Week two of distance learning with enrichment activities

Week two 3/23-27th  of distance learning with enrichment activities.  This week involved working with teachers to plan activities and become familiar with tools and techniques to add to Google Classroom.   I shared lots of choice boards with teachers around remote learning in their content areas.  It would allow a student to stay connected to the curriculum but also not involve assessments until we are directed by the state what that might entail.

I also  spent on updating a previous document I shared with staff prior to school being released. The link  bit.ly/distancelearningatnashoba The biggest area of caution this week was putting the breaks on using video conferencing (Zoom and Meet) with students. Although for some teachers and myself included it felt like taking steps backwards.  But, it's important that we wait for a district policy that is shared with students, staff and parents before moving forward.  In addition, the district is working on a Remote Learning Plan and PD options for staff.

I did work with a group of teachers in a "coffee hour session" on using technology to support teachers in special education. I was so impressed with their comfort level with Google Meet and Zoom compared to our first meeting prior to school being released.  We plan on connecting weekly to see how technology may support their learning.

DESE Remote leaning announcement was released at the end of the week, which moves us from enrichment to teaching.  As a department chair we were notified we will begin planning communications inline with the state to move to remote learning connected (enrichment to assessment).  Unfortunately, in several of our classes, students have decided if the work is not graded and does not count.  Do they actually need to get online?

A silver-lining in my week was after reaching out to our journalism/video students and conducting an online (Meet/Zoom) to discuss option to present our video announcements, they are agreed to  to have something ready by 3/17 or Monday 3/30 to share with staff.

As side note, I am co-teaching on Saturday's my Fitchburg State Lesson Design Class #gafefsu and we have a group of teachers learning remotely and quickly applying to their teaching.  It's been awesome having this experience at such a critical time. Stay tune for more...

So it begins - Will we shift to online learning this month?

We were notified last night not to report to school today and wait for an update later today. Lots of schools in the area have cancelled for multiple weeks so I am anticipating the same for our district.
This last week teachers have been inquiring and sharing different ideas for online learning once DESE and our district confirms that will be the direction.

I created a few handouts after being inspired by my colleague @csheil for teachers week.  Hoping this would help reinforce many of the tools they are already using. Timing for something like this is never perfect but I am please teacher have been using Google Classroom for several years along with many online tools.  Now we will begin the process of thinking about the best way to make learning available to students while not over stressing them or teachers.

Here to a few handouts I shared this week http://bit.ly/distancelearningatnashoba along with some steps for using Google Meets http://bit.ly/nashobagooglemeets.  We were scheduled to have a department meeting today so we are going to try out a virtual meeting.  I will post a collection  of videos (google https://youtu.be/gslpx7Q8mhc) along with a collection of wakelets around  distance and remote learning!

Stay tuned for more.

Distance Learning - Blended Learning and E-Learning

There are so many terms used to describe  Distance Learning!
Google recently provided the following tweet!
If you're facing school closure, or have students who are unable to attend class—and are able to continue teaching remotely—here are 5 ways you can continue to support learners: http://goo.gle/32TZGsF 

Today, I worked on a resource to share with teachers, tips from Google on Distance Learning  http://bit.ly/distancelearningatnashoba  along with other tools that may provided teachers with addtional options or tools to use.

Nashoba Innovates PD March 6th

I was delighted to see Dr. Tony Wagner present at our district professional development day on March 6th! Our Our district selected his book Creating Innovators and our department read the book.

This was not the first time I read his book!  Several years ago, I read the book the book and it informed my thinking as the booked discussed portfolios, Olin College and High Tech High in San Diego. After vising Olin College with member of my department, the trip inspired us to explore Project-Based Learning and Design Thinking.  So, I was pleased to re-read the book and discuss with member of my department.

We created a journal, read the book and watched the videos together over the last several months (we created a journal and a wakelet) to curated the information!  This year I created portfolios for all students in the high school as a learning goal!


Students presented their portfolios of work (POW) in the student showcase during PD. Dr. Wagner visited the showcase and met with students to discuss their projects!

Below is the link to the presentation and links to students portfolios!
http://bit.ly/nashobaportfolioshowcase










More information   - to be updated!



Other great sessions that I attended - Deeper Learning Through Authenticity and Real World Experience with http://tomdriscolledu.com/nashoba  Book: In Search of Deeper Learning
The Portrait of a Graduate https://nashobapd.weebly.com by Nipmuc admin was excellent!