Distance Learning Collection
The Just ASK Team has written new articles and updated some older ones as 2.0 versions to support our many colleagues who are tasked during the 2020-2021 school year with creating positive and productive learning experiences from a distance and/or in hybrid environments that are ever evolving. We will continue to add to this collection and hope that you find it useful in your challenging work. Please feel free to share with colleagues near and far, and do be sure to check back often to access newly posted articles.
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Be sure to check out the Mentor’s November 2020 Calendar. |
In the News
The Just ASK Team joins with the novice teachers you are working so hard to support in saying thanks so much for your efforts to ensure a fully qualified ad satisfied teacher in every classroom, be it virtual, hybrid, or traditional.
We feature this month my own list of favorite digital tools and web resources. Please take a few minutes to read through that list and see which one or two might be just what those you are mentoring could best use right now. Several Just ASK Team members shared their lists with one another in October and we all found it an engaging, enlightening, and informative experience. Add your “go-to “ digital resources to the list found here and ask other colleagues to do the same. The results will be amazing!
Access the November Mentoring Memo.
Ten Reasons Teachers Are Heroes
In this issue Bruce writes, “The word hero has been used to describe those individuals who are on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals who fit the heroic description include doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), service providers and a myriad of other brave and intrepid people who have worked diligently to combat the challenges of this unconventional year. As times have passed, and as other workers have provided essential services, a new population has been added to the list of personnel who have moved boldly to the front lines by providing a necessary assistance to a category of individuals who require special care and attention: our nation’s children. Teachers are heroes because of their dedication and perseverance to make teaching and learning possible for all children. More specifically, there are definitive reasons why teachers have earned the moniker of hero. Their qualifications are detailed in ten descriptions in this month’s issue.” Read the latest issue.
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Ten Tips for Promoting Student Engagement
During Online Sessions
Heather writes, “When designing synchronous learning sessions, plan on using that time for the construction of meaning. Avoid lecturing about information that can be obtained during asynchronous learning, and save precious online sessions as a time for students to engage in discussion and interact with you and each other. Make them a time when students apply their learning and gain clarity.” No matter which online platform you are using for synchronous learning (ie. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet), you can use the transferable strategies she discusses in this issue to bolster student engagement. Read this issue now!
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A Growth Mindset for Remote Times
The November 20 th issue of EmpowerED 3.2.1 titled “A Mindset for Remote Times” is now available. Marcia writes, “As closures and distance are the norm, I find our family needing a longer-term approach to combat the isolation that seems to have crept into our home. My teenage son misses his routine, his friends, his teachers, and our family. I worry about him and the other students affected by the solitude, decreased resiliency and the continual time online. At first, the solitude was welcomed as a way for us to slow down and reconnect as families. Yet, as we ponder the holidays without them and friends, I feel the solitude shift to isolation. I was reminded by a recent McKinsey & Company report on strategy and corporate finance that short-term temptations are appealing, but it takes a focus on the long term to create value in business, education, and family-life that has lasting impact.” Marcia’s three big ideas to keep focused on the long term while dealing with the short term are: adopt a “fresh start” mindset and keep moving forward, learn something new, and treat weekends like vacations. Read more.
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