Online Classrooms

How to set up Virtual Classrooms?

How to implement Virtual Classrooms?

Education Consultant @ C3
How to set up a Virtual Classroom, explained in detailed steps?

As the world readjusts to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re all establishing new ways of working for the foreseeable future. Virtual classrooms can be easy to set up, depending on how minimal you want to be with your online teaching presence.Before we get going with the implementation of Virtual Classrooms, lets understand how does it benefit Educators like you. The goal of a virtual classroom is to get students to be active learners in an online classroom and to let them “invent” their own knowledge. As students take more control of their learning, they develop the skills necessary to go on and be successful lifelong learners.

What is studio teaching?

Studio teaching is an approach to teaching that can be used to replace the standard lecture approach. It is based on sound pedagogical principles, is very flexible and leads to superior learning in most instances.

Why is this good pedagogy?

  • Studio classrooms provide a dynamic learning environment where students and instructors work as partners to promote learning
  • Active learning, including cooperative learning and group activities, is the most efficient way to promote student learning, and especially to develop higher order thinking skills.
  • While actively engaged, students develop good habits of the mind and the skills needed to be successful lifelong learners.
  • Studio teaching engages students
  • Studio classrooms are ideal for helping students think about their learning and develop better lifelong learning skills.

What are the components required to build a Studio Classroom?

  • An Interactive Flat Panel Display (65” Diagonal Minimum)
  • A Robust Interactive teaching learning software (Myviewboard Learning Software) which can help the teachers to connect with students over the internet and share the lesson content in a virtual classroom mode.
  • A good Video recording Camera (These days any SMARTPhone camera comes with a minimum 20 Megapixels Lens)
  • A Tripod
  • A Microphone (wired or wireless)
  • A Computer (Desktop or Laptop)

What do students think about studio classrooms?

  • Students are more engaged in a collaborative live class, when they find out they can attend a class and participate in the class activities as they would be in a physical classroom
  • All students report they put in more time in an interactive live class than in a video shared class.
  • Most students, however, do catch on and in the end say that they learn more and have more fun in a studio classroom.

Studio Classrooms are becoming widely accepted by Teachers and Education authorities, as it allows the teachers to teach lessons in their natural way and be able to interact & Collaborate with their students. For the students, it gives them the opportunity to attend the class very similar to their regular classes and able to interact, collaborate and participate in the lesson activities in a virtual LIVE class. At the same time, the teachers will be able to record their entire class teaching and post it to Google Classroom or similar LMS for reinforcement, student discussions and assignments.

Traditional education won’t go away, but as the years roll on, the importance (and impact) of virtual classrooms will be more and more noticeable. They create completely new possibilities and connect people on a deeper, more meaningful level, which is extremely useful in the world of education. With the growing consumption of online content through mobile phones, faster and further reaching internet connections and new, unknown technology, we will see exciting developments in education. One thing is absolutely clear, though: virtual classrooms are here to stay and we should use them to their full potential.

Our Virtual Classrooms, powered by Interactive Flat Panel Display and Virtual Classroom Software, are available to rent under various agreements to suit your needs. You may need to run an hour’s training for a small group or a whole week’s worth of training for a larger group.Fully supported by us from a technology perspective, this is your next best option to face to face training.

We are the supplier of state of the art virtual classroom infrastructure for some of the biggest Education Institutions in South India, for over 10 years. To Learn more about Studio Classrooms and how Education Institutions like yours, have been benefited in the recent times, connect with our Education Technology Consultants on this link.

Active learning strategies for teachersa

The Next Big Thing in Student Engagement

Education Consultant @ C3

As a teacher, one of your biggest challenges is to plan lessons that inspire your students to stay actively involved in the learning process.But you’ve probably noticed that traditional, teacher-centered learning plans aren’t always conducive to achieving that inspiration.That’s where active learning strategies come into play. You can use them to empower, engage, and stimulate a classroom by putting students at the center of the learning process.Get inspired by the below mentioned strategies that will help students talk more openly, think more creatively and ultimately become more engaged in the process of learning.

Reciprocal questioning

Use reciprocal questioning to encourage an open dialogue in which students take on the role of the teacher and create their own questions about a topic, reading section, or lesson.

active-learning-research

After covering a topic of your choice in class — or after assigning a reading selection — divide the class into pairs or small groups and have students come up with a few questions for discussion with the rest of the class. To facilitate the process, you can provide students with “question stems,” which provide a foundation for a question but still require students to think critically about a lesson, text, or other section of material by completing the query. Consider the examples below.

