What a year! Although it may have seemed like the longest and worst year yet…I think we can all agree that some good has come out of it. Yes, you might have to dig hard to find the good, but it is there. 

In my personal life it has been great getting to spend time with my kids. We explored Michigan and spent countless hours doing puzzles. In your classroom, I am sure that there are some things that you cannot wait to return to normal, but I think we have all learned new and interesting ways to teach to students remotely. Although we are still learning and navigating this new world we live in, we can all still take time to reflect on all that we can be thankful for.

As I went over the blog posts from 2020, I noticed that we had an amazing year. Up 10% from 2019, The Bulletin blog posts had almost 18,000 views! We also had more than 11,000 visitors which is a 16% increase from last year. This means that we are reaching more educators with resources and professional learning.

Top 10 Post from 2020

Kent ISD consultants and professionals from the community worked together in 2020 to create over 30 blog posts. Here are the top 10 posts from 2020 that you may have missed or just want to read again!

10. Results Show Student Engagement Increase

In this post, we share the amazing results Kent County teachers saw from working with Ellin Oliver Keene in 2019-2020. And might I mention that Ellin will be presenting for us again in January! Click here if you are interested in taking a deeper dive into her work. 

9. 3 Simple Tools to Ease Isolation for Staff and Students

Written by our EdTech team this post explores using live video, recorded videos, and screencasting for communication. 

8. Remote Learning Resources

Making it easier for educators to find quality resources for remote learning, we put together a list of resources for communication, digital access, feedback, and engagement. 

7. Ellin Oliver Keene Returns Virtually to Ignite Engagement

If you missed Ellin Oliver Keene’s presentation on igniting engagement, check out this post for an overview of her work.

6. Create a Summer 2020 Education Technology Playbook

Our EdTech team created a list of summer online PD’s that were available to educators. Don’t worry if you missed it, many sessions were recorded and are still available! 

5. How to Provide Student Specific Feedback Virtually

Feedback with specific, detailed directions for future improvement, offered in a way that is both constructive and encouraging, is necessary for guiding each learner’s next steps. This blog post shares strategies to provide student specific feedback in a remote learning environment. 

4. One Common Resource for All Your Needs

This post was published shortly after the first shut down in March. All of our inboxes were flooded with email claiming to provide you with the perfect solution to all of your remote teaching needs. Kent ISD staff created a simple and easy to navigate list of resources for districts to utilize. The resources are still very relevant today!

3. Why Nell Duke Believes Science and Social Studies are Essential to Literacy

As we prepared for the MiELA conference, I reviewed a YouTube video produced by Nell Duke explaining the importance of Science and Social Studies to Literacy. I shared the highlights for those of you who didn’t have time to watch the full video. 

2. 5 Ways to Improve Your Digital Communication

Communication can be tricky. Am I sending too many emails? or not enough? As remote learning became a norm in 2020 gaining more effective communication skills became a priority for many.

1. How to Engage Students in Remote Learning Part 1 and Part 2

Our most read blog post of the year was on student engagement! When students moved to online learning, teachers found new challenges to motivation and engagement. Kent ISD’s Remote Learning Implementation Support Team created two infographics to help educators navigate proven strategies to increase student engagement in a remote learning environment.

What is next for 2021?

Engagement is still a top priority for educators as we get ready for 2021. In January, a leading expert in student engagement will be leading virtual professional learning sessions for educators that really want to take a deeper dive into igniting engagement. If you are interested in learning more about these sessions, click here to read more. 

As we finish up 2020 and prepare for 2021, the Professional Development Hub would like to hear from you! We are interested in knowing what you want us to write about in 2021 and what your professional learning needs are to improve your practice. We are here to help you, so please take this quick survey to let us know how we can support the work you do!

Click here to take a quick survey.

Have a great year!

Amanda Walma, Professional Development Coordinator
Kent Intermediate School District