The benefits of quote colouring pages has been long documented on TeachersResourceForce.com! I first created them back in 2014 and students all around the world have been using these pages to help their well-being and practice mindfulness, ever since! If they are new to you, you can read all about the benefits of quote colouring pages here. 

So after 6 years, and now with the new arena of distance learning teachers are finding themselves in, I figured it was about time that these quote colouring pages developed into the digital world! Keep reading to learn how these new digital colouring pages work and how you can get your hands on them for your students:

Digital colouring pages work exactly as you would imagine they would! Your students can simply colour exactly as they would on paper - they can scribble using their finger, mouse or digital pen and they work on any digital device with absolutely no software required. Watch the video below to see them in action:

These are not currently seen in the education world and I am proud to be the first to bring them to our schools and young people! Here are some of the benefits of digital colouring pages:

• No more photocopying or printing required for teachers! What a relief, right?
• Students have a complete library of colouring pages to choose from
• They can colour in with any colour on the planet - no more restrictions with pen or pencil sets
• No more pencil sharpeners - hoorah!
• Students can colour in whenever and wherever they like - a great alterative to social media
• These work on any device: phone, tablet, computer, laptop, chrome book... you name it!
• No software is required and there is no learning curve involved
• Ideal for early finishers or extension activities
• Easy to assign as home work or for distance learning
• An easy and effective resource to support student well-being

Here are some ideas for using these digital colouring pages with your students:

1) Set them as distance learning activities:
At this current time, we're not sure how long distance learning will go on for, but even after it's over most teachers will likely to still be setting home learning tasks. Assignments such as digital colouring pages are so easy to set for your students, or they could be offered as optional tasks to support well being, relaxation and mindfulness at home or at school.

2) Ideal for parents to share with their children:
These are not just for teachers! They also make great activities to share with your own children at home. There is no need to print a thing and at least your children will be doing something healthy for their well-being while on their digital devices!

● They're Distance Learning Friendly
These digital word searches are easy to set for your students or own children. Simply share the link, input the password and away they go! All they need is any device and the internet. These digital word searches work on desktop computers, phones, tablets, laptops - anything.

They can be shared via platforms like Google Classroom / SeeSaw or simply via an email link if you prefer. For extra accountability, you could always ask your students to take a screenshot of their completed word search and turn it in to you as proof! What's more, students cannot copy from one another or share each others' screenshots as the word positions of the game change each time ​😉.

● They're Self Assessing
One of the pain points of distance learning is the struggle to offer feedback online. The beauty of these digital word searches, is that they are completely self assessing and provide immediate feedback on success. They are also timed, so students can complete the games over and over again to beat their previous score! This repetition reinforces spelling and vocabulary practice. You could even turn it into a bit of light-hearted competition between your class to see who can get the shortest time to complete the word search!

● They're Challenging and Educational:
Young people are getting enough free time playing brain dead games online, so why not combine the medium they love (technology) with something a bit more educational! These digital word searches are misleadingly challenging too, some games have been known to take a while to complete! The words go in all directions, and there are 20 words in each deck to find. Not only are they completing a challenging game, but they are practicing their vocabulary as they do so.

Some decks even come with bonus extension tasks to extend learning further, such as the one below:

I hope your students and children enjoy using these digital word searches during distance learning and beyond, to brush up on their literacy by developing vocabulary and spelling in a fun and engaging way!

Well there you go, schools are shut down; very possibly until the start of the next academic year. I have been struggling to get my head around these changes, as have we all.

Teachers are being thrown in at the deep end with distance learning and are being asked to go remote in many cases and teach online. For some, this is reasonably doable as you may have been integrating technology in your lessons already, but for many of you it's like a whole new job description as you navigate unfamiliar waters and feel like a first year teacher again.

Add to all this drama, what are our poor students going through?! They're finding these changes challenging too, many of whom struggle to study and focus in lessons let alone with all the distractions available to them at home! And so while teachers are navigating this new remote learning world, you are also expected to support the students as they struggle to study at home too.

Just when we thought teaching couldn't get any more challenging..!

In order to help ease some of these struggles, I'm going to share with you some tips and resources to help make this whole transition to distance and remote learning a bit smoother.