Comprehension Question StemsConnector Question Stems
Describe x in your own words. What does y mean? Why is z important? How could x be used to y?Explain how x and why z. In what ways are x and y similar? In what ways are x and y different? How does x tie in with that we learned before?

Use these questions to anchor and explore concepts in course material, helping students investigate a range of new topics and points of view associated with your lesson.

Reciprocal questioning can be particularly useful when:

  • Preparing for tests or exams
  • Introducing a new topic or section of course content
  • Discussing reading or writing materials in greater detail

The pause procedure

Use the pause procedure to intersperse strategic pauses into your Online class lectures and enhance student understanding of teaching materials.

To use the pause procedure, arrange for pauses of two to three minutes between every 10 to 15 minutes of online lecture time.  During these brief breaks, encourage students to discuss or rework their notes in pairs to clarify key points covered, raise questions, and solve problems posed by the instructor.Alternatively, students can work together to write a paragraph that connects or highlights key ideas set out in their partner’s notes. Research on this topic, concluded that breaking a lecture into brief pauses can increase student attention and learning outcomes. The pause procedure, the study determined, is “a good active learning strategy which helps students review their notes, reflect on them, discuss and explain the key ideas with their partners.”The use of the pause procedure involves a minimal amount of extra time, but can confer significant benefits in comparison to lectures that continue without breaks.

To help teachers achieve this strategy, we are offering myviewboard virtual classroom teaching learning software for free during this pandemic. You may choose to apply for your Institution by clicking this link.

Game-based learning platforms

Game-based learning platforms add depth and differentiation to the educational process and allow students to work with their instructors to achieve their learning objectives.

Regardless of your audience or subject matter, the gamification of learning can help you to create exciting, educational, and entertaining content in your Online Classrooms. It’s not meant to turn work into a game, but it does play on the psychology that drives human engagement.

Take yourself back to the days when you “played out” in the street with childhood friends. Each game you played presented a challenge but you were driven by the promise of reward and perhaps a little gentle fear. The reward meant everything to you and in spite of the challenge and fear, you felt compelled to win.

Gamification in e-learning offers the opportunity for learners to engage with content in an effective, informal learning environment. If learners get excited about learning, they are more likely to retain information. Some of the tools that you may want to incorporate into your classrooms are listed below.

To learn more about Active learning strategies, do write to our Education Consultants at training@c3itxperts.com or Click here to connect with you at your convenience.

Engaged Learning Tips for Teachers

Teachings Tips for an Engaged Learning Environment

Education Consultant @ C3
Engaged learning, tips for teachers on how to arouse students curiosity

As we move towards student-focused and process-based approaches to teaching, we give our students ownership of their own learning. During our efforts to shift our focus from teaching to learning, it’s important to think about how we’re designing opportunities for students to develop skills and achieve specific goals. Consider this quote from Albert Einstein:

“I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”

What are the “conditions” that will foster learning in our classrooms? While teachers don’t have control over all the conditions that will impact students, they do have tremendous influence over things like the use of classroom space, allotted time for each activity, and the materials they use. Less obvious, but extremely important to the quality of the learning environment, is the way in which the teacher and students relate to one another.

There should be one critical goal behind figuring out how all these factors come together in your classroom: stimulating curiosity in your students.

Curiosity can be characterized as a heightened state of interest and eagerness to learn that results in excitement and exploration. Studies show that curiosity is essential to learning, and that people learn more and better when they are curious.

Promote a spirit of inquiry in the classroom where every student can follow their curiosities:

The next consideration should be that each question is acknowledged. Not every student is eager to raise his or her hand in the classroom. Children who are more reserved, or need more time to ponder, benefit from alternative ways to communicate what they are thinking.

I can remember an example of this type of situation from my own childhood. I was in seventh grade during a whole-class lesson about the respiratory system, and, at the end, the teacher asked if anyone had any questions. I remember that I wanted to know what causes hiccups. But by the time I had formed this thought, there was no more time for questions, and I was not able to ask the teacher. How funny that this missed opportunity stuck with me all these years.

As I think back now, as an Education Consultant, what if the teacher had allotted time at the end of the period for every student to write on a piece of paper something interesting that was learned in class, and something they were still curious about? If this happened today, it would be referred to as an exit ticket, which is now considered an excellent assessment tool.

