Hello everyone! I keep reading about a vast number of teachers feeling overwhelmed having to implement distance learning with such a limited amount of time to fully prepare. Although I do prefer to be in the classroom, I think we can make distance learning work for us and our students. In my previous posts, I’ve blogged about teachers needing the right tools for their students, but I forgot how we are still students in many ways. In education, we never stop learning or at least we shouldn’t.
Last summer, I was fortunate enough to experience teaching an online freshman English course. As a result, I was able to add to my teacher tool box. Now, I get to share an idea that I think will help everyone feel “connected” with their students.
I created five group chats via Google Hangouts. One for each of my classes using my school gmail account. While my students work on their computers or phones, they will see a green dot next to my profile picture, which indicates that I am online and available to help them. I plan to greet each class with a “good morning, I am here to help” as a friendly reminder that we are still “connected” despite distance learning and despite all the uncertainty surrounding us all.
Be well everyone. This too shall pass. Happy Tinkering!
Noemi Gonzalez 
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