As essential workers, teachers know we must all carry on the daily battle of trying to help kids learn. Teaching during the pandemic was challenging and forced us to tap into our creative minds and forced us all to adapt our traditional teaching styles to the new online environment. We learned how to use new technologies like Zoom, Google Meet, and MS Teams. We had to find ways to have students create and submit work that they could do with marginal wifi on many times inferior devices. Some had to do all their work on their phone because that was the best option they had. Can you imagine typing an essay on your phone? Adaptation occurred for us teachers and also required students to adapt. Some continued to excel, fighting through the difficulties of the pandemic, while others were casualties of the process, succumbing to the loneliness, depression, and social-emotional drain that robbed them of some of the most important times of their young lives.
As we moved out of lockdown and the online learning environment back to more familiar ground and back into the classroom, I discovered some essential applications that I brought into the virtual business environment during the pandemic. These applications improved the way I teach and will continue to be used as we emerge from that restrictive environment. I wanted to share a couple of essential applications with you that made my job so much easier and integrated well into the VE classroom and online.
TRELLO
Management of a virtual business classroom requires years of practice. Trello is inexpensive software ($5 per month or $60 per year for the standard package) that allows your student to work in a closed, collaborative, project-based online environment. One of the challenges of teaching VE is the craziness of so many things happening simultaneously. For new teachers, this can be overwhelming. Unlike a traditional academic class where everyone is always doing the same thing at the same time, in the virtual business environment, you could have the students working on 20-30 different projects or tasks all at the same time. In this work-to-learn model, students must take ownership of their learning and work independently or in small teams. Trello checks every box when it comes to helping create a streamlined VE classroom and provides the students with everything they need to get work done.
Useful Features of Trello: The basic program is free and easy to join and set up. Groups are set up as a board (like a bulletin board in your classroom). The free program allows you to have ten boards. On each board, you can create an unlimited number of lists, and on those lists, you can add an unlimited number of cards (kind of like Post-it notes). The students can move cards from one list to another list and from one board to another. On the back of the cards, you can control the color, due date, and directions, create a checklist for students to follow, and can have active links to files, websites, and videos to supplement the tasks.
Classroom Application of Trello: Trello has been a game-changer for my VE companies. I set the boards up by department, and one for me was called “Chairman of the Board.” You could also use extra boards for Business Plan teams or a Fundraising Group in your company. When you open a board, you can create lists. My company lists include tasks they are working on, need revision, Sending to the chairman, and are past due. Once a list has been created, you can add cards. This is where the tasks I give the departments are created. Opening the card allows you to build out one complete assignment for the department with tile, due date, and complete directions. I include points that can be earned, and you can add a sequential checklist for students to check off as they progress through the task. I require my students to attach evidence of their work to the card, which can be achieved through uploading or linking a file. The video presentation I recorded demonstrates the use of Trello in the VE company environment. Click the link to view the video presentation on How to Use Trello in the VE Classroom Environment.
The Remind App.
Remind is a simple free communication tool you can use with your classes and companies to create a group texting environment that allows you to communicate with your students without sharing personal phone numbers. It can be driven from your phone or your computer. The application allows you to broadcast short announcements or reminders and will notify your students that they have received a Remind message. Though broadcast messages are short, The app allows you to have in-depth conversations with individual students When responding you can limit student interaction with each other so they can only respond to you as the teacher with text replies. Remind communicates with students in the environment that they are most comfortable with, their cell phones. I found this an essential tool for traveling with kids as they get notifications immediately on their phones, and you can send out reminders on where and when to meet, leaving times for field trips, and reminders of due dates. With the Remind app, you can set up groups (departments), and all members of that group can communicate, you can add the student leadership (Chief Officers) to administrator status so they have the ability to also send out reminders to the team.
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