#remotelearning- It’s Happening…

March 11, 2020 - #remotelearning, Digial Citizenship, Featured Carousel, Global Learning, Media Literacy, Modern Learning

So, it’s happening!

After years of other priorities, cautious baby steps, technophobia or technology integration as substitution of the way we have traditionally taught and learned… IT’S HAPPENING.

Many schools are being forced to close due to the spread of the Corona Virus, often with little or no preparation time. Administrators and teachers are working frantically to set up platforms and procedures to continue learning remotely.

I am focusing on two lenses through which to look at learning remotely. [Of course they is so much more to consider for schools, administrators, teachers, parents and students…]

  1. Educators knowing how to teach remotely
  2. Students knowing how to learn remotely

Of course, we can simply assume and aim for our teaching and learning to stay the same as it would in our traditional face to face classrooms, but we would completely ignore the potential remote learning has to amplify learning.

We have an incredible opportunity (among the many tragedies for some and many inconveniences for others due to the virus) to dive into remote learning and jump light years ahead by conducting action research and gaining hands on experiences. Learning how to learn how to get fit for new forms of teaching and learning. It is an incredible opportunity to document these new forms of learning and collaboratively and “crowdsourcedly” (is that a new word?) redefine teaching and learning for the future.

Please don’t be satisfied to only replicate, substitute or downgrade face to face teaching and learning (lectures, worksheets, Ping Pong/Q & A Conversations, etc.) as you are exploring new horizons in remote learning.

This is the perfect time to allow yourself and your students to develop skills, literacies and fluency in amplified learning. By amplified learning I mean

  • extending classroom possibilities beyond the traditional face to face contact time and limitations.
  • usage of technologies that allow us to redefine the learning task (not just replicate what could be done without technology)
  • boost the potential of different media to communicate our ideas, thoughts and messages.
  • amplifying the pool of people we learn from. … Traditionally our students have not had a long “reach” beyond the scope of our families, teachers and classmates.
  • strengthen our ability to collaborate, connect and communicate with others (whether they are our classmates, teachers, people we know or strangers)
  • synchronous and asynchronous (and a combination of both of these) remote learning.
  • focusing on creation over consumption
  • magnify basic literacy of reading and writing beyond text on an analog platform to communicate our thoughts and ideas effectively by demonstrating global literacy, network literacy, information literacy, media literacy and by observing digital citizenship.
  • develop and strengthen our mindset around self-directed and self-motivated learning (heutagogy)
  • sharing our work authentically with a global audience.
  • deepen learning through reflective and metacognitive practices

This is the perfect time to look at teaching and learning through the lenses of:

#remotelearning Platforms & Tools

Platforms and Tools

Although remote learning is NOT about technology tools, we need them in order to communicate, collaborate, connect and share with each other. It is good, as a teacher and as a learner, to have several tools and platforms in your toolbox to use, to create and to amplify learning. Check out the following tools and platforms that allow you and your students to make their thinking and learning visible and shareable.

#remotelearning Activities, Projects, Ideas

Remote Learning Activities or Projects to Join, Adapt or Create Your Own

#remotelearning Resources

Further resources on the Langwitches Blog to check out regarding amplification of learning

More resources to check out:

I will continue to update the above lists with ideas, activities, projects, tools and platforms as more teachers and learners are sharing their #remotelearning experience. Please use the #remotelearning hashtag on your social media posts, so we can crowdsource and pool our resources.