Face to face

I love teaching. I really do. I moan about lack of time, pressures, admin but when the magic is happening I love it. I care so deeply for this bunch of learners already and we've only met face to face once. Anyone who says you can't build community online is welcome to come talk to my learners. We've found our flow. Asynchronous online is working a dream. Everyone is happy. But I can see December coming. An end of term mock looming. An end of topic test and a pre topic test are all on the horizon. Rapidly I set to make the department assessments online based. And then I stop. We will need to do these face to face for fear of....... CAG!

I'm not going to lie I still fear CAG 6 months on. And I had a very small part to play in CAG but the trauma was real. I think when I'm in my old age I will still be able to tell you the names of students I gave a high grade 3 to, knowing they wouldn't get their dreamed of 4. I know I was true and honest and evidence based but I am human. Someone who has studied all year didn't pass, they were unlikely to pass in an exam situation but this year it was me, I said they didn't pass, and that hurts. 

Exams are still happening at present. But we have now had CAG so we know we may have CAG again, anything is possible. We must assess face to face in controlled conditions for potential preparation for CAG. Regardless of CAG fear, that it is the departments decision that this is how assessments are to happen this year and the process is to be standardised. So I bring my learners in, all of them. We split across multiple rooms. In my head one room would do their calculator assessment, another would do their non calculator. When finished I would give each room their next paper calc or non calc. In another I was going to teach solving equations. Something that probably would work a lot better face to face than not. Maximising our opportunity. Me teaching area of 2D shapes face to face would have less of an impact than solving equations I felt.

I had a slide deck ready for the lesson. Some resources to work from. A card sort I had tweaked to be a matching activity so to reduce touching of materials. Ready to go. But I had one of those days, where every meeting takes 10 minutes longer than it should have. Colleagues wanted to chat to me as they hadn't seen me face to face in a while. The day ran away from me. Before I knew it it was lesson time. I went to plug my device in to share my slide deck on the board. There were no wires in the room. I went to print my resources out. There was no printing available. Thankfully the assessments were copied so they could go ahead but the algebra lesson, we'll, that is in real jeopardy!

The obvious solution is to assess all the learners. But I had staggered the groups over 2 weeks. Those who had arrived for algebra this week were anxious about their assessments and wanted another week to revise. Those who had arrived this week for the assessment wanted it over and done with and they would do algebra next week. I decided to test the water with a couple of learners who arrived 5 minutes early and said, ah well shall we not just do your assessment this week rather than algebra? One of them started hyperventilating. This wasn't going to fly as an idea. Stalling for time I started the assessments groups hoping an idea would spark for how to solve the impending car crash that was about to be my algebra lesson. 2.5 hours of free style chalk and talk here I come. 

I always start solving equations with a missing value picture puzzle. A grid of 3 symbols totalling values horizontally and vertically in various combinations. I drew one out on the board. I started to sweat checking I had my values correct. I drew smiley faces, sad faces and hearts as my icons. 3 smileys summed to 18, 2 smileys and a sad summed to 15 and so on. The learners loved it. I drew another and another including a negative value one. All were a hit. I then wrote the equations up. For example for the 3 smileys sum to 18 I wrote 3s=18 and using f for sad  face I wrote 2s + f =15. Then half the class freaked out. They can do it with pictures but not with letters. I laughed, this happens every year I tell them. I tell then that each letter becomes a picture or a shape for them in their mind. The letter is an unknown. A thing that we don't know the value of. Trust is regained and we crack on. 

I show them balance method and function machine method for solving equations. One learner turns to another and says, 'if it was like this in school I wouldnt be here now, this is gold' I am buzzing. I leave the room to swap assessment papers and safely hand out calculators, which is a lengthy process that I hadn't planned for. I return to my algebra group panicked that I have left them so long and the magic will have gone. I needn't have worried! The manager for the site is in there listening to the learners explain the function machine method with delight and passion. He is intrigued too! So I model another answer and I will try to capture it here now, but it needs a bit of theatre which is hard to convey via a blog but here goes:

7m + 4 =25

M gets on the bus, he is joined by 7 of his family.

