Many teachers are interested in setting up an online classroom, but do not have the time or patience to invest in setting it up. Well, I just eliminated that barrier. I have created an online classroom template that can be replicated over and over. Once I duplicate it, I assign the new teacher the online classroom and they have access to modify it and begin using it!

Here are the features…

• Homework Help Forum – Let the students help each other out and reward good answers to questions with extra credit points in your class.
• Classroom discussion forum – As homework, extend the classroom discussions into the home using this feature.
• Class Chat room – Let the students communicate instantly from home. Each chat session is recorded and can be reviewed by you. Useful for instant help before a major test or quiz.
• Classroom News and Announcements – A good place to post your news for all to see.
• Classroom Documents — Display any number of PowerPoints, word docs, images, PDF’s, etc Let the students review what was presented during class 24/7.
• A section to add homework assignments by either daily or weekly formats or link to you blog if you already use that!
• Expectations/Rules/Suggested class supplies – Using a “Book” component, you can lay out your rules, expectations, and syllabus.
• Personal Student Notebook — This is actually just a wiki given a specific purpose. Useful for the student to gather notes, links, etc when working on a project and store them in one place via Copy & Paste into the notebook.
  (student and teacher access only, private between students)
• Personal Student Journal – No more workouts carrying home 100 journal binders. Just check their online journal. (student and teacher access only, private between students)
• Media and Websites – Use this section to add relevant websites and videos used in class. I included an example of how to embed a D-Tube video.

This is version 1.0 of the Online Classroom Template. It focuses mainly on communication and sharing of learning resources. This is an easy format for teachers to begin with. Once they feel comfortable, they can really move forward quickly. I plan to take suggestions and maybe make variations of this for specific uses or skill levels of teachers. I sent out an email to staff last night at 4pm and within 24 hours we have about 30 new teachers exploring online learning. Many of these teachers reported that a template was exactly what they were looking for. Starting from scratch was difficult because there are so many options and steps to setting up a good online classroom. This new template probably saved them several weeks of work.

Next year I will be focusing on training and use of online learning tools. Ideally, I would like to see every teacher in the district have their own classroom. These are the tools students use. They are digital learners and are used to exploring new information in a “media rich” environment that only digital can deliver.

Please note:  The online classroom is for use with Moodle. 

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