Digital Learning Anytime and Real Time: Middle School (A Norton Quick Reference Guide)

Since the start of the pandemic, educators all over the world have been learning on the fly how to use the power of digital texts, tools, and technologies for “remote emergency instruction.” As teachers quickly discovered, conducting nearly nonstop Zoom meetings, in an effort to replicate in-classroom learning in an online environment, is both ineffective and exhausting.

In this guide, Renee Hobbs and Yonty Friesem from the Media Education Lab introduce central principles to guide instructional planning for real time (synchronous) and anytime (asynchronous) learning. Each guide unpacks the application of these principles—to connect, guide, and create—with specific lesson examples and technology tips tailored to middle school instruction. Guides are also available for elementary and high school settings.