Today, the teacher could have a Google Form for each student to fill out, or a digital space online, such as on Padlet or Google Classroom, to post to. 

Technology also offers a vehicle for student discovery when students have the chance to research questions on their own. 

Student-driven, inquiry-based learning takes place in a classroom environment where students are encouraged to not only develop their own questions, but also be able to lead their own investigations.

Build anticipation for what’s to come:

Part of the joy of being an educator is stimulating an excitement for learning in young people. When students look forward to activities in the classroom, and find pleasure in learning experiences, our work is supremely rewarding! Many teachers incorporate “hooks,” such as compelling video clips, thought-provoking statements, and other surprising and novel ways to captivate their students.

Teachers can also use technology to arouse student curiosity about an upcoming study or project. Teachers can send intriguing clues, fascinating facts, and links to webpages and videos that help to build interest in upcoming class activities.

How do you arouse your students’ curiosities and provide opportunities for them to question, explore, discover and create their own pathways for learning? Share your thoughts at training@c3itxperts.com 

To Learn more about inquiry based learning connect with Ed Tech Consultants on this Link.  

Google Classroom & G Suite logo

Guide to Google Classroom

Education Consultant @ C3

Schools around the world are quickly adopting G Suite for Education because the benefits of doing so, including ease of collaboration, impact on literacy rates, and ease of use across all devices, greatly outweigh the hardships faced rolling it out and growing its adoption.

We’re here to help . Ensuring the success of your G Suite implementation may be challenging, but it’s possible. It takes planning, nurturing, and hard work. But the results, improved communication, and efficiency are worth it. So roll up your sleeves and get ready to work. 

Sometimes the hardest part of a process is the beginning, especially when embarking on a major change like a G Suite implementation. Most teachers are set in their ways and getting them to adapt to something new can be difficult. 

Google describes Google Classroom as “mission control for your classroom,” and this might be the easiest way to think about it. Simply put, it’s a platform that ties together Google’s G Suite tools for teachers and students. It also acts as a digital organiser where teachers can keep class materials and share them with students — all paperless-ly. 

How do teachers use Google Classroom?

Because it’s a fairly flexible platform, educators use its features in a lot of different ways. With Google Classroom, teachers can:

  • Streamline how they manage classes. The platform integrates with Google’s other tools like Docs, Drive, and Calendar, so there are lots of built-in “shortcuts” for classroom-management tasks. For example, if you post an assignment with a due date, it’s automatically added to the class calendar for your students to see.
     
  • Digitally organize, distribute, and collect assignments, course materials, and student work. Teachers can also post an assignment to multiple classes or modify and reuse assignments from year to year. If your students have regular access to devices, Google Classroom can help you avoid some trips to the photocopier and cut down on some of the paper shuffling that comes with teaching and learning.
     
  • Communicate with students about their classwork. You can use the platform to post announcements and reminders about assignments, and it’s easy to see who has or hasn’t completed their work. You can also check in with individual students privately, answer their questions, and offer support.
     
  • Give students timely feedback on their assignments and assessments. Within Google Classroom, it’s possible to use Google Forms to create and share quizzes that are automatically graded as students turn them in. You’ll not only spend less time grading, but your students will get instant feedback on their work.

How do I set up my Google Classroom?

The basic setup process for Google Classroom is pretty intuitive, even for first-time users.

Get signed in

  1. Head to classroom.google.com
  2. Sign in with your gmail address

Set up a class

  1. Select the + sign in the upper right corner, then select “Create Class.”
  2. Fill in details for your class

Add students by email, or give them a code.

  1. Select “invite students” to enter in their email addresses…
  2. …or let students join by using your own unique code

Create an assignment

  1. Hover over the + sign and select “Create Assignment.”
  2. Fill in the assignments details, including a due date.

Add materials…

  1. Attach relevant documents, materials or links.
  2. (Optional) make copies of the attachments.

…and assign to students

  1. Select the assign button to share to students

Let students get to work

  • Student submissions are already organized

Add grades

  1. Grade your students’ assignments

Share feedback with students

  1. Select the “Return” button to return assignments
  2. Provide personalized feedback

To make learning with digital content more dynamic for students, consider mixing up the types of resources you share with them in Google Classroom. In addition to G Suite tools like Google Docs and Google Slides, teachers and students can share other types of media, including images, links to websites, YouTube videos, and screencasts. Some teachers even give students a variety of options for submitting their work within Google Classroom. For example, you might offer students the choice to respond to a reading assignment with a comment, video clip, or drawing that shows their thinking.

