3/31/2020

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

How are you today?

Personally, I just wish the sun would come out!

Something Funny

Something to Watch and Learn

Dear colleagues,

Even though there's no TESOL conference this year, you can still attend at least one of the events planned for that conference. The Best of EVO 2020 - Not Cancelled! Moved ONLINE, has been crowd-sourced and reproduced by EVO coordinators and moderators here: https://tinyurl.com/best2020evo

EVO (Electronic Village Online, http://evosessions.org) has hosted numerous five-week workshops every January and February, since 2001. The Best of EVO is an event staged each year at TESOL where many moderators of these sessions appear in person to present their work, and where those who can't make the trip have in recent years joined us live at TESOL from a distance.

Since this year's conference in Denver is cancelled, the event has now been organized entirely online in Zoom, on these days, at the following times

Friday April 3 14:00 to 16:00 UTC
Click here for Time where you are and a Countdown to the event
Saturday April 4, 02:00 to 04:00 UTC
Click here for Time where you are and a Countdown to the event
Saturday April 4, 14:00 to 16:00 UTC
Click here for Time where you are and a Countdown to the event

As we are no longer constrained to TESOL's tight timings, the online event allows moderator teams 20 minutes to introduce their EVO sessions and then discuss them with online participants in Zoom, providing flexibility not possible when streaming from the brick and mortar conference.

Details are being constantly updated at the Google Doc URL https://tinyurl.com/best2020evo.
You can find ZOOM and presentation links there and also at Learning2gether here http://learning2gether.pbworks.com/…/3220…/volunteersneeded…

All are welcome to join us, it's free,
and if you miss it, recordings will be available at http://evosessions.org and at https://learning2gether.net

------------------------------
VanceStevens
Malaysia

Something to do

Planet Fitness also has classes on their Facebook page, even if you don't have a membership:

Exercise can reduce stress, help you stay healthy, and keep you feeling great. So, we’re offering FREE in-home workouts, live-streamed daily, for all Planet Fitness members and non-members alike. Workouts will be led by our trainers and surprise celebrity guests.

If you miss the live class, you can come back and watch it later.
NO EQUIPMENT NEEDED • CLASSES 20 MINUTES OR LESS"

3/30/2020

Monday, March 30, 2020


HOW ARE YOU TODAY?

These are my irises. The iris is by far my favorite flower, blooming in May.
 I had the leaves covering them up all winter,
and removed them last week during the good weather.
Hope to have more time this week to continue preparing them for a beautiful spring!

Something to Read

Overcoming a fear of change, one hurdle at a time

Something to Watch

WATCH: Berklee Students Create Virtual Orchestra During Coronavirus, Perform ‘What The World Needs Now Is Love’

Thank you so much to my friend and colleague Joan Benham for sharing this! 

Please email me anything you'd like to share: elizabethschade@nypl.org

3/25/2020

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

How are you today?

Do you have a Fitbit?

If you're like me, you're trying to get steps in each day- although my 10k per day isn't happening just yet!

Add me: elizschade@gmail.com

Something Funny

Quarantine Tips from My Cat

Something to Read

Dear Teachers: We Will Get Through This

Something to watch

WEDNESDAY 3/25/2020 @ 5:30 PM

Elke Stappert

Introduction to Google Slides: Collaborative Student Writing

https://zoom.us/j/703408069

3/24/2020

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

How are you doing?

Something to Learn

From Facebook:

 

Sarah Parsons O'Neill

March 17 at 1:04 PM

Working from home? Here’s a great tip in case you need to scan a document. iPhone users: go to “notes” and hit the little camera button. It will ask if you want to scan a document. Lay out the pages you want to scan and it will save them all as a PDF file! So easy and helpful if you depend on using a scanner like I do!

Feel free to add any more helpful hints for those working from home.

Something to Watch

TUESDAY 3/24/2020 @ 4:30 PM

Leo Schmitt

Using Zoom and Adjusting to Online Teaching in the Time of COVID19

https://NewSchool.zoom.us/j/807844376

3/23/2020

Monday, March 23

I spent almost all day on Saturday outside, I set up this little spot to get some sunshine. 

Something to read

Best Practices: Online Pedagogy from Harvard University


Something to study
Cambridge Assessment has an online self-study course for Teaching English online:

3/20/20

Friday, March 20

Crocuses blooming in my garden.

SOMETHING TO READ

Supporting every teacher: good enough is good enough


SOMETHING TO WATCH

ENGAGING STUDENTS IN MEANINGFUL LEARNING ACTIVITIES

3/19/20

Thursday, March 19

How are you doing today?
Today I felt busy, with a lot of work. HBU?

