I remember seeing on The Simpsons years ago a futuristic scene where there was a teacher beamed into hundreds of classroom tvs and teaching digitally. Here is a picture of it!
It cracks me up that last week I was literally that guy. I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive about taking my teaching to a live zoom direct to kids. But I was blown away by how well it worked and how the lesson content translated.
Here’s what worked:
- Personalisation. Just like in person, kids love to be seen and acknowledged. One of the best parts of having a screen to interface with meant every classroom was clearly labeled. A simple ‘hello xyz primary school, room 12 look at you go!’ Seemed like a rock star shout out for the kids!
- Get moving! The session I led was all about getting moving and speaking in Te Reo. The virtual-ness of the session didn’t stop us there either! I could see hundreds of classes up, moving and having a great time.
- Focus setters. A unique aspect of teaching through video is we can cast focus literally by having specific things on the screen. Look at this, then look at this, then this, then this. This was the same for the zoom, I could direct focus by curating the content on the screen. I could even select certain super star schools to showcase to everyone else.
I never anticipated that zoom would be so additive to the particular type of lesson I wanted to deliver. Zooms don’t have to be boring and impersonal, the kids proved they can rock the classroom no mater where they are.
