Racial Equity in Online Environments Webinar Recap
by Jaquelin Yang
This semester has definitely been an interesting one! It’s been stressful trying to adapt to an online system on short notice, but now that we are planning for a fully-online fall, I’ve really been enjoying USC Center for Urban Education’s Webinar series as a way to improve my teaching practices. I wanted to share a few insights from Dr. Sharla Berry’s recent presentation.
Reach out early, reach out often
- Dr. Berry recommends introducing yourself before the semester begins with a short video. Once the semester starts, students may feel overwhelmed. Seeing a friendly face and receiving an encouraging message before classes begin can motivate students.
- Have students introduce themselves via discussion during the first week - encourage videos, photos, etc. to humanize the classroom.
- Throughout the semester, check in on students using personalized emails. Dr. Sim Barhoum later mentioned in his part of the presentation that he accomplishes this by messaging 3 students a week. Dr. Berry recommends checking in on everyone - students who are doing well, students who aren’t, etc. Receiving a personalized check-in from an instructor shows students that their work isn’t going unnoticed.
Create a process for community maintenance.
- Allow time “in-class” for students to share personal and professional needs/challenges/updates. Non-academic updates can be through class polls or discussion groups. These kinds of tasks liven up a class and help develop a sense of community when we aren’t able to help students bond in person. I’ll be trying out Mentimeter for their word cloud feature - sign-up is free
Create norms for participation.
- Decide at the beginning of the semester whether turning on video is optional or mandatory when participating in class discussions. I’ve noticed in my own classroom that although everyone had their cameras on in the beginning, more and more people are switching to “black boxes” during class. I’m curious what everyone else’s experience has been with this, and what everyone plans to do as we move into an online fall.
San Diego Area Writing Project Summer Institute Recap
by Stephanie Lange
Got Tools? Do you want to learn how to dissect a character? Did you write Haikus or create a video using a student’s essays? What about learning how to give student feedback for class assignments, or even better, how to combat student biases practiced within the classroom? This is what SDAWP SI 2020 offered this summer during their ten-day online seminar. It blew my mind away! I was not expecting to learn so much and at the same time have fun. When I say fun, I mean, engaging in the DO NOW! We were all students in the conference and had to participate in our colleague’s demonstrations as students. This was not your traditional conference where you sit for countless hours listening to someone speak about their beliefs and what they do in the classroom. Instead, we had the opportunity to listen, then we engaged in activities where we put into practice what we just learned.
The conference had an amazing staff that was composed of Kim Douillard, Christine Kane and our very own Denise Maduli-Williams who created an atmosphere on Zoom that was safe and welcoming for all 19 participants to interact with one another. This was the first time SDAWP moved the conference onto Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It seemed we all knew each other for years, but we all just met each other for the first time. All of the participants in the seminar were from different school districts within the county of San Diego. It ranged from elementary school to community college institutions.
Many of the demonstrations focused on teaching reading and writing within the classroom with a focus of using technology to make the lessons engaging and equitable for all students.
What I really liked about SDAWP was how it took me out of my comfort zone. Often as educators, we do not realize that there is so much to share and learn from each other. This conference gave me the opportunity to engage in real conversations with colleagues who have the same ideals and concerns that I have. It was refreshing to listen to advice and have many questions answered regarding teaching strategies and techniques, and how to incorporate technology within the classroom. Not only did we discuss teaching strategies, but we also engaged in conversations about biases within the classroom, how to face race relationships and even brought to the forefront a deep discussion about privilege. These were some of the discussions we had during our Cornerstone of Equity, and it mirrored the discussions being held by the general public nationwide. I can honestly say, all of our discussions were very enlightening, and provoked deep thought about our own classroom practices.
I always believed technology should only be used for online classes and not face-to-face classes, but what I learned this summer is that I could take a poem and use a simple app like Padlet to create poetry assessments. I even learned how to use Google Jam-board to bring a class discussion to light; students use sticky notes and write questions to each other and have them answer each other’s questions. It can also be used to create KWL charts for new topics being introduced to the class, and the possibilities are countless. I also learned how to dissect a character from the inside out. What about the traditional five paragraph essay, how can we use an essay and have a student’s voice heard at the same time? Students can create a video of their essay and incorporate their voice to the video to bring it to light using Adobe Spark. Not only will you read the essay, but you can hear the student’s voice as they are reading their own writing. Another activity was listening to a podcast then we logged into FlipGrid and answered questions pertaining to the podcast. What a great way to have students express their opinions about a story. There is so much to write about of all the wonderful things I learn during my participation in the SDAWP SI 2020, that I will be writing for days.
With this, I want to encourage my entire fellow ELAC faculty to have the opportunity to participate in such an enlightening experience. Please reach out to Denise’s invitation for SDAWP SI 2021. I can assure you, you will never be the same. You will start to see and question your lessons in a different way, and ideas will start flowing like water.
For more information, visit: SDAWP
Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities
CATESOL OC Fall Virtual Workshop
Online Course Design Institute
CATESOL Workshops
Online Teaching Swap Shop (Fri., 7/17/20, 7/24/20, 8/7/20, 9 am)
- An informal, 1-hour, un-recorded meeting for CATESOL members to discuss and share materials for teaching ESL synchronously online. Please bring a copy of an activity, a favorite lesson, or a technique that you use in your classes. If you don't have anything to share, but would still like to attend, you're welcome to.
10 Interactive Activities for Synchronous Online Teaching (Sat., 7/18/2020, 7/25/2020, 8/1/2020, 8/8/2020, 10-11AM)
- Are you looking for engaging ideas for your live online classes in the fall? Attend this presentation to discover several interactive communicative activities that you can adapt for your online (synchronous) classes. Skill areas: listening, conversation/fluency-building, grammar, vocabulary, reading & writing This session is for elementary, junior high, high school, university, and adult teachers. Presentation followed by discussion.
TELL-IG July Rap Session (Fri., 7/24/2020)
- The past few months have been both eventful and challenging with the sudden transition to remote learning. Now is a good time to come together as an interest group to debrief and continue learning from each other. Join your fellow Technology-Enhanced Language Learning Interest Group members to reflect on the past few months and share your passion for technology in education. Bring a cup of coffee or a refreshing drink and share your ideas of resources for digital/blended learning, online student engagement, and new tools you discovered during this time!
Ron Lee Technology Award
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