Despite being completely remote up until this point, I have done my best to continue to use storytelling as my main method to deliver comprehensible input in my Spanish class over our synchronous online Google Meets classes.

I know a lot of teachers are still hesitant about teaching online so I thought I would share some things that have worked well for me so far.

Here’s how I have been adapting MovieTalks using the app ExplainEverything. Using this on an iPad is the easiest, but there is an option to use it on a computer as well.

To use with iPad on Google Meets:
1) Connect iPad to Computer with USB cord.
2) Open up the app “Quicktime” (Note: nothing will likely show up). On a Mac, at the top click “File” and “New Movie Recording”. (Note: The first time I click this it usually opens a movie a camera from my computer camera. I simply close it and go to “File” and “New Movie Recording” again and you should now see your iPad screen on your computer.
4) In your Google Meet, click to “Start Presenting” and choose a window and select the window or your iPad.

To use a video that you would typically present as a movietalk, follow the steps below:

1. Take screenshots of important parts of the video.
2. Insert the pictures into a google slides or Powerpoint and then save the file as a PDF.
3. Upload the PDF to your google drive and then open up the app ExplainEverything.
4. Present the video, annotating on the screen with your finger or a sylus pen.

Click “Create New Project”

Start with “File” and select the PDF.

Free option: You’ll need to choose to have each page “stacked on current slide”

Paid version: With an unlimited number of slides, choose to insert “as separate slides”.

Talk about what’s on the screen, annotate by writing on the screen, ask questions to students, and move on to the next slide to continue.
Note: If you have an iPad, you can look at the iPad screen to see what you are doing and keep the Google Meet open on your computer to see your students.

Here’s an example:

(Follow us on YouTube)

Follow-up your story with a text!

I also make sure to have students interact with the text of a story. You can check our blog for various reading strategies, but during remote instrution here’s what I did:

I try to use the same slide show with the images and write a similar text to the story we told in class.
1) Use a googleslide show
2) Keep the text simple to the most important phrases.
3) Use the speaker notes at the bottom and write the translation for any key vocabulary words or new words
4) Have your students work in Breakout rooms of 4-5 students. Before I had the official breakout rooms, I would just open up several meets in different windows and tell students to join them. Give the google slides to 1 student in each group and have that person present the screen to their group.
5) Students take turns reading an entire slide in English. They work in groups so that they can help each other out. You can also choose to have the student sharing the screen put it in in present mode so the whole group can’t see the speaker notes and then this person is responsible for helping their classmates because they can see the translation, or if they don’t use present mode, then everyone can see the speaker notes.

Get them speaking!

I then create another version of the text and have students open that document in one tab and Flipgrid in another tab. They read the text out loud while recording on Flipgrid. They are getting the extra input by reading the storyline again but also practicing pronunciation.

For more help, I’ve added a category of digital activities that you can use during remote classes.