When schools turned to remote learning in March 2020, I immediately tried to focus on the priorities of language learning and how to best support my students from afar. Suddenly, the basic elements of communication were gone and I had to rely on my students ability to read and comprehend Spanish with little support from me. I limited my assignments to the most important pieces and tried to mentally and emotionally support my students instead. We spent the last three months of the school year learning pop-culture songs, learning about people in Spanish-speaking countries, and reading legends or stories. By using these elements, I was still providing content that was rich in culture, language input, and gave students some common ground.
Professionally, I spent as much time as possible learning about new digital tools, such as EdPuzzle, Peardeck, and all the features of the Google for Education Suite. I attend many meetings and webinars to learn how to best support my students. I became EdPuzzle certified in May of 2020, and used the platform to bring relevant and engaging content to my students. I also incorporated more student choice into my classroom via choice board assignments and assessments. By giving my students the opportunity to show their knowledge in a way that made them feel confident, I also found new ways of assessing student learning and embraced the idea of differentiated assessment. Now that we are back in the classroom face to face, I have maintained the meaningful use of technology as well as incorporating more student choice into each lesson. I think by giving students more choice in the classroom you are giving them more opportunities to take ownership of their learning and demonstrate mastery or growth in a way that best suits their unique needs.