So although I didn’t have a lot of choice about retiring (sick husband...I needed to be home... it turns out I picked one heck of a year to not be teaching! Between the teacher contract negotiations leading to rotating strikes and now COVID-19 leading to emergency remote teaching... it’s been a whirlwind of craziness.
And now the latest Twitter uproar comes from the announcement by the Education minister which says he expects that teachers will participate in synchronous video meetings. And for the first time in a while, I actually don’t know how I feel about that edict. I realize it shouldn’t matter since I’m retired but I’m still wrapping my head around that fact and still thinking like a practicing teacher. Here’s why I’m having trouble sorting out my thoughts.
On one hand, I’m hearing concerns for privacy of both the student and the teacher... someone could walk by or say something inappropriate... parents could be listening in on the lesson and misinterpret something... you could get recorded and then have your words transformed...some students and teachers don’t have a private viewing space... On the other hand, I do feel that all of this is part of being a responsible digital citizen... and that learning how to set up a secure space where you can take part in a Google meet or a Teams meeting IS something that middle school students and their teachers should be able to do. I’m not saying they should HAVE to do it. I’m saying they should have the skills to do it.
I’ve also heard concerns about such a practice being inequitable because of the student who can’t get to that meeting (for whatever reason... 3 kids in a house but 1 computer, too busy babysitting siblings, not sure how to connect and no one to provide technical help etc.). While I acknowledge that not everyone can attend a synchronous meeting, I question the wisdom of saying I’m therefore not going to run one, ever. When I think of my teaching days, it was a rare day that I had ALL my students in the room; they were often absent for illness, appointments, in school duties like being a school ambassador to visiting classes, school visits to next year’s school, music trips for some band members, athletic outings etc. It would never have occurred to me to not run a lesson because someone couldn’t be there. And I can’t help but feel that lessons can still go on even if everyone can’t get there.
I’ve also read concerns from teachers who have little ones at home and can’t leave them unattended for even half an hour in order to teach their class. I don’t have an answer to this but I do understand the frustration from the public who question why those teachers are still collecting full time pay. Maybe there should be a voluntary go on EI option for teachers who just can not make it work.
On the other hand, I also think about what I valued about my diverse colleagues and top of that list was the individuality they brought to the art of teaching. I know only too well that there are multiple ways to deliver a lesson and what works for one teacher magnificently can be a disaster for another. Does a pandemic justify taking away individual choice and dictating precisely what tools a teacher must use? The cynical part of my brain wonders whether the insistence on synchronous meetings are part of an accountability need; someone wants to be able to say, “Mr X was instructing his whole class for 20 minutes and two smaller groups for 15 minutes each on Monday. I admit it’s much harder to account for the time someone has spent teaching when they post a Google slide that says, Here is the class work for Monday...and then they spend the rest of the day responding to emails and giving feedback. To a parent, it might look like their child has been abandoned to learn on their own. So I understand why it might seem like synchronous meetings would seem an easy way to provide visible accountability. But this directive makes me angry because I think it suggests a lack of trust. Telling teachers you must have synchronous meetings says we don’t trust your professional judgement for lesson delivery, we don’t trust you to actually work at home and we don’t trust you to figure out the best ways to connect with your students.
It might sound petulant but no one likes being told “You have to do this”. If left to their own devices I believe many if not all teachers would start to explore video conferencing and synchronous meetings with their classes anyway, but now they’ve been told to do it and as you can tell from this post, I’m still sorting out how I feel about that.
What are your thoughts?

Well... I've now been retired for a month. It doesn't feel like a month because if I was still working, this would just be summer vacation so really the feeling of being retired hasn't fully hit yet. I've read about 15 books, taken the dog for a 5 km walk almost every morning, and signed up for two technology conferences. I've listened to several podcasts, and cleaned up a few files and I'm still contemplating what I'm going to do next. I know that my brain isn't finished creating ideas for education. I know that I can't just take up knitting and cooking... 
Stay tuned folks. Somethings brewing... I just don't know what it is yet.   :-)

As I’m sure many of you will agree, summertime is a great time to learn; the amount of time you dedicate to learning is up to you, you can choose what you investigate, and with multiple free web offerings out there you can even stay in the comfort of your own home in your pyjamas if you want.

I’ve been spending several hours watching the free Teach with Tech conference videos and as a result I know a little more about digital escape rooms, using We Video, gamification, Digital Scoots and using Autocrat to provide feedback. The problem is ... the more you know ... the more you realize what you don’t know! Sigh. So much to learn, so little time.

Not really complaining. I love it! If you haven’t checked out the Teach With Tech conference, be sure to visit. Videos are only up until July 29th.

In the last week, I've read Alice Keeler's 50 Things to Go Further with Google Classroom AND her Teaching Math with Google Apps. I've also learned to:
hide and reveal text (thanks Erin Flanagan @Erintegration)
 use Google Keep to provide fun feedback with Bitmoji badges 
made my own little library of Google Keep bitmojis
​earned how to make my own GIFS AND how to use them in a Google Doc (thanks Kasey Bell @ShakeUpLearning), and I've learned how to use the Pear Deck Add On to do some very cool things in Google Slides (thanks Eric Curts @ericcurts at CtrlAltAchieve.com).
Why was I able to do all this? 
The luxury of TIME! It is essential to my summer recharge. I'm so excited by all the new things I'm learning. Wahoo! 
Thank you to all those who share so generously of their time and expertise. 

