Virtual Professional Development

For two days, I had to be on my computer from 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM for online training. The topic: Professional Learning Communitys (PLCs). 

I set my alarm for 7 AM each day. Carrie needed me to help with the barn each morning and I wanted time for my breakfast and morning study.

Shane got a lot of electronic time those days. He was watching Mega Man, Looney Toons, and Pink Panther for each of my 2 hour beginning sessions. Carrie was at the barn all morning Wednesday and then she trailered Sam on Thursday, so she wasn't able to keep him busy.

There were some creative viewing positions. I captured one of the best.

Shane completely gets that from my side of things. If Nana's reading this I'd being willing to wager she laughed and said out loud, "That's just like Mike!"

Well, I'd kick Shane off the computer for my lunch break. He'd spend the time eating and telling me about everything he watched. I'd kick him outside to water the garden before he could come back in for more electronics. It let me start the next session and feel a little less guilty about him being a bum.

What the picture isn't showing is Shane pointing the hose in the air and dancing underneath it. I wasn't quick enough on the draw.

What he is doing in the picture is making whirlpools in the flower pot. 

He had to have spent half an hour each day trying to flood our back yard, but I was willing to allow it for him to get some Vitamin D and me to get some space!

At the end of my class each day, I was drained. I wanted to rest.

At the end of my class each day, Shane was excited. He wanted to play!

There's an inherent contradiction there.

Shane was talking about Saturn's rings and ice asteroids one day, so I turned on the Blitzkrieg episode of Robotech. The veritechs have to fly through Saturn's rings.

This is one of the few episodes I had on VHS in elementary school. It's ingrained in my brain. It was a low involvement activity and kept Shane mesmerized.

Loki is just like Shane, by the way. He wanted attention, too, since I was off the computer! He kept bringing me toys to throw.

I liked having something to do, but I'm glad it's done. Sitting still and focusing on the computer screen for that long isn't one of my strong points. I'd hoped to multi-task and write, but I wasn't able. I couldn't focus well enough on the training and went with being honest (even if I could have read the whole transcript of the first day in an hour........but the pay was an hourly rate, so sure, I'll sit!).

UPDATE: So...I may have found some time to multi-task on day 2. I'd type through some of the small breaks, because I was already on the computer and Shane was already busy. I'd also type through when someone asked a question I felt was well explained. I do listen to what the question is even when it's not for me. 

The question itself can be interesting. It's something I pay attention to in my own teaching. Why was the question asked? What part of the explanation wasn't clear? Was there a word they got hung up on? Or were they not paying attention? If they weren't paying attention, why weren't they? Was there a distraction in the environment? Was the initial explanation too long and boring? ....or were they just not paying attention? Were the on their cellphone? Or maybe typing a blog post on the side....