Remote Teaching 101: How to Send Assignments

The pandemic forced the government to make multiple changes, including closing schools to prevent the spread of the virus. It resulted in the school setting adopting a more convenient way of learning and teaching. Digital learning involves video conferencing and sending assignments.

While digital conferencing might seem compelling, not every student can access computers, and there are limitations, such as mobile phone data plans. The best alternative for schools and educators is to opt for online assignments. How would you effectively send assignments as a form of remote teaching?

How to Share Assignments

There’s a need to effectively deploy the best tactics while sending assignments for effective remote teaching. Some of our best tips are listed below.

1. Be Consistent in Posting

The most crucial point to note in remote teaching is using a consistent platform for posting the assignments. If there’s a learning management system in your school, you should consider using it because that’s what most students are familiar with.

However, you can also opt for other easy-to-use platforms to distribute the assignments. Some of the reliable ones include email, Google Classroom, and Edmodo. Posting a Google Doc is the best alternative since it allows you to update it when needed. In addition, use the same approach when sharing or posting the assignments.

2. Have a Regular Timeline

It is essential to respect the time of your students. In this accord, ensure that you post the assignment at an agreed or consistent timeline to make it easier for them to know when ‘study time’ arrives. It also helps them plan their schedules properly and avoids any inconveniences. The main aim is to build a routine and provide comfort.

3. Use a Consistent Layout

A consistent layout is ideal for an assignment format. Have the learning objectives at the top and number or use bulleting for the actions. Keep the structure and alignment the same in all the assignments. Use clear fonts and colors to enable the student to see the content.

You can change formats, like convert PNG to PDF if possible. Highlight all the instructions to pinpoint what should be done. Most importantly, opt for the Goldilocks Rule for good graphic design.

4. Offer Multiple Representation

Consider that it’s still similar to a classroom, and there are fast and slow learners. Keeping that in mind, consider providing accessible content in the form of video, audio, and images that can serve as a reference. For additional reading, consider including narration in a PowerPoint presentation or Google slides through tools such as Jing, VoiceThread, and Screencast-O-Matic.

5. Include Expression and Action

There are more effective ways to know the response of students than formal writing. Consider using tools that will offer open discussions such as Google Docs, Flipgrid, and Backchannel. The most important point is to consider sending all the assignments in PDF format to enable security and avoid any unauthorized edits on the document.

Adobe Acrobat is an online PDF editing tool with multiple features such as creativity and design, PDFs and E-signatures, and marketing and eCommerce. It is user-friendly and allows you to perform several edits in your PDF files.

Some of the enabled features present in Adobe Acrobat include converting Word, PPT, Excel, and JPG files to PDF and vice versa. In addition, the tool allows you to edit, merge, compress, sign & protect, and split PDF files. You can also rotate, delete, and reorder PDF pages. It’s an excellent online tool with a free trial.