10 free resources. 50 free resources. 100 free resources.

The list keeps g r o w i n g.

The more it keeps growing, the less I can breath. Is it a panic attack? Surely, not. I mean I’m working from home in my pajamas, how panicked could I be?

Remote learning. Social distancing. Zoom. Google hangouts.

Sweaty palms. Yes, I believe I’m having a minor panic attack.

Breathe.

B r e a t h e.

Educators around the world are working 24:7 (plus more) to figure out how to best reach students. Academically? Yes. Moreover, emotionally. Educators, you are doing great…really!

Education community, all of these resources are fantastic! I love seeing our education community come together. It’s just all so … NEW and that ‘newness’ can be overwhelming sometimes. It is like when I got my iPad for teaching for the first time. I downloaded every cool app I could find. For what? Those apps just took up my storage, and I maybe used 5 apps for instruction.

So, if you find yourself panicking like myself, pull yourself back and breathe and use these helpful tips that I have used to process these resources.

1. Think about your style of teaching style. Just because you are practicing remote learning, it doesn’t mean you need to lose how you teach. Does the resource support your teaching style? If so, dig a little deeper!
2. Does this resource enhance your content? A big fear right now is that teachers might lose content because instruction is not face-to-face. This is not the case! We must instruct intentionally. Please do not just give your students a website because it seems ‘cool’. If you are going to provide students with a resource, there needs to be a purpose that is tied to your content.
3. How new is the technology for your students (and the parents)? If the technology tool is too new, this is not the time to introduce it. Keep with the familiar for your students. Remember, this is just as new for most students.

When we first started in the digital age, we practiced SAMR to enhance and transform student learning. Now, I cannot help but refer back to TPACK to help shape instruction remotely. I have also found these questions helpful to balance the endless resource list and slow down the panic.

Will we be overwhelmed? Sure. Yet, it is important to remember that, as educators, we can only control what we can control. Not to mention, you are doing great. Really, you are! Just take one thing at a time…We’re in this together!