Skip to main content

Fly Eagles Fly




I hope you all enjoyed watching the Super Bowl! No matter who you were rooting for - it was a great game! And the story of resilience - a second string QB - to Super Bowl MVP!! 

 I was fortunate enough to be in Philadelphia and see all the excitement in the community! People were all united by the common goal of being Champions.
If there is anything I know about resilience I learned it growing up here, in Philly, always being an underdog. It makes me realize that the work I do - supporting teachers as they engage learners, is a lot like helping the learner take the risk when they are a bit afraid to jump in! Who knows - they might be afraid of failing, or being made fun of, or not being cool, pretty or strong enough. As teachers and facilitators, we are here to level that playing ground. I love that in the online World of Learning (WOL at IU08) that connection seems to be even more evident.
I love the energy of our facilitators for learning and helping our learners to become more engaged! With all the enthusiasm, I watch as we unearth strategies and tools that allow us to continue to gain TRUST and create environments that are safe for learners. It seems many students disconnect from school because they did or do not feel welcomed, valued or heard. It takes time to get them reconnected and enjoying the excitement of learning - I think we do this well.
With all of our efforts - to try new tools, use different strategies and taking risks to learn we will continue to bridge the divide from passive to active learning as we continue to grow and gain confidence in facilitating engaging live sessions and interactive asynchronous activities!
We look forward to working with you and your learners on your journey to more engaged learning.
With Courage!


Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Connected Learning - Anywhere!

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

What Matters in Schools - Today and Every Day?

I started my weekend with a text message from Dave Lehman, the Superintendent at Conemaugh Valley School District about his testimony in the State Senate this week. I like working with Dave. We have become sounding boards for each other as we have worked collaboratively through Appalachia IU8. The job of a Superintendent goes well beyond the scope heading up schools. Most people don’t know how many hats a Superintendent wears on any given day. Some days we talk about alternative programs and expanding learner options - other days we just commiserate about how little we get to talk about education. James Hollis in his book Swamplands of the Soul stated, ‘Doubt is a radical form of faith’, something that I think is needed when working as a Superintendent. I have learned so much from working with Dave these past few years, he digs in when doubt is present. He often has simple, yet profound advice as he muddles through one of the many difficult issues faced by Superintendents most days. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wondering Together

Dr. Pat Mulroy, Appalachia IU8 May 30, 2017 Have you ever wondered how we learned to fly airplanes or cure diseases? Have you watched movies about people who figured out how to break codes and create computers? Amazing! The ideas of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have changed the way we live, work and communicate. Who dreamt of the internet? Cars? Refrigeration? So many of the miracles of modern medicine? Have you ever wondered why we can’t solve some problems - or haven’t yet? Who will be the trailblazers' the future? How will we support them? So many people told inventors and dreamers that their task was impossible! I was that teacher once. I hope only once! The learner came back to me later in the year - proud to prove me wrong. I am thankful my words did not make that learner give up. Who believes that we will stand still? That cars won’t fly or the problems of world hunger can’t be solved? I hope not Educators. Or Parents or Politicians or Business Leaders! Last yea...
Post a Comment
Read more