Well, today I did it! I had my first Zoom meeting with my students. I had a “practice” session with two other teachers last week, and my teaching partner did one yesterday. I felt fairly comfortable with it.
I started the meeting right on time, and immediately, I had three students smiling back at me! Many hellos were said, everyone was good, they said. Then a few more students popped up. Then a few more. Each time a new student joined the room, “Sam” announced their entrance. Loudly. They were all so excited. In all, I had twelve students join the meeting, even if it was only for a short amount of time. It was loud. It was sort of chaotic. They were all trying to talk over each other, they were showing off their pets. Dogs, cats, bunnies, baby brothers!
Then the video feed got sketchy. My audio kept cutting out. I tried ending the meeting and starting a new one. Still the same issues. So… we ended the meeting quicker than I would have wanted. I sent a quick email to students and parents apologizing for the problems and promised we would try again later in the week. Even though it didn’t go as smoothly as I would have liked, I think it was a success. The kids smiled, laughed, and got to chat a bit. And I ended the meeting with a smile on my face.
Hoofbeats & Heartbeats 
I had my first Zoom meeting, it was for staff at our school. Our principal sent out invites. It was hard to follow everything with nearly 40 participants. There was a lot of listening, limited interaction as we each waited for someone to respond to a question. I do hope I’ll be able to use this tool with my students. I need to wait for the OK. Glad you were able to see some of your crew. I miss mine so much.
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I am planning on doing a Zoom meeting with my Scholars. Reading this put a smile on my face. I’m glad you go to see your students’ faces.
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Way to try something new! I’m sure your students were beyond excited to see each other again!
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i have it on good authority that this was a rousing success amongst 8 year olds. i love watching good teachers do good things for their kids, and that’s you. thanks kim!
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Exciting! I love that they wanted to show their puppies and little brothers, et al. How fun is that? I know we have some serious learning curves going on in our lives, don’t we? I had my first Zoom meeting this week, as well. It was funny because all my mistakes and silly talk was being recorded! I had about 14 too, and unlike yours my fifth graders were quiet and they didn’t turn on their video. Lie you, we’ll try again sometime to be sure.
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Even with tech problems, it sounds like it was a success. I can’t imagine what this would have been like if it had happened when I was in school. At least now there is a way to communicate
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