Less is more

Asking good questions of yourself is one key to coming up with good answers. Am I the only one who talks to myself? One such question ought to be: How can I make this simpler?

One of the easiest things we seemingly do is to add complication. We complicate our tasks, our lives, our jobs, and our relationships. We seem to be masters of adding. We add responsibility, workload, possessions, stress, and strain to our days. We add features to upgrade, modifications to our toys, and events to our calendars. It seems the answer to any question always involves more.

But..what if we didn't?

What if the answer to the better questions involves less? What if you could weed, condense, and simplify? What if you could make things easier?

Anyone can add; it takes courage to subtract.

Eating Cereal With a Spoon

This week I was fortunate to participate in some professional learning around distance learning. One of the speakers associated quality distance learning to eating cereal with a spoon. It brought me back to the importance of our integration of Blackboard with our practice of live streaming. For any virtual learning to be successful, we must ensure that we have provided students with the right "tools," so they can consume the learning experience. If we set-up a live stream, but we fail to post key resources, handouts, learning outcomes, etc. to our Blackboard classes, then we are essentially asking students to eat their cereal with a fork, which can be a frustrating and ineffective experience. To aid the system in our development of creating meaningful virtual experiences for students, we have shifted our priorities to align to the development of Blackboard, while ensuring the social and emotional well-being of our students and staff. 

As all secondary teachers get up and running with the live stream on November 2nd, please continue to remind yourselves that the goal is always progress over perfection. It's okay if right now if students are eating their cereal with a "spork." Through targeted professional learning around our goals for Blackboard, we'll eventually get everyone a spoon. 

Teacher Testimonials

I used to think: live streaming would add technology behavior issues, headaches, confusion, bandwidth issues, frustrations, extra work for me etc. Now I think: the bumps getting started smooth themselves out quickly. The extra work I am putting in is paying dividends. Starting small, simple, and easing into it helped avoid creating huge unexpected glitches. The students have been courteous with live steaming and follow our set norms, and they often interact with the rest of the class as though they were right here with us. It has also given me a window/alternate view into my own instruction, because I am able to watch parts of my recording, (when time permits) and I can reflect and make changes based on seeing myself through the student’s eyes on the recording. I also realize best practices that work in a live classroom are similar practices needed for setting up a successful live stream. Though there are downsides and complications, for the most part live streaming allows students that are at home, for whatever the reason, to feel more connected with me and the rest of the class. When they have come back to class, if they did indeed attend the live steam classes that were offered, it is like they didn’t miss a thing, and they slide right back into face to face classes.
~Jake Paulson, Literacy Teacher at Butler Middle School

Live streaming has helped us continue to work through content on a consistent, daily basis. We have worked to keep a similar schedule to what we have done in the past. It has provided the flexibility to allow students opportunities to learn and practice skills in class, get questions answered in person or at home, and receive immediate feedback on any given day. The experience getting to live stream last year, while overwhelming at times, was a huge help. Some of the frustrations last spring helped to answer questions leading into this year and set the stage for live streaming this year. The students have been receptive to the streaming. It has taken some flexibility on all parts - for example, some students watch the recordings later in the day if they have to miss for some reason and are aware that if they miss a virtual class, they may feel overwhelmed the next day. Being able to record the lesson has been helpful, especially with the links to the recordings posting right to our space. Students have shared they have watched at different times if they have had to miss class or that they choose to re-watch a lesson if we covered a difficult concept. While there have been some hiccups, live streaming has been an incredible asset this year.
~Dan Schreier, Waukesha South Math Teacher

Live-streaming, while not a perfect solution to our current challenges, has offered huge benefits to my students since I started offering it several weeks ago. Without live-streaming, I could only teach two face to face lessons per week in the hybrid model. I wasn’t able to provide the kind of instruction I wanted, making it much more challenging for my students to acquire the knowledge and skills they needed to succeed. Live streaming allowed me to teach four new face to face lessons per week, as virtual students could easily join my class through WebEx, and have full access to what was happening at school. I was able to teach better lessons, cover required content, add depth, and have necessary time to practice reading and writing skills. I also clarified what I expected of students on virtual days: their assignment was to come to class. When I surveyed them about their learning preferences in the hybrid environment, 52 percent said they liked having the live-stream classes, 11 percent preferred independent self-directed lessons, and 25 percent preferred both! Another 12 percent preferred neither livesteam nor self-directed learning; they wanted to be back in school for full instruction. What I have learned so far, and what my students have made abundantly clear, is they want to be taught. They value the classroom experience, they prefer having a teacher who can guide them, and they will willingly join from home when given the opportunity for live instruction. Moving forward, live-streaming will make my classroom available to every student, every day, no matter where they are. And while it has certainly added to my workload in terms of prepping, communicating, posting materials to bb9/WebEx, and managing the technical aspects, it has also helped me to maintain continuity in my instruction, maintain a consistent and predictable connection with every student, and given me a reliable tool for keeping all students engaged in a most difficult time.
~Rich Mertes, Waukesha South History Teacher

