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Virtual Learning Tip: Virtual Class Jobs and Where in the World is...

By Jessica Winstanley

 


Last week I had the opportunity to attend the 2020 Learning Forward Conference. One of the sessions I attended (virtually, of course) was "Engagement by Design: The impact of relationships, clarity and challenge" with Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey. They shared amazing ideas and resources with the 300+ people attending. Below are two of my take-aways that focus on student engagement and building community.

VIRTUAL CLASS JOBS
Class jobs help build community and provide students an opportunity to demonstrate responsibility and feel valued in the class. Why not bring the idea of class jobs into the virtual environment? Having students take on the role of chat monitor, co-host, tech-support, DJ, or movement monitor can give them another reason to show up for your virtual class, engage in the Meet, and add to their sense of belonging. Below are a couple great examples of potential virtual class jobs.


WHERE IN THE WORLD IS...
Another activity to build community virtually and increase engagement is to play a class or school wide game of "Where in the World is...". The way this works is that a staff member takes a picture of themself in a mystery location. They then give clues everyday at the beginning of class of where the staff member was located. The kids that win get a reward at the end of the week!

What are some activities you have found engaging for your students? Post them in the comments.

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