Description

I am a math and science teacher at a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This blog documents some of my journey as I explore the use of the Flipped Classroom model with my classes.

Tuesday 18 May 2021

A day of connections online and off (Journaling during Covid-19 - Entry 11)

That new gi feeling :)

(See this post for some background if this is the first entry you're reading in this series.)

The Core Questions

1. What did you do today?

  • evidently, spent some time this morning writing a blog entry about yesterday's activities.
  • today's class was a shortened one due to a staff meeting; focused on helping the students get a little more prepared for tomorrow's chapter test.
  • staff meeting (fully virtual) - since none of my students turn on their cameras during class, it's always good to see many staff who do turn theirs on for these meetings so we can have some semblance of connection even if many of us are just silently reacting to things said by others. Reminder to self: I have to email everyone how to bring up the attendance report I'm pretty sure is available for Zoom meetings scheduled within Brightspace. (At one point the meeting chair said, "Joy has volunteered to..." and I had to comment to myself that of course I did...I seem to be always volunteering for things, although I have been getting better at not jumping at everything that seems to be calling my name.)
    • one item worth noting from our discussion was whether to give subject awards to top mark earners this time around, and if so, whether to put those who'd done some face-to-face classes in the same awards pool, so to speak, as those who'd done the course fully virtually, given the differing sets of circumstances faced by each group...it was a somewhat controversial discussion, and a final decision was not made. Definitely an issue indicative of our "unprecedented times."
  • chiropractor appointment
  • drove to the still-shut-down gym to pick up my gear order from the gym owner and head coach. It was good to see and chat with him again, and I got to wave to someone else I saw biking in to get his gear as I drove away, too. I look forward to the day the gym will reopen and I'll get to actually put the gear I got today to a real test.
  • came home to discover hubby had finished making a really good batch of chicken noodle soup, mmmm. (I also ate the last piece of my most recent cake today.)
  • attended a meeting of several Flipped Learning Network superstars to work on putting together this summer's flipped learning conference. Details aren't being shared yet, but stay tuned!
2. What did you enjoy?

I was honoured to be invited to the flipped learning conference planning meeting despite not being a board member. I am happy I was able to put an idea out that looks like it will be incorporated into the conference, and I am awed by a task that has been handed to me (though shared by a couple others). It struck me as we chatted that I have not talked in person with some of these people since I met them at FlipTech 2018, while some I have only ever had conversations with via Zoom and Twitter (and some only via Twitter, so not even with a face/voice connection), and yet getting together in a meeting with these folks felt so natural even to this sometimes-socially-awkward introvert that I felt ready to jump straight into planning with them with no need for catch-up small talk or re-establishing our relationship. The "flip" community is real, y'all, and I thank those of you who are in it for making me feel so included.

3. What did you find difficult?

At times, trying to parent a 4-year-old and manage all I was trying to accomplish at the same time. I hate feeling like I'm neglecting him, and regret times I have wrongly seen him as an inconvenience and hindrance to my work.

4. What has changed?

Again, not sharing detail yet, but FlipTech 2021 necessarily needs to be different from the conferences we were able to have in person while also not being as overwhelming as FlipTech 2020. Don't get me wrong, FlipTech 2020 was amazing, but it was also a LOT of work for those who organized it (mainly Matthew Moore and Andrew Swan), and it would be unsustainable to try to pull that off every year...especially since some people are just "done" right now and rightly need the time and mental space this summer to recover rather than attend (let alone help run) a conference as long as last year's was.

The Stretch Questions

5. What are you grateful for?

I think I have to put another shout-out to the flip community here. It still boggles my mind that these awesome educators find value in my little contributions, but so thankful for their encouragement and inspirational leadership.

6. Which changes do you want to keep?

Seeing a couple of people from the gym again as well as getting to interact in some way other than the Twitter #flipclasschat with other "flippers" reminded me again that despite my introversion I do really like connecting with a variety of communities of people. I am not a social butterfly, but I do welcome the gradual return to reintegrating with these communities of shared interest and care...as long as I can still retreat back into the blanket cocoon to recharge as needed :).

7. What are you scared of?

We need to change #flipclasschat. It's been a comfortable place to connect with a handful of people from week to week, but it's not really serving the purpose it could. While the change is necessary, I don't yet know what it will look like, and so for now I'm naturally finding that a bit daunting and hope I don't let people down...but given the support I've already mentioned is present in the community, I don't think I really need to fear that; we will see what we can do with it, but I don't have to consider it to be a matter of high personal stakes.

8. What has stayed the same?

My chiropractor is not only skilled at what she does; she has also been a good listener as I've shared things that have stressed me out, and I'm glad to have her friendship, support, and positivity in my life.

9. When did you last laugh?

I don't know if it was the last thing that made me laugh, but the last thing I remember was when the other FlipTech planners tried to get me (the only Canadian-living-in-Canada in the group this evening) to say "about." I don't bother trying to say something for pronunciation analysis because thinking about how something is pronounced can make it come out differently than usual. They'll just have to go back over the recording of the meeting and extract every time I said it naturally for themselves :D.

Have a good night, all!

Cheers,
Joy

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