M➡️x7

Then 4 of his mates get on the bus

M➡️x7➡️+4

The bus pulls into the bus station and they are at stand 25

M➡️x7➡️+4 = 25

They go round town then they want to go home. To get home they need to get the bus from stand 25.

The bus sets off and 4 of his mates get off first, then 7 family, what house number does m live at? 

? ⬅️ ÷7⬅️-4 = 25

Weve done no maths so far. All we did was write out the question long hand then the inverse underneath, now let's work this out. 

M=3

The manager is whooping so are the class. One learner is in tears that finally she can easily solve equations. We move on to brackets. Then unknowns on both sides. Followed by unknowns on both sides with brackets. I hand write a series of questions out. Praying that they will fall nicely as answers. I copy 7 sets out and give them 20 questions. Not enough but the best I could muster. I was doing a lot of the hard work this lesson but I couldn't see another way round with resources lacking as they were. I went to check in the assessment groups who had been supervised by colleagues in my absence. All were laughing at the cheering from the algebra group! Desperate for their turn for algebra next week! 

After 3 hours and a clean down I left happy with my lesson. The assessments are done for 2/3 of the class and we can catch the rest up next week. All my learners in my algebra group made progress. I would have liked them to do more practise but I will reflect on their homework productivity and see where the land lies then. I had great learner feedback from the algebra group to the manager. But also to my assessment supervising colleagues. One learner said, 'she's so funny, I bet she's singing about algebra to them! She's a right laugh! '

And that's the magic. The penny dropping moment when solving equations suddenly looks like a guess the value picture puzzle. The magic is when solving equations can be solved mentally whereas they would have been ignored previously. The magic is when you have tears of joy at algebra rather than tears of sadness. The magic is when learners shout about how much fun your lessons are. The magic is being there for your learners and building those relationships. 

2.5 hours of chalk and talk algebra is not something I want to repeat but I'm glad I did it! Is this magic more magical face to face than online? I would have taught it the same online and they would have done more practise but would I have felt the same magic? Probably less so due to us being asynchronous. Were we synchronous yes I would have felt the same magic I am sure. But do I need to feel the magic? My learners would still have felt the magic as all those moments would still have happened. Does my magic count?

I am being told from colleagues and from my PLN that it's so much harder teaching online. Yes it is as activities need more careful planning. Sequencing is more crucial and what you could have carried face to face in 3 leaps you need to take 5 baby steps with online. But that doesn't make face to face better, does it? Today I had no printer, no tech, Covid rules and regulations and it was stressful from start to finish. It can't be a poor man's narrative that teaching online is the poor relation to teaching face to face. There are pros and cons to both, but what I am excited about is that we haven't even begun to scratch the surface of the potential pros in teaching online

Teaching Online - Part 6 Asynchronous

This has been a long journey. The longest adaptation and reflection I have put into my teaching since, well, forever. It has been a labour of love progressing my ideas and helping my students. We didn't get it right every lesson, we have 'lost' teaching time in trying new things. Yet I am happy to have modelled for them, modelled learning, modelled critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaborated with them. So how does it look now? Now we have Google Forms using go to section based on answer (branching logic in Microsoft Forms) for each episode of the lesson. I record my teacher talk for each episode, input it into the form. Offer them an alternative video from YouTube, so that they have a choice. I offer them a short quiz on Study Maths or a quiz on Maths Kitchen. I give them another choice. They reflect against the learning intentions throughout the form and submit evidence of their work, screenshot via file upload. Each episode is in a Google Forms. All the episodes are housed in a single Hyperdoc. 

My first week of this approach I waited, I had to force myself not to peek to early at the form responses. Eventually I looked. I looked 2 days before the deadline and guess what, the majority had done the work! I was over the moon! All the individual episodes in the Google Forms pull into one Google Sheet, each one on a different tab.

