How to get “Hands-On” Virtually
Every teacher dreads the eerie silence while staring at a grid of students logged on from their homes. Are you tired of fighting the exhausting battle of getting your students engaged and interactive over the virtual classroom? Well, this article is for you!
Preexisting and newly developed resources that help bring your virtual classroom to life are booming right now. With all the resources that are out there on the Internet, the thought of exploring it all feels overwhelming. I have selected my favorite resources and free sites beyond Google Classroom to share and explain how they can be best used in your virtual classroom.
Nearpod is an interactive site that has enriching additions for any lesson. It is free for a basic account, with the choice to upgrade if desired. Nearpod is compatible with Google Slides as an extension if you want to add their tools right into your presentations. You can also create whole presentations on Nearpod if you prefer. Some tools that can be used to enrich your lesson are: 3D modules, VR field trips, PHET math and physics simulators, BBC videos, and much more. You can also check out the Nearpod library for already created, standard-based, lessons for all grades and subject areas. Take a visit to the site and see what you can add to your lesson!
PHET is a free online site full of interactive simulations for physics, math, chemistry, biology, earth sciences, and prototypes. Once you select a topic, even more refined search options are available to help you find a simulation that best supports what you are teaching. To top it off, PHET offers support for teachers explaining how to best use their simulations and activity ideas to browse. This helps students interact with a concept directly to get a more all-around learning experience like they would if they were sitting in your classroom.
Class Playground teamed up with Toy Theater to produce virtual resources for teachers such as virtual manipulatives, academic games, and worksheets. Their content focuses heavily on math, with a small choice of literacy topics. These two areas tend to be the most difficult to incorporate engagement virtually and is one of the reasons this site is on the top of my list. Once you select a topic you want support with, Class Playground will offer you games and manipulatives from Toy Theater as well as any worksheets they have. The games are academically based and help reinforce the topic that is selected. The manipulatives help turn a lecture into an engaging moment as students can visually work out the problems with the class and teacher.
Jamboard is on the rise in the teaching community, and for good reason. Jamboard can be collaborative for the whole class or can be used to collect independent work. This Google App allows students to work as a group on a question by leaving a text comment, a sticky note, pictures, shapes, or writing with a pen. Teachers can create manipulatives that all the students can use together such as money, counting, number lines, graphs, area, and even graphic organizers. If you are interested in learning more on how to best use Jamboard with math, check out this video by a teacher who often uses this app.
This is a small slice of what is out there to help turn your lessons into engaging ones, but I hope these resources eased some stress! The best part about all these sites is that once you are back in person with your students, they can still be used to enrich lessons and bring excitement! Virtual learning can be frustrating at times, but adapting is a teacher’s greatest skill.
Happy teaching!
