ESL 509 ~ Brittany Horst

It is nearly impossible to find an article that doesn't involve the coronavirus.  It is seemly getting worse each and every day.  I truly can't wait for us to combat the disease and life to return to normal! Anyway, I have two articles I'd like to address that came through my Google Alerts.  In my "blogs in the classroom" search, there was an article about a rock star 3rd grade teacher that created a chat for her students in the midst of the chaos.  Gretta Hochsprung, a reporter for "The Post Star" website, wrote that her nine year old son was instantly at ease after having the opportunity to talk to his teacher.  I think it's absolutely amazing that this teacher from Queensbury Elementary School took the time to schedule chats with her entire class.  It wasn't so much to teach them anything, but rather to create dialog and give her students peace that this will all be okay.  She used Google Classroom and set specific times for students to log in...

It was hard to find an alert this week that wasn't about the coronavirus, but I was able to find one that interested me.  I stumbled upon an article called, "How to Bring Classroom Observations into the Digital Age" by Ralph Krauss.  This was sent to my inbox from my "classroom technology" alert created in Google Alerts.  This article is mainly about how observations done by principals should be done in the least distracting and most discreet way possible.  The idea is to have principals use videoconferencing software on laptops while the teachers wear headsets.  The principal is able to watch the teacher while he/she is teaching a lesson from his office.  He is also able to give immediate, live feedback to the teacher as he/she is teaching.  In theory, this should be less distracting for students. As I was reading this article, I was quite honestly offended.  I think it is an insulting idea personally.  Without the principal in the classro...

While I had many alerts sent to my email this week with interesting articles, this one immediately caught my attention.  While I have generally been keeping my distance with anything talking about the coronavirus, I couldn't help but read this article.  The title of the article being "Italian Schools Go Digital As Coronavirus Shuts Classrooms."  I have adopted the idea of not panicking until there is reason to panic.  I know there are many who are extremely concerned that this virus will spread to their area.  I know my sister who has plans to study abroad next month will no longer get that opportunity as Penn State University doesn't want to take any risks.  They are even sending students home from studying abroad early if their country has any reported cases of the coronavirus. This article really had me thinking how amazing technology is, especially during a situation such as potential illness.  Even just a few years ago, if school needed to shut ...