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Technology + Technique

2 Apr
using zoom is fun if you use your personality too

I am a teacher and everything suddenly changed.

My students used to come to class where I used a whiteboard and overhead projector to instruct.

Enter the the COVID virus and the campus went into lockdown.

We had to teach online using Zoom.

With not much training we began.

At first it was a challenge just learning the interface. Chat + video + audio + breakout rooms.

Just setting up the conferences was a bit hit and miss at first.

But I learned one thing. What you do well face to face, you can translate into online learning. Here’s my tips.

Remember names.

Use your personality.

Acknowledge students.

Read and respond to chats.

Ask questions.

Use the breakout rooms for teams and individuals

Keep telling stories

Keep it light

Prepare and use graphics for share screen messages

So far I have enjoyed my online classes and I’m getting better at it!

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Study Self motivate … and enjoy

2 May

Study plan 2019

Big news! Perfection is passé. 

Being a perfectionist often leads to wasted time poring over irrelevant details. It can also de rail achieving in a learning situation.

LEARNING IS A LIFETIME THING

Often perfectionism leads us to compare ourselves unfavourably to others who seem to be more successful than us. This can lead to a ‘lazy’ mentality where motivation gradually fades. ‘Why bother? I’ll never match up.”

ENNUI is a french word

Ennui has many definitions, but here’s one I found:

A feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement. “he succumbed to ennui and despair.”

 

ENNUI and social media

Ennui can be a symptom of other significant issues but it is not uncommon in the era of perfect vis a vis Instagram, selfies, curated lives and other social media myths and legends. We can all succumb to this when we don’t get our fix of likes, comments and shares.

I have a teenager who has recently kind of dropped the ball when it comes to getting his studies done. He’s a bright kid and in his final year but he seems to have slowed right down. Yes he’s inundated with homework. Sometimes too much, but if he gets a routine going … he can get the work done.

I created this plan for him to follow a ritual to get his mind into gear and the work done.

As Stephen Fry once said. He was successful at Cambridge where other more intelligent people failed – because he ‘found out what they wanted and gave it to them.’