World of Learning Institute

Teaching and learning in an online, virtual, blended or internet based platform is not just about the tools, it is also about the connections. Don’t get me wrong, we couldn’t provide virtual services without the tools, but the tools come and some go… so we work hard to figure out how to engage with the learners and make the virtual experience meaningful. In the late fall, we spent some time with a few learners and their teacher. You can see that they like each other even though they have only been working together for about 8 weeks. We wanted to know a bit more about how learners were navigating these new tools that were being used at Windber Area School District so we asked them some questions. Here is what we heard when we asked: “What did you think when you heard you were going to be doing some of your class in a virtual environment?” The first students started “I thought it was going to be hard!” Another student described using the virtual tools as an “ex...

Building Relationships I remember it like it was yesterday. Chris, the guidance secretary, asked me if I had a minute to talk when I  made my usual check in on the way to lunch. She pulled me aside to let me that one of my students stopped by most days after PE class and was sad. You see, I let kids pick their own partners! What I thought was a great way to give the kids choice and explore sometimes challenging new skills with someone they were comfortable, turned out to leave this young learner alone. She didn’t have friends in this class and often found herself waiting at the fringe to get a partner, that probably felt rejected, too. ** Why did she go to the guidance secretary and not me? ** Maybe she was right - I didn’t even notice? ** Why would she trust me? ** How can she really learn from me if she doesn’t feel safe and valued? This lesson, one of isolating a student who wanted to be engaged, has stayed with me now for 25 years! I am thankful for Chris, who ...

"Collaborating, within a learning community, can support the unique challenges of teaching in the virtual environment." World of Learning PD Goal On New Year's we often stop to take stock of what is going well (what we want to keep doing) and what we want to get better at doing in the year ahead. I am grateful that in the short time I have worked at AIU8, with the World of Learning, we have had such amazing support! Collaborating does lead to meeting success in the virtual environment. So, for 2018, we hope to build on the great things that have been started and to share some of what makes our teachers successful. Teaching and learning in a virtual environment has unique challenges: like navigating Canvas or signing into Zoom for the first time! In this post I would like to acknowledge and highlight a few of the people who help us navigate the sometimes tricky road to virtual learning. These folks and many more make the road to virtual learning fun and eng...