Teaching virtually is hard. It stinks. I wish I had a magical fix for you so that we could all have our students online, engaged, and to never, ever see those little black “camera off” boxes ever again. Unfortunately, I don’t have a magic wand to make that happen, so instead, I’m going to share the next best thing! Here are 4 activities focused on encouraging student connections in a virtual setting to help you get to know your students AND help them get to know each other!
Encouraging Student Connections in a Virtual Setting
Activities Mentioned:
- Start of Class Check In: Blog Post / Google Slides / Google Form
I do this every day at the beginning of class! When we’re in person, I usually just use the slides, but every now and then the Form is a nice “break”. For distance learning, the Form is a nice option to allow the students to submit their check in individually. Some students share things in the Form they wouldn’t share in a whole class check in, so it’s a nice option! - Weekend Chat: Blog Post / Google Slides / Conversation Cards
I love weekend chat! I always do this on Mondays as a slow roll out of the past tense with my novices. Sometimes I include it Fridays, but it’s more often just a quick “Tell me something you’ll be doing this weekend!” as they are dismissed. - Special Person: Blog Post / Bryce Hedstrom’s page / Amy Marshall’s page / Will Langely’s page / Google Slides and handouts
What tips do you have to share?
How are you encouraging student connections in a virtual, distance, or hybrid setting? Are you finding anything in particular that works for you? Comment below!