 The sheet reads like a book, I eagerly turn the pages and switch tabs to see the progress happening in the lesson! I have conditionally formatted it so if a student indicates they need help it goes red. There are no red entries! I take the register early, I am only missing 1 students work, all but 1 have done the lesson 2 days before it is due. I look further, they all did it at different times. Some 7am workers, some 10pm workers, they are learning at their convenience, when it works for them. 

I have spoken before about the importance I placed on building community with this group of learners. This included a group chat on Google Chat, it could be a channel on Microsoft Teams. I dip in to see what's been in the chat over the weekend. And there it is, the community I helped create. There are questions about how to access some materials that another student has answered. I see questions about how to tackle the more challenging episode, a student has responded recommending the alternative video I included from YouTube. A student has asked how to put powers into their calculator, another student has replied with a picture annotated for them of what to press. They are collaborating, communicating and helping each other learn. My favourite part of the chat are the honest pleas that it is hard, maths is challenging, but that the group rallies to pick each other up and they are supportive. I recognise mine are a group of adults but they are very mixed in ages and the younger students are only 19, I believe I could replicate this to some degree with 16-18 learners.

Lesson day comes and I log on for the one to one's that students have booked with me. Overwhelmingly the feedback is positive about the asynchronous approach. I then move to the main meeting. I had scheduled 45 minute workshops on each of the episodes. There was the 1 student who hadn't done their work. I joined 2 minutes late and the realisation had already happened, they had missed my Google Chat messages, my Google Classroom posts and my emails all on the plan for the week. They were apologetic and we moved on. In the workshop I modelled examples and set questions via the chat, snipping parts of questions and pasting them into a Jamboard.

I am directly substituting that part of the lesson where I do board work and we collaboratively solve or I model a correct answer. That part of the lesson where learners have done some work, we've marked it and we have identified common misconceptions or common errors. The beauty of doing this online is that it takes a second to snip a question and paste it into the Jamboard (any whiteboard software would do, whiteboard.fi, classroom screen, zoom etc) in real life I am stood there for what feels like an age copying questions out onto the board, losing learning time and board space making my answer area smaller. Secondly I can quickly find a new set of questions either in my drive or online to apply what learners have covered in a new context. In real life there is a delay with this in the classroom. We are saving learning time now being online. Plus, and this is a big plus, I am not spending an age photocopying booklets. Winning on saving paper and winning on saving time. Those who need materials in yellow or green can easily and discreetly turn that on (noverlay is a great example in chrome) and when I find extra work or set different work to what was planned they are included.

I am now adding value. I am modelling. I am explaining. Learners are expanding answers, applying to new contexts. Helping each other with little hints and tips. I can stretch the learners on. Focusing on each episode for 45 minutes means that learners dip in and out. We have a lovely 2 minutes at the start of each workshop for those leaving and those arriving saying hi and bye. This isn't lost time, this is valuable community time. This is lovely for me to be part of. 

We are now 2 weeks in to this model. Learner feedback is overwhelmingly positive. All now prefer this asynchronous approach. All check in with me during the week, via email, hangouts chat or messages on Google Classroom. I don't ask for this, but they choose to let me know how it is going, which is beautiful. The workshops are attended by 3 regulars who are the weakest based on recent assessment data, I am pleased that without intervention from me they have chosen to stay close. Then the rest ebb and flow. Sometimes I have 8 in a workshop, sometimes I have 5. We wouldn't cover misconceptions with all of our learners every lesson, we would differentiate and target and I am pleased that this has naturally happened through this model. 

One to one's are consistently snapped up by different learners who need different things. I feared I would be repeating or modelling the same questions or topics across all the one to ones but this hasn't happened. I am taking this that the topics I have chosen to cover in the workshops have been appropriate. Now we are further on I have added in another workshop specifically called challenge workshop. In this workshop I move the learning on to the next level applying to new contexts. A specific example is when we were doing ratio the challenge workshop covered those no starting point questions that require a bit of algebra. These are the best attended sessions. The majority of learners come to these apart from my 3 who attend every session usually, because they feel it isn't right for them at this time to take on the challenge. I respect that awareness. 

