Thankful for Digital Learning in Georgetown ISD - November Digital Buzz Podcast

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Cartoon turkey with feathers. Each feather lists something teachers in GISD said they were thankful for regarding technology.
Image created in Google Slides by Sandy Kendell
using a template from Eric Curts
November has a way of turning our thoughts toward reflection and what we are thankful for in our lives. So in this season of thankfulness, the GISD Digital Learning Podcast Team thought it would be nice to focus on what educators are thankful for when it comes to using technology in teaching and learning.

If we are honest, it's sometimes hard to focus on thankfulness as we navigate through a second year of pandemic education. Although things are looking up as vaccines are now available for our age 5-11 students and almost everyone is back for face to face learning, there is also catch-up learning needing to happen for students who have missed traditional classroom experiences due to being remote over the last two years or periodic absences due to COVID. 

And yet, if we can pause and take a look from the outside of the challenging day-to-day we are experiencing right now, we have a great deal to be thankful for when it comes to where we are in education! Pandemic teaching caused us as educators to dig deep and improve our technology skills. As we learned new skills, we discovered technology applications that would impact teaching and learning going forward.

Illustration of multiple people on a computer screen in an online meeting.
Illustration by Alexandra Koch licensed for use by Pixabay
A particular memory that continues to come back to me from March 2020 is how suddenly we were at home getting invitations to Google Meets for faculty meetings, ARDs, parent conferences, and all kinds of gatherings that we couldn't do face-to-face anymore. I began to frantically send invitations to my teachers asking them to join me on a Meet so we could all become familiar with how the interface worked. None of us were used to hours of online interaction that Google Meets required!

Fast forward to today, and a lasting impact of all those pandemic edu meetings is when a teacher wants to chat with me about tech integration or needs quick help with a tech issue and I can't be with them in person, I can send a Google Meet link, we can jump online, and within a matter of a few minutes we are working together! I've even gotten to conference with students on the best tools to meet their needs for a project! I'm sure you can think of many more ways that the tech skills you've acquired during pandemic teaching are now impacting your daily practices and the learning of your students.

So even as we continue to adjust and move forward, we can be thankful for the opportunities the challenge of pandemic teaching has given us and the benefits it is yielding for our students. I invite you to take time to listen to the November episode of Digital Buzz Radio to hear what your colleagues around GISD are thankful for when it comes to technology in teaching and learning. You might glean some new ideas for yourself and your students! And if something you are thankful for regarding technology in teaching and learning comes to mind, please share it in a comment on this blog post!

Illustration of a cat relaxing in a chair with headphones on listening to something on a mobile phone or MP3 player.
Illustration by naobim licensed
for use by Pixabay 
You can listen to the November episode of  Digital Buzz Radio: Thankful for Digital Learning in
Georgetown ISD on the following platforms:


I hope you enjoy this month's podcast and you also have a restful Thanksgiving Break!

I am a Digital Learning Coach for Georgetown ISD in Georgetown, Texas. I love to collaborate with teachers to design for purposeful, engaging technology integration in teaching and learning. My general areas of interest include blended and online learning, information literacy and ethics, and encouraging educators in their pursuit of lifelong learning. Speaking of lifelong learning, please connect with me on Twitter where I am @DLCoachSandy. :-)

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