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