, Guest Author

I absolutely, not once, never-ever-ever desired to be an online teacher. I would be willing to bet 95% of you reading this did not have this dream either! 

Plot Twist: During this unprecedented, history-making, social-distancing, self-isolating, unbelievable and incomprehensible health crisis, we have all become online teachers.  If I didn’t laugh, I would cry.  But as we’ll explore, Transactional Distance Theory may help us identify tools and techniques that can improve our remote teaching and learning.

My Story

My job over the last four weeks has been to drag, push, and shove my staff – I mean prepare them – for a quick and efficient dive into the pool of online learning.  And once we were all in the water, my job was to cheer them on to mastering the “deep end” of the pool, or to help them back to the shallow end where they could stand up. Many of them actually jumped in with both feet and swam off into total success.  I threw a few floaties at them and they waved “bye!” Additionally, there were a few who were so excited to swim into the deep end that they ran into a few issues like “zoom-bombing” and an adolescent’s idea of a funny virtual background.

But I am sure my teaching story is not that different from many of you. Throughout my teaching career, I have focused on good pedagogy for my content area and for the age group that I serve. And most importantly, I have perfected my “teacher look” that will squash any misbehavior in the back of the room without a word spoken.  

Finding Something New

However, now that I am teaching from home, I find my bag of tricks not to be as useful. My “teacher look” doesn’t really work on the dog, and not all teaching methods that work inside the four walls of a classroom are applicable to online learning. I found myself needing some new tools and techniques in my teaching bag that would work in this abnormal environment.

Mostly, though, we have settled into a basic routine, and the students are responding.  I started to notice right away, though, that if the students did not answer my emails or show up to my online webinar meetings, their work tended to slack off for the week.  The work was incomplete, or it seemed hurried and rushed, definitely not meeting my in-class expectations. But we are not in class, are we?

I immediately began researching distance learning. 

Transactional Distance Theory

I read about Transactional Distance Theory about a year ago in a graduate class.  At the time, I just filed it under “more educational theory,” but now, this was exactly what I was looking for to explain my situation.

Michael G. Moore proposed Transactional Distance Theory in 1973. It is a way of analyzing the interactions between learner and instructor in both space and time.  Moore suggests that separation in distance learning is not just physical, but “a psychological and communications space to be crossed, a space of potential misunderstanding between the inputs of instructor and those of the learner.”

This psychological and communications distance could be fatal to our goal of continuing to educate students during school shutdowns.

Keeping Students Engaged

I believe that as the ed tech community, we have more tools than anyone to help the educational body at large continue to advance student learning. And with this theory in hand, we can continue this endeavor, no matter the circumstances. 

All teachers know what happens to the student who sits in the back of the class. If we are not diligent in keeping them engaged, this student will travel to a far-away distant place where there are no teachers and no assignments.

The student who “distances” himself or herself from the teacher within the walls of a classroom can easily be guided back on task just by standing beside their desk or involving them in the conversation. They know their teacher is watching and will not ignore them.

Figure 1: Transactional Distance can occur in any situation

However, what about the student who joins the online webinar, leaves his camera off, and goes back to bed? I can’t walk up to his bed and gently whisper that he needs to pay attention. There are ways, however, using TDT, that I can keep this student connected to his classwork, his classmates, and me.

Our goal in this online learning situation is to keep the Transactional Distance to a minimum – to keep students connected.  Using a model of TDT can help us achieve that. Moore suggested that there are three main variables in a distance-learning situation – Dialogue, Structure, and Autonomy.  Less of one variable means more dependence on the others. 

Figure 2: Three parts of Transactional Distance – Dialogue, Structure, and Autonomy

Moore developed his theory in the beginning of Distance Learning, when the few tools instructors had access to included the telephone and videos that students had to watch on their own. Thanks to today’s educational technology, we have a multitude of tools we can employ to keep students engaged and connected. And with Transactional Distance Theory, we can target which tools to use and share with others that will influence student learning the most during this difficult time.

Transactional Distance Theory and Dialogue

Dialogue between teacher and learner are key to staying connected to a student. If you do not talk to them, how will they ever know what your expectations are or what they should be learning? In our current situation, however, teachers do not have nearly enough of this commodity. 

