If you’re a Twitter user, join the next #CdnELTchat on Tuesday, September 29. Below is a recap of the September 15 chat written by #CdnELTchat moderator Bonnie Nicholas.
The #CdnELTchat community returned from our summer hiatus with a Welcome back! informal chat.
These are the questions that guided our conversation during the hour-long chat:
- Q1: What did you do in the summer to recharge?
- Q2: What have you learned from the COVID pivot in March/April? How has that changed your approach to this school term/year?
- Q3: What challenges do you anticipate facing this year? What strategies can you use to manage these challenges?
- Q4: What is something that you are looking forward to trying out this term/year? What is something that you want to stop doing this year?
- Q5: How are you planning to develop your classroom community this school year? What professional learning are you planning to participate in this year?
We’ve collected the tweets in a collection on Wakelet (You’ll be able to read all the tweets from the evening’s conversation, even if you don’t have a Twitter account).
Our conversation revolved around the challenges of finding work-life balance in the current situation. We talked of the challenge and importance of separating work from home life when work is at home, and of the increased workload because of the switch to online. Experienced online teachers confirmed that prepping for online teaching takes more time than for classroom teaching. We talked about how the shift to online has highlighted inequities in ELT. We also touched on the importance of teacher and social presence in online environments, and the very real phenomenon of Zoom fatigue. In these uncertain times, staying connected with our colleagues is more important than ever.
There is a scheduled #CdnELTchat usually about every two weeks, with a posted topic and often a guest moderator with a special interest or expertise in the topic. Please let us know if you’re willing to be a guest moderator for a one-hour chat on a topic that you are especially interested in.
You can also reach out to the #CdnELTchat team: Augusta Avram (@ELTAugusta), Jennifer Chow (@JennifermChow), Svetlana Lupasco (@StanzaSL), or Bonnie Nicholas (@BonnieJNicholas). Our Padlet is also always open for your questions and comments.
Use the hashtag #CdnELTchat anytime to connect and to share information of interest to the #CdnELT community.
