What’s New & Noteworthy at Media Power Youth

Teachers Helping Teachers in the “New Normal”

By Susan O’Neil, Board Member of Media Power Youth

Everywhere we look people are writing and talking about reopening our country, restarting our economy, and getting back to normal.  Certainly, teachers and students are living a new normal; teaching and learning in the digital space.  We’re witnessing our educational professionals rise to meet new challenges, as they and their students work hard to learn how to use technology in new ways.  

As school buildings closed in response to the Covid-19 crisis, teachers had to step into largely unfamiliar territory and adapt as much of their curriculum as they could to facilitate communicating with their students from a distance.  There was no time to prepare for this move to distance learning; which meant that many if not most traditional textbooks and workbooks had to be translated to a digital curriculum overnight.  Understanding that not all teachers had experience using video conferencing, nor did many teachers have fast computers with video cameras at the ready, a solid internet connection, or a working microphone, it’s extraordinary to realize all that these professionals have accomplished thus far.  

Of course, when teachers learn something new, they are generous in sharing.  Teachers have created and are continuing to develop a number of exciting resources to help one another with the new online classroom.  MPY Teachers Collaborative is our Facebook group that is dedicated to bringing many of these resources together in one easy to find place.

MPY Teachers Collaborative was created to provide a positive community focused on digital curriculum planning and educator support. This is a closed group moderated by Media Power Youth’s education manager to facilitate discussions around new digital learning plans and other innovations in education. This is a place for educators to share their experiences, ideas, lessons, and challenges, and to support one another.

This collaborative now has five free, downloadable lessons that teachers can use digitally in their remote classrooms. These lessons cover topics such as how to show empathy for those in your household, how to set your stage for digital learning, recognizing bias in the news, and creative ways to connect with your friends from afar. The MPY Teachers Collaborative is dedicated to these amazing professionals and welcomes you to our community. It is open to all educators within the United States. To join, click here.