Happy New Year

 

Almost every teacher I talk to says the same thing about the 1st semester.  They have never worked as hard or have been as stressed as they were during the fall of 2020, and that is so understandable. Teachers were asked to teach with technology they weren't familiar with, and in a way they had never taught before, to students that felt just as unprepared. 

Now as we move into the spring semester, many teachers are feeling a sense of relief. They have finally got the hang of posting assignments to Google Classroom and holding Meets. Students are starting to turn in assignments. And, for some lucky teachers, they are going to get to reuse the assignments they painstakingly created in the first semester with a whole new group of students. 

There is no doubt about it, teachers have worked hard to clear the massive hurtle that was thrown at them. I want every teacher to know how proud I am of what they have accomplished. There are countless stories I could share of teachers that, only a year ago, could hardly send an email, and now they are posting engaging digital assignments every day. Way To Go!

I know many of you want to continue on your journey towards edtech mastery. Here are a few suggestions of things to try as we move into the new year and new semester. 

1. Reflect:

Reflecting is one of the best things you can do to improve your digital instruction. Just taking an hour or so to look over your previous posts can really make a big difference. Ask yourself things like: 

• Did this assignment/lesson really help students learn the content?
• What could I add or take away from this assignment/ lesson to make it more beneficial to students?
• If I had to create this assignment/ lesson from scratch, what would I do differently? 

2. Get Organized

Most of us were so busy during the first semester creating content that we really didn’t take the time to organize our content. This is completely understandable, but as you get more and more content it is critical that you are organized. My suggestion is to create folders for your content and try not to go more than 3 deep. Here is an example layout

:

Level One- Class folder(s) (e.g.US History)

Level Two- Standards folders and Collective Folders (e.g. USHC-1, USHC-2) 

Level Three- Specific resource folders (e.g. Presentations, Tests, Individual Assignments)

 

3. Choose One Area for Improvement: 

During the beginning of all this digital instruction, teachers had to learn so much so fast. Chances are you have found ways to get by, but there are areas you would like to improve. Don’t get discouraged by a long list of things you still don’t know how to do. Pick one. Talk to other teachers, search for videos online, or set up a one-on-one session with Mr. Coffey to learn how to do that one thing better. Once you feel comfortable with that skill move on to the next. We should always be learning, but you shouldn’t burn yourself out in the process. 

As I look towards the Spring semester, I hope to help each one of you as you continue to master the skills that this new reality requires of us. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have, and I wish you the best in 2021.