Here in Massachusetts, we are at the end of Week 5 of Remote Learning (again, thanks COVID-19). The transition has been a bit of a roller coaster for everyone, but there’s one thing that I am just so amazed by: the way that teachers from all over the country, and even world, were able to connect and help each other get set up in a matter of days.
How were they able to do this? Mainly through the power of social media.
Disclaimer: I have mixed emotions about social media. I tend to cycle through a few phases: 1. Tolerate it, 2. Avoid it, 3. Hate it, 4. Contemplate deleting all accounts, 5. Wait, I need it to connect to this one person, and 6. Well I guess sometimes it’s not so bad. I don’t think I’ve ever been someone who loves social media, especially in my personal life.
Regardless of my current attitude about social media, there is no denying that the support teachers found from each other was worth so much more than any government, Department of Ed, or administrative guidance during this time. I want to use this post to highlight some of the people or sites that I personally find the most helpful (note: some of these groups are private and require a request to join):
- EdTech Team Global Community
- Teach with Tech Group
- Google Classroom for Teachers
- Teachers Using Google Classroom
- Technology Teachers – Middle School
- The Infused Classroom
- Shake Up Learning Community, with Kasey Bell of shakeuplearning.com
- Class Tech Tips, with Monica Burns from classtechtips.com
- and on Twitter, check out #remotelearning for some really great ideas!
Some of these groups are run by professional edubloggers or teacherpreneurs, but the majority of the content, suggestions, and tips are submitted and discussed by regular teachers. It’s amazing to see how creative some people can be! I have a feeling this is a list of resources that will continue to grow…
