We compiled resources to help you make the transition and continue to engage students with online learning.
We want to start off by recognizing that these are uncertain times. Schools are closing, vulnerable students and families are at risk, and the idea that students will learn virtually when they have never before can be overwhelming. If LiveSchool can help you, your school, or your students in any way, please let us know.
We know you had many plans for students – lessons, field trips, celebrations, and more. The coming weeks will be tough because of all the moments you won’t get to have with students. Maintaining relationships with your students can be challenging over the internet, but we know one thing – strong teacher-student relationships positively affect student engagement and outcomes so lean into those relationships when you begin your virtual classroom. We will all get through this, and come back with our strongest relationships yet.
In this blog post, we share the best resources, advice, and plans we have found to help you begin and maintain virtual learning. The blog is written to teachers, but if you are an administrator, a parent, or a student looking for advice on how to learn at-home this resource will be helpful for you as well.
Repeat after me – keep it simple. We reached out to some of our teacher friends ranging from novice to highly-experienced in the virtual learning community. One thing rang true - as you begin this journey - keep it simple and take it one day at a time.
We recommend taking these four steps to begin your virtual learning journey:
Read on to learn how to implement these four steps.
Students and families rely on the services that schools provide. This can be a daunting time for families, caregivers, and school staff alike. There is no one size fits all approach but one thing is for certain, if you are going to teach virtually, you need to know the environment in which your students will be joining you virtually.
We recommend using Google Forms to send out a survey to your students and their families to learn about their home environment and how it pertains to learning. Questions could include:
Consider how you will ensure that families without a computer or internet access at home can use the plans and resources you’re offering. You might offer printed resources in addition to online learning suggestions, and ensure that as many online resources as possible are accessible with just a smartphone.
Decide as soon as possible who will be responsible for what types of IT support, and how they will be reachable by students, families, and staff. Make sure all of your stakeholders know how to reach out for support.
Important update: Comcast and Spectrum are each offering two-months of free internet access for families in need.
Now is not the time to implement a million new online resources. Your students need consistency now more than ever and consistency is especially important in virtual learning. Start by using the Learning Management System (LMS) you already have in place. If you do not have an LMS yet, we recommend Google Classroom. Here are a few more essential digital resources to build your virtual learning foundation:
Google Classroom is the most popular LMS in the US. Google Classroom has slides, assignments, handouts, tests, grading tools, connection to parents, and streaming. We recommend Google Classroom as your LMS. Not convinced? Watch a tutorial here by Jennie Magiera, Global Head of Education Impact at Google.
If Google is just not your thing, Moodle is another Classroom Platform option.
Google Classroom has Hangout Meets. Zoom Meeting just announced free subscriptions for teachers. Skype in the Classroom is a more international platform that works well. Choose one of these options and you will be in great shape for all class meetings and leading a lesson in real time.
Google Classroom has assignments, a grade book, and feedback. Seesaw is a great way to share assignments and get feedback. Flipgrid is a cool engagement and accountability tool that lets teachers set topics or questions for students to respond to via video.
Worth noting: we noticed a lot of teachers use Google Classroom and Flipgrid in their classrooms. Consider pairing these two tools!
It is just as important for you to lesson plan for your virtual classes as it is for your in-person lessons! Not a ton has to change here and you should always submit in a format that works for you (or your administrator) but we found some helpful resources to show you how virtual teachers have been planning!
Check out this virtual lesson instruction model. We love this resource because it is specific to online lesson planning and breaks down the tools you can use for all five lesson elements! We also liked Cornell University's Center for Teaching Innovations planning remote teaching protocol.
Schools in China have been teaching virtually for over a month and it is worth taking some tips to help plan your lessons! Here are some interesting tips:
Extra credit: We really loved reading these remote learning guides. They helped us wrap our brains around how at-home learning can and will work for you and your students!
This seems like a no-brainer but when we started working remotely at LiveSchool this was something our team overlooked and quickly changed! When you are not all in the same place, you are less likely to make and keep meetings, brainstorm, and get feedback – we quickly realized that these planned interactions are essential for learning and growth!
We don’t want you to make the same mistake. Here are some great logistic and operational ideas for at-home learning:
It does not have to be all day, but choosing and sticking to a time of day that lesson's will be held and students can connect is crucial to maintaining consistency and making your student's feel safe. As Josh Starr said, "Kids are always learning. What they're learning right now is how adults respond." This is a teachable moment to make a plan, keep the plan, and follow through consistently for your kids.
Virtual learning is different from in-person learning. What do you want to make sure your students and your parents know about your rules and guidelines for virtual learning? Do you want to make sure your students are sitting up right? Do you want them to bring your classroom rules home? Think through how your class rules and guidelines will change. This at-home learning pledge is a great example of how a school shares rules and guidelines with their virtual students!
Now that you have new rules and guidelines, make sure you share them with students and parents. Teach them to your students. Ask parents to sign them, just like you would at the beginning of the year. You can use a tool like DocuSign (sign up for the free trial). Great! Now everyone is on the same page and virtual learning can begin!
Let's make this official! If you are using Google Classroom as your LMS you can send a google cal invite and Include a daily agenda and links for the lesson so everyone is on the same page!
There are a lot of resources available for the virtual teacher but one thing we noticed... they were mostly about students! Students are your number one priority, but as the leader of the class, if you are not happy and healthy it is going to be hard to keep your students engaged – virtually or not!
One of our team’s favorite professional resources is a 2019 New York Times article called How to Work from Home. Now that you, dear teacher, are working from home we hope it helps you create balance in your day.
We also think joining online learning communities is a great way to stay connected! Check out community groups like Educator Temporary School Closure for Online Learning, Amazing Educational Resources, and Online Teaching Tips for the Plague-Averse.