I wanted to share some recent feedback from learners. 

"I'm having my tea whilst you do this, I'm OK with the topic but I got stuck on question 7 and I knew you would cover something like that tonight so I've dipped in and out, thanks I'm all sorted now" 

"See when you do it I'm alright but when I'm on my own I panic. I need this class and the doing work myself to make it sink in."

"I like to do it when you set it and then come along so I've had time to kind of forget it you know, then coming here I remember it and I get it more" 

"Honestly I hate ratio but now I get it, can't believe I've spent so long not doing it at work" 

"You just get it, it's hard fitting it all in with work and kids and you make it OK for me to do it when I can" 

"I couldn't do a proper class and be all shy and that, here I'm OK to say what I want to ask" 

There's so much in these quotes. The unintended application of retrieval practise. I hadn't planned that this would be an outcome. Yet the reality of me setting the work asynchronously and 6 days later hosting a workshop has naturally created that spaced practise and I am excited to look at this more. I knew the benefits of asynchronous for working parents would be huge but I wasn't expecting the safety of the smaller numbers. By offering optional workshops that learners self select the numbers are smaller meaning those who are usually less confident feel able to speak. This has huge power and potential for me to explore as a means for engaging reluctant learners and I am keen to evaluate this more. 

Yet this isn't all perfect. Massively I miss hearing from all of my learners and that control. I decide their learning and here I am handing huge chunks of that over to them to manage. I recognise that this is the future and it is the best approach for them, yet its new to me and I am learning to let go! 

The biggest drawback of this model is my time. I've gone from being a well organised experienced teacher with a bunch of lessons ready to go and therefore only light planning in face to face classes to this. And the time taken to plan for this cannot be underestimated. I have multiple channels of communication to manage. Learners are messaging on hangouts chat, on classroom, via email. They need replying to and there is an urge for me to drop what I'm doing to help and reply immediately, I am working on managing this better! The time to plan has been reduced somewhat now I can copy the forms I am using and the Hyperdoc and change the links each week, yet to make the videos for each episode takes time that cannot be cut down. A 15 minute learning episode takes 5 minutes of me talking for input, perhaps some editing, then curation of resources to go with that. The 15 minute episode takes 20-30 minutes to plan. The workshops need planning for too, granted not for input but curation of resources. Snipping of images. A 45 minute workshop is taking 10 minutes to plan. One to one's take time, they can't be cut. So in a week of 4 learning episodes I'm taking an hour to plan. Then 3 workshops is another 30 minutes planning. On top of that is the time for managing communications, let's assume 20 minutes over the week. The one to one's are 15 minutes each and I will do 4 of those, another hour. The delivery of the workshops, 3 lots of 45 minutes. We are at 60+30+20+60+45+45+45 we are at over 5 hours for what was once a 3 hour lesson face to face, which would have had minimal planning. That's before marking which would always be outside lesson time anyway. I love spending my 5 hours doing this weekly but is it sustainable long term? Yes if I am given the 5 hours to do it. 

I can see huge potential in this but it will rely on teachers being given the time to do so. Not just in terms of the 5 hours vs 3 hours a week but in terms of the journey I have been on. What works for me might not work for your class. That's the beauty fo teaching, trialling new ways and reflecting and adapting. We need to be trusted by managers to be given space to explore. 

This has been an amazing journey that I have enjoyed reflecting on here, I hope its showed that things don't always work, we need to reflect and adapt but that's why we love the job right? 

Teaching Maths Online Issue 5

 Synchronous vs Asynchronous

On our journey to become asynchronous we had another lockdown. Full on big style lockdown, the time pressure of this was now more real than before, we kind of knew we weren't physically going into the building but now it was definite. Although colleges remain open in the lockdown initially, my adults and I were an honest bunch and we all recognised we had seen the last of each other for a while. I was very grateful to have had them in for their mock previously. We needed to get this online learning working better and quicker.

