Enhancing In-Person Teacher Observations Using GoReact

LeeAnn McGraw:

I use it to do walkthroughs, and observations of my teachers. They record themselves on the GoReact for a lesson. Then from that, I watch them, I watch them when I’m getting ready in the morning, I watch them when I’m in the car. I can do that part of work that I don’t have time to do during the week, so I can watch it. I can leave comments. Just as she said, when you leave the comments, it’ll reverse back, and show them what’s going on right before they see the comment. So, if you’re talking about something specific, then they can see exactly what it is you’re commenting about. Also, they can reply back to your comments. So I’ll say, “Hey, I watched your videos this week, please refer to the questions.” And I might give them an overarching question about the lesson, or I might give them some suggestions in a certain area.

Either way you use it, they’ll get an alert if it’s set up as an alert, which it’s able to… Then they’ll get an alert saying I responded, and then they’re able to see my questions, or to see my comments and tweak their instruction, and then we’re looking… That kind of tells them, “Okay, next week I’m going to look for whatever I asked you, suggested that you try.” It also just prompts those conversations. So I don’t just do the video, and on the research at first I didn’t like just doing the video, because you miss so much by being in the classroom. So it definitely doesn’t replace in-person observations at all, or in-person walkthroughs, but it allows me to be in there more. I’m in a small school, K through 12, pre-K through 12, about 113 kids, 14 teachers, and I’m doing everything. So, I can’t be everywhere all the time. So it allows me to be there when I can’t be there, but then also be in person.