We’ve found that the following sites offer high-quality content (and most are fully accessible via smartphone):
All subjects
Reading/English Language Arts
Math
Writing
Science
Current Events/Social Studies
This is a BIG one and we want to make sure engaging students and parents is high on your priority list. Your in-person plans to engage students – PBIS, token economies, behavior incentives – might need to be switched up but do not abandon these awesome systems! They engaged your students and created connection with your parents, and they will continue to play that same role virtually!
If you are using this guide, you have already made sure you have up to date contact information for students and parents in your class (see Understand the capabilities of your families survey) and you have chosen an LMS with meeting capabilities for your class (re:Google Hangout, Zoom, or Skype). On top of this, it is SO IMPORTANT to continue to engage your students and their families in learning. Do this consistently and appropriately. And remember – this is the fun part!
There are a few avenues you can mix and match to engage,
Creating a classroom community where meaningful conversations can happen isn’t easy but forums are a great way to encourage conversations to begin! Plus, the ability to engage responsibly in online discussion is a 21st-century skill all students need. Some free forums we recommend are Yo Teach and Kialo.
If you find yourself two way messaging your class and parents a lot consider Remind! They make communication management easy for teachers. It’s free and super user-friendly.
Digital behavior systems make learning fun by incentivizing positive behaviors. Give students points for following your new virtual learning rules and guidelines! When they earn enough points, celebrate those students virtually with these reward ideas.
Don't forget, when you are communicating with families, make sure you are sharing any resources available in your community to support childcare, meals, and other supplies while schools are closed. Let them know how they can access home learning resources and how they’ll be able to ask questions about them while schools are closed.
Finally, encourage families to think about how they’ll structure learning at home. Creating a daily schedule (see Invite students to Class) will help make sure that this transition to at-home learning is less stressful!
We will update this section with new ideas as we get them. Want to submit an idea of your own to share with the world? Tweet us @whyliveschool and we will feature you here and on socials!
Here are a few resources that might be helpful once you have established an at-home learning routine for yourself and your students:
We are here to help! Have a question? Need an idea? Reach out to us at LiveSchool, we are standing by.
We want to start off by recognizing that these are uncertain times. Schools are closing, vulnerable students and families are at risk, and the idea that students will learn virtually when they have never before can be overwhelming. If LiveSchool can help you, your school, or your students in any way, please let us know.
We know you had many plans for students – lessons, field trips, celebrations, and more. The coming weeks will be tough because of all the moments you won’t get to have with students. Maintaining relationships with your students can be challenging over the internet, but we know one thing – strong teacher-student relationships positively affect student engagement and outcomes so lean into those relationships when you begin your virtual classroom. We will all get through this, and come back with our strongest relationships yet.
In this blog post, we share the best resources, advice, and plans we have found to help you begin and maintain virtual learning. The blog is written to teachers, but if you are an administrator, a parent, or a student looking for advice on how to learn at-home this resource will be helpful for you as well.
Repeat after me – keep it simple. We reached out to some of our teacher friends ranging from novice to highly-experienced in the virtual learning community. One thing rang true - as you begin this journey - keep it simple and take it one day at a time.
We recommend taking these four steps to begin your virtual learning journey:
Read on to learn how to implement these four steps.
Students and families rely on the services that schools provide. This can be a daunting time for families, caregivers, and school staff alike. There is no one size fits all approach but one thing is for certain, if you are going to teach virtually, you need to know the environment in which your students will be joining you virtually.
We recommend using Google Forms to send out a survey to your students and their families to learn about their home environment and how it pertains to learning. Questions could include:
Consider how you will ensure that families without a computer or internet access at home can use the plans and resources you’re offering. You might offer printed resources in addition to online learning suggestions, and ensure that as many online resources as possible are accessible with just a smartphone.
Decide as soon as possible who will be responsible for what types of IT support, and how they will be reachable by students, families, and staff. Make sure all of your stakeholders know how to reach out for support.
Important update: Comcast and Spectrum are each offering two-months of free internet access for families in need.
Now is not the time to implement a million new online resources. Your students need consistency now more than ever and consistency is especially important in virtual learning. Start by using the Learning Management System (LMS) you already have in place. If you do not have an LMS yet, we recommend Google Classroom. Here are a few more essential digital resources to build your virtual learning foundation:
Google Classroom is the most popular LMS in the US. Google Classroom has slides, assignments, handouts, tests, grading tools, connection to parents, and streaming. We recommend Google Classroom as your LMS. Not convinced? Watch a tutorial here by Jennie Magiera, Global Head of Education Impact at Google.
If Google is just not your thing, Moodle is another Classroom Platform option.
Google Classroom has Hangout Meets. Zoom Meeting just announced free subscriptions for teachers. Skype in the Classroom is a more international platform that works well. Choose one of these options and you will be in great shape for all class meetings and leading a lesson in real time.
Google Classroom has assignments, a grade book, and feedback. Seesaw is a great way to share assignments and get feedback. Flipgrid is a cool engagement and accountability tool that lets teachers set topics or questions for students to respond to via video.
Worth noting: we noticed a lot of teachers use Google Classroom and Flipgrid in their classrooms. Consider pairing these two tools!
It is just as important for you to lesson plan for your virtual classes as it is for your in-person lessons! Not a ton has to change here and you should always submit in a format that works for you (or your administrator) but we found some helpful resources to show you how virtual teachers have been planning!
Check out this virtual lesson instruction model. We love this resource because it is specific to online lesson planning and breaks down the tools you can use for all five lesson elements! We also liked Cornell University's Center for Teaching Innovations planning remote teaching protocol.
Schools in China have been teaching virtually for over a month and it is worth taking some tips to help plan your lessons! Here are some interesting tips:
Extra credit: We really loved reading these remote learning guides. They helped us wrap our brains around how at-home learning can and will work for you and your students!
This seems like a no-brainer but when we started working remotely at LiveSchool this was something our team overlooked and quickly changed! When you are not all in the same place, you are less likely to make and keep meetings, brainstorm, and get feedback – we quickly realized that these planned interactions are essential for learning and growth!
