Making connections the first week with students is absolutely vital. That is what I have been focusing on for my first week with students.

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Failure: I sent the wrong link for my Welcome Letter to about 10 students. At least it was only ten! I am very glad that I caught my mistake and fixed it quickly, but it was definitely not surprising that something would go wrong this first week.

Success: Padlet! This summer my class padlet did get a response, but once a student posted initially they never even viewed/commented on other posts. This time around I made a game out of it instead of just an introduction. I had my students (and myself) play 2 Truths and a Lie via a padlet embedded into my announcements page and it was very successful! In my biggest class I had 37 students post on the padlet and I would say about 3/4ths also responded to others by commenting which they thought was the lie. It was slow moving at first, but I think that got to know each other better, and I got to connect with them on topics that are not at all related to class. Playing an introduction game like this on padlet is definitely something I would suggest to new teachers! Just because my classroom is online, doesn’t mean that I can’t use some of the same ideas that are successful in face-to-face classrooms.

*Also it was awesome to talk to students about their hobbies and pets through Padlet and the discussion boards. Especially since I had something really great to share – pictures of my new puppy!

This is my new puppy Captain America! He is an 8 week old Lab/German Shepherd mix that loves to chase leaves and cuddle all day. He is also a champion nap taker.