If you are like me, you are feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. How will I manage synchronous and asynchronous learning? I have a ton of experience in the classroom and with technology, and I am still feeling uneasy, so I can’t imagine how newer teachers are feeling.
I always try to stick to the positive. There is such opportunity to be creative and innovative within this new context. Like in the Spring when so many educators, authors, and tech companies came together to support each other, I believe we will (and are) seeing the same amount of support for anywhere learning in any context. I also believe that we need to focus on our big goals:
What do we want our students to know, understand and be able to do? How will we support them and foster community wherever our class takes place. I shared a few ideas here and here based on my own teaching experiences.
I have curated a few things I have found helpful and would love to know about yours in the comments.
Google Resources
Google Educator Groups have really stepped up support for educators. I was able to catch a few of The #AnywhereSchool sessions offered and they are now available on demand here.
The @GlobalGEG offers webinars and our own @GEGOntario group organized a live panel where you can ask your questions specific to an Ontario context. Here is a link to the recorded webinar.
Microsoft
Microsoft also has remote learning support for teachers and don’t forget that Flipgrid and Skype in the Classroom are also resources that will help you connect your students to each other and the world. There are also literally so many possibilities for using Wakelet (also a Microsoft product) and in particular, I love this session offered by Tisha Poncio and Deb Zeman and their SWAT student leads about how they use Wakelet.
Eduprotocols
These mix and match ideas shared by the @Eduprotocols team can easily move from getting to know you to content-resources to support literacy and gap-closing. I think consistency is really important and I really like how I can use the same protocol for community building and then for content.
Need lesson plans for the first week of online learning that ALSO boot up a positive class culture??
HERE
YOU
GOhttps://t.co/zhS68txZSZ#Smart Start for the first 4 days of school! Copy them all! Mix and match. #Eduprotocols #CAEDCHAT #NVEDCHAT #TLAP pic.twitter.com/kD2atAA945
— @EduProtocols (@eduprotocols) August 10, 2020
Hybrid Teacher Survival Guide
Emma Pass is offering a free download with some practical suggestions to help teachers. Thank you Emma!
IT’S HERE! The Hybrid Teacher: Survival Guide is now available as a FREE PDF download! 🎉🎉 I really hope it helps prepare teachers for whatever their learning environment looks like in the upcoming school year. ❤️ https://t.co/StybpCcseo
— Emma Pass (@emmabpass) July 15, 2020
A Digital Librarian’s Survival Guide
This resource curated by Kristina Holzweiss is full of great suggestions and practical ideas which I would argue would be useful to any teacher, not just Librarians. It was created in Book Creator (an awesome tool) and can be found here.
Above all else, the most important resource in the classroom is a caring and compassionate teacher. This means I need to take care of myself before I can take care of others.
I love this quotation shared by Hans Appel in a Teach Better post:
OISE Learning Webinars
The Connected Educators series from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education provides a great archive of webinars. Check them out here.
Stay well.