We don’t want you to make the same mistake. Here are some great logistic and operational ideas for at-home learning:
It does not have to be all day, but choosing and sticking to a time of day that lesson's will be held and students can connect is crucial to maintaining consistency and making your student's feel safe. As Josh Starr said, "Kids are always learning. What they're learning right now is how adults respond." This is a teachable moment to make a plan, keep the plan, and follow through consistently for your kids.
Virtual learning is different from in-person learning. What do you want to make sure your students and your parents know about your rules and guidelines for virtual learning? Do you want to make sure your students are sitting up right? Do you want them to bring your classroom rules home? Think through how your class rules and guidelines will change. This at-home learning pledge is a great example of how a school shares rules and guidelines with their virtual students!
Now that you have new rules and guidelines, make sure you share them with students and parents. Teach them to your students. Ask parents to sign them, just like you would at the beginning of the year. You can use a tool like DocuSign (sign up for the free trial). Great! Now everyone is on the same page and virtual learning can begin!
Let's make this official! If you are using Google Classroom as your LMS you can send a google cal invite and Include a daily agenda and links for the lesson so everyone is on the same page!
There are a lot of resources available for the virtual teacher but one thing we noticed... they were mostly about students! Students are your number one priority, but as the leader of the class, if you are not happy and healthy it is going to be hard to keep your students engaged – virtually or not!
One of our team’s favorite professional resources is a 2019 New York Times article called How to Work from Home. Now that you, dear teacher, are working from home we hope it helps you create balance in your day.
We also think joining online learning communities is a great way to stay connected! Check out community groups like Educator Temporary School Closure for Online Learning, Amazing Educational Resources, and Online Teaching Tips for the Plague-Averse.
We’ve found that the following sites offer high-quality content (and most are fully accessible via smartphone):
All subjects
Reading/English Language Arts
Math
Writing
Science
Current Events/Social Studies
This is a BIG one and we want to make sure engaging students and parents is high on your priority list. Your in-person plans to engage students – PBIS, token economies, behavior incentives – might need to be switched up but do not abandon these awesome systems! They engaged your students and created connection with your parents, and they will continue to play that same role virtually!
If you are using this guide, you have already made sure you have up to date contact information for students and parents in your class (see Understand the capabilities of your families survey) and you have chosen an LMS with meeting capabilities for your class (re:Google Hangout, Zoom, or Skype). On top of this, it is SO IMPORTANT to continue to engage your students and their families in learning. Do this consistently and appropriately. And remember – this is the fun part!
There are a few avenues you can mix and match to engage,
Creating a classroom community where meaningful conversations can happen isn’t easy but forums are a great way to encourage conversations to begin! Plus, the ability to engage responsibly in online discussion is a 21st-century skill all students need. Some free forums we recommend are Yo Teach and Kialo.
If you find yourself two way messaging your class and parents a lot consider Remind! They make communication management easy for teachers. It’s free and super user-friendly.
Digital behavior systems make learning fun by incentivizing positive behaviors. Give students points for following your new virtual learning rules and guidelines! When they earn enough points, celebrate those students virtually with these reward ideas.
Don't forget, when you are communicating with families, make sure you are sharing any resources available in your community to support childcare, meals, and other supplies while schools are closed. Let them know how they can access home learning resources and how they’ll be able to ask questions about them while schools are closed.
Finally, encourage families to think about how they’ll structure learning at home. Creating a daily schedule (see Invite students to Class) will help make sure that this transition to at-home learning is less stressful!
We will update this section with new ideas as we get them. Want to submit an idea of your own to share with the world? Tweet us @whyliveschool and we will feature you here and on socials!
Here are a few resources that might be helpful once you have established an at-home learning routine for yourself and your students:
We are here to help! Have a question? Need an idea? Reach out to us at LiveSchool, we are standing by.
You know what they teamwork makes the dream work. These articles have been written by the wonderful members of our team.
We want to start off by recognizing that these are uncertain times. Schools are closing, vulnerable students and families are at risk, and the idea that students will learn virtually when they have never before can be overwhelming. If LiveSchool can help you, your school, or your students in any way, please let us know.
We know you had many plans for students – lessons, field trips, celebrations, and more. The coming weeks will be tough because of all the moments you won’t get to have with students. Maintaining relationships with your students can be challenging over the internet, but we know one thing – strong teacher-student relationships positively affect student engagement and outcomes so lean into those relationships when you begin your virtual classroom. We will all get through this, and come back with our strongest relationships yet.
In this blog post, we share the best resources, advice, and plans we have found to help you begin and maintain virtual learning. The blog is written to teachers, but if you are an administrator, a parent, or a student looking for advice on how to learn at-home this resource will be helpful for you as well.
Repeat after me – keep it simple. We reached out to some of our teacher friends ranging from novice to highly-experienced in the virtual learning community. One thing rang true - as you begin this journey - keep it simple and take it one day at a time.
We recommend taking these four steps to begin your virtual learning journey:
Read on to learn how to implement these four steps.
Students and families rely on the services that schools provide. This can be a daunting time for families, caregivers, and school staff alike. There is no one size fits all approach but one thing is for certain, if you are going to teach virtually, you need to know the environment in which your students will be joining you virtually.
We recommend using Google Forms to send out a survey to your students and their families to learn about their home environment and how it pertains to learning. Questions could include:
Consider how you will ensure that families without a computer or internet access at home can use the plans and resources you’re offering. You might offer printed resources in addition to online learning suggestions, and ensure that as many online resources as possible are accessible with just a smartphone.
Decide as soon as possible who will be responsible for what types of IT support, and how they will be reachable by students, families, and staff. Make sure all of your stakeholders know how to reach out for support.
Important update: Comcast and Spectrum are each offering two-months of free internet access for families in need.
