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Hi UK #edutwitter if your a member of #SLT and your panicking about DL it's really easy to push 100% live and start doing observations etc. My advice as a school leader who has gone through this for over a year however is to slow down, and do the following... (Thread)
1 - Start by reading the @EducEndowFoundn guidance of distance learning. Key points are Sycronous (live) teaching input is not proven to be superior. A combination of live and pre-recorded (asynchronous) is the way to go. The quality of the input matters most, not the method
2 - your going to be tempted to set strict guidelines as to what a DL lesson should look like. Stop. Slow down. There is no ideal and the reality is you don't have any experience here with this yourself. Don't just jump onto live because you have seen others do it
3 - Give your teachers space. There is a temptation to observe and give feedback. Remember, you have never had to do this yourself in your career. How can we pass judgement to teachers? Let them find their feet first and create a safe environment where they share what works
4 - Invest in some good quality systems and do training on these. The key is obviously video conferencing (Teams/Meet/Zoom) and a screen recording software. My vote is @Screencastify but here are many. Double down on those and leave all the other fluff. Keep It Simple!
5 - decide what works best collaboratively after a number of weeks. Have the team come up with guidance that supports what works and share that guidance with your parents, students and governors. Include research that supports your approach to distance learning. Stick to it!
6 - Avoid any silver bullet edu tech solutions. Simple is better, your going to want to solve everything for your staff. But the reality is they need time to adjust, and training in the basics of good quality video creation, live online teaching and digital assessment.
7- Speak to international school leaders on Twitter who have done this. Ask them for their policies and guidance, don't start from scratch. I will share our own with anyone who asks. We are all in this together and your not alone as a school leader in this challenge
8 - Be realistic, your teachers will get there but it's going to be challenging. Some students don't have devices. Some don't have quality internet. Your not going to solve all of these issues with distance learning. Do what you can, it's not going to be perfect
9 - Throughout all of this back your staff, trust them to come through. Externals to the profession will clamour for various formats. Remember your the experts, apply that expertise and don't be taken down a path just because of how it looks. What will impact the children best?
