Sharing videos safely
Safe Share Videos
If you find yourself needing to share videos with your students check out: https://safeshare.tv/ .
Safe Share takes your YouTube videos and turns them into links that are kid friendly. Your Safe Share link will prevent ads from popping up before the video starts. You can edit the video to start and stop at the time you want. You can also create a playlist of videos. I use the playlist feature for my virtual field trips. I edit the videos for the time length I want and order them for the field trip. Once my kids show up I just hit play!
Safe Share is a great tool to provide kid friendly links to your students. It also saves the links you create in a dashboard for future use.
Connecting With Students in an Online Community
With the announcement of schools continuing with remote learning for the remainder of the year many teachers are searching for ways to stay connected with their students.
When I started teaching online I had no idea how to build relationships with my students and their families. Since I believe strong relationships between teachers, students, and their support system is a crucial component of teaching, I made it my mission to find ways to connect with students.
The following are things I’ve done to build relationships with my students and their families:
Snail Mail
I send welcome cards, holiday cards, get well cards if they’ve been sick, student of the month certificates, and letters when I’ve noticed they’ve been working hard! Whenever I send snail mail I have parents reach out to tell me how much it meant to their student.
Over school breaks I share my mailing address with students and encourage them to write me a letter. I send a response to any letter I receive.
I also use it as a reward! We have a competition on our math practice sight and 5 kids a week get a letter and stickers in the mail from me. It has been a great motivator for students!
Phone Calls
It’s so simple and very effective. I make it a priority to call any student that missed our live classes. Giving them a call let’s them know that I notice when they’re in class and that I care about building a relationship with them. This is also a prime time to check in with how their family is doing.
Weekly emails
Every Friday I send an email to my class. The email recaps what we learned that week, any due dates, and upcoming dates on the school calendar.
Incorporate time for fun!
Giving students time to have fun in class is where I’ve really made connections. One of their favorites is to do show and tell at the beginning of our small group lessons. It’s quick and grabs everyone’s attention.
I also end class with a dance party or Gonoodle video. They work hard to earn their fun time at the end of class.
Virtual field trips, read alouds, and game parties are another way to have fun with your students virtually.
Sharing my life with them
When you aren’t face to face with your students it’s hard for them to get to know you. I like to share pictures of things my family has done or show off different things during show and tell that help my families get to know me better. The students also love when my girls say hi or I show one of my pets.
I know it’s heartbreaking to think you won’t see your students for the remainder of the year and I feel for all my teacher friends. I’m here to reassure you that although it will look different it is still possible to keep those connections with your students.
Stay strong fellow teachers! You've got this.
Using Zoom to teach
Share your screen
Share your screen
Dear Teacher Friends,
I know many of you are devastated to be away from your students and wondering how you can connect with them on a virtual platform. While connecting virtually is different, it can be equally rewarding.
I am on my second year as a virtual elementary teacher and I find using Zoom to be a great tool to connect with my students.
I could go on about why I love it but instead, lets talk about effective ways to use it!
Share your screen
Share your screen
Share your screen
Within Zoom, you have the option to share your screen. Click the share button and your options are endless!
Whiteboard
Share your screen
Share your smartphone or tablet
The whiteboard tool allows you to type, draw, or use stamps to add pictures. You can use this as you would a traditional whiteboard.
Share your smartphone or tablet
Share your smartphone or tablet
Share your smartphone or tablet
I really miss having a document camera. You can seamlessly use your phone as a document camera in Zoom. Using your cell phone to show pictures from a book or other items is super handy!
Sharing PowerPoint
Share your smartphone or tablet
Share your internet browser
I build my lessons in PowerPoint and share them in Zoom. You can add clip-art to use as virtual manipulatives, model strategies using the annotating feature, and display reading passages.
Share your internet browser
Share your smartphone or tablet
Share your internet browser
This is my favorite feature! You can share read alouds, play interactive games, have a dance party, or take your students on a virtual field trip!
My favorite sites are:
Sharing Audio and Remote Control
Sharing Audio and Remote Control
Sharing Audio and Remote Control
To optimize these tools it’s important to know how to do two things: share your computer audio and give your students remote control of the screen…..this one terrified me at first but the kids get so excited to play BINGO when they get to actually click the correct answer on the board.
To share computer audio: access the host tool bar, click “more”, and then select “share computer audio”.
To give students remote control: access the host tool bar, select “remote control”, and then select the student’s name you’d live to give control to.
Happy Teaching!
Xoxo, Kayla
Working from home with kids
With the recent Covid-19 outbreak, many working moms are navigating how to work from home and care for the babes at the same time. Call me crazy but this is something I do every day by choice!
While some days consist of my kids screaming in the background of calls, banging on my computer, and just all around driving me nuts, most days are a complete joy and I am so thankful to have the opportunity to work and be with my girls.
It’s equal parts challenging and rewarding to have the extra time with your little ones.
Working from home with little takes patience, strong coffee, and big ol glass of wine at the end of the day!
I’m here to share my top 6 tips to surviving working from home with your kids.
Plan naps around live meetings and phone calls.
Nap time is a guaranteed 2 hours where I can host meetings and make phone calls without little monsters screaming for a snack every 5 minutes.
Wake up early!
Waking up early is my least favorite thing to do. I’d prefer to sleep until one of my girls is pounding on my door. However, I’ve found if I wake up around 5:30/6:00 and put in a couple hours of work before my girls wake up I am much less stressed and way more productive than if I wake up at the same time as them.
Take breaks and enjoy your kids!
What a special gift to have this time with your little loves. Leave the laptop and phone in the other room and go read a book, play a game, or go for a walk. I find my girls are much more willing to play independently while I work if I make time for them to have my undivided attention.
Use a headset for online meetings
Using a headset vs. your computers internal mic can block out some of the background noise. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had “mom I have to poop” screamed in the background of a meeting. 🤦🏻♀️ Thankfully my headset has kept anyone else from hearing it (or so I think).
Set up a workspace for your kids
My girls love “working” with me. We sit at the table. They will do play dough, Legos, or color.
Screen time is your best friend!
If I have a meeting scheduled outside of nap time the iPad comes out! Nothing will keep a 3 year old quiet like the freedom of selecting their own Netflix show!
Hang in their mamas! We're all in this together.