Now is not the time to implement a million new online resources. Your students need consistency now more than ever and consistency is especially important in virtual learning. Start by using the Learning Management System (LMS) you already have in place. If you do not have an LMS yet, we recommend Google Classroom. Here are a few more essential digital resources to build your virtual learning foundation:
Google Classroom is the most popular LMS in the US. Google Classroom has slides, assignments, handouts, tests, grading tools, connection to parents, and streaming. We recommend Google Classroom as your LMS. Not convinced? Watch a tutorial here by Jennie Magiera, Global Head of Education Impact at Google.
If Google is just not your thing, Moodle is another Classroom Platform option.
Google Classroom has Hangout Meets. Zoom Meeting just announced free subscriptions for teachers. Skype in the Classroom is a more international platform that works well. Choose one of these options and you will be in great shape for all class meetings and leading a lesson in real time.
Google Classroom has assignments, a grade book, and feedback. Seesaw is a great way to share assignments and get feedback. Flipgrid is a cool engagement and accountability tool that lets teachers set topics or questions for students to respond to via video.
Worth noting: we noticed a lot of teachers use Google Classroom and Flipgrid in their classrooms. Consider pairing these two tools!
It is just as important for you to lesson plan for your virtual classes as it is for your in-person lessons! Not a ton has to change here and you should always submit in a format that works for you (or your administrator) but we found some helpful resources to show you how virtual teachers have been planning!
Check out this virtual lesson instruction model. We love this resource because it is specific to online lesson planning and breaks down the tools you can use for all five lesson elements! We also liked Cornell University's Center for Teaching Innovations planning remote teaching protocol.
Schools in China have been teaching virtually for over a month and it is worth taking some tips to help plan your lessons! Here are some interesting tips:
Extra credit: We really loved reading these remote learning guides. They helped us wrap our brains around how at-home learning can and will work for you and your students!
This seems like a no-brainer but when we started working remotely at LiveSchool this was something our team overlooked and quickly changed! When you are not all in the same place, you are less likely to make and keep meetings, brainstorm, and get feedback – we quickly realized that these planned interactions are essential for learning and growth!
We don’t want you to make the same mistake. Here are some great logistic and operational ideas for at-home learning:
It does not have to be all day, but choosing and sticking to a time of day that lesson's will be held and students can connect is crucial to maintaining consistency and making your student's feel safe. As Josh Starr said, "Kids are always learning. What they're learning right now is how adults respond." This is a teachable moment to make a plan, keep the plan, and follow through consistently for your kids.
Virtual learning is different from in-person learning. What do you want to make sure your students and your parents know about your rules and guidelines for virtual learning? Do you want to make sure your students are sitting up right? Do you want them to bring your classroom rules home? Think through how your class rules and guidelines will change. This at-home learning pledge is a great example of how a school shares rules and guidelines with their virtual students!
Now that you have new rules and guidelines, make sure you share them with students and parents. Teach them to your students. Ask parents to sign them, just like you would at the beginning of the year. You can use a tool like DocuSign (sign up for the free trial). Great! Now everyone is on the same page and virtual learning can begin!
Let's make this official! If you are using Google Classroom as your LMS you can send a google cal invite and Include a daily agenda and links for the lesson so everyone is on the same page!
There are a lot of resources available for the virtual teacher but one thing we noticed... they were mostly about students! Students are your number one priority, but as the leader of the class, if you are not happy and healthy it is going to be hard to keep your students engaged – virtually or not!
One of our team’s favorite professional resources is a 2019 New York Times article called How to Work from Home. Now that you, dear teacher, are working from home we hope it helps you create balance in your day.
We also think joining online learning communities is a great way to stay connected! Check out community groups like Educator Temporary School Closure for Online Learning, Amazing Educational Resources, and Online Teaching Tips for the Plague-Averse.
We’ve found that the following sites offer high-quality content (and most are fully accessible via smartphone):
All subjects
Reading/English Language Arts
Math
Writing
Science
Current Events/Social Studies
This is a BIG one and we want to make sure engaging students and parents is high on your priority list. Your in-person plans to engage students – PBIS, token economies, behavior incentives – might need to be switched up but do not abandon these awesome systems! They engaged your students and created connection with your parents, and they will continue to play that same role virtually!
If you are using this guide, you have already made sure you have up to date contact information for students and parents in your class (see Understand the capabilities of your families survey) and you have chosen an LMS with meeting capabilities for your class (re:Google Hangout, Zoom, or Skype). On top of this, it is SO IMPORTANT to continue to engage your students and their families in learning. Do this consistently and appropriately. And remember – this is the fun part!
There are a few avenues you can mix and match to engage,
Creating a classroom community where meaningful conversations can happen isn’t easy but forums are a great way to encourage conversations to begin! Plus, the ability to engage responsibly in online discussion is a 21st-century skill all students need. Some free forums we recommend are Yo Teach and Kialo.
If you find yourself two way messaging your class and parents a lot consider Remind! They make communication management easy for teachers. It’s free and super user-friendly.
Digital behavior systems make learning fun by incentivizing positive behaviors. Give students points for following your new virtual learning rules and guidelines! When they earn enough points, celebrate those students virtually with these reward ideas.
Don't forget, when you are communicating with families, make sure you are sharing any resources available in your community to support childcare, meals, and other supplies while schools are closed. Let them know how they can access home learning resources and how they’ll be able to ask questions about them while schools are closed.
Finally, encourage families to think about how they’ll structure learning at home. Creating a daily schedule (see Invite students to Class) will help make sure that this transition to at-home learning is less stressful!
We will update this section with new ideas as we get them. Want to submit an idea of your own to share with the world? Tweet us @whyliveschool and we will feature you here and on socials!
Here are a few resources that might be helpful once you have established an at-home learning routine for yourself and your students:
We are here to help! Have a question? Need an idea? Reach out to us at LiveSchool, we are standing by.
We want to start off by recognizing that these are uncertain times. Schools are closing, vulnerable students and families are at risk, and the idea that students will learn virtually when they have never before can be overwhelming. If LiveSchool can help you, your school, or your students in any way, please let us know.