OK first of all let's talk about you, teacher friend. If you're struggling to go remote and want to learn how to teach your students virtually, my advice is to use Google Classroom.

I have been using it for many years and it's been a life saver! 

• You can create virtual classrooms for particular groups of students (and teachers)
• You can create assignments for students to complete
• They can complete these assignments and turn them in to you
• You can see what your students are doing LIVE when working on assignments
• You can leave them specific comments on particular pages of their assigments​
• You can grade these assignments and leave them feedback
• You can see a spreadsheet of grades for all assignments
• You can ask questions as bell ringers or exit tickets
• You can differentiate assignments for different students
• ​You can have group conversations
  
• You can set quizzes
  ... and sooo much more!
  
  If you are interested in learning how to use Google Classroom for remote learning, you can access this online course for FREE:

I hope that course helps you get started with remote learning. If you have any questions along the way, please reach out to me at katie@teachersresourceforce.com and I'll do my best to help you out!

If you have specific questions about how to create digital resources for use with tools such as Google Classroom, then you can enroll in this course which goes into more detail for you.

Now let's talk about the kids. They are struggling with this too, and as time goes on, things will get harder for them. That's why it's crucial to get them started on good habits from now! How can you do that? What advice do you give them? Fear not, you don't have to do anything other than give them a copy of this guide / journal:

You can send your students this guide / journal to help them in their home study routine. It guides them through how to plan their schedule and routine by reverse engineering their day using their assignment deadlines or personal academic goals.

It also addresses how they can look after their own well-being while they are stuck at home. It addresses body aches due to excessive desk / computer hunching, too much screen time and how to keep fit and mentally healthy.

You get a 17 page printable journal for them to fill in (with a quote colouring page included for some calming, screen free zen time!), and there is a digital version available too for them to type directly into the document, should they prefer. You can mail the journal to them or send it to your students remotely.

So worry no more about how to guide your students in working from home! ​

You're probably used to regular check ins with your students to see how they're getting on and being someone they can always talk to.

Well now with distance learning that is suddenly so much harder! But it's not impossible. I created these Google Forms that you can post on Google Classroom that students can complete every day if you choose to. It's a great way of taking attendance if you're teaching remotely! It's virtual morning meeting where you can see how your students are feeling and whether they need some extra TLC. There is also a virtual afternoon meeting so you can see how they're feeling after a day of online learning and what they might need from you in the future:

This resource contains 4 different attractive Google forms for you to use with your students. Simply post them on Google Classroom to get a check in and take attendance at the same time!

The forms included are:
• Morning Meeting Google Form Check In: check on your students’ well-being and how they are feeling, and give them an opportunity to share important information with you and have that 1:1 attention if they need it.

• Afternoon Meeting Google Form Check In: check on your students’ well-being and progress on the day. You can compare how they’re feeling from the morning, discover what they have learned and enjoyed, and what they’ve found challenging so you can cater to their needs in the future.

• Initial Remote Learning Google Form Check In: Gain an understanding on your student’s learning environment at home. In your classroom you can control the learning environment, but once it comes to remote learning that is out of your hands. Learn what kind of device, internet access and study space they have as well as what their initial concerns are.

​• Interim Remote Learning Google Form Check In: As remote learning is a new playing field for many of us, it’s important to regularly check in on your students to see how they are finding the experience. With this form you will learn what they are finding valuable and gain an insight into what might help improve their remote learning experience in the future.

See, you can still be the caring teacher you love being, even without being able to see your students face to face with these well-being check in forms for remote learning!

You can also download the initial remote learning check in Google form for free using this link below:

Finally, let's not forget about the parents! Oh how they are struggling with all these changes too - working from home while having to home school their children. Their feedback is fundamental in helping our students succeed, as for the first time the tables have turned and they're the ones seeing their students more than teachers. Use these Google Forms to get their point of view and learn more about your students' home learning environment:

This is new territory for all of us: teachers, students and parents! Learning is going to look dramatically different for the foreseeable future, so I hope these resources and freebies help you in your journey to distance learning! Drop a comment below if you have any questions, I'm here to help.