By examining the TDT model, you can see that as the opportunities for dialogue shrink, the distance between the learner and instructor grows, and thus, the student’s academic achievement can become more difficult. He will have to rely on his own independence to understand what to do and how to do it. Personally, I know several middle school students that have yet to master this set of skills.  

via GIPHY

Figure 3 – Dialogue Shrinks. As Dialogue decreases, the distance between learner and instructor increase.

Online learning pushes students away from us. It is hard to stay connected when we can only talk to them through email, or worse, through paper instructions when they do not have internet at home.

A Few Tools

Fortunately, we have so many resources available to message, converse, and give feedback to students.  Here are a few tools and strategies that we can use to increase dialogue and decrease distance:

  • Check-in with students frequently – Use Remind or another messaging tool to send messages to students daily or a few times a week. Ask students to respond with an emoji to let you know how they are doing. Responses don’t have to be elaborate, but knowing that you are a text message away decreases the transactional distance significantly. For Remind,iIf you turn on replies, students can even ask for help when needed. This type of communication recreates what they are already familiar with and increases your chance of connecting with them and their families.
  • Give personal feedback –  Students will feel closer to you when your feedback is personal and meaningful. “Zach, I really like the way you organized this poem,” carries more significance than “Great job.”   
  • Use screen recording software – Give personal feedback so that students can observe facial expressions and hear meaning in your voice. Use the Moderated Posts setting on Flipgrid to converse with students one-on-one. If the posts are not public to the entire class, students might feel more open to discuss issues with you. You could also use Screencastify or Screen-cast-o-matic to record feedback and then share the link to your personal message with the student.
  • Require responses – When you email or message students or families, ask open-ended questions. “How are you managing your family sharing devices?” or “What is one piece of advice you could give to your classmates during this chaotic time?” Any way that you can connect with students or families is beneficial, even if it is not about schoolwork.
  • Use humor and emotion– Leverage your relationship with your students to bring them closer to you. Remind students of happy or memorable things that happened in the classroom earlier in the year. Include funny memes or pictures in your emails and messages. Be open and honest about how things are going for you during this time as well. Evoking emotional responses can create meaningful connections.

Two-Way Communication

Dialogue is two-way communication. When students are physically far away from teachers, we must create opportunities for this communication to continue.  Transactional Distance Theory would suggest that this dialogue is key to successful distance learning. In 2020, with all the technology tools available to us, we should be able to connect to our students in a multitude of ways, virtually keeping them closer to us than they actually are in reality.

How are you staying connected to your students? Share with me in the comments. I’m sure my teachers would love to hear other methods of staying afloat in the deep end of the pool! Some of the floaties I tossed them may be losing air. 

In the second part of this series, we will discuss the Structure and Autonomy variables of Transactional Distance Theory and tools we could use to manage them.

unsplash-logoPhoto: Sharon McCutcheon
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ed tech news
Educational Trends

Ed Tech News Roundup: Getting Connected

by Andrew Roush
written by Andrew Roush

Howdy, folks! Welcome to another in a series of periodic ed tech news roundups. We hope you enjoy this one, and if you have a story you’d like to see included, let us know.

Connecting with Students

Among the issues and disparities highlighted by the world’s transition to remote learning, broadband internet access has been a sticking point for schools and districts everywhere.

  • In Georgia, an education professor and former educator is working to create awareness of the connectivity issues many students face today. [All on Georgia]
  • Meanwhile, schools in Maine serve as a microcosm of the struggles that teachers, students, and parents face when it comes to access to learning technology. [The Portland Press Herald]

Future-Proofing

A new kind of normal is likely to emerge from this period of remote teaching. What that “normal” looks like is only now being revealed.

  • Close to 1.4 billion students are taking part in remote learning. Here’s how the World Economic Forum predicts this era might change education for the long run. [World Economic Forum]
  • At the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, a new course in educational technology is helping educators precisely when it’s needed. [UMass-Lowell]

Helping Hands

As changes to teaching and learning develop, students and educators are offering support in a time of need, from practical innovations to emotional support.

  • In the Abilene area, robotics students are supporting local health workers through an inventive and impactful project. [Raise Your Hand Texas]
  • As the transition continues, educators are sharing stories of support for their colleagues, students, and community. [The Washington Post]

…And Finally

Has your school’s tech team been putting in a Herculean effort to keep everyone connected? It’s the same at a Miami school — except their tech team is made up of dedicated students. [CNN]

unsplash-logoPhoto: Maria Teneva
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Zoom games
Content AreasEducational TrendsGood Teaching

Distancing without Disconnecting: Zoom Games

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Whether you are a teacher working with students or are just trying to work from home during this strange time, it’s important to social distance without disconnecting. Social and emotional support is a valuable resource to provide. Here are a few games you can play using Zoom to connect with students, friends, and peers. Though these are not necessarily content- or work-focused, you can easily tweak them to make them fit those needs.