We know you had many plans for students – lessons, field trips, celebrations, and more. The coming weeks will be tough because of all the moments you won’t get to have with students. Maintaining relationships with your students can be challenging over the internet, but we know one thing – strong teacher-student relationships positively affect student engagement and outcomes so lean into those relationships when you begin your virtual classroom. We will all get through this, and come back with our strongest relationships yet.
In this blog post, we share the best resources, advice, and plans we have found to help you begin and maintain virtual learning. The blog is written to teachers, but if you are an administrator, a parent, or a student looking for advice on how to learn at-home this resource will be helpful for you as well.
Repeat after me – keep it simple. We reached out to some of our teacher friends ranging from novice to highly-experienced in the virtual learning community. One thing rang true - as you begin this journey - keep it simple and take it one day at a time.
We recommend taking these four steps to begin your virtual learning journey:
Read on to learn how to implement these four steps.
Students and families rely on the services that schools provide. This can be a daunting time for families, caregivers, and school staff alike. There is no one size fits all approach but one thing is for certain, if you are going to teach virtually, you need to know the environment in which your students will be joining you virtually.
We recommend using Google Forms to send out a survey to your students and their families to learn about their home environment and how it pertains to learning. Questions could include:
Consider how you will ensure that families without a computer or internet access at home can use the plans and resources you’re offering. You might offer printed resources in addition to online learning suggestions, and ensure that as many online resources as possible are accessible with just a smartphone.
Decide as soon as possible who will be responsible for what types of IT support, and how they will be reachable by students, families, and staff. Make sure all of your stakeholders know how to reach out for support.
Important update: Comcast and Spectrum are each offering two-months of free internet access for families in need.
Now is not the time to implement a million new online resources. Your students need consistency now more than ever and consistency is especially important in virtual learning. Start by using the Learning Management System (LMS) you already have in place. If you do not have an LMS yet, we recommend Google Classroom. Here are a few more essential digital resources to build your virtual learning foundation:
Google Classroom is the most popular LMS in the US. Google Classroom has slides, assignments, handouts, tests, grading tools, connection to parents, and streaming. We recommend Google Classroom as your LMS. Not convinced? Watch a tutorial here by Jennie Magiera, Global Head of Education Impact at Google.
If Google is just not your thing, Moodle is another Classroom Platform option.
Google Classroom has Hangout Meets. Zoom Meeting just announced free subscriptions for teachers. Skype in the Classroom is a more international platform that works well. Choose one of these options and you will be in great shape for all class meetings and leading a lesson in real time.
Google Classroom has assignments, a grade book, and feedback. Seesaw is a great way to share assignments and get feedback. Flipgrid is a cool engagement and accountability tool that lets teachers set topics or questions for students to respond to via video.
Worth noting: we noticed a lot of teachers use Google Classroom and Flipgrid in their classrooms. Consider pairing these two tools!
It is just as important for you to lesson plan for your virtual classes as it is for your in-person lessons! Not a ton has to change here and you should always submit in a format that works for you (or your administrator) but we found some helpful resources to show you how virtual teachers have been planning!
Check out this virtual lesson instruction model. We love this resource because it is specific to online lesson planning and breaks down the tools you can use for all five lesson elements! We also liked Cornell University's Center for Teaching Innovations planning remote teaching protocol.
Schools in China have been teaching virtually for over a month and it is worth taking some tips to help plan your lessons! Here are some interesting tips:
Extra credit: We really loved reading these remote learning guides. They helped us wrap our brains around how at-home learning can and will work for you and your students!
This seems like a no-brainer but when we started working remotely at LiveSchool this was something our team overlooked and quickly changed! When you are not all in the same place, you are less likely to make and keep meetings, brainstorm, and get feedback – we quickly realized that these planned interactions are essential for learning and growth!
We don’t want you to make the same mistake. Here are some great logistic and operational ideas for at-home learning:
It does not have to be all day, but choosing and sticking to a time of day that lesson's will be held and students can connect is crucial to maintaining consistency and making your student's feel safe. As Josh Starr said, "Kids are always learning. What they're learning right now is how adults respond." This is a teachable moment to make a plan, keep the plan, and follow through consistently for your kids.
Virtual learning is different from in-person learning. What do you want to make sure your students and your parents know about your rules and guidelines for virtual learning? Do you want to make sure your students are sitting up right? Do you want them to bring your classroom rules home? Think through how your class rules and guidelines will change. This at-home learning pledge is a great example of how a school shares rules and guidelines with their virtual students!
Now that you have new rules and guidelines, make sure you share them with students and parents. Teach them to your students. Ask parents to sign them, just like you would at the beginning of the year. You can use a tool like DocuSign (sign up for the free trial). Great! Now everyone is on the same page and virtual learning can begin!
Let's make this official! If you are using Google Classroom as your LMS you can send a google cal invite and Include a daily agenda and links for the lesson so everyone is on the same page!
There are a lot of resources available for the virtual teacher but one thing we noticed... they were mostly about students! Students are your number one priority, but as the leader of the class, if you are not happy and healthy it is going to be hard to keep your students engaged – virtually or not!
One of our team’s favorite professional resources is a 2019 New York Times article called How to Work from Home. Now that you, dear teacher, are working from home we hope it helps you create balance in your day.
We also think joining online learning communities is a great way to stay connected! Check out community groups like Educator Temporary School Closure for Online Learning, Amazing Educational Resources, and Online Teaching Tips for the Plague-Averse.
We’ve found that the following sites offer high-quality content (and most are fully accessible via smartphone):
All subjects
Reading/English Language Arts
Math
Writing
Science
Current Events/Social Studies
This is a BIG one and we want to make sure engaging students and parents is high on your priority list. Your in-person plans to engage students – PBIS, token economies, behavior incentives – might need to be switched up but do not abandon these awesome systems! They engaged your students and created connection with your parents, and they will continue to play that same role virtually!
