Subtitle: Maslow before Bloom
Thanks everyone for another very supportive week on the Facebook group Language School Management in the time of Covid19. Thanks to everyone involved for all your tips, help, encouragement, empathy, and positivity. I’m proud and humbled to be a small part of such a great community
Remember to check out the page of links generated by all the contributions, many of which are referred to below
Some of the key areas discussed this week
Assessment
Discussion of putting current progress tests online using Moodle tools or Google forms. A useful blog post from CUP on this subject https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2020/03/17/checking-your-students-learning/
Invigilated tests: one option shared so far using https://exam.net/
Time management
Managers getting bombarded with tasks and communications from teachers, parents, administrative staff, bosses, business partners and others. One member described it as feeling like he was “manning a help desk”. How to manage this?
Tips include: Google Keep (making labelled lists of links that you have been sent and want to go back to). Personal Kanban. Trello (project management “boards” but can use as very functional to do list too)
Encourage teachers to take responsibility and help each other – communicate as much as possible, set parameters as to what they can do on their own, make it voluntary, and trust! (If I could list the two most important words at any time for managers they may well be communicate and trust)
You can use toggl or clockify to log your work flow and see what could be done differently.
Also the idea of “inbox-zero” https://blog.hubspot.com/service/inbox-zero
Personally I get a lot of use out of “Freedom” https://freedom.to/ which effectively turns your internet off for a specified period of time. I always feel that I should have the self discipline not to need it, but I don’t, so I use it. For me it works like shutting the office door so you can get work done without interruptions
I’ve also spent this week attending a “productivity blitz” run by Henry Stewart (who wrote “the Happy Manifesto” – one of my favourite management books, highly recommended), where to this point we have looked at the Pomodoro technique, something called Eat 4 Frogs (which is similar to “what are the big rocks”) and Inbox-zero (and Henry’s 3210 approach to getting there)
Remote management and advice
Once again Dave Cleary came up with an excellent post on pressure points in the management of this remote work we now have https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/managing-remotely-identify-pressure-points-dave-cleary/
Michelle Ocriciano gave us a great list of reflections after a week of working remotely. Summed up with the great piece of advice Maslow before Bloom! https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolmanagementcovid/permalink/607707633291613/
Again don’t forget the links page to follow up an any of the above, and if you missed the first of these round up blogs, here it is
Once again thanks to everyone who contributed with ideas and questions and with special appreciation to
- Dave Cleary
- Lucie Cotterill
- Alex Fayle
- Michelle Ocriciano
- Jake Whiddon
And last, but definitely not least, my biggest thanks go to Katherine Martinkevich, without whom this group would not exist and whose support and involvement goes above and beyond. Дякую Katherine!
Good luck, take care, and stay safe
Andy Hockley
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