The topic of live streaming classes during the COVID 19 pandemic has been seen as both a solution to the problem of virtual engagement and a source of anxiety for staff as they navigate how to make it happen in an effective way. When I received word that all classes would begin live streaming their classes for students at home, my immediate response was "How will students ever have the confidence to participate in class when being streamed live?" It turns out, my worries were misplaced. Students have risen to the occasion and helped their classmates have the best possible new experience at home. My new concern lies more on the technical side right now. How can we optimize sound and video quality at home? How can we engage students so they are not passively sitting in front of a screen for hours? These are real concerns, but they are ones that can be handled. I guess the famous proverb "necessity is the mother of invention" will need to once again prove true.
~Mark Anderson, Waukesha West Social Studies Teacher

Let's Hear it from Our Teachers

We have so much to learn from one another. That's the beauty of collaboration. There is always room to grow. At the secondary level, we know that many of you are dipping your toes into live streaming in preparation for the November 2nd launch date in which all teachers will be up and running with the live stream. To help continue to build our momentum, and to remind everyone that it is progress, not perfection, we wanted to highlight thoughts around live streaming that have come directly from our teachers. We can do this, together!

Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is a daunting task. It’s intimidating, overwhelming, and sometimes it leaves you feeling like you don’t even want to try. Starting “Live Virtual” the second week of the school year was the best decision I could make for my students and myself. It lightened my planning load, kept us on pace, gave the students a purpose, and helped the kids feel connected--not only to me--but also to their classmates. If you haven’t embarked on “Live Virtual” teaching, I urge you to give it a try! One of my favorite quotes is, “You don’t need to have everything figured out. Try new things. Experiment. Mess up. Start over.” Good luck--You’ve got this!
~Carlyn Cunningham, Literacy Teacher at Les Paul Middle School

On two different occasions in the month of September, I found myself doing something I never could have imagined a year ago: teaching full classes of 30-plus students while sitting at my dining room table. Thinking back to this time a year ago, I would not have wanted to teach that way, and I would not have thought myself capable of pulling it off. Circumstances this fall forced me into this situation, and though it was a challenge, I’m grateful for the experience Thanks to our professional development and the support and collaboration of my coworkers, I made it work! In the process of live streaming my classes, I learned that there were even a few benefits to conducting class this way. For instance, I loved being able to screen share my copy of the text we were annotating. My highlights and comments on the text showed up in real time on the students’ iPads with immediacy and intimacy that would not have been achieved if I had projected the same thing on my wall. I also found that I was able to help and connect with students in the Chat feature of Webex Teams in ways that perhaps would not have occurred in a normal class setting. A year ago, I would have said that virtual teaching and live streaming a class could never replace the experience of teaching and learning in person. Now I see that it doesn't need to; instead live streaming can augment and enhance my lessons, and I’m excited to learn more about how to create engaging and meaningful lessons for my students this fall.
~Mike Deml, English Teacher at Waukesha North High School


I used to think, oh my goodness, how is this old girl going to learn to stream my class regularly? Baby steps! It began with our virtual Mondays to fulfill what was expected of me. Now I'm asked to stream live my class AT THE SAME TIME as teaching? Seriously? After I wrapped my head around it, I just figured, I can do this starting now! While students are under quarantine or learning at home, now I invite them to join the class as they are able, and they come! So many students truly want to be here and if we are able to make it happen, we should. I am fortunate to have technology that allows me to teach and share with my students in so many different ways. I'm exhausted, but I can do this!
~Ginger LaVeau, Waukesha West Business Teacher

When virtual learning began, I knew I would have to think outside the box when it came to live streaming my tech ed classes. Due to the nature of the classes where we are moving around working in the lab as opposed to being stationary in a classroom, I knew a regular webcam set up wouldn’t work for me. I thought right away that a GoPro could be a good option, but I did not know much about them aside from that they were wearable, which was crucial in my environment so I could wear it while demonstrating on equipment in the shop. I did a lot of research to determine the best model to use, and have been very happy with the results so far! For the first couple live streams that I did, I told students upfront that this is very new to me and asked they be patient as I work through some of the issues that may arise. I have had some connection issues while going this route as it is using wifi and bluetooth, but all in all it has been a great experience and I know the kids are enjoying the opportunity to stay connected to what is going on in the shop when they have to be at home. My advice would be to think outside the box for how to best make live steaming work in your class. There are so many different options when it comes to camera set ups and it definitely isn’t a one size fits all approach, but when you find the right fit, it is worth all of the effort to keep virtual students engaged.
Travis Kornely, Waukesha North Tech Ed Teacher


I used to think ... "Working on an inquiry activity is best done face to face.” Now I think ... "When pairing 2 F2F kids with 1 or 2 virtual kids and having them communicate in a space using video or messaging gives students the time to formulate and reformulate ideas AND a resource (either video or text) to go back to if needed"
~Leslie Potter, Waukesha North Science Teacher

We'll continue to share out teachers' stories as we all learn how to make live streaming a meaningful experience for our students. Thank you to all of our teachers for taking risks, working hard, and putting students first. We appreciate all that you do!