Believe It or Not!

There are lots of sites that provide trivia knowledge and quizzes based on specific areas of interest. For this game, the host should identify the area of interest and then gather trivia knowledge from the internet. Change some statements slightly before sharing with your players. Players can then do thumbs up/down to indicate whether they believe the statement or not. Once everyone has voted, tell whether the statement is true or not. If it isn’t true, tell the true trivia information. For example, “Marco Polo discovered pasta. Believe it or not?” That’s actually false as found in the will of Ponzio Baestone, a Genoan soldier who requested “bariscella peina de macarone” – a small basket of macaroni. His will is dated 1279, 16 years before Marco Polo returned from China. (REFERENCE) If the trivia information is written as a question, but not a yes/no question, consider rewording to to make it easier for players. For example, “How many stars are in the American flag?” could be reworded to “There are 51 stars in the American flag. Believe it or not?” That’s false; there are actually 50. Here are some locations to check out for interesting trivia knowledge:

Scavenger Hunt

If you have had the opportunity to watch daytime TV programming, you may have come across a show called Let’s Make a Deal. I don’t think they do it anymore, but “back in the day” at the end of the show the host, Monty Hall, would ask if someone has a _____ (and then call out a random object). Audience members would quickly rummage through their purses and bags hoping to be the first to pull out the object for him. If you were the first, you would win some money. This is a similar game except you aren’t limited to what you have in your purse or on the table. For this game, the host calls out an item. It can be generic (like a can of food) or it can be specific (such as a can of beans). Players have a designated amount of time to run locate the item at their house and bring it to show on video. Players that arrive back with the item before the time limit receive a point.

Pictionary 

Like the real game, the virtual game has one player that is drawing while his/her teammates are trying to guess what it is. Once players are put into teams, consider having them rename themselves with their team name and their first name. This will keep it easier to keep track of who is on which team. Here’s how players can rename themselves (scroll to the section CHANGING THE NAME INSIDE A ZOOM ROOM). As the host, private chat the person who is to draw first – this way no other players can see the word. Before the first drawer begins, have his team identify themselves to make sure they all know who is on which team. The team has 30 seconds to correctly guess what is being drawn using the white board feature. If successful, the team gets a point. Play moves to the other team. Here are lists of words to help you get started:

Going on a Picnic

This is a fun game to play with students. It is something like a twist on 20 questions. The player that is “going on a picnic” answers yes/no questions of everyone else. Players are trying to guess what rule was used to pack the basket. For example, the rule could be things that are red in which case someone could ask, “Did you pack strawberries?” in which you would answer yes. If someone asked if you packed bicycles, you would answer “It depends” since some bicycles are red. After players have had a chance to offer ideas of what was packed, you can either allow them to guess or send them to breakout rooms to discuss what they think the rule might be. Once everyone is back together (from their breakout rooms…if you are using those) call on someone to guess the rule or allow them to ask about more items that might be in the basket.

Charades

In this game, the group is divided into at least two teams. One member of a team goes first. His teammates try to guess what is being acted out before the time limit. As the host, send a private chat to him and give him a choice of two different things to act out. He chats you back which one he chooses and begins acting when you say begin. As the host, you are to listen for the team guessing to see if they correctly identify what is being acted out. If correct, that team gets a point and play goes to the other/next team. Here are some ideas if you need some help getting started:

Two Truths and a Lie

This is a great game to play to get to know everyone better. Each player makes up two truths and a lie about themselves. They may find it easiest to write these down so they’ll remember them when it becomes their turn. When it is a player’s turn, that player shares two truths and the lie (in whatever order they choose). Everyone else is to guess which of the three statements is a lie. Others can hold up 1, 2, or 3 on their fingers, say the number out loud, or type the number in the chat box. Once everyone has voted, the person identifies the lie…and usually clarifies why it is a lie. This game is a lot of fun and requires no real preparation beforehand or props for players.

Dictionary

This game has gone by several names throughout the years. In this game, one player is a dictionary and tells the group a word and then gives everyone else a minute to come up with what could be the definition. Each person is given a chance to share what the definition might be before the dictionary player reveals the real definition. This is a fun way to build vocabulary and introduce students to new words.

