A Clearing in the Woods

Recently the administration asked the faculty about how ready we are to offer on-line instruction to the students in case the school were shut down because of the H1N1 virus. At this point I’m not sure about what’s happening across the curriculum and across the grade levels, but I can say, with confidence, that my sections of English 9 are ready to roll. Using various communication platforms such as this blog, the new wiki, and the new chat room, I will be able to deliver assignments and real-time instruction to you on a daily basis. I hope you see this as a good thing, because if you’re anything like me, then you do not want to make up lost days at the end of the school year, during holidays, or on a series of Saturdays. However, we may never lose a day of school for the virus — knock on wood — but that doesn’t mean we still can’t use the wiki and chat room to supplement our “traditional” learning. In fact, we will use the wiki’s discussion board this week to prepare for the Socratic Seminar, and we will use the chat room to stage an in-class “silent Socratic Seminar”. There might be some bumps in the road as we learn these new tools, but I think they will greatly facilitate communication in the weeks and months to come.

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