Gathering all the feedback from my learners whilst balancing my own workload I began looking at tools we could use. (My workload for info, I am contracted to teach the class for 3.25 hours and the class is 3.25 hours so there is no planning time, marking time covered in the contracted hours, this is common in FE unfortunately.) I like Transum, Maths Kitchen, Study Maths, Mathsbot, YouTube videos, PearDeck, Nearpod, Edpuzzle, the list goes on. My learners particularly liked Transum, Maths Kitchen and Study Maths. Transum has levelled progression and the learners were capable and confident to drop down a level or jump up a level depending on how the task was going. They particularly like the check it button that self marks part way through the task. Maths Kitchen gives levelled progression and videos if you get stuck. Study Maths has quick 10 questions that change all the time and are instantly marked.

The hyperdoc concept had worked but to create a hyperdoc of all the videos, tasks for the vast amount of content that we cover in class it would be a booklet of hyperdocs in no time at all, defeating the object of it being a one stop shop hyperdoc. I wanted to give them choice over the tasks to complete, if they preferred Transum they could do that, or if they wanted a Maths Kitchen, I wanted to give them a choice. Likewise I wanted to give them a choice over which videos they watched, there would be one of me explaining the topic with my nuances but I wanted to give them another option, I didn't want them to get stuck at any point. I decided on Google Forms, the same theory applies to Microsoft Forms too. I used branching logic, or go to section based on answer to create a path for my learners through their asynchronous work. Much like my favourite choose your won ending books of my childhood the principles applied nicely here to Forms.

I began with writing the learning intentions and giving them the video of my explanation. I did this by pasting a link into the form text, in Google Forms unless it is a YouTube video it cannot be inserted. I didn't want my learners heading to YouTube and becoming more lost, they were staying with me on this form! 

If they were ready to practise, they would be taken to a choice of tasks to complete, if they wanted another video it took them to a YouTube video explaining the same topic. No matter what their route they all ended up at a final exam style question in the form and a self reflection score.

We trialled it synchronously first. We had 3 different topics to cover in our 3 hours. I inserted each of the Forms into one hyperdoc and wrote the timings on for each section. I ran one to ones with learners in those self study times. At the end I was exhausted, there was no difference for me, I still talked for 3 hours constantly be it in a group chat or a one to one. I gave them 45 minutes on each topic and we came back together for what was planned to be 15 minutes cover misconceptions chat but ended up just being a chat. The chat was fun. In the Form I also included a file upload question. Here the learners could upload a screenshot of their work on the task. This was less successful as many couldn't do screenshots so took photos on their phone and then sent them via our Hangouts messaging chat instead. Either way I still got evidence of how many correct they go in the task. So the chat time in the lesson became more about the technical features of the file upload section and by the third round of forms I had an almost 100% success rate of file uploads coming in.

At the end we chatted about how the lesson had gone, I am honest enough to say I am trying new things to help them and I need their feedback to decide on the next steps. Overwhelmingly this was their favourite lesson so far. We decided to make the switch to asynchronous from next lesson. (I best get some videos and forms made quickly!) The main feedback was they felt less pressure not being on a large call with all of us. They like the peer support but they all felt pressure. In the one to ones that I held this was expressed too, they didn't want to be the one with tab issues slowing people down. So that's it we are now trying asynchronous learning. 

3 forms with go to section based on answer enabled (branching logic in Microsoft forms) choice on video, choice on task, upload evidence of work, answer exam style question to assess, and give self evaluation score too. All pulling in to one Spreadsheet for me to analyse.