If playing with high school students or adults, then consider this twist. The dictionary player privately chats the definition to another player; that player will share the real definition (or a more believable way of saying it) as their guess. After everyone has had a chance to share their guess, they vote on which definition they believe is correct. Those voting for the correct definition get a point. Another player becomes the dictionary and play continues. You may need to establish the rule at the beginning that no one but the dictionary player can search the Internet. If you are not a logophile (a lover of words), then consider using these sites to help you:

Scattegories

Who doesn’t love a good game of Scattegories! Playing online through Zoom can be just as fun. The host needs to share her screen and go to https://swellgarfo.com/scattergories/. Once everyone has a piece of paper and a pen/pencil, the host needs to click the Restart icon; a random letter will appear along with twelve categories. When the host clicks the Play icon, the categories are revealed and countdown begins. When the time is up, have each person share what they have for each category. Players get a point for each answer that is not duplicated by anyone else, but is acceptable by everyone.

Share Your Zoom Games

These are just a few of the fun ways people are distancing without disconnecting. What other games have you played with your friends while on Zoom? We’d love to hear about them. Share your ideas with us in the comments below.

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virtual background
Educational TrendsOnline Tools and Apps

How to Change Your Zoom Background

by Jennifer Bergland
written by Jennifer Bergland

Chances are you have participated in quite a few video conferences over the past weeks. If so, it might be time to change up your environment using a virtual background.

What Is a Virtual Background?

You have probably seen people in your meetings that look like they are at the beach or in a fancy office. More than likely though, they are in their messy living room using a virtual background. A virtual background is an image that you insert behind you when you are participating in a virtual meeting. It can be a still image or a video.

Why would anyone want to do this? The best reason I have heard from an educational perspective is that students may not want their peers to see their home. Allowing them to use a virtual background prevents others from seeing their living space, including any of their family members. Their home is their private space and they may want to keep it private. Plus, using a virtual background can be fun, too, a way to creatively express your current mood or thoughts.

Enabling the Virtual Background

So, how do you set it up and what are some tips on how to maximize your effort? First, you need to enable this feature in your settings found in your Zoom web account. 

Then you will need to go into your video settings in the Zoom App and turn on your Virtual Background and select one. 

Your Zoom App comes with some basic backgrounds, but you can also upload some of your own. I found some really good background images at Unsplash, a free photo sharing service. And Pixar has made some of their movie backgrounds free right now, including Toy Story, Incredibles, Up, and more. Upload a few and test them out.

You will want to be careful that you find a background that will not be distracting. You want the focus to be on you, not your background. Some virtual backgrounds remind me of all the transitions people inserted in their PowerPoint presentations when they first learned how to make their slides swoop in from the left or spin in from the right. Sometimes I felt dizzy just watching someone’s presentation! If you aren’t careful, your virtual background can have that same affect on others.

Consider a Green Screen

While you are in the Zoom app, you’ll notice that you can use a green screen when using a virtual background. I highly encourage you to choose this option if you can. It is a much better viewing experience, especially if you are going to wear headphones. You can use an emerald green or royal blue plastic tablecloth hung up behind you as a cheap option for a green screen.

Your students don’t have to have a green screen, but you might if you start doing a lot of Zoom meetings. You might want to hide that messy house! 

Zoom Specifications for Virtual Backgrounds

Zoom provides some additional recommendations on their support page. 

  • They suggest using a higher quality camera. They include their recommendations on this page. 
  • They also suggest uniform lighting and color. I do a lot of video conferencing, so I invested in a light kit. But it’s not required.
  • You also want to make sure you are not wearing any clothing that is the same color as your virtual background if you are using a green screen. Otherwise, you will disappear into the background.
  • The background image should have an aspect ratio of 16:9 and minimum resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. They suggested you could find some royalty-free images at:Pexels, Unsplash, and Pixabay. Don’t let the numbers scare you. I went to Unsplash and looked for photos that were primarily horizontal. They all worked perfectly. 
  • The video files need to be a MP4 or a MOV file with a minimum resolution of 480 x 360 pixels (360p) and a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels (1080p). Zoom includes a couple of nice videos for you to use. 

It is really easy to use virtual backgrounds in Zoom. I encourage you to explore them and then carefully consider when to use each background. Change them out depending on your mood or the topic of the meeting. Have fun with them!

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