Distance Learning_Week 4 with Northland Junior Teacher Catch up

A little bit of the fizz has gone. Numbers are starting to dwindle at times with those on google meet sessions in the morning. And there has been a massive drop in the afternoon sessions. Whilst this is probably a common story around the country I was reinvigorated by a couple of colleagues on our Junior Teacher catch-up today.

I had decided not to join the online meeting today as my enthusiasm for online learning has declined along with dwindling numbers. However, I did go on and was reminded why some teachers make good teachers. There must have only been about one-third of the teachers there had been in the first Junior School Jam. And it was so interesting to see that the more mature of my Northland colleagues were out in force today. Experienced teachers who have seen years, maybe decades of educational change and are still teaching today because they have a burning desire to teach children the best they can despite the circumstances. Whilst there was a discussion about faded enthusiasm for online learning from our students there was no complaining about it, simply reflection. These teachers had ideas to share because they know that they can be the difference between students getting online or not. No blaming families, Covid-19, bad internet connections or the weather, just wonderings: How can I get my students enthusiastic again? How could I play kahoot to get them enthused? What can I do to encourage blogging comments?Then there were terrific suggestions: keep it simple and routine. Get them active in a google meet so they are active and participating.
These are the things that have worked for me but I don't necessarily do all the time. So here are my self reflection questions for my own google meet sessions?
What activities will work for the morning google sessions that involve lots of interaction as well as increase learning?
What activities shall I drop? Probably the shared book. But poem/song is working.
 How will I change the afternoon sessions to be of value? Do I need to change the time and create a group session rather than an afternoon sharing time? Should I be encouraging the sharing of work to more than just myself and the family,e.g. to all classmates?

Slide from today

Slide from last Junior Slam

I am excited about the sharing of goals from distance learning. That deserves a post by itself I think.