Planning for Success: Design Considerations

For my final project I had a few ideas that would result in a digital product and would support the learners at my school. My primary idea was to host a digital book fair with the aid of Scholastics Canada. They have excellent kits available and I thought I could upload some promotional videos unto YouTube to be shared with the parent community (and to explain the necessary steps for making a purchase and attributing it to our school). Armed with this plan, I stepped into the principal’s office and was immediately informed that regrettably all fundraising activities for this year have been discouraged. With COVID affecting families in different ways the school division wanted to ensure that they were not adding to the families’ financial burdens by requesting funds for anything this year. It is a sentiment that I can appreciate, but it meant that I had to rethink my final project plan.

The second idea came to me during the same discussion with my principal once I had officially given up on my plan and had expressed my conundrum. She said, “Can’t you talk about all the amazing things you’ve been already doing?” That inspired me to look at this project differently. What if I didn't focus on creating something completely new but instead looked at infusing a current idea with new content? I would push the idea further and use the virtual assemblies as a platform for showcasing programs/technology that teachers may want to use in their classrooms!

I first started taking the reins and organizing the school assemblies in January when my schedule was once again changed and we discovered that I had some extra time to work with. All the classes had coverage and my principal was kind enough not to ask me to move in-between cohorts. My solution was to take the assembly planning off of her plate.  At the beginning this action was motivated by me wanting to "be a good team player" and take some of the work pressure off of my principal who doesn't have a vice-principal to help her with these type of school-wide activities. When my principal was taking charge of the virtual assemblies they had each lasted between 10-12 minutes and featured one activity and a message from the principal. We had two in the first term of the year and they were seen as quite an accomplishment since at that time, the very fact that each teacher was able to navigate Microsoft Teams and log on was considered a success!

Since I have taken over, the assemblies have grown in complexity and I have a hidden agenda to model technology, websites, resources and techniques to my colleagues. My new final project idea is to continue this role of virtual assembly planning, and to infuse it with an even greater level of subliminal PD inspiration. 

Our school has temporarily lost its’ communal gathering place since a classroom now uses the library as a classroom.  Though not at all the same, I hope that this virtual assembly can also become our school's virtual gathering place for the short term and provide the same feelings of camaraderie, security and community. This infusion of joy will not only add some levity to a stressful year but also serve as a community building activity. 

Although I'm not sure if I'll ever get to the production value in this video, I think this virtual assembly by Linlithgow Primary School sets the bar very high and offers some great ideas which I could maybe incorporate in our future virtual assembly plans:

Linlithgow Primary School Virtual Assembly

https://vimeo.com/501476743

References:

Linlithgow Primary School. January, 18, 2021. Vimeo.  LPS Virtual Assembly 18.01.2021.

Comments

  1. TLNyquistMarch 20, 2021 at 8:24 PM

    Suzanne, this sounds like a wonderful idea. I like that you are taking something that you already do and making it special for your school. I liked the Vimeo video of Linlithgow's virtual assembly and I have all the confidence that you will be able to produce something like that for your own school. I hope it turns out to be exactly what you want it to be.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aaron MuellerMarch 22, 2021 at 7:55 AM

    Good blog post about how you've had to adapt, pivot and come up with something that is helpful, builds community and supports your staff during an exceptional time. A good brainstorm of your ideas, how to embed and implement something you are already doing and improve and expand its reach and purpose. Your description of what you are hoping to do, with the example video from another school really help illuminate your goals and rationale for this project. Looking forward to following along with your progress. (if you want to dive into a tool that can help with production values and works with MS Teams, check out Open Broadcasting Studio, OBS)

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 23, 2021 at 3:35 PM

    Great post! You came up with some lovely ideas, even if they were not able to be executed. It is important for teachers to be able to adapt quickly and easily. While it is important to learn new skills and tools, we must remember to update the concepts we've already learned and use. All the best on your vision!
    - Chevon

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