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!