SOMETHING TO LEARN ABOUT

Access Quizlet Teacher for free

During the current outbreak of COVID-19, Quizlet’s goal is to support teachers and students in all impacted areas. To help with remote teaching and student engagement while schools are closed, we are providing free access to Quizlet Teacher through June 30, 2020. Quizlet Teacher includes Class Progress, a formative assessment tool that can help track students' progress. You'll also get access to advanced content creation tools, such as diagrams and audio, which enable you to create custom study materials for your class. Get free Quizlet Teacher Our team has been hard at work creating resources to help teachers in their new teaching environments, so stay tuned for tips and step-by-step guides on how to get started using Quizlet Teacher. For more information on how to create better, more dynamic sets or use Class Progress, check out our Help Center. Stay safe, stay healthy and learn on. Sincerely,

Matthew Glotzbach

CEO, QUIZLET

SOMETHING TO LEARN



I took part in this webinar yesterday to learn about online teaching. I highly recommend:ONLINE TEACHING SERIES FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS


SOMETHING TO WATCH

If you've always dreamed of cooking along with Julia Child, now's your chance! The French Chef is streaming on Prime and PBS. Every. Single. Episode.

Get the details here: tasteofhome.com

3/18/20

Wednesday, March 18

How are you today? What are you doing?
Please connect with others by leaving a comment (with your name) below.

SOMETHING TO READ
Teaching is a career of apprenticeship


SOMETHING TO WATCH
Bird Cams

Cornell: allaboutbirds.org

3/17/20

Tuesday, March 17- Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I learned today that St. Patrick was actually born in Wales. Who knew??

I have Irish heritage- my maternal grandmother, Agnes McGovern, was born in the US, but her parents were born in Ireland- County Cavan- which is in the northern part of Ireland.

Something to read:
As you know I really like Oxford University Press. 
They have three blog posts so far about teaching online:
Online Teaching Part 1: Getting Started

I'm going to try to post daily for students here:

Adult Learning Centers, Staten Island - NYPL

Do you or someone you know need health insurance?

SPECIAL ENROLLMENT PERIOD FOR NYERS WHO NEED HEALTH INSURANCE: 
March 16 through April 15, 2020
“As directed by Governor Cuomo, all New York insurers will have waived cost-sharing for a COVID-19 testing.”

“Individuals who enroll in Qualified Health Plans through NY State of Health or directly through insurers between March 16 and April 15 will have coverage starting April 1, 2020. Individuals eligible for other NY State of Health programs – Medicaid, Essential Plan and Child Health Plus – can enroll year-round. As always, consumers can apply for coverage through NY State of Health on-line at nystateofhealth.ny.gov, by phone at 855-355-5777, and working with enrollment assistors.”

For full details, go to this link: https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov/

HOW ARE YOU DOING?
Leave some comments- just say hi!
What are you doing today?

HI THERE!

So, things have changed for us a little bit. It's a lot to process, for sure. 

I thought I would change the blog format a bit during this time. I'll post things that I think could be useful or interesting for you to read. I'll also share how I feel, and maybe you all can use this blog space to keep in touch. Send me pictures! Comment below! Let's strengthen ourselves and others by keeping in touch here.

Let's *not* use this to make judgments on what's going to happen as far as the NYPL goes. For example, if I share a video about teaching online- please *don't* take that as a message about the future. It just means I think it could be helpful or interesting. 

I'm just updating this blog on my own. And I'm not going to send an email each time I post. This won't be required reading- it's totally up to you.

If there is official communication from the NYPL, I'll post it here, and it will be clear that it's official business. If you have questions for your HUB manager, please email them- this isn't the place to reach them.

I hope you'll join me by checking in here and letting me know how you're doing!

My work-from-home setup

This webinar might be interesting:

TESOL CALL-IS cordially invites you to attend the webinar "Chalk and Talk vs. Skype and Swipe: The Need for Proper Training of Teaching Technologies" with Rob Howard.

Date: Sunday March 22, 2020.

Time: 10:00 am (EDT) / 2:00 pm GMT

Please join this webinar from your computer, tablet or smartphone. Go to the CALL Interest Section-TESOL YouTube Channel. Use the following links: www.youtube.com/channel/UChnWYx1ZGtHnzzpV5t98J4Q or bit.ly/call-ischannel

Then, go to the video that says "Live" Session and has the title of this webinar. Click the play button and enjoy it!

Note: Use the following time converter to find the time of this webinar in your country: www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/...

This channel features live streams and recordings of CALL Interest Section (CALL-IS) sessions at TESOL International Conventions and other videos from CALL-I...

March 6, 2020 Census

Week 7

Census Teaching Resources

Hello Colleagues,

Tom Wool and I were asked at the recent staff meeting to share the document we've created regarding the Census 2020 and Safety, especially the questions that a Census worker will NOT ask you. Please see our pdf attached. We hope it will be useful!

