Resources to help make the transition to distance language classes

Let’s face it, our daily lives have been turned upside down by the coronavirus.  There’s a new normal in the way we live and work as we move thru this pandemic.  With the majority of schools closed around the country, educators are in crash course mode on how to teach effectively from a distance while keeping a human connection with students to provide the support they need.  We’re sharing some resources that may help.

Support and Resources for Distance Teaching

A recent article from KQED , “Resources For Teaching and Learning During This Period of Social Distancing“, brings some very good insights into the challenges of distance teaching & learning and how to overcome them. It encourages us to look at the human side of coping and to push ourselves to do the best we can for our students. It reinforces the support that is out there, and links to many accessible teaching resources. This is a good read for teachers, administrators (and others) as this journey begins.

New America’s latest blog, “Online Learning in the Wake of COVID-19: Tips and Resources for PreK-12 with Equity in Mind” is focused on topics that include: helping more students gain access to remote learning, how to engage parents in at-home learning, how to find and use openly-licensed digital learning materials and more.

The Smithsonian, which has more than 1.7 million multimedia educational resources available online, is making their content available for schools implementing distance education via the Smithsonian Learning Lab. A quick search for “Spanish” turned up a good number of resources. Worth a look.

Social Connections Do Matter

Right now, “social distancing” is keeping us from being “social together” in all facets of our lives.  We need to get creative about being “social from afar” – learning how to engage our students from a distance and to find meaningful ways to stay connected with our colleagues, family & friends.  The human connection is so important to everyone’s well-being.

From everyone on the SANS Inc. team, we hope that the resources we’ve shared will be useful to you and your students. We encourage you to share additional resources that you are finding helpful.

Be diligent and stay safe.  We will get through this.