Conversation Circles
Are you ready for valuable dialogue with other busy educators in similar roles? But you don’t have time to join another group, right?
Conversation Circles connects you virtually, through ZOOM video conferencing for one-hour, facilitated chats. Offered several times each year, there’s no travel time and participants mutually decide the topics from several options when they register. (The best part is that the Circle typically runs at the end of the school day so you can sit in your office or class.)
Organized by subject area, grade or business function, the circle offers a deep dive on topics that are traditionally under-served at conferences, all tailored to the needs of the participants. It’s also a great way to understand how your peers in CIS member schools are dealing with pressing issues, incorporating new research and uncovering the challenges and opportunities for growth in their schools.
E-LEARNING SUPPORT: JK-Grade 5 Weekly Conversation Circles
Calling all JK - Grade 5 Teachers: eLearning Collaboration & Sharing
CIS Ontario and the e-Learning Consortium of Canada formed a partnership to offer a FREE online Teaching and Learning Orientation course for teachers in Grades 6 through 12. To support JK to Grade 5 teachers, we are offering weekly Conversation Circle video conferences at each grade level.
WEEKLY CONVERSATION CIRCLES
CIS Ontario will host Conversation Circles for each grade level from JK through to Grade 5 weekly or as deemed necessary by Facilitators. These online conversations will provide an opportunity to connect virtually, using ZOOM video conferencing. The conversations will facilitated by volunteers who will lead discussions about identified topics specific to their grade level, with a focus on at home or eLearning classroom resources and strategies.
The ZOOM sessions will be open to all teachers and specialists. No RSVP is required. Just join in by clicking the link, the the email we sent, on the scheduled day and time. You will also find the schedule and Zoom links in the 'Elementary Teacher's Network' on our Member Portal.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
CIS Ontario is looking for volunteer Facilitators for each grade level. The expectation of the Facilitator will be to share highlight notes for each session by posting them to the Elementary Teachers' Network Group Dashboard, CIS Ontario staff will assist you in the initial stages of this process if posting to the Dashboard is unfamiliar to you. We will contact you to set up a time to review the volunteer responsibilities before your first ZOOM meeting. Please see the email we sent on Friday, March 20, 2020 for a link to a document where you can add your name to the list of Facilitators.
SHARE YOUR QUESTIONS & TOPICS
We need participants to share their questions/topics ahead of time to allow the Facilitator to have some direction for each session. You are asked to post your questions and topics in the appropriate grade level Google docs - Please see the email we sent on Friday, March 20, 2020 for a links to the Google Docs.
ACCESS ELEMENTARY TEACHER'S NETWORK
CIS Ontario has launched the Elementary Teacher's Network on our Member Portal. It is a place for elementary educators to share resources, engage in discussions and access information. To access the Dashboard visit: cisontario.ca/login Your username is typically your first initial, a period and your last name. For example: s.craig Then click the Forgot Username or Password to set up your account. The email associated with your account is your school email address.
PRIORITIZE WELLBEING & COMMUNITY
These are very challenging times for all of us. Please remember to prioritize wellbeing - for your young students and yourself as we being distance learning. We look forward to sharing in and celebrating your creativity and innovation as you adapt to your new "virtual classrooms".
HIT US UP ON THE SOCIALS
We will be looking for stories of humour, fun, caring and inspiration to share with our members. Consider sharing your experiences with your students and your elearning adventures with us. Please @cisontario or use the hashtag #cisoelearning on our social media channels and we will repost or retweet you! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Members, this is the best way to stay up-to-date.
To receive timely information on our professional learning events, student programs and news relevant to our community of educators, educational staff and administrators, please ensure you are listed as a member in our database. All employees of our member schools are automatically entitled to CIS Ontario membership.
You are in our database as a member if you have a login to our member portal and CISO Connect.
If you do not, please fill out this brief membership form.