Virtual Team Teaching: Take the Buzz of Collaboration Futher

It has been extremely difficult to adequately explain the purpose and benefits of Virtual Team Teaching.  Collaboration has become such a hot topic within the educational realm, that it can often lose the meaning behind it.  Therefore we do not want to feed the buzz of collaboration.  Instead we are seeking to innovate collaboration. 

The heart of Innovation can be an overwhelming concept in and of itself, however it is the simplest innovations that can make the greatest impacts.  

Take for instance, PBS' School Inc.  In its first episode, Andrew Coulson highlights the slate and how it was initially used for individual practice.  Eventually, larger versions were implemented in the classroom.  This simple innovation, completely changed how teaching and learning occurred in the classroom which continues to influence the learning today.  

​We feel as though this same philosophy is inherently present within Virtual Team Teaching. It is a simple innovation that can greatly influence education.

The Three Keys to Virtual Team Teaching:

The Technology is Present

Consistency
​is key

It will make a difference

The Technology
​is Present

All you need is one device with a camera so that students can see and speak to each other. Many teachers have been provided a laptop or have access to one that can be used for this.

Also, teleconferencing tools such as Zoom, FaceTime, and Skype are free.

In the end, you can adapt any digital tool you presently use in the classroom to reach out to create connections.

Virtual Team Teaching is centered upon sustained communication.

This is not a one-time project or even an event that occurs a few times a year.  It is centered upon two teachers and classrooms, consistently communicating and planning lessons together.  This is what truly sets this method of teaching apart from other types of collaboration. 
Consistency = students building relationships through recognizing similarities and appreciating differences through the digital communication.

Consistency
​is Key

It Will Make
​a ​Difference

Here are a few ways in which Virtual Team Teaching has made such a significant difference in our classrooms.

#1: It eliminates teacher isolation.  When you consistently collaborate with another teacher, you have the support, encouragement, and understanding needed to be successful in the classroom. There are times that it is easier to talk with a peer over a camera rather than to walk next door to another peer.

#2: Students have access to a wider berth of knowledge outside of their physical classroom and traditional school walls. .Virtual Team Teaching allows for teachers, and students, to highlight each other's strengths and support each other's weaknesses. 

#3: Finally, by using this method of teaching we have observed that our Title 1 classrooms have demonstrated over one year's growth according to our state's evaluation system. While it must be noted that we reserve this statement to our own personal experience, we feel as though it cannot be ignored.  We don't believe this was the work of one teacher.  Rather it was two teachers and classrooms working together toward a common goal.

This is just the beginning.  Once teachers and students have become more comfortable with innovative collaboration, they can begin to reach out to the world in deeper and more meaningful ways.  In the past, our students have been able to consistently collaborate with high school students from Jamaica and university students from Malaysia.

If the simple addition of a larger slate and piece of chalk changed classrooms for decades; why can’t the simple addition of a small camera connecting classrooms every day do the same?