COVID19 is having a huge impact in Aotearoa New Zealand and globally. How are you preparing for when the impacts are closely felt in your school and community? NZ eteachers recently participated in an online workshop designed to support them with the basics of preparing to teach online.

"We are already using Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams, right? Just throw in some video conferencing via Zoom or Google Hangouts and we are away.
Well, I am sorry to say; it isn’t as easy as that. In a blended environment, learners are with the teacher face to face for a significant amount of time. What happens when the teacher is no longer present? How do you keep learners engaged when they can do a multitude of other, often more interesting things? How many of our students are self-managing? How many adults could say that?
It isn’t as simple as just putting things for students to work through online." Coronovirus and Education: Are we ready?

This workshop explored some of the key pedagogies of online teaching and learning, strategies for student engagement, areas for skills development and ongoing support and professional learning.  Whether your digital capabilities are a beginner or confident, this workshop will aimed to raise awareness, build confidence, capability and connections with others. 

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Thanks for those who participated in our session, we had 70 connections and many more participating from staffrooms around the country!

I hope that you were all able to have some takeaways from our session that will help you and your colleagues prepare to take your students' learning online.Here is the link to our presentation with resources linked from it. If you would like the recording please email rachel.whalley@vln.school.nz You are invited to join NEX Kōtuitui - network of expertise for online teachers and teachers who support our online learners. This is a community designed to support the practice of NZ online teachers. Membership is open and free. To keep updated on upcoming events and professional conversations please sign up to our newsletter.

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Also of interest Zoom in Education webinar hosted by ConnectNZ & VLN Primary - Tuesday March 24th 3.30 pm - register here