I think I can speak for the entire Team Remote faculty when I say that we are excited to get started with the 2020-21 school year! The first day of "live" classes for most of our remote learners is Monday, September 14th. This includes all of our K-4 students, A-K middle level students, and 9th & 10th grade high school students. The first "live" day for L-Z middle level students and 11th & 12th grade high school students is Thursday, September 17th. Please note that there may be some exceptions to the schedule described above. Some senior courses, for example, are scheduled on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Daily Schedule
I have asked the teachers to reach out to you via email before the week is over to introduce themselves and and share information about how and when students are expected to connect with their virtual classrooms. Teachers will spend the first days and weeks of school getting to know their students and building a sense of community. As we settle in, teachers' instructional delivery will have more structure and more rigor than it did during last year's spring school closure.
For parents of students in grades 6 - 12, please refer to SchoolTool for your child's schedule. K-5 teachers will reach to you via email with their daily schedules. Students will be expected to check in with their teachers daily. On synchronous days, there will be live virtual meetings during regularly scheduled class periods. On asynchronous days, teachers may post something in Google Classroom, for example, for students to do independently. Any support you can provide at home in terms of helping your children develop routines will be much appreciated, especially when students are not required to attend synchronous virtual meetings with their teachers and classmates. Please see the links below for middle level and high school "bell schedules" for daily schedule information.
Technology
We anticipate that there will be some technology challenges. If there are problems with your school-issued Chromebooks or log in information, please contact the Technology Department at wgtechhelp@westgenesee.org. We also understand that parents may not be experts in using instructional technology tools. In traditional classrooms, teachers typically set aside time for students to learn how new tech-tools work before they are tasked with using the tools to demonstrate learning. Modeling new technologies for teachers and students, in fact, is one of the best parts of my "day job" as an Instructional Technology Coordinator. I always learn something new every time I work with students--they aren't afraid to click the buttons to see what they do!
Now that we are teaching and learning remotely, I put together an "Instructional Technology Survival Guide for Students and Families" to help you help your children. Check out the slide deck below for a brief overview of some of the instructional tech-tools teachers are likely leverage, including some "how-to" videos for each (Pro Tip: Click the "full screen" icon for a better view of the slide deck). One each slide, you will notice a few things:
- I am obsessed with using my bitmoji--it is part of my communication strategy as I share information with teachers, students, and the community. It is also a fun way to model effective strategies for teachers when they create remote learning materials for their students.
- Each slide has a brief overview of an instructional technology tool that teachers are likely to integrate into their instruction.
- In addition to a brief overview, you will also find an "explainer" video for each tool. Click the tool's logo on the Chromebook screen in my virtual classroom to view a video tutorial that demonstrates how to use the tool(s) from the student point of view.
- If you would like to reference the videos without scrolling through the slideshow, you can view them on a YouTube playlist.
