Until know, educators have been in control of their classes. From the minute students arrive, the time is calculated by a scheduling team, state standards, county requirements and extra activities that must be done. When complete, we celebrate. When incomplete we highly encourage completion in a variety of ways. Our control has been taken from us. We can only share what we would like them to do, create videos to teach and hope they are viewed, offer websites to support the skill and possibly some worksheets to print out.

Living with 2 school age children and a now a high school graduate, it will be one of the biggest parenting challenges I’ve faced. Optional activities, prior to a developed distance learning plan, were never posted so those young minds have been stagnant for 4 weeks. When asked about the new instructional plan, the comment was ‘It doesn’t matter if I do it. It won’t be graded.’ How can the love of learning be revitalized when our students are not in our classroom?

As you plan your lessons and activities, remember it’s not possible to recreate your classroom. Now is the time to share all those wacky, crazy, out of the box activities you have been yearning to do. Ignite the desire for learning you have and know is in your students.

Students may not want to sit at a computer for long periods of time working on websites and worksheets. They may prefer to create with their hands. Below are some ideas that break the mold of traditional classroom activities. As you build your lessons and add activities to your digital classroom, ask yourself, what is an unconventional way to show what you know?