Easy done, never need to speak to them on a call again right? No! I have long been aware that the value of the teacher is in the explanations and tackling misconceptions not in delivering content. So in our 3 hour timed slot I will be available for one to ones for 45 minutes. Followed by 3 workshops all 45 minutes long. Where I will tackle misconceptions address errors, recap key points, the mini teaching we used to do in small groups in class. Sometimes I will invite learners specifically to come along. All have an opportunity to speak to me on a one to one basis, at present it is first booked first served. I would like this to be a rotation basis so that they all get time regularly. I am excited by this. I am excited by spending more quality time with my learners, at this moment I have no idea if it will work at all! Hope you're online teaching is going well.

teaching online - Issue 4

Synchronous vs Asynchronous

In class, as in face to face, I like to hold the learners hands a bit, in a non touching way! What I mean is, I give them choice but I guide them down a path I have planned for them. I recognise it in my teaching and have reflected on it lots. I struggle to define if it is my teaching style, my subject specific issues or teaching in further education specific. All my learners are resitters, do I know what's best for them? Probably? can I help them? definitely! Should I let go of their hands and give them more freedom? I wish I could but I can't!

Knowing this dilemma I ploughed into my online teaching in a synchronous manner. We sat online for 3 hours together doing maths. Little introduction chat, building community and connection. Retrieval practise task. Me give content input. Them do work. Reflections on that and check progress. Me do input, they do work etc etc. Openly admitting this may not be the best approach but it was successful in terms of progress of my learners. They progressed through the lesson like superstars. Did they enjoy themselves? Some did because of their success. (yes I asked them, I ask them a lot of questions to learn more about their experiences!) some didn't because it was exhausting. I get that, I was exhausted.

We synchronously worked together, timed tasks. Breakout rooms. Modelling of answers, misconceptions addressed, all whilst progressing through content after content. My subject is maths. It is content heavy. As a resitter in FE you sit what is designed as a 2 year course in 1 year. It is content heavy. My learners are adults. Whilst I have managed to support them in building community online, supporting each other online, we weren't all learning to our greatest potential. The 3 hours synchronous learning were tiring. 

I have waves of evidence of completed tasks, self reflections, assessment quiz scores, polls but it didn't feel right. I brought all of them physically in the building to sit a mock exam under exam conditions. Fear of CAG combined with an exercise in show what you know. I staggered start times to make sure I had 5-10 minutes with each of them before they began their exam. Each of them told me how much they were enjoying the course. How much they couldn't believe how well they were doing (even those that weren't which is lovely but concerning!) and I asked how does it feel in the class online. This is where feedback differed. Some loved it, some wanted more breakout rooms, some had huge wifi issues and hated breakout rooms. It was a real mixed bag of feedback. In my head we were always on a journey to learn asynchronously and meeting the learners confirmed this and accelerated the process.

I began drawing on all the tools, tricks and websites I knew of as to how best to deliver asynchronous learning for adults. The bit that my learners liked was my explanations of things, they made more sense than when they found a video online. This is feedback I have had before from previous classes who were face to face. Interestingly what I teach in content is no different to others. The tasks I set are exam booklets from Corbett maths or the old 1MA0 ones, again widely used and incredibly dull. The bit they like is the bit of me that I give in that connection, that relationship. Essentially they would say this about any teacher, because it is 'their' teacher the one that they listen to and work with. I saw it in school a lot, when teaching a split class they would side with one teacher over the other and the teacher that they preferred would hear all about how awful the other teacher was. The 'awful' teacher would get poor behaviour and the cycle would go on. Teaching online I was conscious of this and wanted to help my students stay with me and be connected to my teaching.

We trialled hyperdocs synchronously, aiming to be able to do them asynchronously in the future, a one stop shop where everything that they needed would be in one place. Amazing I thought, surely this couldn't go wrong. It did. Wifi issues meant tab management became an issue. Losing where the hyperdoc was because of too many tabs open was another issue. Wifi issues of being on a video call and having a hyperdoc open. The frustration from my learners was tangible but we laughed about it and we got through it. Some were frustrated at having to wait for others to sort their tabs out, some were frustrated at being left behind because they couldn't find their tabs! We talked through it at the end of the session and one learner said 'I need to be in a classroom, this isn't for me'. 

