We hope you are enjoying your winter break! Welcome to the second episode in our special holiday series. Join us as we share tips for rest and relaxation, as well as a countdown of our top three episodes! This week, we are celebrating our episode with the second-most downloads. We thank you for joining teachers around the world who have helped Tech Talk for Teachers surpass 20,000 downloads since we launched in August. Let’s celebrate our journey together. Thank you for all you do!
Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.
Anne Lamott, author
Resources
In this week’s episode, we discuss the following strategies and resources that are available on AVID Open Access for you to explore in more depth.
Rest and Recharge Countdown: Tips 5–8
As you read and reflect on the self-care tips contained below, try using this self-care worksheet to help you design intentional goals. Remember to design self-care goals with your specific situation and needs in mind.
Shifting Your Mindset to Prioritize You
- Rest: Teachers often think that busy is normal. Embrace the opportunity that vacation offers to sleep, meditate, and lift some of the cognitive load off your shoulders to help clear your mind.
- Recover: No matter the time of year, it is likely that you have been experiencing a lot of stress, and you may be low on energy. You need to find ways to recover from everything you may be experiencing.
- Recharge: Recharging is not being selfish; it is essential to recharge if we want to be our best selves for our students. We are no good to our students if we come to school with dead batteries!
- Reduce: To make room for self-care, we need to focus and reduce. While technology allows us to be 24/7 teachers, it is not healthy to always be working. It is essential that we set boundaries and protect our personal time and practice healthy work–life balance.
Countdown of Tech Talk For Teachers’ Top 3 Episodes
At #2, with over 1,800 downloads, is Episode 10: Create Differentiation for Students in Remote Learning.
Teachers are working extraordinary hours to meet the needs of their students in what is, for many, an unfamiliar virtual-learning environment. The thought of adding one more thing is overwhelming. Differentiation can seem like that “one more thing” when it actually means focusing on our students’ needs, and technology gives us the means to do it more efficiently and effectively.
Join our Digital Learning Specialists as they discuss differentiation of the learning environment, content, process, and products that demonstrate learning. Let’s talk about how we think about student voice and choice in differentiation to allow teachers to find the right mix so that students meet their learning targets and are engaged in the process.