Around the end of June, Newark teacher Silvia Pereira was asked if she’d be interested in teaching a different type of summer program: one for her district’s educators on how to use various online platforms.
Remembering how overwhelming it was for her to get the hang of certain online teaching tools, Pereira liked the idea and embraced the opportunity to help her colleagues.
The Distance Educational Program, the brainchild of Newark Teachers Union (Local 481) President John Abeigon, began July 7, and it’s been a hit. Pereira, an ESL teacher at the South Street School and an AFTNJ Pre-K to 12 Vice President, has had no fewer than 40 teachers participate in a workshop and as many as 65.
For each 10 a.m.-to-noon workshop Tuesday through Thursday, Pereira creates slide presentations and walks participants step by step through such platforms as Edpuzzle and Pear Deck.
“The nice thing about our workshops is we interact with each other, so the teachers at any given time can stop me to ask a question, and I will adjust,” she says.
The last workshop for the summer will be Aug. 6, but the sun really isn’t setting on the Distance Educational Program. Videos of the workshops can be accessed via the Newark Teachers Union website, and teachers will still have Pereira as a resource.
“I plan on supporting them throughout the school year as best as I can,” Pereira adds. “At the end of the day, we’re all going to be year-one teachers come September. We need to come together during this time.”