Teaching From Home

As we’re all still processing the fact that many schools will probably shut down for the rest of this school year, we need to prepare for education at home. This post provides educators, parents, and students with some useful websites and tools to help make educating students easier.

Find one or two resources that make sense and test them our this weekend. Then, make a plan this weekend so that Monday feels more structured. Right now, that plan might not mean getting up at the crack of dawn, but creating a schedule will help ensure some learning happens throughout the day.

As much as educators and parents rail against the Internet and technology for good reason, we have to admit that we’re fortunate to have access to technology. It’s making social distancing a lot easier, but it’s also a godsend when parents and teachers everywhere are scrambling to continue to educate students.

Motivating Kids to Learn at Home

I know first-hand how difficult it is to motivate kids to learn in the classroom, which is why attempting to get them to do schoolwork at home is a challenge many teachers and parents are dreading. It’s also tough for teachers to stay current on technology tools when they’re busy in the classroom, so here are a few websites that will make your lives much easier as we move forward.

A website that I’ve been using ever since I knew it existed is Khan Academy. Right now, the creator and his team have reached out to teachers and parents, ensuring them that there will be a wealth of resources available for everyone to continue the learning experience outside of the traditional classroom.

Here’s his announcement to anyone who wants access to free resources, but the founder explains that his team is also adding more resources to help teachers and students as well as parents. This includes videos that will help new visitors navigate through Khan Academy more efficiently as well as tools that will help create schedules to structure the learning process at home.

PBS Learning also curated free learning resources for teachers, parents, and students.

Specifically for teachers, Remind is a great tool to use with students and parents because it’s simple and it works. Several teachers at my children’s schools use it. Because both students and parents have it on their smartphones, there’s no escape. Someone will be reminded that there’s an upcoming assignment or project, so there’s a better chance that it will get done.

Class Dogo also allows teachers to communicate with parents and students and has a point system that is more useful with elementary students. The website boasts that it’s “Free for teachers, forever.”

Additionally, go to MacMillan English to access a hub of resources. Once you choose the level of education that you teach, you then will have access to student ebooks and teacher classroom and presentation kits for free for sixth months.

Take a Break and Doodle

For parents of younger children, I found a website that was featured on Discover here at WordPress that features Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems everyday at 1 p.m. ET. on Pigeon Presents. Mo Willems is a Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence at home.

Here’s Episode One.

I’ll continue posting information on different resources and techniques that I use to tutor and teach. In my next post, I’m going to give parents pointers on making sure their kids do their work. It might get ugly if it hasn’t already.

Need specific help with reading or writing?