Balancing Online and Offline Learning

We've all heard by now that students should not be on screens all day during distance learning. The irony is, students will need to be on screens for many reasons including:

• listening to our lectures (direct instruction)
• watching demonstrations
• connecting with their teachers and classmates
• collaborating with peers
• writing essays
• reading articles
• completing activities on district mandated reading and math programs

We shouldn't have a problem with this, right? After all, the big push in education has been to go paperless. There have been books written about such lofty ambitions. Millions spent on professional development. If not completely paperless, we have been encouraged to push learning online as much as possible. This should be our shining moment. This is it! We have the opportunity to go 💯online. (I've even learned how to flex with my Emoji Chrome Extension). 

Yet, here we are, scrambling to know how we can make online learning less online. 🤷‍♂️

So the question is, how do we reduce screen time when we are relying on screens to teach our students?

The simple answer is balance. 

Begin by think about all the activities you want your students to do. Think about how you want them to learn from you and others. What can can be done effectively offline? What has to happen online?

Here are a few ways to increase offline learning while at home.

1. Require students to take notes each day they meet with you. They can reread their notes, make connections, write summaries, and apply what they learned from their notes.
2. Have students respond to journal prompts and short answer questions in spiral notebooks.
3. Ask students to print articles and graphic organizers so that they can write on them (this could pose challenges for some families).
4. Check out textbooks and novels to students if material pick up is available.
5. Teach students how to make their own graphic organizers on lined paper.
6. Expect students to transfer questions onto a piece of paper and handwrite the answer.
7. Find your old projects that once required poster paper, glue, and glitter--why not, it's not your house. 😀I personally digitized most of my projects as technology got better. And let's be honest, I didn't want huge boards cluttering my classroom. But now, I'm thinking I will bring back the trifold presentation board and say "bye" to online presentation software. Well, at least for a few projects. 

I hope that you find some of this useful and practical. That is my goal. Learn something new and use it the very next day. And no, the irony doesn't escape me that you had to spend time on a screen learning about how to reduce screen time for your students.

Join the conversation by leaving a comment below. We all learn from each other. Happy planning!