A Year of Uncertainty — Tips to Prepare for a Virtual or In-Person Classroom

A Year of Uncertainty — Tips to Prepare for a Virtual or In-Person Classroom

Q&A with Chad Meyer, a Business and Computer Science Teacher

Meet Chad Meyer, a teacher with 23 years of experience, from teaching keyboarding on typewriters in the 90s to computer science with CodeHS today! Chad tells us about his transition to a virtual classroom in spring 2020 and the preparation for future unknown transitions as Odessa High School starts the school year in-person.

Q: Tell us about your background and teaching experience.

A: I have taught High School in Missouri for 23 years. Before CodeHS, I taught web design, Adobe Photoshop, Premiere video editing, Microsoft Office, and a Dual Credit Course through Northwest Missouri State University. I taught at Norborne High School my first 2 years starting in 1997 and I still taught keyboarding on typewriters. For the past 21 years, I’ve been teaching at Odessa High School.

Q: How was your transition to virtual teaching last spring?

A: The transition last spring was fairly easy for me. However, our school did not want us to teach any new content at the time, so I just created assignments for our students to practice the skills they had learned.

CodeHS has everything set up for success whether we are at school or home. I feel our students could have continued with the curriculum on CodeHS easily last spring if we were allowed to teach new content. A major tip I have is to use Screencastify. I could easily record myself teaching skills or answering questions and then share the video with the class.

Q: What was your school’s setup for virtual teaching last spring compared to this year?

A: Last school year we did not have too much virtual teaching setup, but our administration was quick to show us how to set up our assignments and present lessons virtually.

For the time being, we are on a normal schedule of 5 days a week in-person. Prior to the start of the school year, we prepared our classes for virtual teaching in case we have to transition to a virtual or hybrid setup.

During this preparation, myself and a few colleagues developed and taught our staff how to use Google Classroom, Screencastify and other useful tips for virtual teaching. We now have every teacher and every class on Google Classroom and we have about 15% of our students that have chosen virtual education. Our administration has chosen our most experienced teachers to teach the virtual classes and have given them an extra plan period to work with this class. Also our administration has been so supportive in providing time, support, and resources. They have provided training, purchased Screencastify and cameras for each teacher to better teach virtually.

Q: How did your students adapt to the virtual classroom?

A: I feel like most of our students have adapted well to the virtual classroom. Google Meets has allowed us to keep the students a little more engaged, since they are accountable to meet and interact with the virtual classroom. The biggest challenge is the communication piece. Just the little things you could talk with a student about in class is now very time consuming to meet all those needs.

Q: What tips would you like to share with other teachers to lead a successful virtual classroom?

A: My tips for leading a successful classroom are:

• Develop the system that works for you, not one that you are working for the system.
• Stay consistent with that system so students can follow easily. For example, how you post the lesson and assignments, when you post them, when you grade them and best times to communicate.
• I think it is necessary to meet at least two times per week via video call such as Google Meets/Zoom to develop consistency and also to check on students. Make sure they have an outlet to share.
• Screencastify has been a key tool to demonstrating skills and answering questions for students on assignments.

Q: Anything else you wish to share?

A: I have taught for 23 years and CodeHS has reenergized my passion for teaching. CodeHS has such great content, organization, and technology to make teaching exciting for teachers and students whether we are in class or virtual. I am very excited each day to teach new content from CodeHS. CodeHS challenges teachers and students to problem solve each day. My principal and I have both noticed the excitement in our classrooms. Mr. Briscoe, OHS Principal, while interacting in one of our classes last year said “There is a buzz in here”.

The greatest benefit is our students are excited each day and are learning many great skills to take to their next level of education or experience.