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Different Strokes ...

4/1/2020

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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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Social Studies Resources

3/30/2020

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There are a lot of great tools and content being offered for free online right now so I thought I would send out a quick list of some of the ones I have used in the past that have found quite good.

CBC - Curio - usually quite a pricey but is currently being offered for free.  It is  and invaluable resource for a social studies teacher both in-class and online.  Good digital content along with educational resources.

activehistory.co.uk -  A premium subscription service from the UK that is now being offered for free.  Lots of different types of resources including a large number of online history simulations.

Google Arts and Culture - Always free, always awesome!  Virtual tours and collections of museums, historical sites and events.  A great way to take a virtual field trip.

Virtual Museum of Canada - Again a free service but worth taking a look if you aren't familiar with it.  Virtual exhibits and a teacher's resource centre. 

Open Culture - One of the original free educational sites out there.  Its an eclectic collection of resources but a lot of gems of digital content and links to other resources in there.  

Please feel free to leave a comment and share any of your own go to sites and/or resources.
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Spring Break like no other

3/25/2020

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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.
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    Rob Lewis

    This space is intended to support the work I am doing in my current position as a support teacher with Learning Innovation department. 

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