Time to Unplug
On Mondays I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider.
Today marks the LAST Monday of the 2021/22 school year and it goes without saying that, for anyone involved in education, this time of year is chaos (organized chaos… but chaos). While we are still very much in the trenches these past few days I wanted to share this reminder from Brian that taking time to unplug is good for everything (whether that is tech or people). For many of us, unplugging is taking time away from work during the months of July-August to pursue personal endeavours. For others, unplugging involves the pursuit of ongoing education in areas that are of interest to them in preparation for upcoming goals in 2022/23. For the vast majority we fall somewhere in the middle.
Last year I took a purposeful step back from any type of education-related professional development (you can read more about that journey HERE). In contrast, the year prior I undertook training via the ISTE Summer Learning Academy (#ISTEsla20) and certification in Blended Learning. This year I am working to effectively balance my time away from the office by participating in both personal and professional activities.
On the professional development side, I am working towards the completion of two summer-semester courses as part of my Ph.D journey out of University of Regina. These courses will be summarized here on the blog and will align with these two subject-areas:
- Critical Reviews of Selected Technology Integration Models
- This course introduces students to a variety of technology integration models including SAMR, TPCK, LOTI, TIM & Triple E. The course examines the method of integration at various stages of K-12 education and offers critique on the philosophical and pedagogical foundations.
- Social Media & Open Education
- This course provides an immersive experience where students gain understanding of social media for teaching, learning, and professional development; examine the foundations of the open educational movement and connections to networked learning; and explore collaborative tools for resource sharing, communication, and development of a digital identity and personal learning network.
On the personal side I am looking forward to:
- spending time at our summer cabin on Lake Manitoba
- travelling west with my kids to explore Saskatchewan and Alberta
- continuing my fitness training with marathon and powerlifting preparation
- exploring the Pinawa area of Manitoba via houseboat with our family
What does your version of unplugging look like?
If you are looking for professional development options for the summer months, I’ve included a few in our MVSD Year End Tech Checklist.
If you are looking for wellness resources specifically designed for educators, KG Education, which was has previously been highlighted on the blog, has some great resources and events dedicated to teacher wellness.
I also recommend you check out the quote’s author, Brian Aspinall, online.
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