If you are using this guide, you have already made sure you have up to date contact information for students and parents in your class (see Understand the capabilities of your families survey) and you have chosen an LMS with meeting capabilities for your class (re:Google Hangout, Zoom, or Skype). On top of this, it is SO IMPORTANT to continue to engage your students and their families in learning. Do this consistently and appropriately. And remember – this is the fun part!
There are a few avenues you can mix and match to engage,
Creating a classroom community where meaningful conversations can happen isn’t easy but forums are a great way to encourage conversations to begin! Plus, the ability to engage responsibly in online discussion is a 21st-century skill all students need. Some free forums we recommend are Yo Teach and Kialo.
If you find yourself two way messaging your class and parents a lot consider Remind! They make communication management easy for teachers. It’s free and super user-friendly.
Digital behavior systems make learning fun by incentivizing positive behaviors. Give students points for following your new virtual learning rules and guidelines! When they earn enough points, celebrate those students virtually with these reward ideas.
Don't forget, when you are communicating with families, make sure you are sharing any resources available in your community to support childcare, meals, and other supplies while schools are closed. Let them know how they can access home learning resources and how they’ll be able to ask questions about them while schools are closed.
Finally, encourage families to think about how they’ll structure learning at home. Creating a daily schedule (see Invite students to Class) will help make sure that this transition to at-home learning is less stressful!
We will update this section with new ideas as we get them. Want to submit an idea of your own to share with the world? Tweet us @whyliveschool and we will feature you here and on socials!
Here are a few resources that might be helpful once you have established an at-home learning routine for yourself and your students:
We are here to help! Have a question? Need an idea? Reach out to us at LiveSchool, we are standing by.
While no one knows how long schools will be closed due to COVID-19, we do know that for the foreseeable future, at-home learning is necessary. We have compiled a list of resources for learning at home for teachers, parents, and students.
We want to start off by recognizing that these are uncertain times. Schools are closing, vulnerable students and families are at risk, and the idea that students will learn virtually when they have never before can be overwhelming. If LiveSchool can help you, your school, or your students in any way, please let us know.
We know you had many plans for students – lessons, field trips, celebrations, and more. The coming weeks will be tough because of all the moments you won’t get to have with students. Maintaining relationships with your students can be challenging over the internet, but we know one thing – strong teacher-student relationships positively affect student engagement and outcomes so lean into those relationships when you begin your virtual classroom. We will all get through this, and come back with our strongest relationships yet.
In this blog post, we share the best resources, advice, and plans we have found to help you begin and maintain virtual learning. The blog is written to teachers, but if you are an administrator, a parent, or a student looking for advice on how to learn at-home this resource will be helpful for you as well.
Repeat after me – keep it simple. We reached out to some of our teacher friends ranging from novice to highly-experienced in the virtual learning community. One thing rang true - as you begin this journey - keep it simple and take it one day at a time.
We recommend taking these four steps to begin your virtual learning journey:
Read on to learn how to implement these four steps.
Students and families rely on the services that schools provide. This can be a daunting time for families, caregivers, and school staff alike. There is no one size fits all approach but one thing is for certain, if you are going to teach virtually, you need to know the environment in which your students will be joining you virtually.
We recommend using Google Forms to send out a survey to your students and their families to learn about their home environment and how it pertains to learning. Questions could include:
Consider how you will ensure that families without a computer or internet access at home can use the plans and resources you’re offering. You might offer printed resources in addition to online learning suggestions, and ensure that as many online resources as possible are accessible with just a smartphone.
Decide as soon as possible who will be responsible for what types of IT support, and how they will be reachable by students, families, and staff. Make sure all of your stakeholders know how to reach out for support.
Important update: Comcast and Spectrum are each offering two-months of free internet access for families in need.
Now is not the time to implement a million new online resources. Your students need consistency now more than ever and consistency is especially important in virtual learning. Start by using the Learning Management System (LMS) you already have in place. If you do not have an LMS yet, we recommend Google Classroom. Here are a few more essential digital resources to build your virtual learning foundation:
Google Classroom is the most popular LMS in the US. Google Classroom has slides, assignments, handouts, tests, grading tools, connection to parents, and streaming. We recommend Google Classroom as your LMS. Not convinced? Watch a tutorial here by Jennie Magiera, Global Head of Education Impact at Google.
If Google is just not your thing, Moodle is another Classroom Platform option.
Google Classroom has Hangout Meets. Zoom Meeting just announced free subscriptions for teachers. Skype in the Classroom is a more international platform that works well. Choose one of these options and you will be in great shape for all class meetings and leading a lesson in real time.
Google Classroom has assignments, a grade book, and feedback. Seesaw is a great way to share assignments and get feedback. Flipgrid is a cool engagement and accountability tool that lets teachers set topics or questions for students to respond to via video.
Worth noting: we noticed a lot of teachers use Google Classroom and Flipgrid in their classrooms. Consider pairing these two tools!
It is just as important for you to lesson plan for your virtual classes as it is for your in-person lessons! Not a ton has to change here and you should always submit in a format that works for you (or your administrator) but we found some helpful resources to show you how virtual teachers have been planning!
Check out this virtual lesson instruction model. We love this resource because it is specific to online lesson planning and breaks down the tools you can use for all five lesson elements! We also liked Cornell University's Center for Teaching Innovations planning remote teaching protocol.
Schools in China have been teaching virtually for over a month and it is worth taking some tips to help plan your lessons! Here are some interesting tips:
Extra credit: We really loved reading these remote learning guides. They helped us wrap our brains around how at-home learning can and will work for you and your students!
This seems like a no-brainer but when we started working remotely at LiveSchool this was something our team overlooked and quickly changed! When you are not all in the same place, you are less likely to make and keep meetings, brainstorm, and get feedback – we quickly realized that these planned interactions are essential for learning and growth!
