ABOUT THIS VIDEO...(It's 2024, soon to be 2025 now, but I recorded this in Aug of 2020 for that "Lost School Year" of '20-'21. This was about my 9th take; I know it ain't perfect, but it filled the bill back then!)
Speaking of what is and what was this was originally written in present tense but now it's 4-5 years down the road and I've TRIED to go through and make stuff past tense where I could. (Every time I look at this page I see places I missed. Apologies in advance if things seem a bit off w/r/t tense.)
- MY SCHEDULE in '24-'25 (unlike the '20-'21 schedule stated in the video) is 3 sections of Anatomy (1st, 2nd & 5th periods) & 2 section of Astronomy (3rd & 4th), with 6th period planning.
- I KNOW THE VIDEO IS SHAKY. I made myself seasick when I previewed it! (I recorded a few static-camera versions and I didn't like them, so I'm stuck with this sea-sickness-inducing hand-held version.)
- IT'S SLIGHTLY BLURRY because I had to down-grade the quality so it wasn't a full GB in size! (Got it down to 40-50 MB! Boo-yah!)
- The weebly link is active but since we have ported so much to Canvas, Canvas is my main and primary web presence. There's lots of cool stuff I keep on that Weebly, so check it out!
- At the 3:20 mark: "I don't think I've talked 90 min/week in my ftf classes" A mild exaggeration, BUT BARELY. At the start of the year, the first two or three days I'll talk for most of the period covering expectations, policies, etc. But on a regular day? I'll talk 10-15 minutes at the start, discussing the journal question, and then you do the lesson. But me talking a lot is RARE; it works great for other teachers, but in my case, students do not engage well when I straight-up lecture; I rarely do it.
- At 6:26 (and 7:38, 9:10!): "I think that's gonna do it..." (Talks several more minutes! LOL)
- At 6:32: I do not use Remind. I did it that one year, '19-'20, but it didn't go well, and I haven't since.
- At 6:50: "Announcement driven" canvas presence. (I'd had a note here about how my class wasn't so announcement driven anymore, but since '22-'23 it actually has been very announcement driven. Yes I keep my calendars updated with assignment lists, quiz announcements & answers keys, but very often you will indeed first become aware of quiz study guides and their answer keys via Canvas announcements.)
- At 7:50: "three and four day windows to do a classwork assignment." Three class periods to work on a book assignment is the norm.
- At 8:30: "Stabbed in the head in 8th grade..." True story, and you'll hear about it...if you ask! (Many people take my class simply because friends have told them about my goofy stories! They're pretty intense so I tend not to mention them unless someone asks. Since covid, these personal stories have almost completely disappeared from my classroom. Since they are personal I don't talk them up or announce them; I only tell them when someone asks, and during covid time, on/in MS Teams classes, MAYBE one person asked.
And so that year almost no one heard stories and therefore had no recommendations to give to any friends who might take my class in the future. (In all of '22-'23 one person asked. . .on May 24.)