Author: morgand

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That was a fine webinar…

Hi All!

Yesterday’s professional development day was very interesting. Not in the least because we got to meet Marian Small…even if it WAS virtually. But also, I had the same experience that you are all having. Giving a workshop or class on-line is so much different from doing it in person. I struggle with the lack of participant feedback in the moment, and it makes it so hard to gauge if what one is doing is worthwhile or landing or whether you are completely bored and scrolling Tik-Tok.. I can see the same thing on the faces of comedians when I watch the Saturday Night Live “At Home” version. I’m understanding why almost none of the teachers I talk to think that this virtual learning is an improvement.

You have been quite heroic in your transfer to the on-line environment. It has taken until today (Apr 28) for parliament to be able to meet virtually, yet here you have transformed our classrooms so quickly. Take a moment to be pleased with what you have achieved.

You can look at the videos of Marian’s workshop and my workshop on assessment at the Continuing Learning Sharepoint.  Here is Marian’s document Big Ideas for Each Grade. And the documents from my webinar on assessment are available to Burnaby staff here.

I know you are excited to enter the draw to receive a copy of one of the Open Questions resources. Just write  a comment below, mention your grade level and if you teach in English or French and I will put you in a draw. Deadline for the contest is May 1 at 4 pm!

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Tech Tools for Teachers

Teachers, are you looking for an on-line math resource to help at this time? The following companies have made their resources available from now to June 30, so you can sign up your classes. But please choose carefully, we don’t want to overwhelm ourselves or our students with too many platforms:

For K-3:  Zorbits

For K-8:  Prodigy

For K-10:  Knowledgehook

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Continuing Learning During A Pandemic

In the face of these unusual, once-in-a-career type challenges we are facing, I encourage all teachers to keep calm and go slowly. My best advice…think about what you would like your students to learn that are the essential components of the year/course. Then devise a learning plan, and cut it in half. In these extraordinary circumstances, we must be realistic in our expectations, and especially attentive to issues of equity. Who has support at home? Who has access to digital learning? What can we do to support our most vulnerable learners?

Shut The Box is an adding fluency game.

I have put together a document with some starting places for distance learning. You will notice on that list that both Nelson and Pearson have opened up their on-line resources for free. We also have Zorbits –primary math on-line–offering free accounts for parents and teachers. I offer these with some reserve, because now is not the time to increase your cognitive load as teachers to use new resources. This is a menu of items, but just choose the one or two that work for you to enhance your practice.

Please contact me, through school e-mail at Donna.Morgan@burnabyschools.ca or through my phone (number available via Inside41 directory) if you have questions. Follow me on twitter @DonnaMorgan8 for daily activities (like Shut the Box at left) and updates.

I will be trying to upgrade and improve this blog to help you more. Let me know what you would like!

Gauss/Mirzakhani/Abel

Our Elementary math contests are still scheduled to go ahead as usual…although if there is no school in May, I will find an alternate format for the Mirzakhani and Abel. The CEMC will make a decision about the Gauss by mid-April. So unfortunately I will continue to nag schools for their order numbers in the meantime.

Stay Safe.

-Donna