Remote Learning and Art Class

My teaching style has had to change a bit this school year due to Remote Learning and Classroom Covid Precautions. YAY! Not knowing when students would be onsite and not being able to share materials put a bit of a wrench in my otherwise smooth teaching and learning routines! But I am resourceful and this CrAzY year isn't gonna get this veteran teacher down! So here are a few things that I have found useful while teaching in a pandemic.

I knew that some students' families would be having a bit of a hard time supplying their student with the usual supply kits this year. So in late July I created a Donors Choose asking for donations to fund the supplies pictured here. It was awesome when the money came pouring in and it was funded within a week! Did you know that Donors Choose will double the donations if they happen within a certain time frame after an account is created? I asked for zipper pouches, erasers, pencils and hand held pencil sharpeners. These were things I wanted to make sure to have at the beginning of the new year. I hadn't budgeted for them with my classroom money from last school year as I had turned my requests in before the Covid Lockdown started. So I had to act quick and Donors Choose came through quick! Thank you to all who donated! I and my students really appreciated it. It made the start of a tricky year easier!

I was happy knowing that my students did not have to worry about sharing any materials. These zipper pouches were filled with the shown items plus a few colored pencils, markers and also popsicle sticks that we would use for measuring instead of rulers! They have been very handy all year and I am glad I thought ahead to have these ready!

I also asked for a webcam. It is pretty awesome and (once I figured out how to use it) we have been besties ever since I made my first video! Our lessons are all uploaded onto the Canvas Learning Platform this year. After a bit of a learning curve, I have become somewhat of an Ace at managing my lessons through Canvas! Everything the students need to complete a project is available to them online. So if they are in class or at home, they have access to what they need to be successful. I write out all of the step by step procedures, create technique videos, and provide in process and finished sample pics for each assignment. During class, we go over the expectations for the day together with my in person and remote students as they access the information on their Chromebooks. If they miss a day of class or need more information, they just need to refer to the info on Canvas and they are all set! 

I also figured out a way for students to have papers that they would need to work for Art Class whether they were in person or remote. Each student received a 2 pocket folder. In the front is a worksheet set made up of 20-25 pages packed full of information they would need to reference for their lessons. These worksheets are a hodge podge of online resources (thanks fellow teachers) that I have gathered over the years. I spent a bit of time before school started and before the second semester getting these sets together to get them to the printer in time to have them for students on the first day of both semesters. 

I made sure to pack them with a lot of lesson possibilities so we do not run our of resources. It is interesting how hybrid schedule learning takes double the amount of time as in person. But I would rather have too many resources for students than not enough! 

I also wanted students to have access to sketch papers in their folder. So I folded 5 pieces of 11 by 17 paper in half and stapled them into the folder using a long reach stapler. In the back pocket of the folder, I put loose copy paper, good heavier drawing paper, and a few specialty papers like grid paper, black paper, and tracing paper. I didn't necessarily know what we would use all of those papers for, but I wanted my students to have them just in case I came up with another one of my brilliant ideas! Onsite students whether at school full time or a hybrid schedule carry these supply kits and their folders to school and class daily. That way, they have them at school or at home when they need them. Most students have been awesome about doing this and most have stayed intact!

Some other issues I needed to figure out was what to do about students not having access to the wall mounted pencil sharpeners in my room so they would need to use hand held ones. I made sure to include those in my Donors Choose, but I did not want students to make a mess with them at their tables or accidentally drop them in the big classroom trash cans. So I purchased a small bin for every table. That way students could sharpen their pencil over the bin and the shavings would not make a mess and the sharpener would not get lost. We also use these for table trash bins or to collect collage papers that can be reused if needed. This has also reduced the "getting up and in other people's spaces for no reason" issues that some middle schoolers have!

Another issue that I figured out a solution to was the possible sharing of a few classroom supplies and how to sanitize them. I purchased these inexpensive plates per table. If we need to share any items like the above, students leave them on the plates at the end of class and they get sprayed with sanitizing cleaner and dry fairly quickly for the next student's use. 

At the end of class, students gather their things and stand by their seats. I come around and spray with a sanitizing cleaner. Students then use towels to wipe up the spot for the next class. At the end of the day, we gather up the towels in a basket and my awesome Custodian Judy washes them and they are ready for use the next day!

 

Overall, this year has been quite the challenge! I have come through it like a champ using my resources and experience to find solutions! Would I want to continue to teach in a Pandemic or have to repeat this year? Definitely not! But I have learned a lot about perseverance in spite of difficulties and like I often tell my students, "You can do anything if you set my mind to it!"