How To Teach Languages Remotely During The Covid-19 Pandemic (Digital Resources For The Language Classroom)

 Classroom teaching looks very different after Covid-19. We as educators got trainings in using the digital technologies, from Zoom, Google Meet, the Big Blue Button and other conference tools, to creating digital worksheets and handouts using Kami, Easel, Google Doc, Google Slides (good for creating digital notebooks), to creating board games on Jamboard; using digital platforms to post our lessons and materials for the class such as Google Classroom, Schoology and Seesaw; making videos using Screencastify and Screencast-O-Matic. Students can now make videos and share with the class in Flipgrid.

Teachers learned how to make a digital version of themselves, called a Bitmoji, as well as how to create Bitmoji classrooms. We are now using the Pear Deck Google extension to make our Google slide shows interactive and Edpuzzle to make Youtube videos interactive by adding content questions that the students answer while watching the videos. We use digital Bingo cards, digital Flash Cards with Quizlet, and digital white boards. 

We also now create on-line games on Quizlet, Blooket, Quizziz, Kahoot, Conjuguemos for the students to practice the material that we present.

We can now give a feedback to our students by recording our voice with the Google extension Mote.

This is definitely an entirely digital way of teaching and has made teaching and engaging the students possible. I say this with some caution, because there is no way this can replace the organic human connection that the in-person teaching provides. 

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Best Side Hustles For Full Time Teachers

 I have been teaching for almost two decades now as a full time language teacher and as we all know teaching is not among the highest paid professional jobs these days, so if you are interested you can find some side hustles that will help you achieve your financial goals. Here are some ideas for an extra income if you are a full time teacher:

1) Create and sell lessons, activities, flash cards, materials that you and other teachers can use in their teaching. There are different websites, where you can sell such as https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/ in the United States (well known and widely used in the U.S. by teachers); or https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources in the United Kingdom (this one is widely known and used in other countries and continents by teachers around the world); of course there is Etsy.

I personally have stores with all of the above. If you are interested, feel free to check my tpt store, my tes store and my etsy store. From all of these three stores, my tpt store is bringing me the most profit so far, which is still not very much, but I am working on developing it, so it is still in the making and too early to say whether it will bring much of income in the next years. My tes store brings a few sales here and there, not much, but the income is steady. I am yet to see whether there is any potential in my etsy enterprise. These sources I consider more as a passive income. I put the time and the effort upfront, but they can bring me profit indefinitely and since they consist of digitally downloadable resources, I trully do not need to do anything once I create them and put them out there for sale.

2) Another source of income that I find profitable is the in-person and on-line tutoring (especially the latter). I have always done tutoring on the side and the good thing about it is that in exchange of your time, you get paid and the profit is good, it is certain, and you can make good money quickly. I usually only have one or two students at a time. You have the flexibility to set up the time, the frequency, as well as the amount you get paid per hour, and the freedom to negotiate your rate.

You can find some tutoring jobs through websites such as Craig's list, Next Door, or through your personal website and your personal connections by spreading the word that you are available for tutoring. Also if you had created a solid career as an educator, your name speaks for you and people might contact you instead of you actively looking for opportunities yourself.

3) There are also a few websites, where you can create and offer a course such as Fiverr, Teachable and Allfalfa, where I opened an account for free and offered three classes/courses options: Introductory French, Introductory Spanish and Cooking with Marieta. All of the sessions I offer are on-line through zoom. I have to share that I had a lot of fun cooking Bulgarian moussaka through zoom with one lady,  who signed up for my Cooking with Marieta class :)

4) Other types of side hustles include some side gigs, such as seasonal workers for a local business, which usually offers some flexible late shift hours and delivering food. 

Occasionally I sign up for and work during Election Day as a helper. For us teacher those days are off, so this is another excellent opportunity to make some extra cash. 

So, all in all there are many possibilities to find side hustles even with a demanding career such as being a full time teacher. I have not even mentioned freelancing, such as writing, proofreading, transcription (www.rev.com) and translation services that a teacher can easily provide on-line, or even summer camps, if you would like to work during the summers, when schools are off, etc.

I hope these ideas will resonate with some of you. Please, feel free to subscribe to my website and comment if you have any questions. You can also support me through Buy Me A Coffee if you liked the content that I have created. 

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