Like so many people out there in education the last two weeks definitely felt like the storm after the calm.  If people were bored and restless coming out of a spring-break dominated by self-isolation the end of April definitely had many feeling like they were about 10km into a marathon that they hadn't had time to train for.

Of course we are not in this alone as covid is disrupting education worldwide and teachers, students and parents are all working to navigate through this emergency remote learning experience.

This week I received two great articles that really spoke to me about what I, and many of my colleagues are discussion on a daily basis so I wanted to share them.

5 traps that will kill online learning and strategies to avoid them

Improve Virtual Engagement

I have been following A.J. Juliani the last few weeks and referring to some of his work on this site.  A.J. is hosting a series of webinars to focus on sharing strategies, structures, and tools that are working right now by people in the field right now.

If you can't attend one of the live events listed below you can still sign up and you will receive the webinar replay and the resources.

If you are interested in some good advice and resources I encourage you to check out A.J. website ajjuliani.com
Sign-up for your grade level webinar below, and you'll also be prompted to share what is working right now in your current situation:
Pandemic Pedagogy: What's working in Emergency Remote Learning Right Now K-2 (Click to Register)K-2 Webinar Time: 8pm EDT on Wednesday, April 8thPandemic Pedagogy: What's working in Emergency Remote Learning Right Now 3-5 (Click to Register)3-5 Webinar Time: 9pm EDT on Wednesday, April 8thPandemic Pedagogy: What's working in Emergency Remote Learning Right Now 6-8 (Click to Register)6-8 Webinar Time: 8pm EDT on Thursday, April 9thPandemic Pedagogy: What's working in Emergency Remote Learning Right Now 9-12 (Click to Register)9-12 Webinar Time: 9pm EDT on Thursday, April 9th

Yesterday myself and some colleagues were speaking about best practices and "moving forward"  in these uncertain times and, to many, uncharted territory.  It is important to realize that many many people have been on the online learning train for a long time.  People working with technology integration, blended learning, distance learning and remote learners all have something to offer as we try and find solutions that work for us as individual educators.  

The amount of tools, resources, tips, tricks and advice o the disasters to avoid can be overwhelming but I think it is important to look for the common themes that come out when people with experience talk about moving into a non face to face environment.  On the weekend our Director of Curriculum and Instruction shared with me a webinar from A.J. Juliani which gave some great advice and resources for those beginning this journey and is definitely worth the time to watch.  

John Spencer is another expert who has been working at blended and distance learning for a long time and works in a teacher preparation program in the U.S.  Below is an excerpt from and email I received as part of his email list I belong to.  I want to highlight a few points he mentions as I think they are particularly relevant as we are at the beginning of this process.

John Spencer ... 

I used to rail against worksheets and packets but then I realized that some kids love that stuff. Not out of compliance or brainwashing or whatever. They legitimately love the progression of skill-based work. Right now, some families need packets. They need structure and "busy work" as an escape.

And that's okay.

Meanwhile, some kids need a ton of choice. Give them a full day of Genius Hour in distance learning and they'll do something amazing. Give them a choice menu with five project ideas and watch them take flight! Let them do a Wonder Day and see them chase their curiosity. But other kids need a little more structure.

And that's okay.

Right now, some families need packets. Others need projects. Others need ideas. Others need to be left alone as they grieve and heal and carve out time for themselves amid the chaos. Some of them have lost their jobs in the service and travel industries. Some are "essential workers" and they're scrambling to get childcare. Still, others are telecommuting (is that still a term?) and they can't take time off to teach and reteach concepts.

And that's okay.

Some of the parents are eager to communicate and loving the phone calls home. Some of them aren't answering the phone at all. And the ones who aren't answering the phone might just be dealing with lost jobs and sick parents and unbearable stress. Some of them took every ounce of energy just to get out of bed. In other words, some parents may want to communicate more. Some may want to communicate less.

And that's okay.

Every child is different. Every family is different. But there are universals. We all need connection and compassion. We all need choice and autonomy. We all need the permission to process this social distancing thing in our own way. We all need to be shown a little grace. The more choice and permission we can provide families, the better. Ultimately, we're all handling this in different ways.

And that's okay.

We are in uncharted territory right now and it's amazing what teachers and school leaders have been able to accomplish with little direction and a chaotic context. Maybe it's time we show ourselves a little grace and be okay with the idea that it's not going to be perfect and there's no single "right way" to do this distance learning thing.

And that's okay.

Remember we are at the beginning of this process and we are all (students, teachers, administrators, parents, support staff) in this together and working towards the same goal.  While we may not have all the answers at this moment and we will definitely make mistakes the most important part of the what happens in schools is the caring, supportive and understanding  relationships that are built.  If we keep flexibility, connection and understanding at the forefront of our planning we will be OK.
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Well I know I am not alone in saying that this is not how I saw spring break playing out!  As we get ready to return to some sort of schooling whether it be virtual, distance, remote, home or some combination we can be sure we are all in uncharted territory together.  Teachers, parents, students, administrators and support staff are all waiting, wondering and working to understand what the next month will look like. Fortunately, we do have some have some resources and tools that we can leverage to try and provide some continuity of learning for our students and support each other as we work through these extraordinary times.  With that in mind I thought I would post a few things that may be of use for people to explore as they consider how they might go "online" with their classes.  

I am a take care of the easy stuff first type of person so these links are all to things that I have already used to support my classes in the past and require very little tech skill and leverage free tools.  Feel free to use any of the material posted or link to anything you think would be useful for your students.

Moving your course online
These are examples of websites I have used over the years to support my face to face classes.  I usually start with a blank page and then every few days I post the material we cover.  It is a way to support students who may be absent as well as make my life easier so kids aren't constantly asking me for missing assignments.  By the end of the semester I have an entire course uploaded so these are the latest versions of these courses I have taught.  