I paused and reflected and asked if we could talk later, the learner said yes and we did. In that chat I offered them a face to face class with another teacher. It was a flat no because I was 'their' teacher. I asked why they felt they needed to be in a classroom. They confided their lack of digital skills was worrying them. I was shocked. This learner had managed everything I had asked of them so far online but still they lacked confidence. We explored this further and their children were helping them online but also mocking them so they felt inadequate. Now I can't do much about kids mocking parents, mine do it! But that confidence part I can help with. I explained how pleased I was with their work so far and they were buzzing and retracted their comment and wanted to stay. 

I reflected on this and all the other parts of my teaching and spoke to my line manager. They said, same as younger students, adults just need to know they are doing OK once in a while too. They were right. I needed to build in more opportunities for little chats with me in traditional lesson time. If I am delivering content this can't happen as well, I need to make the shift to asynchronous, even though some say they feel they are not ready!

Teaching maths online - Issue 3

Issue 3 - they're all the way over there and I want to tell them it will all be OK.

I knew the power of the teacher was in the conversations with students, that connection. That's why I spent so long building it early doors now online. But I forgot how much I would miss the little quiet work nudges, the are you OK chats, the shall we go for a walk to talk this through at break? I teach adults and that means adult issues of finances, childcare, families, and everything else in between comes to class at the front of their mind. I think this applies to school children too as when I worked in schools I would have the same conversations about family difficulties, financial strains and unfortunately sibling childcare issues. The unfairness of that can be unpicked later, it is too important to be scantily included here.

Issue 3 then is missing the opportunity to talk through all of this. Help students move past it or at least park it temporarily whilst we are in class. I've built community, we are connected, but I'm still disconnected in that we can't have a private chat. Breakout rooms are the natural solution but how to do this? First if you don't have a license for premium breakout rooms how do you create them? Second how do you invite students and ensure they come with you? Third what do the rest of them do whilst you're away?

Initially we didn't have premium breakout rooms, they didn't exist. So I created 2 Google Meets in my calendar. Whatever platform you use, zoom, Teams, Skype the principal is the same. 2 concurrent meetings in my calendar, one called class and one called breakout room. I always join on 2 devices, my phone and a chromebook. The phone then gives me an opportunity to open a touch screen device to model on. I would hang up from the class meet, leaving my chromebook connected so that I could keep and eye. Then I would join the breakout room meet on my phone and talk to students or model or share on that. Then hang up on my phone and rejoin the main meeting again with a second device. The second device allows me to check the chat when sharing my screen live and is also handy for letting students in if I'm presenting. And I'm terrified something will go wrong so I always have a second device as back up.

How do I get students to come with me to the breakout? Initially I offered those who were struggling and naturally a small group came over. Quickly they left me to go back to the main room as one re phrase of how I would tackle the problem was all they needed to move oast their blocker and carry on with the task. I also trialled, if you rated yourself as a 1 on the progress check can we have a quick chat and go through some more examples in the breakout room. That worked too. But I really wanted to talk to 1 person, I could see they were struggling, I wanted them to come, how do I get them to come? Ultimately I asked them, I sent them a private message asking them to join me. They were in such torment at their workings out that they missed my message. So I asked them to come on the main class meet. You seem to be having a tough time shall we go have a chat? No one was more or less embarrassed than if we were physically in the class and I made a bee line for someone and didn't leave their side for a while. I was embarrassed at asking but actually I wouldn't ask if they wanted my help in a physical classroom I would hover and assist. Being online had made me more nervous than I needed to be.

What will the rest of them be doing when you're in a breakout room? Well I kept my chromebook connected and I answered questions in the chat. The what are we meant to be doing? How long do we have? But because of the community I had built the others often responded before me! Timings and timers are key I have learnt so before I leave for the breakout room I pop in the chat the task they should be working on, what time they have until and the breakout meet link if they want to come join me. Simple but helps remind them.

Teaching online isn't perfect I'm still missing seeing their working out. Trialling equatio, trialling pictures of work, I will keep you posted how I am getting on! Hoping your adventures in online teaching are going well SJ