The week after our full day of professional development, I was out for 2 days. It seems like I’ve been out a lot lately 😦 (2 days for international job fair, 1 day for PD, these 2 days…). Usually it seems nothing productive gets done when I’m not physically in the classroom, especially because the students are supposed to be learning French. I usually have them do independent work, partner work, speaking exercises and watch movies. [Luckily my content tends quite well to movies! My students really enjoyed Asterix & Obelix and we were able to have some great discussion about White Material during Black History Month.] This time I decided to experiment with having my students use the Chromebooks while I was gone.
Students’ homework was to bring their headphones to class with them. I also explained to each class that they would be using the Chromebooks and I would be giving them more responsibility than I’d ever given other groups of students. I told them to make me proud and that I looked forward to bragging about them when I came back. I stayed completely positive and emphasized how much responsibility they were going to be given.
I was fortunate enough to be able to speak with the sub the day before I was absent. This made me feel so much better since I was leaving her with so much responsibility! Here is an excerpt from the letter I left my sub…
Students will be using Chromebooks today and tomorrow. Ms. Smith will come open the Chromebook cart. I have written the number they will be using on the roster next to their names (in yellow). I have also noted if they have turned in their user agreement (in orange). Please collect (and record) any missing agreements and encourage them to turn them in ASAP (there are extra copies). Each student will have a task list/assignment sheet in his/her email. The two allowed sites are their google mail/docs & my.hrw.com (I have printed out their usernames & passwords in case they forgot). They should ask you if they need to go to any other sites.
Class Agenda:
1. Get Chromebooks. Log in to their email. Open the file I’ve shared with them (assignment sheet). Do as much work as possible.
2. Put Chromebooks away correctly (do not plug in).
3. Please remind them to send me an email. They should tell me a) how much work they got done, b) how hard they worked and c) questions they have.
I made assignment documents for each of my classes (French 2 block & French 2 year long). About 30 minutes before their class period, I shared each document with them.
The biggest differences between being absent in the past and being absent this time were that I was able to see their work (in real time) and that I was able to communicate with them. At the end of the class period, students emailed me their progress. The evening of day 1, I read all the emails and emailed back any of my students who had questions. I LOVED how this worked and I am so excited to now be able to brag about my students! Our high school sometimes gets a bad rap but I always love to tell people how wonderful my students are. We have a great relationship (one of the most important classroom management strategies I’ve learned in 2.5 years) and they are (usually) wonderful 🙂
te(a)ch french 
How did the substitute teacher think it went?
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OH! I forgot about that part! I made sure when I talked to her (before I was absent) that she was comfortable with them using technology and asked her to be present in the classroom and walking around. I gave the sub my email and she emailed me after both days (in addition to leaving notes for me upon my return). She did give me the names of 3 students who were not acting as they should. Here are two things she wrote to me in her emails:
“Overall, the first day was a great day that I feel went very well. The students were able to accomplish a lot of the material and were well behaved and respectful.”
“From yesterday to today, the students were much better but overall they were some of the best behaved students that I’ve had. With the exception of the students who I had mentioned to you- they were fantastic students. I would love to substitute for you any time you need me to.”
Communicating through email was great because I was able to give her some additional information between the two days that made day 2 run smoother.
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Is the online textbook free for you? Our Latin one costs a bit to access. Wondering if it’s worth the extra cost for days when I have to be absent. Do you use the online text a lot during actual class?
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The online textbook is free. I don’t use it a ton in the classroom (while I’m here), but I do give all students access to it so that they can use it at home. We have a class set of textbooks and then they can access the online book at home. Do they? Not sure, but it’s a great resource for them!
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