Submitting grades

Hooray!  This wacky semester of having to work from home is over!  I submitted all my grades and can now look back on the semester with the relief that I survived it.

Challenges this semester (before Spring Break):

2 of my sections switched to Hybrid.  I didn't really think through what Hybrid teaching was.  No one gave me a book or even a word of warning.  I asked a colleague for advice and he gave me some great tips.  I took the time to make "prep quizzes" in Canvas for each new concept that was assigned before each class.  They were very short quizzes that assessed if the students did the learning activity before class.  Not a huge success, but a good starting point.

I naively thought that when I explained to the students that the expectation was to do assigned work before class they would do it as opposed to just listening to me explain each concept.  Many did, others didn't.  Even more didn't do the assigned practice activities (homework).  I have a plan to address this issue in the future, but it's still a frustration.  Grades would have been higher if students would have done more homework assignments.

For that section, I gave fewer As and more Cs than normal.  I know grades aren't a true measure of success for a class (especially not this semester) but I still feel disappointed.

Switching textbooks.  I inherited Cengage and overall have been happy with it.  I love the videos and cultural elements.  However, students were very confused when they tried to find the homework online.  Not good.  I explained, took screen shots, posted videos and did everything short of standing on my head.  Still not good.  I've accepted the fact that when there are roadblocks to an already challenging task many will just throw up their hands and give up.  Some will work through the road blocks, but many won't.

When I saw Connect which is McGraw-Hill's Spanish curriculum, I was thrilled.  The roadblocks that are tripping up my current sections are not an issue here.  With careful planning on my part I can set up the site for a much easier and successful student experience.  I hope.

It irritates me when technology gets in the way of learning.  I'm a teacher;  I'm not a web designer.  I'm not an expert in how to make navigating the website easier.  I've had to learn to accept that this is now part of the job and I'm learning.  It just frustrates me that I haven't been better prepared for the tasks of this job and students have paid the price.

Challenges after Spring Break:

Not working from my office.  My internet access at home is spotty and I have to share with 3 tween boys and my husband.  It's been rough.  I also really, really like the coffee at work.  I actually ordered the flavored coffee from the same place in Oklahoma City:  Neighbor's Coffee.  So worth the shipping.

Making lots of videos.  I don't mind making videos because I definitely see the value, but doing the CC is time consuming, especially when I switch from English to Spanish.  Also, since I'm switching curriculum I knew these videos wouldn't really serve again in the future.  However, I made a video channel on Screencastomatic so if future students want to see those videos, they are all labeled by concept.  I laugh at the ad on TV that says their online classes are "binge-worthy."  My channel is not what I call binge-worthy, but those videos can still serve students who will look for them.

Having to be mom while working.  Yuck.  When my 3 boys were little I stayed home full-time.  I'm so glad I did.  They are twins and a second one who thinks he's a triplet.  (He's almost 2 years younger).  When they needed my attention I could give it.  I enjoyed the role of being a mom full-time.  I then went part-time for a while which was good.  I was able to work while they were in the care of others (thank the Lord for public school) and I could focus on working.  I'm one of those workers who needs silence and complete focus.  I don't multi-task.  I focus, get the task accomplished and then take a break.  That's been hard with my yahoo kids running around.  I have to admit I'm very, very fortunate that our school district assigned assignments that my boys could do with very little guidance from me.  If such wasn't the case it would have been awful.

Successes from the stay-in-place:

Empathy.  I heard many sad stories from students and took the time to empathize and reassure them.  I was reminded that I'm in a place of authority in their lives and I need to use that power to speak life and encouragement whenever I can.

Adios emails.  At the end of the semester I sent each student an individual email telling him/her the final grade in class, telling him/her that all work was complete and graded and congratulating him/her on a job well done.  I had never done this before but I will in the future.  Many responded back with heartfelt and thoughtful thanks.  I was humbled by how many took the time to say thanks and validate the hard work I put in this semester.

Second chance assignments.  When we moved all online I offered that students could name 6 homework assignments they wanted to redo.  I would reopen them and they would have 6 days to make them up.  Many students took advantage of this and it raised averages.  I could rest better knowing I made this available.

Projects.  I assigned projects and they were an enormous success.  I can see ways to make them better in the future, but making an "All about me" project to "show and tell" what they learned this semester was fantastic.  Students loved the creativity, ability to chose the type of project and I loved giving them an "easy win" instead of worrying about a final taken online, timed.