Google Classroom is a free platform that allows teachers to collaborate with their students and incorporate the 21st century learning skills into their online classrooms.

If you would like to know more about Google Classroom, you may connect with our Google Certified Educators & we will be more than happy to help you kick start your Google Classroom.

Connected Learners in Online Classroom

Choosing the Right Tools to improve learning outcomes through PBL.

Education Consultant @ C3

For the past 3 months, teachers like you are facing a lot of challenges in planning Lesson instructions and making transitions from our classrooms into the virtual learning space. For most, the difficulty was in deciding what tools and strategies to use and knowing whether students had access to devices or their class materials. In this blog, I wanted to provide meaningful and authentic opportunities that would enable all students to engage in learning, while being mindful of individual circumstances that may have made that difficult at times. We know there is definitely not a shortage of digital tools and options available to us as educators for expanding the how, when and where students learn, however there are a few important things we need to consider, not just now, but always.

As we look to the new school year, with many unknowns when it comes to where learning will take place, we should focus on these considerations first, when thinking about the types of lessons and opportunities we will choose and design for our students.

First, what access do our students and their families need and what do they have? Second, are we using digital tools in our classroom that families will be able to help support students if they must learn from home? And third, what types of learning experiences can we create for our students that enable us to work together even when apart? Experiences that promote student choice in learning, leveraging technology where it makes sense, while also making sure that we can support and involve families are good options.

Choose a method not a tool

With school closures, it was an opportunity to try new ideas and tools, or perhaps to bring back some methods that we got away from. Project-based learning (PBL) is something that We believe worked well during this time, regardless of content area, grade level, or teacher experience with PBL in the classroom. I also believe that it will allow for smoother transitions in the event we have to shift throughout the upcoming school year.

PBL is “a teaching method in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects.” PBL is an iterative process requiring reflection, which makes it a good method to guide students to become more independent learners and to develop a greater motivation for learning. Through PBL, we help students to focus on the process of learning itself and not on a final product that serves as an end to a unit of study and is forgotten.

With PBL, the learning space itself does not matter, it simply requires that we set up guidelines and work through the challenges that may arise as we go. PBL gives students the opportunity to explore their passions, design their own problems or challenges, and have the time to focus more on the process rather than the product of learning. To best prepare students for the future and for navigating what may be a constantly changing look of school this year, we need to offer experiences which promote curiosity, independent learning, and working through productive struggle. PBL is good for this and is also a great option for addressing the 4 C’s: critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity.

Tools for PBL

Moving beyond the traditional classroom time and place is easier with technology, and it only takes that first step to begin creating these opportunities for students. In my classroom, we leveraged some digital tools for students to explore global issues and broaden their cultural awareness and global understanding, which led to more meaningful and authentic learning experiences for them. The use of digital tools to connect with other students, educators and experts adds to the authenticity and meaningfulness of the work they are doing.

Through PBL, I have been able to learn more about my students and their interests and to become a learner along with them. While in the physical classroom space, PBL promotes the development of SEL (Social Emotional Learning) skills, students also become better at collaborating and providing ongoing feedback and support to their peers. However, when not in the  same physical space, we need to find ways to foster the development of these same skills.

Tools that we can use:

1.Ideas for PBL: Students can find ideas on Wonderopolis that promote curiosity for learning about new ideas and challenges. With platforms like Thrively, educators and students have access to a project library of standards-aligned projects, including rubrics and resources such as documents, videos, and website links, making it easy to get started with a ready-made project or to start from scratch. With the tools available, students can work in real-time with classmates and teachers through the collaboration feed and also build digital portfolios to track their work.

2. Collaborative spaces: Padlet, Wakelet, Trello, LMS such as Google Classroom, Edmodo. With these options, students can work together and interact in the virtual space and will help with the transitions we may need to make in this school year. The use of tools such as these also enables students to share their work with a larger audience, bringing in opportunities for global collaboration through these platforms.

