Penny Kynigou, Elementary School Faculty

"Moving back into virtual learning was always going to be a challenge, but this time we would be prepared! The half day's notice given before lockdown felt like a luxury!

In fifth grade, student well-being was our priority. We knew that our students would not be seeing their friends again for quite a while, so we planned some extra recess time.

We also saw they needed an opportunity to share their mixed feelings about the lockdown.

While some students were excited to go back to the luxury of pj's, getting up later and having snacks, others remembered how hard they found virtual learning last time and anticipated the transition with dread.

With 2 lockdowns already under their belts, I knew that our classroom learning community already held a great deal of expertise on leveraging the best learning experience possible from virtual learning.

How could we best share out this knowledge? The students were excited to try an activity that we usually use with teachers during the ACS Athens professional Collaborative Learning Communities.

What makes virtual learning hard for kids? I asked, inviting them to take one minute to add as many ideas as they could on sticky notes.

With all the ideas gathered on the board, students worked on clustering them into groups and identifying each problem area's theme.

What tips could you offer other students? I asked as volunteers adopted the different themes and went off to create posters.

Enjoy the results! There is so much wisdom here!"