What I did on my summer vacation.
Hard to believe that summer has already come and gone. No, I am not wishing away the warm-ish weather, but the school year is fast approaching and it’s time to start thinking of my year ahead. With a new addition to my family in July and a new house, it has been tough to keep up the momentum that Cohort 21 provided this past year.
What, do you ask, did Cohort 21 provide me as a teacher?
- First of all and most of all, it provided a professional learning network (Check out all the Cohort 21 blogs) of which I had never seen before. The motivation, inspiration, and people that Garth Nichols & Justin Medved brought to every face to face meeting was astounding.
- Opportunity to learn new things, try them in your classroom, and reflect on them was absolutely pivotal in pushing me out of my comfort zone as a teacher. I know my students appreciated something unique, new, or sometimes just ‘edutaining’ after I came back from our meetings (Kahoot.it for example).
- A positive learning environment – We all learn and strive to provide this for our students but do we really get this from the people who run our learning sessions…Cohort allowed for a comfortable, relaxing, and positive environment to explore new ideas.
- A new view on teaching – My eyes are open after many years of pushing on my own. I love the community I have become a part of, I think about what I do in the classroom and reflect on it, and I strongly believe that my students benefit every day.
This year, my learning continues and so will my blog (I apologize for the break!). I recently registered for the GAFE summit in Montreal and am looking forward to attending my second professional learning opportunity with Google Educators. I strongly recommend their Google Apps bootcamp . It opened my eyes to the power of Google in the classroom and I look forward to more learning. I have also taken on another Teaching Fellow at my school in Lakefield. The continuation of LEAP (Lakefield Education Apprenticeship Program) brings new ideas to the classroom and has allowed one on one reflection as we co-teach our way through the curriculum. I will also continue to be a part of the Cohort 21 community in every way I can.
An amazing year lies ahead! What are you going to do with it?