Thoughts from the Science Department by Glenn Russell https://padlet.com/glennrussell/5hyro2f7re9c We're all learning together. Share articles or ideas that you found interesting or useful. Ask questions and post comments to share your thoughts. en-us 2020-04-08 16:24:28 UTC 2025-09-28 13:32:33 UTC hello@padlet.com Growing through e-learning glennrussell https://padlet.com/glennrussell/5hyro2f7re9c/wish/499125307 I recently spoke with a teacher from another country who was struggling with the transition to e-learning in a COVID-19 world.  The teacher was frustrated because he students communicating with him at all times and expecting him to respond immediately.  After a brief chat, he realized that he hadn't actually provided the students any specific guidelines on how to communicate with him or what to expect.  He decided that he needed to start by providing explicit guidelines on how students should contact him and how long they should expect it to take for him to respond.   This caused me to reflect on how it is still important, even in an e-learning format, to lay down a strong foundation of classroom expectations and procedures.   This was the first time I had encountered this particular scenario, so it also made me think about how much I still don't know about e-learning,

Our district spent almost a week providing professional development to teachers on the e-learning transition.  When it was first announced, it had seemed excessive to me.  In hindsight, teachers could have even benefited from an extra week of planning together and collaborating closely with instructional coaches, campus admin, and district coordinators to make sure we are laying that strong foundation. 

We're all growing as professionals and learning new skills and exploring new perspectives.  The teachers that I work with are so incredible.  They have been creating varied and stellar lessons, and have somehow managed to stay positive and optimistic throughout this transition.  I see teachers posting things in their Google Classrooms that are thoughtful, that are silly, and that remind students that while they are learning, it's also okay to be human.  Our middle school teachers have been engaging in a level of cross-school collaboration that I have never seen before, planning together in large district PLCs and then adapting those plans for their own classrooms. 

It's inspiring to think that throughout the world, educators are all adapting, learning, and growing as people and as professionals, and almost every educator around the world will come out of this with a set of skills and a new perspective that they didn't have before.]]> 2020-04-08 16:49:02 UTC https://padlet.com/glennrussell/5hyro2f7re9c/wish/499125307 Question: What is the #1 resource that you have found helpful in your class this month? glennrussell https://padlet.com/glennrussell/5hyro2f7re9c/wish/507222162 Comment and share a little bit about the most helpful resource you have been using this past month.]]> 2020-04-14 19:56:05 UTC https://padlet.com/glennrussell/5hyro2f7re9c/wish/507222162 Question: How have you been keeping class culture alive? madison_hope1 https://padlet.com/glennrussell/5hyro2f7re9c/wish/507244960 2020-04-14 20:11:34 UTC https://padlet.com/glennrussell/5hyro2f7re9c/wish/507244960 To learn, Students Need to do Something glennrussell https://padlet.com/glennrussell/5hyro2f7re9c/wish/513651645 Here is an article that I found valuable for me.  I found myself in this mindset when I was planning on how to make paper packets for at-home learning.  It's odd because this is a concept that I am very familiar with, but the moment I was moved out of my comfort zone into e-learning, I found myself falling back into bad habits.

https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/do-something/
(A short excerpt from the article is below)

"Every day, for the most part, information is delivered to them in some really basic way—usually PowerPoint—and the kids copy down what the teacher tells them to from the slides. Then they have some sort of worksheet where they’re basically regurgitating what was on those slides. After this cycle repeats four or five times, they have some kind of test. And that’s it.

"This is not good. If we want our students to actually learn the facts and concepts and ideas we’re trying to teach them, they have to experience those things in some way that rises above abstract words on paper. They have to process them. Manipulate them.  To really learn in a way that will stick, they have to DO something."
]]> 2020-04-17 20:06:31 UTC https://padlet.com/glennrussell/5hyro2f7re9c/wish/513651645 75 Ways to Provide Incentives/Rewards during E-learning glennrussell https://padlet.com/glennrussell/5hyro2f7re9c/wish/654482611 Which e-learning incentives are your favorite?  Why?]]> 2020-07-14 19:53:10 UTC https://padlet.com/glennrussell/5hyro2f7re9c/wish/654482611