I want to say before you take a look at this post that I am not suggesting that you have to reinvent the wheel.  If you already have a plan in place or have no idea how to use Flipgrid and find this confusing or difficult, please know that I completely understand.  I just know that Flipgrid is a tool that is used in SO MANY classrooms.  Because it is familiar to so many, I just thought this idea might help those getting started.

So, I know that I said that I probably wouldn't post again but I'm awake, the kids are asleep, it's quiet, and I have to do something.  That being said, I was really thinking late last night how beneficial it might be to design weekly learning experiences using Flipgrid.  

You might be thinking that your students need a lot more that WEEKLY learning experiences.  How will you cover all of the content?  Will that keep them busy each day?  A weekly learning experience is so different than what school has looked like for them in the past.  All of those things are great points and my response is this.  No, you won't cover all of the content.  No, it won't keep them busy all week and yes, it is very different than what school has looked like in the past.  But, let's be honest.  This IS different.  Trying to make this experience look like a traditional school day simply will not work.

Our learners are not just home for the sake of being home.  We have to consider the fear, anxiety, and uncertainty that is gripping most families right now.  Learning experiences should be fun rather than stressful, engaging rather than driven by compliance, and should above all, empower learners to drive their own learning as they make important connections.

Please welcome Flipgrid to the stage.  I think it's a great idea to create a Learning from Home Grid with topics for each week.  Let me explain...

Choose a theme or big idea for students to explore.  Create a topic resource that is important for them to access before diving into additional content.  That topic resource might be a video from you explaining what you would like for them to do, an article that need them all to read so that they have background knowledge before moving forward, or a Khan Academy lesson that you'd like them to experience.  This will be the "main event", if you will.

After you've decided what the topic resource will be, take some time to find several supporting experiences that you can include as topic attachments.  This is where learners will be given the opportunity to own the learning.  Encourage them to choose 3-4 additional topic attachments to explore throughout the week.

Finally, ask your learners to share a video within the topic to reflect on what they learned that week.  This will be an opportunity to document their learning and collaborate with each other during this difficult time.  As the teacher, you can respond to their reflections, ask clarifying questions, and help them make real connections.  

This is just an idea to be considered as we try to figure all of this out.  I don't know if this will work for you, your campus, or your district.  I do know that expecting learners to complete the same amount of work that they would complete in the classroom just isn't an option right now and I think it's important to consider alternative solutions.

Thank you so much for the work that you've done, the work that you are doing, and the work that we will all continue to do.  I pray that you know how appreciated you are and how important your role is during this difficult time.  I hope this helps and makes sense.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at mcnairandi@gmail.com.  ​

This is hard!  I don't think any of us could have ever imagined that we would be in this situation right now.  The lack of control, the unknown future...it's all just so  much to take in.  I just needed to share some of my thoughts...to be honest, it's really all that I know to do right now.

​We have a choice to make in this moment.  We can choose to see this as an obstacle or an opportunity.  Make no mistake, I totally get that this is a huge obstacle that will impact us for many years to come.  But the reality is that obstacles are meant to be overcome.  When or how we will overcome COVID19 remains to be seen but we WILL move beyond this obstacle and hopefully, we will learn some things in the process.  

From an education perspective, if we look closely, this can be seen as an opportunity for our learners to make real connections beyond the walls of the classroom.  It is an opportunity to see learning differently.  I have a feeling that when this entire situation is over, we will be able to look at learning through the lens of the past, the present, and the future.  What did learning look like before COVID19, what did it look like during, and what will it look like when we return to the classroom?  If we choose to see this as an opportunity for our students to make important connections and recognize that learning happens everywhere, the potential is there for us to change how things are done from this day forward.  

I don't have all of the answers...in fact, I'm not sure I have any answers at all.  But, I do know that perspective during difficult times is important.  I'll say it again, THIS IS HARD!  It's weird, it's uncomfortable, and it's the last place any of us would hope to be.  We will never again take leaving our homes for groceries, sitting at a hot baseball game, or going to work on a Monday morning for granted.  Things will be different.  Our lives have been turned upside down and we can all agree that this obstacle is massive.  It's important to be mindful about our mindset. In order to overcome the obstacle, we will have to be patient, understanding, kind, and above all, determined.  

So, as we continue to work as a city, a state, a country, and one world to get this whole thing figured out, we have a choice to make.  Will we come out on the other side of this obstacle with a new perspective? Will we have recognized the opportunities before us and created real change?   I hope so.  As for my family, we are trying really hard to balance being realistic and hopeful in our home but most importantly, we rest in our faith and stay focused on the day that we will go back to school, back to work and back to life as we know it.

As an educational community, I just wanted to take some time to encourage us to do the same.  Let's be realistic but hopeful.  Let's see this as an opportunity for meaningful learning to occur and for our students to make connections that may never have been made in the classroom.  Let's be flexible, understanding, realistic and hopeful. 

Whether you are a parent, educator, or part of the community trying to figure this out right now, the choice is ours...will we simply see this as an obstacle or will we also see it as an opportunity to overcome and adapt so that our learners recognize that learning happens everywhere?