Posts in Remote Learning
Tip 36: Survey parents as part of your planning for reopening
Tip 36: Survey parents as part of your planning for reopening

As the 2020-21 school year wraps up, planning for when, how and what reopening would look like is at the top of everyone’s mind.

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tips, School Community, Remote Learning, operations, community supportKatherine Engelk12, k12 communications, survey, school survey, distance learning tip, remote learning tip, reopening schools, planning for back-to-school with COVID-19, how to reopen schools, schools 2020, school communication, planning for schools reopening, schools reopening in Fall, school planningComment
Tip 35: Encourage students to stay motivated
Tip 35: Encourage students to stay motivated

As distance learning continues, it can be hard to keep students engaged with their work. With these drastic changes, some may find the lack of structure difficult to manage. Many have added stresses at home, brought on by the pandemic. How can you keep students motivated to finish off the year strong?

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tips, Video, Remote Learning, community supportKatherine Engelk12, k12 communications, student motivation, how to keep students motivated during pandemic, intrinsic motivation, how to convince students to do their work, remote learning, distance learning, remote learning tip, distance learning tip, school 2020, school clos, school closure tip, how to keep high schoolers motivated during pandemic, educationComment
Tip 32: Twelve ways to thank teachers during school closures
Tip 32: Twelve ways to thank teachers during school closures

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 4-8th, and a great time to thank a teacher. Let them know that you see all the hard work they’re doing to make remote learning during school closures happen! Here are 12 ways you can thank your teacher during school shut-downs.

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community support, Remote Learning, School CommunityKatherine Engelteacher appreciation, thank you note to teacher, thank a teacher, thank you teacher, teacher appreciation week Comment
Tip 29: Address digital equity issues with school-provided wifi
Tip 29: Address digital equity issues with school-provided wifi

How do you help level the playing (or in this case, educational) field? Over the past six weeks, districts and schools took action to tackle digital equity issues and provide internet access to everyone — opening up school wifi that students and parents can use to download materials in school parking lots. Some have even brought wifi to needed areas by rigging their school buses with wifi systems. Here are several examples to explore.

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community support, operations, Remote Learning, tech toolsKatherine Engelk12, wifi, equity, k12 equity, k12 wifi, wifi hotspots, wifi buses, wifi in rural areas, k12 rural, distance learning, remote learning, school closure, school closure tip, distance learning tip, remote learning tip, digital equity, wifi access for all studentsComment
Tip 28: Host a virtual scavenger hunt
Tip 28: Host a virtual scavenger hunt

As educators brainstorm ways to keep students engaged, stay connected and keep the fun alive, many are turning to virtual scavenger hunts. It’s a great activity for students to think critically, evaluate their surroundings, get moving, engage with each other, share pieces of their lives and feel connected with their classmates!

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School Community, Remote LearningKatherine Engelfamily games, teacher games, scavenger hunt, remote learning activities, k12, remote learning, remote learning tip, distance learning, distance learning tip, school closure, school closure tip, school community, student well-beingComment
Tip 26: Give students a healthy outlet for emotional expression
Tip 26: Give students a healthy outlet for emotional expression

Schools are taking action to maintain an ongoing discussion about self care and mental health with students and staff, especially as schools continue distance learning through the end of the academic year. Here are four activities we found for teachers and parents who are looking to find out how students are faring.

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community support, School Community, tech tools, Video, social media, Remote LearningKatherine Engelk12, school community, mental health, social emotional learning, social emotional growth, student mental health, well-being, student well-being, emotional expression, school, distance learning, remote learning, remot, distComment
Tip 25: Survey parents to assess the success of remote learning
Tip 25: Survey parents to assess the success of remote learning

There are tons of questions when it comes to distance learning — and the answers widely vary depending on district, school, neighborhood and individual family. So to answer these questions, why not get to the source? 

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Remote Learning, community support, operationsKatherine Engelk12, k12 communications, survey, school survey, distance learning, distance learning tip, remote learning, remote learning tip, school closure, school closure tip, school 2020, school communityComment
Tip 22: Address webcam background equity issues
Tip 22: Address webcam background equity issues

Consider using a neutral background like a wall or window, or showcase fun school-related items or artwork! Try your best to avoid showing your whole room. Teachers can set the example with their background and encourage their students to follow suit!

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Remote Learning, tech tools, Video, operationsKatherine Engelk12, k12 communications, webcam, school meetings online, zoom backgrounds, video backgrounds, school, school closure, school closures, school closure tip, remote learning, remote learning tip, distance learning, distance learning tip, school 2020Comment
Tip 21: Send home family bingo games to encourage fun and learning
Tip 21: Send home family bingo games to encourage fun and learning

Santa Clara USD created these incredible “bingo” sheets with activities to do at home. It’s a fantastic idea: the bingo sheets provide a variety of activities, the format is not overwhelming to parse through, and families and students can tackle one activity at a time. 

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Remote Learning, community supportKatherine Engelk12, k12 communications, bingo, family games, family fun, school closure, school closures, school closure tip, distance learning, remote learning, activities to do at home, school communication, school, fun learning, interactive learning activities, make learning fun, what to send to students at home, what to send to studentsComment
Tip 11: Provide screen-free, learning-rich activities for students to do at home
Tip 11: Provide screen-free, learning-rich activities for students to do at home

Consider providing families with some classic, hands-on, “no screens required” activities that enrich learning and expand creativity. Just enough options to have some variety to choose from — but not so much so that it becomes overwhelming — a nice, digestible amount.

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Remote Learning, community supportKatherine Engelk12, school, arts and crafts, screen-free activities, no-screen activities, fun things to do at home, fun learning activities, fun learning opportunities, things to do with your kids, activities for students at home, remote learning, remote learning activities, distance learning, distance learning activitiesComment
Tip 10: Stagger packet pickups to ensure social distancing
Tip 10: Stagger packet pickups to ensure social distancing

As schools work to ensure equitable remote learning, many are turning to learning packets. While a great solution, there are a couple things to keep in mind to best practice social distancing while distributing packets.

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Remote Learning, operationsKatherine Engelk12, k12 communications, K12 COVID-19 Communication Tip, school, school communication platform, school closures, school closure tip, learning packet, schoolwork packet, school packet distribution, remote learning, remote learning packet, distance learning, distance learning packetComment