Hello World,
In each edition of this newsletter, I will share five inspiring web resources from the education sector that I have curated after hours of research to ensure that you have the best education coffee in your inbox.
After three months of in-person learning, I will soon begin teaching online in a Grade 5 classroom in Mississauga, Ontario. This change was implemented because of the COVID pandemic and the recent Omicron variant. I think this will be challenging and exciting. I hope to learn and grow as a professional from this experience.
1) Teaching Online during the Pandemic using Google Classroom
The COVID-19 pandemic has been really challenging for all educators as there are several demands made to shift seamlessly from online to in-person learning. These transitions are not always easy and often are most difficult for students that need the additional in-person support. However I think we can use technology creatively to support all learners. I am excited to learn and grow with my students this semester. We spent a lot of time in the first semester training students to effectively use Google Classroom. I think any platform is suitable for online teaching and I do not have a specific preference for any platform as such. I recommend testing and trying out several platforms before settling on any one. I love the large set of training resources that the Google for Education Community has put out at the above link in the form of a presentation. I highly recommend reviewing these videos to see how you differentiate instructions, provide meaningful feedback and teach online in a creative and engaging manner. I really enjoy using Google Classroom with my students.
2) Student Screentime Research during the COVID pandemic
I recently read this wonderful paper by the Research Team at the Acres Foundation in. Mumbai, India. This paper was co-published by Siamack Zahedi, Anuj Iyer and Rhea Jaffer. I would also recommend reading this summary post by Radhika Zahedi on the same article at this link to understand the paper’s findings better. An important insight I picked up from this paper was how various studies referenced in the paper clubbed all kinds of student screentime use into one giant category. For instance using technology to watch an educational video is very different from using technology to simply browse social media.
3) Using Lists on Twitter to connect with other Educators
Twitter is an American microblogging and social networking service on which users post and interact with messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and retweet tweets, but unregistered users can only read those that are publicly available. I love using Twitter to connect with other educators and also learn about how they teach in their unique contexts. I often use the lists feature on Twitter to ensure that I can streamline the tweets from different people I follow on Twitter. This feature allows you to create a special list of profiles related to a specific topic. You can then access all the tweets that people in this list publish separately. Here are some examples of lists I have created to stay up to date with education updates in the province of Ontario, Canada.
4) TED Talk Recommendation - Molly Wright: How every child can thrive by five
I saw this charming and insightful talk by a 7 year old about the things every child needs by the age of 5 to develop in a healthy manner physically and emotionally. The three main needs are opportunities to connect, talk and play with the adults in their life. Molly describes how simple games that parents play with their kids related to the above areas have a long term positive impact on their development. A healthy home and a sense of community are also vital to stable development from the age of 0-5 for any child.
5) Learning Stories Episode 10 - Vinod Krishnan
I started a YouTube Channel called ‘Learning Stories’. This is a show where we interview a diverse set of learners from the 21st century. Each guest profiled here has a unique story to share about how they acquired a set of valuable skills and knowledge in a creative and innovative manner. In the process, we hope to uncover a new understanding of learning as conceptualized, imagined, and narrated in these learning stories.
On Episode 10 of #LearningStories we chat with Vinod Krishnan. Vinod Krishnan is a visual development artist and animator based in Los Angeles, California. He has established his career in the art and entertainment industry. He grew up in Bahrain. From 2015 to 2017, he pursued an MFA in Animation from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). After graduating from the program he worked with several animation studios including Walt Disney Animation, Dreamworks Animation, Netflix Originals Animation and Sony Pictures Animation. He was part of the art direction teams in projects like Annabelle Comes Home (2019), Avengers: End Game (2019) and Rick & Morty. He has worked on music videos for artists like Billie Ellish and Taylor Swift. As a professional, he is enamored by the art of storytelling and narrative building and wants to continue using his artistic skills to tell stories. In 2019, he directed, edited and produced a short virtual reality film called ‘Blue Bird’. You can find him on Instagram at @vinod.kr and review his work on his website https://www.vinodkr.com/.
Please do send me your thoughts and resources on any edition of this newsletter through email at abhishekashokshetty@gmail.com or on twitter @AbhishekShetty_. I love taking these discussions forward on those platforms.
Abhishek
03/01/2021