week 2: summary of Creating Moments of Genuine Connection Online

    The blogger I am following is Jennifer Gonzalez at the Cult of Pedagogy. She’s been writing online since 2013 and also has a podcast, social media presence, videos and a store. Her platform focuses on examining the art of teaching. Blog posts are divided into three categories: the craft, go deep and teacher’s soul. I’m eager to follow her work as I am a naturally reflective and analytical person and I benefit from reading/learning about how to handle a specific situation or approach a topic. I think sometimes when I have discussions about teaching with my jaded colleagues I don’t get as much guidance as I want. I also appreciate she does not shy away from blog posts addressing equity and racial diversity within education.
    The post I read is entitled “Creating Moments of Genuine Connection Online.” Next week brings us to ½ the way through the school year and the reality that I have only interacted with my students online is unsettling. The need for creating genuine connections has become increasingly apparent. She references Dave Stuart’s work which emphasizes six components of positive interactions: moments, genuine, connections, embedded, tracked, personal & academic. He incorporates some creative ideas such as sending students video messages, catching them in a breakout or waiting room or private messaging.
    I resonate with the importance of tracking these student interactions to ensure all kids have an attempted moment of genuine interaction in each cycle. This reminds me of when I wrote students positive sticky notes last year and tracked to ensure each kid received a note before repeating. This article reminds me that positive interactions can be an easy strategy that has huge dividends, even if it requires more creativity during virtual teaching. They help a student feel known, seen and valued as an individual.