3. Providing feedback: Being able to give students timely and authentic feedback is critical for learning. It is also important that our students be able to provide peer feedback and develop their skills of communicating and collaborating with their classmates. Some of the tools that help this give students the opportunity to build confidence in learning and be able to share through voice or video or combination are Flipgrid, Synth, Anchor, and Kialo. With Flipgrid, educators can even explore topics in the Disco Library for students to use as a  PBL focus and with the  features, students have many options for sharing their learning. Through Kialo, students have a space to ask questions, engage in discussions and exchange ideas.

4. Backchannel discussions: Having a space where students can continue to share their ideas beyond the class period is important. Using digital tools for backchannel discussions not only removes the time and space limitations on conversations but also helps students to build essential digital citizenships skills as well. Some tools that are easy to get started with are Backchannelchat, Padlet, YO teach! Each of these promote asynchronous as well as synchronous conversations and are good for promoting communication during the learning  process.

5. Products of learning: It is important for students to have choices when it comes to sharing what they have learned, especially for creating something to share with a public audience. Leveraging some of the different digital options out there will give students choices such as blogs, infographics, podcasts, videos, and interactive, multimedia class presentations. Students can create a multimedia presentation using Buncee and then all students can share their work on a Buncee board, with the ability to comment and give feedback. Using a tool like Nearpod, students can include additional content such as virtual trips, polls, collaborative discussion boards and more. With options such as WeVideo or even Screencastify,  students can create a video to share what they have learned and use their work as a teachable resource for others.

6. Reflections, revisions and project workflow: It is also important to provide students with a space to work through the different phases of PBL and develop a system for project management and working through feedback.  The use of tools like Google Forms to submit ideas, voice recordings within Google documents or Microsoft OneNote are quite helpful. In addition to these, there are larger platforms available for an all–in-one PBL work. Headrush is a PBL management system that enables teachers to provide a space for students to design their learning journey. Through Headrush, students have access to task boards, to-do lists, and can create a digital portfolio full of artifacts of their PBL work. Teachers can provide ongoing feedback for students and keep the discussion going regardless of where learning is happening.

It is all about having choices. Promoting student choice and voice through PBL and leveraging the digital tools available will engage students in more authentic and personalized learning experiences regardless of where learning is actually taking place.

Viewsonic Touch Screen Monitor for Online Classrooms

How to Set Up an Online Classroom from Home?

Education Consultant @ C3

To effectively teach from home, it’s important to have the right equipment available. At a minimum, one would need the following equipments to set up an Online Classroom:

  • A computer (Laptop or Desktop)
  • A reliable Internet connection
  • A second display (preferably a touchscreen monitor)
  • A microphone and camera for live teaching and/or recording

These really represent the minimum for effective teaching from home. A drawing pad might replace a touchscreen, or a tablet could also do the trick. Or your laptop’s built-in camera and mic might be sufficient. Some teachers opt for an analog whiteboard in the frame and teach the lesson much like normal. 

What’s more important is the availability of the screen size to display the lesson content and Videos of your students.

Why Dual Displays for Teaching at Home?

Many of the Online Classroom tools will require quite a lot of screen space to properly organize communications. They will include both a presentation space and a student-teacher interaction space. It’s a huge waste of time constantly switching between the two on a single screen. 

And because of the availability of digital whiteboarding software like Google Jamboard / Microsoft Whiteboard / Viewsonic Myviewboard, we do recommend that one of those screens be a full-sized touch monitor. This way, you can make a more natural transition from the large classroom display to teaching online.

Distance Teaching Learning with myViewBoard

It’s worth noting, however, that the two screens don’t need to be the same size, so a monitor along with an existing laptop is plenty to make full use of modern tools. It’s more about having the extra space and not flipping between different views. 

Again Why a Touch Screen?

Front-of-class display have been in place for centuries from blackboards and whiteboards to projectors and interactive flat-panel displays. It’s undeniably helpful to have a large, central display that the teacher can interact with directly. 

However, few people have the space in their homes to devote to a full-sized display – analog or digital. And the portable versions of touch screens like smartphones, tablets, or even portable monitors aren’t big enough to properly annotate or write notes. A touchscreen monitor acts as an excellent middle ground for teachers wanting to teach from home without breaking their flow. 

Teachers like you have been using the Touch Monitor during the pandemic to teach their students online. It gives them the additional space to annotate, interact and work on their lessons, as they would do in a physical classrooms.

To know more about Touch screen monitors and their benefits, connect with our Education technology consultants at training@c3itxperts.com or click this link.