What a crazy few weeks in the world, right?

Who would have thought that we’d be facing widespread school closures and the sudden need to move everything online in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic? It’s all happened fairly quickly — we had just a few days notice here — so I think I speak for all of us when I say we’re still figuring this thing out.

If you’re technologically savvy and have been using technology in your teaching already, it may not feel like that big a jump, but for those who are new to all this, there’s quite a lot to learn and figure out to ensure a smooth, effective learning experience for your students. What platform is best? What kind of activities lend themselves to online learning? What equipment do you need? How do you make it interactive?

These are all questions I’ve seen in Facebook groups the past few weeks and questions I’ve asked myself as I’ve set up a home studio. This is my third week of teaching solely online and I feel like I’m starting to get the hang of it, so I thought I’d share the top six things I’ve learned so far.

For show notes, click here.

Resources mentioned:

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through some of these links.

Zoom - free video-chat software (40-minute limit for groups of three or more on the Basic plan, waived right now for K-12 educators)

Blue Yeti Microphone- my all-time favorite microphone for recording directly into my MacBook. I use it for recording spoken directions as well as playing demonstrations.

Google Drive - free digital file-storage system (documents, spreadsheets, video files, images, audio files, forms, slides) for anyone with a Google account

Google Slides - a free, cloud-based tool for creating presentations, slide decks, and other visuals

Brit & Co. - free art, lettering, photography, business, and design courses with code “selfcare” (through 3/31)

Marco Polo app - a free video-messaging mobile app