20th Century World History 12

Human Geography 12

Social Studies 10

​Providing instructional support
Often we get caught up in trying to provide virtual lessons and video instruction when we think of online learning.  The reality is that the internet is full of instructional videos on every topic and most are much better than you or I will be able to produce within the constraints of our time and or ability.  I try not to re-invent something just to put my stamp on it but rather curate really good sources and information to provide it for my students.  You are better off to use you time with video to make more personal contacts with students than recording full lessons.

This is an example of a math support page I put together for my students that allows them to quick and guided access to some online instructional support.

Math Support Resources

Online class discussions
Synchronous class discussions through video conferencing or learning portals can often be tough to manage and frustrating on both sides.  However, there many of ways you can facilitate asynchronous class discussions online and in many respects this is one area that the online environment can be better than the face-to-face classroom.  Discussion boards give everyone an opportunity to share and provides thinking time before responding to others.  

I have used class blogs for years and have found they are an excellent way to extend discussions beyond the class, bring in outside information and resources such as current events and focus students on big essential questions.

These are a couple examples of discussion blogs that myself and colleagues have used in the past which take minutes to set up and are completely free.  Some of the pages haven't been used in the last few years as other social media options have become available  but they remain easy to set up and highly useful for those who want to avoid things like Twitter, Snapchat and Facebook.

Soc11Eh - Social Studies 11 Blog

Social Studies Whatcha Thnkin? - Blog to Support Social Studies 10-12 

Of course there is a lot more to talk about when we are facing such a huge shift in practice in such a short amount of time.  Over the coming days and weeks I will continue to share personal experiences, best practices, resources and tools but for now I will leave it at what I have posted.  Just now we are in this together and we can get through it if we work together and keep our focus on students' needs.

So being a Social Studies teacher I spend a lot of my time thinking, reading and talking about societal issues, with student, colleagues, friends and family.  A curiosity and interest in the why and the what of things is what really what drives me on a professional and personal level.  I am also lucky enough to be surrounded by bright, interesting people who are willing to share their opinions and engage in lively debate.  As a result, for years, I have had the idea of recording  podcasts and sharing some of these conversations for no other reason than to illustrate that people do think, care, discuss and often disagree on real issues about education, society and life in general.  The problem, however, has always been in finding interesting enough topics and the people willing to share their opinions on them in a recording....

 Well, I'd like to introduce you to Erica McLean.  Erica is a colleague I met this year through my new position with Learning Innovations.  The last few weeks Erica and I have been sharing an office a couple times a week and we have been chatting about the Wet'suwet'en / Coastal Gaslink Pipeline dispute.  Erica is from the Gitanmaax reserve that borders the Wet'suwet'en territory so I was keen to her perspective and thoughts on the dispute.  What has resulted has been great conversations and sharing with Erica being willing to sit down with me this morning to share some of her thoughts.

This was both of our first attempt at a podcast type audio recording so it is far from polished but we did it in one take without editing so  I figure that can't be too bad.

Please click on the file below to here Erica and my conversation.
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​Erica McLean Know Why

Here is a link to Erica's Blog Skanii and her post on the Know Why conversation

 A couple months ago I was asked to take a look at some resources on concussions and put together a team to review and compile resources that would be useful for our coaches, students, athletes and educators.  As more and more is being learned about concussions and the long term affects on personality, emotion, memory, and learning it is clear that we need to take steps to ensure all of our stakeholders are concussion literate and have access to the most current, best information available.  

As a result Renzo Berra, RJay Berra, Joseph Jefferies and myself developed the following libguide on Concussion Awareness that includes CATT (Concussion Awareness Training Tool) e-learning courses along with other valuable information and resources.  This information can also be found on this site as part of the Canadian Sports School resources.  It is hoped that this libguide and the information it contains will continue to evolve into a robust educational resource to support ongoing learning around concussion awareness and mental health for student athletes.

Concussion Awareness LibGuide

Monday saw another opportunity for the University of Northern British Columbia Soccer Teams to get out into our local elementary schools and give back to some local kids.  Thanks to Peden Hill for letting us come out and play some lunch time Futsal with the students.  Over the next three weeks players will be going with me out to 5 local schools culminating in a soccer day at UNBC in March.

On Monday I was at a workshop with Jo Chrona from FNESC exploring the BC First Nations Land, Title, and Governance Teacher Resource Guide.   It is a great resource with well laid out lessons and resources.  This guide is available as a free download and is invaluable for anyone exploring land, title and governance in BC with their classes. 

This workshop also got me thinking more about accessing local resources and histories to layer onto some of the lessons.  With a quick visit to the PGDTA Aboriginal Education Resources page I came across the Native Land Territory and Language map.  This is an interactive map that comes with a teacher's guide.  This is a great resource to spend a bit of time with especially if you are teaching social studies.

As I reflect on the weekend a big take away for me was the passion and intensity for education and learning that was on display.  It was very powerful to see the value presenters and participants  were placing in education to reclaim culture.  As a public school teacher it often feels like we are fighting a losing battle to cell phones, youtube, family vacations and extra curricular trips.  So to be around people who have been denied educational opportunities or who had suffered mistreatment under the disguise of education and see the emotion they had in being able to share their stories was an important reminder of the power and importance of education.  It was nice to focus on language, culture, person narratives and collective histories rather attendance and discipline.  Perhaps if we made more than token efforts to include the people we are trying to educate instead of continually trying to force what we think they need on them we could achieve higher levels of engagement in all areas of education.  Allow our youth to explore, experience and grow.  Trust in the power of education instead of focusing on "training" our youth for a future we acknowledge we can't predict.  Just some random thoughts at the end of a weekend