We don’t want you to make the same mistake. Here are some great logistic and operational ideas for at-home learning:
It does not have to be all day, but choosing and sticking to a time of day that lesson's will be held and students can connect is crucial to maintaining consistency and making your student's feel safe. As Josh Starr said, "Kids are always learning. What they're learning right now is how adults respond." This is a teachable moment to make a plan, keep the plan, and follow through consistently for your kids.
Virtual learning is different from in-person learning. What do you want to make sure your students and your parents know about your rules and guidelines for virtual learning? Do you want to make sure your students are sitting up right? Do you want them to bring your classroom rules home? Think through how your class rules and guidelines will change. This at-home learning pledge is a great example of how a school shares rules and guidelines with their virtual students!
Now that you have new rules and guidelines, make sure you share them with students and parents. Teach them to your students. Ask parents to sign them, just like you would at the beginning of the year. You can use a tool like DocuSign (sign up for the free trial). Great! Now everyone is on the same page and virtual learning can begin!
Let's make this official! If you are using Google Classroom as your LMS you can send a google cal invite and Include a daily agenda and links for the lesson so everyone is on the same page!
There are a lot of resources available for the virtual teacher but one thing we noticed... they were mostly about students! Students are your number one priority, but as the leader of the class, if you are not happy and healthy it is going to be hard to keep your students engaged – virtually or not!
One of our team’s favorite professional resources is a 2019 New York Times article called How to Work from Home. Now that you, dear teacher, are working from home we hope it helps you create balance in your day.
We also think joining online learning communities is a great way to stay connected! Check out community groups like Educator Temporary School Closure for Online Learning, Amazing Educational Resources, and Online Teaching Tips for the Plague-Averse.
We’ve found that the following sites offer high-quality content (and most are fully accessible via smartphone):
All subjects
Reading/English Language Arts
Math
Writing
Science
Current Events/Social Studies
This is a BIG one and we want to make sure engaging students and parents is high on your priority list. Your in-person plans to engage students – PBIS, token economies, behavior incentives – might need to be switched up but do not abandon these awesome systems! They engaged your students and created connection with your parents, and they will continue to play that same role virtually!
If you are using this guide, you have already made sure you have up to date contact information for students and parents in your class (see Understand the capabilities of your families survey) and you have chosen an LMS with meeting capabilities for your class (re:Google Hangout, Zoom, or Skype). On top of this, it is SO IMPORTANT to continue to engage your students and their families in learning. Do this consistently and appropriately. And remember – this is the fun part!
There are a few avenues you can mix and match to engage,
Creating a classroom community where meaningful conversations can happen isn’t easy but forums are a great way to encourage conversations to begin! Plus, the ability to engage responsibly in online discussion is a 21st-century skill all students need. Some free forums we recommend are Yo Teach and Kialo.
If you find yourself two way messaging your class and parents a lot consider Remind! They make communication management easy for teachers. It’s free and super user-friendly.
Digital behavior systems make learning fun by incentivizing positive behaviors. Give students points for following your new virtual learning rules and guidelines! When they earn enough points, celebrate those students virtually with these reward ideas.
Don't forget, when you are communicating with families, make sure you are sharing any resources available in your community to support childcare, meals, and other supplies while schools are closed. Let them know how they can access home learning resources and how they’ll be able to ask questions about them while schools are closed.
Finally, encourage families to think about how they’ll structure learning at home. Creating a daily schedule (see Invite students to Class) will help make sure that this transition to at-home learning is less stressful!
We will update this section with new ideas as we get them. Want to submit an idea of your own to share with the world? Tweet us @whyliveschool and we will feature you here and on socials!
Here are a few resources that might be helpful once you have established an at-home learning routine for yourself and your students:
We are here to help! Have a question? Need an idea? Reach out to us at LiveSchool, we are standing by.
While no one knows how long schools will be closed due to COVID-19, we do know that for the foreseeable future, at-home learning is necessary. We have compiled a list of resources for learning at home for teachers, parents, and students.
We want to start off by recognizing that these are uncertain times. Schools are closing, vulnerable students and families are at risk, and the idea that students will learn virtually when they have never before can be overwhelming. If LiveSchool can help you, your school, or your students in any way, please let us know.
We know you had many plans for students – lessons, field trips, celebrations, and more. The coming weeks will be tough because of all the moments you won’t get to have with students. Maintaining relationships with your students can be challenging over the internet, but we know one thing – strong teacher-student relationships positively affect student engagement and outcomes so lean into those relationships when you begin your virtual classroom. We will all get through this, and come back with our strongest relationships yet.
In this blog post, we share the best resources, advice, and plans we have found to help you begin and maintain virtual learning. The blog is written to teachers, but if you are an administrator, a parent, or a student looking for advice on how to learn at-home this resource will be helpful for you as well.
Repeat after me – keep it simple. We reached out to some of our teacher friends ranging from novice to highly-experienced in the virtual learning community. One thing rang true - as you begin this journey - keep it simple and take it one day at a time.
We recommend taking these four steps to begin your virtual learning journey:
Read on to learn how to implement these four steps.
Students and families rely on the services that schools provide. This can be a daunting time for families, caregivers, and school staff alike. There is no one size fits all approach but one thing is for certain, if you are going to teach virtually, you need to know the environment in which your students will be joining you virtually.
We recommend using Google Forms to send out a survey to your students and their families to learn about their home environment and how it pertains to learning. Questions could include:
Consider how you will ensure that families without a computer or internet access at home can use the plans and resources you’re offering. You might offer printed resources in addition to online learning suggestions, and ensure that as many online resources as possible are accessible with just a smartphone.
Decide as soon as possible who will be responsible for what types of IT support, and how they will be reachable by students, families, and staff. Make sure all of your stakeholders know how to reach out for support.
Important update: Comcast and Spectrum are each offering two-months of free internet access for families in need.
