What a year, eh? I’m accustomed to having joys and learning break-throughs peppered with some frustration, but this year was unreasonable every step of the way. If I remember correctly (at the end of a long day, who knows?), I have had three different learning scenarios to figure out so far. And doggone it, every time I seem to make it work more than it hinders, it gets changed again. My district is finally making the move to four days of in-person learning during the last quarter. The rub is that we have to teach in-person and e-learners at the same time everyday. I don’t know where to begin, but somehow I have to make it work once more. Last push until summer, amiright?

When I think about how we got here I realize how far we have come. Teachers were still operating under an analog model of learning. Digital tools were suddenly tossed in our laps and we had days to work out the kinks before trying our new toys with students. The biggest challenge of all was Zoom. We went from fumbling idiots to tech-savvy geniuses in a year’s time. Scheduling links, muting students, setting up polls, and making our own backgrounds? We got you! Do all of that while doing learning management system trainings and collecting all the free tech trials we can find? Hand us the Educator of the Pandemic Year Award!

To commemorate our year of Zoom, my friends and I created a video parody of Say Something by A Great Big World. Our video is called Zoom to You.

We sincerely hope you enjoy it. Please share it with your teacher friends. Be prepared to laugh… until you cry.