What crazy times we are living in! Who’d have thought that we would be finishing up the 2019-2020 school year from our homes?
I don’t know about you, but I spent the first week or two of distance learning just trying to wrap my head around these new expectations. Whether you’re in a school that has gone completely digital and has virtual classes every day or in a school where students have no access to internet at home, the past few weeks have been HARD!
Why Video Chat?
In my school, we are taking a hybrid approach. We have put materials online but also have students who have picked up paper packets of work. I am not required to do much outside of keeping in touch with parents. Which is so much less stressful than holding virtual classes each day!
BUT here’s the problem: I miss my students.
So, even though it is not a requirement from my school, I set up a video chat with my students. And it was SO GREAT!
Planning Your Video Chat
Whether you are being required to or not, I recommend meeting with your students virtually at least once a week if you can! I also recommend doing something fun during that time. If you’re already meeting with your students regularly, make the first few minutes of “class” a fun activity. If you don’t have time for that, try to make one “class” per week a fun one!
If you haven’t already started using video chat to meet with students, you’ll need to choose a platform. There are pros and cons to each, and your school may have rules about which ones you can use.
The most popular platforms are:
- Zoom (anyone can use, but there have been some security issues with it)
- Google Meet (for use in Google Classrooms)
- Microsoft Teams (for use with Office365)
Fun Activity Ideas
Once you’ve chosen your platform and when you will do your fun activity, it’s time to plan what that fun activity is!
There are SO many ideas floating around out there, and I do not take credit for any of them! But I did think it might be helpful to have some of them all in one place for you to access as you’re planning. The ideas that I have included are all FREE!
Here are three of my favorite video chat activities:
- Directed Drawings– I am a TERRIBLE artist, so I love the confidence boost that these give me. Imagine what they do to kids’ confidence then! My favorite video for directed drawings come from Art for Kids Hub on YouTube. My favorite step-by-step directed drawings are from Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs on Teachers Pay Teachers.
- Scavenger Hunts – These involve students walking away from their computers and finding things! You can even add a little competition and say whoever returns with their item first wins. 🙂 Jill, from Hello Fifth on Teachers Pay Teachers, has included a great Scavenger Hunt activity in her FREE Editable Distance Learning Virtual Teaching Schedules.
- “Would You Rather…” Activities – I LOVE a good “Would You Rather” question! They always spark the funniest conversations, particularly with kids (whose logic is shocking at times). The great thing about these questions is that they can be used in so many different ways! As a quick icebreaker at the beginning of an online lesson, a “daily check in” post on Google Classroom or Canvas, or as your entire fun video chat!
My favorite “Would You Rather” resource is from Rachel Lynette on Teachers Pay Teachers! She actually has multiple versions that you can use for different times of the year and they are all great!
Even More Free Video Chat Ideas
If you’d like even more free ideas (15 ideas to be exact!), I have created a FREE resource that you can easily print out! You can keep it handy as you are planning your distance learning activities.
I hope that you are able to use some of these ideas to bring joy into your virtual conversations with your students!
Got some activities that I didn’t add? Feel free to leave them in the comments below for other readers to see!