Live Streaming Checklist

At the secondary level, we are moving along with our live streaming efforts. Thank you to all teachers who are embarking on this journey and focusing on progress over perfection. Just like when we first launched Blackboard, or even Webex Teams last spring, it was a learning curve, but we got better as we moved along. Please continue to be patient with yourself as we learn how to use our technology to enhance the virtual experience for our students. 

The live stream is meant to be a window into the classroom. We know that we cannot replicate a face-to-face experience through the live stream. It’s essential that teachers continue to use Blackboard to upload their course content, instructional materials, weekly agendas, and other learning tools that will equip students to be successful whether they are virtual or face-to-face. Our amazing technology team has put together a series of short videos (linked here) along with a checklist of what our staff can do to get up and running with the live stream by November 2nd. 

Next week, we’ll be featuring some of our teachers who are trying it out and can share some tips and tricks to help us all become more experienced in this practice. As always, thank you, for all that you are doing right now!

EMLSS Project Teams

I was happy we met as an EMLSS Team (Equitable Multi-Level Systems of Support) this week as it is always encouraging to collaborate around things that are not pandemic related. Our team consists of close to 30 participants. The last sentence of our Theory of Action for this team states that without deliberate improvement in instructional practice resulting in student impact, universal student performance in literacy will remain stagnant. 

We are excited to have 2 project teams begin refining and defining the necessary infrastructure for evidence based practice and systems to sustain guaranteed levels of success for staff and students in our district. One team has a focus on teacher training and the other is focused on coaching. Both are integral components in order for any system to launch and institutionalize work that ensures a level of consistency and calibration among our staff. These teams are planning with the ideal state in mind first. Although our focus right now is related to Literacy, we know that once our training and coaching support is tightened up, we can take any area for example, math practices, behavior, culturally responsive teaching, etc and use the same scope and sequence to ensure a level of guaranteed access and success for our staff so that students are guaranteed this same level of expectation throughout our district. 

Thank you to all the EMLSS team members for your dedication and passion to focus on high quality levels of equitable, strong universal level instruction for ALL.

Live Streaming

In a few short weeks, we’ll be welcoming back students at the secondary level four days a week. We know this change brings with it a flurry of mixed emotions for our students, our staff, and our community. Please continue to lean into one another, your building administrators, and the district administrators as you navigate this transition. We’ll also be working over the course of October to bolster our live streaming efforts. Our goal is that all classrooms at the secondary level are live streaming by November 2nd. Over the course of the next few weeks, secondary administrators will be working with teachers to provide professional learning experiences around live streaming.

Why Live Stream Instruction?

We (students, teachers, families) value live instruction. Learning is about relationships and connections with real people. Additionally, stability and continuity of instruction is essential for our learners to continue to learn and grow. In an unpredictable environment such as the one we now face, we must continue to provide that instructional stability and continuity; we must also continually build and foster our relationships with students. By providing a window into daily classroom instruction, which we refer to as live streaming of instruction, we ensure that students who are at home for a day, a week, or longer can continue to connect to us and to our classrooms. We eliminate a potential barrier for our students by flexibly adjusting how students can access live instruction. We grow and maintain our relationships with students who are not physically present. This is why we offer live streaming of instruction.

How to Live Stream?

If you have taught students remotely since March, the good news is that you already have the technical skills needed to live stream. Open WebEx Teams, begin a call, turn on your microphone and camera, and teach. Live streaming instruction truly can be that simple. You have the tools to live stream instruction already in your hands. .

As we consider how to live stream instruction while also teaching our face-to-face students, there are three key elements to consider:

1. How will the students (at home and face-to-face) see what I am doing in my classroom?

2. How will the students (at home and face-to-face) hear what is happening in my classroom?

3. How will the students (at home and face-to-face) access the required materials/resources to support learning?

Even at the most simplistic level, through the use of WebEx Teams, the Mac, the iPad, and Blackboard, you can find answers for each of these questions.

Improving the live streaming experience, will come with time, practice, experience, and ongoing learning. You may learn how to better engage the students at home. You may find tools to encourage collaboration and sharing of thoughts. You may uncover new ways to assess and motivate learners. That’s the journey, but the act of live streaming instruction is the first step.

We know there will be hiccups. There are always bumps in the road when we try new things. That’s to be expected, and we have to give ourselves the grace and patience to work through them, knowing nothing will be perfect on day one. We also recognize that some of you may have additional concerns around student privacy, classroom management, and workload. You’re not alone. Continue to think about how we can tap into our Vanguard teams, the many teachers who are already experimenting with live streaming in their classrooms, and building coaches and administrators who will all work together to support this practice in our classrooms. 

Thank you for all that you are doing during this time. We see the hard work, dedication, and perseverance that you bring each day. Keep showing up for kids. Take care of yourself. We’ll get through this, together.