School is out for the summer and this is typically when I find time to reflect and blog. It was a fabulous year and I can honestly say probably one of my most enjoyable ones in my entire teaching career but also one of my most exhausting. Out of all the activities I had students use in order to show their understanding, the one I am happiest with was my choice menu for our inquiry into water. There were five topics a group was responsible for understanding and they had a choice of nine items they could do as products such as a breaking news video about the topic, a song, an editorial, a monologue, a cartoon, an interview OR a product of their own choosing done with my permission. I had them post all of their products on a Padlet and I’m thrilled with the results.
Definitely something I will keep and refine for next year.

There are three examples of figurative language in this sentence (see photo below) from page 15 of a new YA book called Zenn Disgram by Wendy Brant. There's a simile, hyperbole and alliteration.
I'm challenging PDSB readers to the Figurative Find Challenge.
Here are the rules:
1. Readers are trying to find ONE sentence with as many examples of figurative language as possible. Even if their sentence only has one example, they should enter anyway (the prize is drawn randomly).
2. They can ONLY look in books found in their school library circulation and published after 2009.
3. Once they find a sentence, they take a photo of the book cover and type the sentence over the top of the cover image.
4. Tweet the image and be sure to use the hash tag #FigFind2017
5. Be sure to include the school and teacher or TL's name in the tweet.
6. Challenge is open until Friday June 29th, 2017
7. Teachers can enter on behalf of their students or enter as a class.
8. I'll randomly select three entries and send them a literary reward for their class or, if an individual entry, for themselves. 9. Sorry but challenge is only open to Peel Didtrict School Board students and staff.

I worked with a principal who used to call the time after March the month of AprilMayJune, and this year, that really seems to be the case more than other years. It could be because I'm changing schools, and seem to have this pressing need to get more things done than ever before because I want to leave the library as organized as possible OR it could just be because I've been pursuing more PD than usual and it's eating up lots of my leisure hours. Regardless... I can't tell you what happened to April. 

Just recently, I read a post by George Couros, and it was perfect timing. I'd had a difficult conversation with someone on staff, which I'd been putting off because I suspected they would get defensive, rather than see it for what it was; an attempt to make better use of library resources. While I don't regret the conversation, since it needed to happen, I was starting to wonder whether I should have just let someone else initiate the conversation. And then I read this post georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/7360 and it made me straighten my shoulders and hold my head up. Enough said. 

 March 
It was a tough month with the very unanticipated need to euthanize my 7 year old German Shepherd, Zoey. On the Wednesday night before March break, she suddenly experienced a cardiac taponade, the result of a cancerous tumour bursting, filling the pericardial sac with fluid, and making it extremely difficult for heart to beat, and tough for her to breathe. The vet aspirated the fluid but subsequently discovered that she had cancer everywhere; spleen, liver, lungs and heart. There was no hope, so we went on Thursday to say goodbye to her. It was definitely one of the most difficult days I've experienced this year. 
During the break, I took a first aid course offered by Peel, and then returned to school and made sure I was familiar with our AED (Automatic External Defibrillation) unit. 
In terms of tech breakthroughs - there have been a few. I'm convinced that one of the teachers I work with is finally comfortable with Google Classroom, and is using it effectively. A second teacher that I work with is using it with my assistance to help provide formative feedback to students. 
Just the other day, I suggested to yet a third teacher that she try using Flipgrid to have her students record the first two sentences (the hook) of their speeches so that they could view each others. The free version of Flipgrid doesn't allow for written feedback, but there was nothing to stop students from recording their ideas on a Google doc and then sharing their feedback with their peers. The teacher seemed quite excited when she realized that, quite easily, she could set up a station in her classroom to allow students to regularly record responses to prompts. 
One of the grade 8 classes is almost finishing up the menu board activities that they were working on for Black History month. They had to complete on straight line of activities from a 3x3 menu of choices. I'm excited to see the results since each line involves something written, something oral, and some kind of "dramatic presentation".  They are using a variety of technology; Audacity and Beansprout to create a podcast, imovie to create a Heritage minute, Pic Collage to document their tableaus, Explain Everything or Adobe Spark to create a photo essay. I provided a series of rubrics to help them identify what was important to their final products from a "technical" standpoint, and their teacher co-constructed the criteria for the academic content criteria. Overall, a very satisfactory collaborative effort. 
Pink Sheets are coming out soon so I'm updating my information. I am looking to work in a place where I will feel like I can continue to grow.

Have re-introduced Plickers to both K.C and M.M. Thought that if I printed out a set for both of them, they might be more likely to use them. I really like the idea of using Plickers in conjunction with group work. Show the students the question, have them work in groups to answer it, and then, have each group attached to a card which they use to register their vote. I also like how great it is for just a quick exit ticket. I've made sure that the Plickers app is on the Teacher iPads so that a teacher does NOT need a personal device in order to use the Plickers program. They had seen it used with individuals, but not with groups.
Have also joined a Peel Twitter book chat (Grading Smarter Not Harder) which is pretty fast and furious. I'm a bit disappointed by this month's book because EVERYONE agrees with everything the author is saying. It's a lot more interesting and exciting when there is some dissension among participants. I do however, love the #PeelABC format. They send the book for free and you meet once a week, but only chat for 30 minutes.
Signed up for a Book Talk with Kristin Clark and managed to convince several others (LS. KC. and MT) into participating with me. Our first meeting was postponed due to icy weather, but we've been able to start digging into the book. It's called Bringing Math Students into the Formative Assessment Equation - Strategies for Middle Grades and it's using Learning Intentions and Success Criteria. I can always use practice in this area because often I'm not sure that I've worded my LI and success criteria correctly. The great reminder for me at our first meeting was that a Learning Intention or Learning Goal should NOT be identifying what a student is going to be doing. For example, "We are learning to make histograms" is not a good learning goal. It would be better if the goal was, "We are learning that data can be displayed in many different ways" or "We are learning about the advantages and disadvantages afforded by displaying data using histograms."