Skip to main content

Having A Support System Important Now More Than Ever

We were all caught off guard by the Coronavirus. When I heard we weren’t heading back to school for the rest of the year, I began to panic. Like many of you, I began asking myself: “What am I going to do? How am I going to teach students from home? What about assessments? How is this all going to work?” After thinking and asking myself these questions, I realized something: I know TONS of people that can help! Why would I try to do this alone? I have a great support system! Where? Twitter.

Those of you who don’t use social media as a professional resource might be surprised. Let me explain. The Twitter Physical Education (and education in general) professional learning network is like my second family. I remember first joining because I was having a tough time with assessments. Now, with the help of my support system, it has become a strength. I quickly realized that much of the problems I was having in class, other teachers had as well. Twitter is a gathering place for us to learn from each other. Teachers are constantly sharing ideas, providing resources, and answering questions others have. In addition, I have developed some wonderful friendships with teachers from around the world. I now look forward to attending and presenting at conferences knowing that I get to reunite with them. A few friends and I even collaborated via Zoom to do a virtual dance video to share with our students.

Let’s rewind to three years ago when I started. Because I was new, it seemed a bit scary. To help teachers get started, there is an easy to follow, 14-day Twitter twitterChallenge, created b Jarrod Robinson. Each day, you complete a simple task to get you going (create an account, update profile, do your first “tweet”, etc.). This makes the process seem more manageable, more “digestible”. Once I got all signed up, I took the time to read other people’s posts about physical education. I then started to follow certain people that I found interesting. Then, I began to reply to their posts. I would engage in conversations and eventually create my own posts. Three years later, I’m so glad I did it. And, without even realizing it, so are my students.

Twitter has been especially important with the current distance learning. I log in to chat about how certain lessons went and to gather new resources that might be beneficial for my students. In just a few days, I was able to access hundreds of resources to use to continue teaching and inspiring my students from home. We used the hashtag #HPEatHome (Health and Physical Education at home), which gathers all resources postFitness Monopolyed on the topic and keeps them in one place for us to easily access. I studied these resources and determined which would best meet the needs of my students. I then began coming up with an outline and progression on what I want these weeks off to look like. Through the app Class Dojo, I was able to quickly communicate with families. I then created and connected my students to my “google classroom”, where I can record myself teaching for my students to view. Typically, students complete a few challenges, and then post a picture/video to the classroom as evidence where I can assess each one.

All of these resources have been shared via Twitter, my “support system”. They have the experience, knowledge, and skills to help meet my needs, ultimately helping me meet my students’ needs. They are also there to help emotionally when I get frustrated. The question is: Who is your support system?

 

The post Having A Support System Important Now More Than Ever appeared first on STORIES FROM SCHOOL AZ.



Udimi - Buy Solo Ads from STORIES FROM SCHOOL AZ | RSS Feed https://ift.tt/2WWulEG
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tips and Strategies for Remote Learning (March 2020)

For the past four weeks, starting two weeks before our Spring Break last week, teachers, administrators and staff at our school have been preparing for “remote school” for students as a result of the coronavirus / COVID-19 crisis. On March 19, 2020, our Head of School sent out a letter to our parents including information about our remote learning plans and FAQs for parents . If your school is currently preparing for remote learning ( as all Oklahoma public school districts now appear to be , pending tomorrow’s state school board meeting vote) I encourage you to review these publicly shared documents and information. As our school’s “Technology Integration and Innovation Specialist” this year, I’ve been building an instructional site for our teachers to support remote learning, on support.casady.org , which is openly licensed CC-BY . This collaborative effort with many other teachers and members of our school staff has provided a good opportunity to curate as well as present instruc...
Post a Comment
Read more

5 Tips for Embracing Outdoor Learning in Any Setting

In a year when all schools look different from usual, some teachers are embracing the outdoors as their classroom. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention included outdoor learning in recommended strategies for schools to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and research has shown positive instructional outcomes from such methods. Long-time outdoor educators also tout the social and emotional benefits . But getting started can feel daunting. Below are five tips from experienced teachers for trying outdoor learning in any setting. Look for possibilities in different spaces Becky Schnekser is teaching K-5 science fully outdoors this year at a private school in Virginia Beach. She has the advantage of a well developed outdoor classroom, but that’s not a prerequisite. “Any outdoor space is an opportunity, whether you have a beautiful wooded area or you have concrete jungle,” she said. From sidewalk math to history walks to socially distanced singing , educators are finding wa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Guidance on Accreditation for Governing Boards

With accreditation under intensified scrutiny from state legislators and other quarters, two national associations have issued a joint statement reminding governing boards of the importance of higher education’s quality assurance system and the role they should play in it. The Joint Advisory Statement on Accreditation & Governing Boards 2022 , from the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, refreshes a 2009 statement the two groups issued at another time when accreditation had taken heat, then from the Bush administration’s Spellings Commission on the Future of Higher Education. More recently, legislators in Florida have proposed legislation that would require colleges to regularly change accreditors and give them the right to sue accreditors that take regulatory action against them. The Florida measure came in response to an accrediting agency’s inquiry into external influences over governance at two ...
Post a Comment
Read more