The First Few Days of School Online:
Building Digital Communities
English teachers know the importance of community building in the classroom, but this Fall, many experienced teachers are, for the first time, starting a school year at least partly remotely. The stress of planning for the first few weeks of school in this unfamiliar and uncertain landscape hangs in the air, with many teachers mourning the loss of the classroom communities so central to their discipline.
As I enter my seventh year of online instruction, I assure you, just like communities and relationships are the foundation of a great English classroom, they are also vital online.
My own students come from across Pennsylvania. They represent a range of diverse communities, religions, races, hobbies, levels of ability/disability. Many of my students make friends with people they’d never talk to or even meet “in real life.”
While friendships developed online might appear hollow to some when compared to the ones they’d make irl, for the foreseeable future, these digital connections might be all some have, making online community building that much more important this year.
I practice a range of strategies to establish classroom communities across distance, which I’ll share.
Start the Work of Community-Building on Day One
Some best-practices for community building in your typical classrooms still apply but might require some fine-tuning for online learning. On the first day, let students introduce themselves not just to you but to each other. Let this first conversation set the tone for conversations you’ll have throughout the year.
Set Expectations and Ground Rules for Online Discussions
To make the most of online discussions, prepare students for a different type of back-and-forth suited to online environments. You’ll want to clearly express the purpose of virtual discussions, as well as your expectations. Then, communicate them clearly to students and caregivers, explaining the purpose of each expectation and inviting students to share their own ideas.
Keep Only the Rules and Norms That Build Community
Rules for synchronous instruction have gained a great deal of attention recently. Some of these requirements may come from your district, but some teachers plan to prescribe student attire, camera use, etc., during synchronous sessions.I urge you to consider the purpose of each rule and how it will impact students’ feelings of safety and comfort and their willingness to engage in learning and community building.
For example, why should students abide by certain dress code standards or avoid snacking? Is it to minimize distraction to other students? If so, would it be acceptable for them to just turn off their camera when applicable? I always invite students to use their cameras but never require them for a variety of reasons.
Keep the rules that will help students to engage effectively and throw out the ones that really don’t make sense.
Asynchronous Communities Can Be Developed Meaningfully
At least some of students' online learning likely will take place asynchronously; expectations for these types of discussions differ from those for synchronous discussion.
Choosing accessible and engaging platforms for students’ discussions, setting expectations early on, and explaining the purpose of discussions from the beginning of the year will help students to engage more meaningfully. Here is an example I use in my own classroom to set expectations, introduce platforms, and review logistics for asynchronous class discussions.
Conversations May Be under a Microscope
Students’ at-home learning benefits greatly from caregiver engagement, and maintaining consistent lines of communication with caregivers will impact student outcomes this year more than ever.
You may not be used to caregivers knowing everything that is discussed in the classroom; they will be much more aware of the content of online class discussions.
I recommend moderating discussions as much as possible to prevent inappropriate content from slipping through. However, there may be times when caregivers object to students’ perfectly relevant, age-appropriate comments. For example, students may share religious beliefs, gender identities, sexual orientations, or political beliefs.
I invite you to continue to normalize students’ identities just as you would in the classroom. Please don’t let the fear of surveillance stop you from affirming students’ lived experiences.
Rather, consider a proactive approach in which you share discussion guidelines with caregivers as the year begins. Address the importance of students’ respect for their diverse peers, and invite caregivers to talk openly with their children about the discussions happening in the classroom. You might also consider touching base with your administration so that they are prepared in the event someone raises concerns.
Don’t Give up on Building Communities
Building an online community takes a lot of work, but not only are communities a cornerstone of a literacy classroom, online discussions happen every day in real-life online communities, sometimes hostile ones. We can prepare students to engage them more effectively.
You might even discover that online learning can create possibilities that didn’t exist to develop relationships that students wouldn’t have otherwise bothered with. Maybe there is potential to build on something you discover this year even when classrooms reopen fully.
One Final Thought
While this post focuses explicitly on building communities online, there are many other important considerations for starting the year virtually that fell outside the scope of this post; consider finding an online teacher who shares your values to connect with. Any professional organization is bound to include at least a few of us, and you’ll find us on Teacher Twitter as well--pick our brains!