Now is not the time to implement a million new online resources. Your students need consistency now more than ever and consistency is especially important in virtual learning. Start by using the Learning Management System (LMS) you already have in place. If you do not have an LMS yet, we recommend Google Classroom. Here are a few more essential digital resources to build your virtual learning foundation:
Google Classroom is the most popular LMS in the US. Google Classroom has slides, assignments, handouts, tests, grading tools, connection to parents, and streaming. We recommend Google Classroom as your LMS. Not convinced? Watch a tutorial here by Jennie Magiera, Global Head of Education Impact at Google.
If Google is just not your thing, Moodle is another Classroom Platform option.
Google Classroom has Hangout Meets. Zoom Meeting just announced free subscriptions for teachers. Skype in the Classroom is a more international platform that works well. Choose one of these options and you will be in great shape for all class meetings and leading a lesson in real time.
Google Classroom has assignments, a grade book, and feedback. Seesaw is a great way to share assignments and get feedback. Flipgrid is a cool engagement and accountability tool that lets teachers set topics or questions for students to respond to via video.
Worth noting: we noticed a lot of teachers use Google Classroom and Flipgrid in their classrooms. Consider pairing these two tools!
It is just as important for you to lesson plan for your virtual classes as it is for your in-person lessons! Not a ton has to change here and you should always submit in a format that works for you (or your administrator) but we found some helpful resources to show you how virtual teachers have been planning!
Check out this virtual lesson instruction model. We love this resource because it is specific to online lesson planning and breaks down the tools you can use for all five lesson elements! We also liked Cornell University's Center for Teaching Innovations planning remote teaching protocol.
Schools in China have been teaching virtually for over a month and it is worth taking some tips to help plan your lessons! Here are some interesting tips:
Extra credit: We really loved reading these remote learning guides. They helped us wrap our brains around how at-home learning can and will work for you and your students!
This seems like a no-brainer but when we started working remotely at LiveSchool this was something our team overlooked and quickly changed! When you are not all in the same place, you are less likely to make and keep meetings, brainstorm, and get feedback – we quickly realized that these planned interactions are essential for learning and growth!
We don’t want you to make the same mistake. Here are some great logistic and operational ideas for at-home learning:
It does not have to be all day, but choosing and sticking to a time of day that lesson's will be held and students can connect is crucial to maintaining consistency and making your student's feel safe. As Josh Starr said, "Kids are always learning. What they're learning right now is how adults respond." This is a teachable moment to make a plan, keep the plan, and follow through consistently for your kids.
Virtual learning is different from in-person learning. What do you want to make sure your students and your parents know about your rules and guidelines for virtual learning? Do you want to make sure your students are sitting up right? Do you want them to bring your classroom rules home? Think through how your class rules and guidelines will change. This at-home learning pledge is a great example of how a school shares rules and guidelines with their virtual students!
Now that you have new rules and guidelines, make sure you share them with students and parents. Teach them to your students. Ask parents to sign them, just like you would at the beginning of the year. You can use a tool like DocuSign (sign up for the free trial). Great! Now everyone is on the same page and virtual learning can begin!
Let's make this official! If you are using Google Classroom as your LMS you can send a google cal invite and Include a daily agenda and links for the lesson so everyone is on the same page!
There are a lot of resources available for the virtual teacher but one thing we noticed... they were mostly about students! Students are your number one priority, but as the leader of the class, if you are not happy and healthy it is going to be hard to keep your students engaged – virtually or not!
One of our team’s favorite professional resources is a 2019 New York Times article called How to Work from Home. Now that you, dear teacher, are working from home we hope it helps you create balance in your day.
We also think joining online learning communities is a great way to stay connected! Check out community groups like Educator Temporary School Closure for Online Learning, Amazing Educational Resources, and Online Teaching Tips for the Plague-Averse.
We’ve found that the following sites offer high-quality content (and most are fully accessible via smartphone):
All subjects
Reading/English Language Arts
Math
Writing
Science
Current Events/Social Studies
This is a BIG one and we want to make sure engaging students and parents is high on your priority list. Your in-person plans to engage students – PBIS, token economies, behavior incentives – might need to be switched up but do not abandon these awesome systems! They engaged your students and created connection with your parents, and they will continue to play that same role virtually!
If you are using this guide, you have already made sure you have up to date contact information for students and parents in your class (see Understand the capabilities of your families survey) and you have chosen an LMS with meeting capabilities for your class (re:Google Hangout, Zoom, or Skype). On top of this, it is SO IMPORTANT to continue to engage your students and their families in learning. Do this consistently and appropriately. And remember – this is the fun part!
There are a few avenues you can mix and match to engage,
Creating a classroom community where meaningful conversations can happen isn’t easy but forums are a great way to encourage conversations to begin! Plus, the ability to engage responsibly in online discussion is a 21st-century skill all students need. Some free forums we recommend are Yo Teach and Kialo.
If you find yourself two way messaging your class and parents a lot consider Remind! They make communication management easy for teachers. It’s free and super user-friendly.
Digital behavior systems make learning fun by incentivizing positive behaviors. Give students points for following your new virtual learning rules and guidelines! When they earn enough points, celebrate those students virtually with these reward ideas.
Don't forget, when you are communicating with families, make sure you are sharing any resources available in your community to support childcare, meals, and other supplies while schools are closed. Let them know how they can access home learning resources and how they’ll be able to ask questions about them while schools are closed.
Finally, encourage families to think about how they’ll structure learning at home. Creating a daily schedule (see Invite students to Class) will help make sure that this transition to at-home learning is less stressful!
We will update this section with new ideas as we get them. Want to submit an idea of your own to share with the world? Tweet us @whyliveschool and we will feature you here and on socials!
Here are a few resources that might be helpful once you have established an at-home learning routine for yourself and your students:
We are here to help! Have a question? Need an idea? Reach out to us at LiveSchool, we are standing by.
Every day, the LiveSchool Vision becomes reality.
