Monthly Archives: October 2015

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When doing some introductory reading about the facilitators of Cohort 21, I noted how Justin had expressed frustration with his previous Professional Development sessions. I took this to mean that he was underwhelmed with the offerings which had been available at the time.

Today, however, I felt overwhelmed.

From dictionary.com, one meaning of "overwhelm" is to load, heap, treat, or address with an overpowering or excessive amount of anything. The excessive amount of anything I experienced was great ideas. Overwhelming, - certainly! I did suggest that Garth either add an extra 4 hours to my day or offer to board my 3-year-old daughter so that I could even begin to delve into some of the discussion.

After having taught in the public system and then a private elementary school, I feel that I have now entered a time warp where:

Technology available to me as a French teacher in an independent school

+ Recent changes to the FSL curriculum

= Rocket launch in my teaching trajectory.

A quick review of my day:

Design thinking: I felt I had accomplished so much already by 10:30 a.m. Much more than I would've on any regular Saturday (although laundry marathons and meal planning/preparation are vital as well!) I solidified some goals that I had for oral French production integrated in a natural and meaningful manner at the beginning of every class. Details will be revealed once I try this.

Twitter: So far my favourite tool. Highly addictive. Even moreso now that I've joined this group.

Diigo: Wow - I could get lost in this. So many great articles. How did I ever teach effectively before this? (Did I?...fodder for another post...)

GoogleHangouts: Well...I'm still getting the hang of this. Pun intended.

Blogging: My first attempt here. (Can anyone tell me if I should source my images the way I did? Or how about if I can change the font size? Or how I'm even supposed to end this post...?)

 

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c21_logo_mediumWelcome to Cohort 21. This is the first post on your new blog. This journal is an integral part of your Cohort 21 experience. Here you will reflect, share and collaborate as you move through the C21 learning cycle towards your action plan.

Cohort 21 is a unique professional development opportunity open to CIS Ontario teachers and school leaders who are seeking to explore  what it means to a teacher in the 21st century.