{"id":20825,"date":"2020-04-17T17:25:15","date_gmt":"2020-04-18T00:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/?p=20825"},"modified":"2023-03-08T15:51:36","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T23:51:36","slug":"teaching-remotely-with-tynker-avi-gvili","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/teaching-remotely-with-tynker-avi-gvili\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Remotely with Tynker: Avi Gvili"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Teaching Remotely with Tynker: Avi Gvili<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Avi Gvili teaches Python and JavaScript to his middle school students at the Elias Bernstein School in Staten Island, NY, where he\u2019s found that his background as an author has heavily informed his approach to teaching them coding skills. \u201cComputer science is about language, about text, the relationship between the reader and text,\u201d Avi tells us. \u201cYou need to start working with the code and working with the language. Show students the relationship between reading Python and reading English. It\u2019s very readable, once you get over the fear of the syntax.\u201d <\/strong>
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Connect<\/strong><\/em><\/th><\/tr>
@AviGvili<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
 <\/strong>IS 7 Elias Bernstein School<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Staten Island, NY<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

Avi has been making full use of his Tynker grant license<\/a> as his school transitions to distance learning, and his students have completed thousands<\/em> of lessons in just a few weeks! We spoke with Avi to get his advice for teachers starting to explore effective ways of engaging with students in a virtual classroom environment.
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TIP #1: Take the time to learn the platform first before sharing it with your students<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The first tip that Avi had for teachers new to remote teaching detailed the underlying technology: \u201cI think teachers need to take the time to learn the platform first. [It\u2019s important] that the teacher not be afraid of it, so they can be reflective themselves and realize that if they had difficulty their kids might have difficulty as well.\u201d This is especially important during the transition to remote learning, as new technology and new platforms are becoming an intrinsic part of day-to-day learning activities. \u201cI\u2019ve made this mistake before,\u201d Avi admits, \u201cwhere you tell students \u2018everybody use this\u2019 but if you haven\u2019t used the platform then you can\u2019t predict difficult situations. If students meet too much difficulty it alienates them and that turns them off. Be very friendly, be flexible.\u201d [Editor: Tynker offers many <\/em>free web-based professional development options<\/em><\/a>, both live and on-demand.<\/em>]
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TIP #2: Have a system for managing communication<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Avi\u2019s second tip had to do with supporting easy communication. Beyond regular calls with parents, which he recommends, he\u2019s also had to manage asynchronous communication with his students so they can reach out for assistance when necessary. \u201cGoogle Classroom is a good complement to Tynker,\u201d Avi told us, when asked what tools he\u2019s found most helpful with communication, noting that it\u2019s recommended by the New York City Department of Education (NYCDoE). \u201cIt offers various ways to give feedback with comments that come directly to your Gmail. There\u2019s a communication component that\u2019s very useful and I can monitor it and see what is or what is not working.\u201d 
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TIP #3: Don’t assume young people are tech-savvy<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Avi\u2019s last piece of advice was not to overestimate student comfort levels with technology. \u201cIt\u2019s a misconception that all young people are tech-savvy. Sure, they understand social media but new platforms and computer language can create a lot of anxiety. Once you get around the learning curve, it\u2019s pretty logical and delightful. You have to make sure they become self-learners.\u201d Knowing when the lessons are being understood is more important than ever now that kids are forced to learn remotely. Avi spoke at length about self-learning, which he says is critical to kids being able to complete their studies outside of school by discovering how to find some answers themselves. \u201cIf they realize they can Google a video on how to do something, that\u2019s a resource for the kids,\u201d Avi says. \u201cThat\u2019s how to learn in the 21st century. Even using Google and YouTube is being a self-learner. A teacher isn\u2019t the person who gives the answers anymore because often the answers are all around us. The teacher teaches them how to learn, how to think.\u201d
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Right now, Avi tells us his students are doing about one Tynker course<\/a> per week. We found this impressive, but Avi told us, \u201cI\u2019m strict in terms of what I expect for them because they\u2019re home, they\u2019ve got a lot of time. You can do this, let\u2019s not waste time driving our parents crazy. Parents are grateful because so many of them are having difficulties. I do predict it\u2019s going to be progressively more challenging, but my students are going to become more confident in themselves. They won\u2019t be stuck, they have a resource in me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a0Enjoyed this blog? Get more great tips from fellow educators in our\u00a0<\/em>Remote Teaching with Tynker<\/em><\/a>\u00a0blog series.<\/em>
Have a great tip you\u2019d like to share?\u00a0<\/em>Write to us<\/em><\/a>, we\u2019d love to share your story with the 300,000 teachers in Tynker\u2019s global community.<\/em>
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Teaching Remotely with Tynker: Avi Gvili Avi Gvili teaches Python and JavaScript to his middle school students at the Elias Bernstein School in Staten Island, NY, where he\u2019s found that his background as an author has heavily informed his approach to teaching them coding skills. \u201cComputer science is about language, about text, the relationship between the reader and text,\u201d Avi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20828,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,12,58],"tags":[498,449],"class_list":["post-20825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coding-at-school","category-ideas-and-tips","category-teacher-feature","tag-featured-educator","tag-school"],"yoast_head":"\nTeaching Remotely with Tynker: Avi Gvili - Tynker Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tynker.com\/blog\/teaching-remotely-with-tynker-avi-gvili\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Teaching Remotely with Tynker: Avi Gvili - 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