As I sit here this morning before 7 a.m. on a Monday morning waiting and waiting and waiting for a new son to decide he's ready to finally join us, I can't help but profess my love for my school web pages. I have taken the day off as it seems as if our baby wait may soon be over, and the fact that I have this website available for my courses makes me feel like I am still engaged somewhat with my students. Rather than showering and putting on my shirt and tie, this morning I logged on and posted announcements for my students to remind them of the assignments and projects they should be working on today, as well as what to expect in the upcoming few days. I have everything set for my sub, but this website gives me the chance to connect with my students through a more direct intermediary that I have a bit more control over, and I like that. It must also be nice for the students to have instructions directly from a teacher rather than wondering if the substitute is telling them correctly, and the ability to embed video could make my absence days even more productive for students. Imagine sub days without losing instructional time!
What's next? Getting students to buy in and learn to use this asset they have available to them. In every announcement I post regarding my absences, I refer students to my email address and ask them to contact me with any questions, but I get very little response while away. Without the two-way communication, these announcements are more for my peace of mind and over-glorification of what I am doing than actual instruction. Once students learn to engage in this type of learning and communication, we can really have no lost instructional time chalked up to teacher absences. Wouldn't that be awesome!?
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