Today my EdTech partner, Terri, and I were able to do a short training with some counselors in our district on some best practices for connecting with students virtually during these crazy times we're in. Anything we can do to maintain that "human connection" with our students is so incredibly important right now. During my portion of our training, I offered some strategies for connecting with students synchronously.
One of the strategies that I spoke about about was utilizing Google Slides to create visually appealing "evites" to encourage students to connect. Creating a virtual invitations is a simple way that you (as a teacher, counselor, administrator, librarian, etc.) can try to motivate students to engage synchronously. In your catchy virtual invitation, provide the Google Meet link and information about the online gathering. Then, send it via email or post in a Google Classroom for groups of students.
Get your free editable copy of my example invitations here --> http://bit.ly/Virtual_Invitations You'll just need to delete my Bitmoji, add your own, and the change the information to suit your needs. I would encourage you to add another blank slide at the end, get creative, and design your own! If you do create some catchy Google Slides evites, and you're willing to share with others, provide a shareable link in the comments! #bettertogether