Census 2020 Safety and How to Respond

Best,

Robin and Tom

NYPL Census Lesson Plan Google Drive Folder

The Change Agent

I just wanted to point out that LAIR has so many census resources here:

LAIR Census 2020

Here is some of the most important info from LAIR: (you can click on links)

For Staff: Frequently Asked Questions

For Public: NYPL Census Flyer  

Spanish   Chinese   French   Bengali   Arabic

https://mashable.com/video/aoc-lin-manuel-miranda-census-psa.amp

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Lin-Manuel Miranda are here to teach a lesson...on why their fellow New Yorkers need to participate in the 2020 census. 

In a public service announcement from NYC Census 2020, an organizing initiative established by the city's mayor to encourage census participation, the congresswoman and the playwright lead a class to explain why participating in the census matters so much. 

David Fobair put this together for his beginner class
using the current version of EASY ENGLISH NEWS
Get Ready for the Census EEN

https://nelrc.org/courses/practice_census/story.html
(press resume or restart)

By 2060, One Fourth of US Population will be Over Age 65

Esteemed Adult English Language and Literacy Team (AELL),

As part of our efforts to educate our students and encourage a respectful and safe instructional environment, the AELL Administrative team is helping to disseminate information provided by NYPL that echoes advice and policy being issued by Public Health Officials.

All NYPL staff received a message from Terrance Neal, Vice President of Human Resources, that provided three PDF documents that are linked here. One, titled  "Keep Yourself and Your Community Healthy" is a handout that we will duplicate for distribution to all participants. 

This handout can be used as part of our extended Health curriculum. The key points we want to emphasize for our students are:

• If you feel sick STAY HOME! (Sneezing/ Coughing/Fever)
• Wash your hands properly, use hand sanitizer when available (see Youtube Link)

As seasoned educators, we’re encouraging you to provide a “mini lesson” that uses this flier to emphasize these two key points.

Other Programmatic “policies” that can be implemented are:

• Disinfect keyboards, don’t share pens/pencils, sanitize hands and wipe down surfaces whenever possible

Student attendance policy - no enforcement right now. We will continue to contact our students, but if the person conveys a sense of on-going illness or a fear to gather in a public space, we will NOT hold them to the penalties of dismissal. For this reason, post-testing has begun for all students. 

Lesson Planning Materials:

• Incorporate Mini lesson plan using Library materials 

• Use the "Keep Yourself and Your Community Healthy" flier

Maintaining a healthy environment and providing accurate information are fundamental goals of our program. Let’s continue to demonstrate that NYPL is a safe and respectful resource.

Thanks for your efforts in these challenging times.

--

Steven Mahoney

Assistant Director, Adult English Language and Literacy

St. Agnes Library

The New York Public Library

444 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10024

nypl.org/english

FRIDAY FUNNY

TEACHER READING

IDENTITY CRISIS: THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FACING ADULT LANGUAGE LEARNERS

CLASSROOM SHOWCASE

Students creating maps of the neighborhood in Porsche Linwood's 

beginner class in New Dorp.

Please send me pictures, and be sure to include the branch name and level. I need them by the end of the business day on Wednesday. If I already have enough submissions for the week- that just means your pictures will be published the next week. Personally, I think the pictures that you share are the best part of the blog.

Thank you! elizabethschade@nypl.org

Dear Colleagues,

As we prepare for the potential impact that COVID-19 could have on the Library, it is very important that we have current personal contact and emergency contact information for all staff.  Additionally, the Library uses an e-alert system to notify staff of changes in operating hours and other instructions during an emergency, and we encourage all staff to sign up.  

We ask that all staff take a moment to review their personal contact and emergency contact information in Workday. If you need to update your phone number (home or mobile), home address, emergency contact(s), or opt in to receiving e-alerts, please click on the link below and follow the simple instructions.

Editing Your Personal Information in Workday

Managers: please encourage your staff to log in to Workday to review and update their contact information. It only takes a few minutes and saves hours of time in an emergency.

If you have any questions or encounter any issues, please contact the HR Service Center at 212-621-0500, option 4.

Thank you for your cooperation.

--

Jennifer Levesque

Sr. Director, HR Operations and Culture

Human Resources

The New York Public Library

445 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016

212.592.7334 | x27334

nypl.org

CALENDAR

IMPORTANT DATES
April 5- Winter term ends
April 27- June 30 Spring Term
July 27- August 23 Summer Term

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Submit your proposals to present at our NYS TESOL Annual Conference 2020!  The Conference Proposal Submission Form is due April 6.  We have some new formats, such as the teaching tips and electronic village which might work really well for sharing your ideas!  Get your colleagues involved!  While you're at it, sign up to be a proposal reviewer by March 20!  It's a great service to the organization (put it on your CV!) and your voice and opinions directly shape the content of our conference!

TECH TIPS

Three Good Ways to Create Rubrics - Tutorials Included

Thank you for all that you do! Have a great week!

TEACHER HUB is a weekly blog of resources and information for instructors and staff of the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and Adult Literacy (ABE) programs of the New York Public Library in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island