Zoom + Remote Curriculum Development Cohorts = Win! We have been virtually hosting a national cohort of grades 6-12 History-Social Science teachers working on a common body of lessons focused on historical sites around the U.S. that are related to "The Fight for Equal Rights".
So our teachers are from local areas of each site, MLK National Park in Georgia, Women's Rights National Park in Upstate New York, Stonewall Inn Historic Site in Greenwich Village New York, Cesar Chavez National Park in Kern County CA, and Angel Island Immigration Station State Park in SF Bay CA.
Previously of course, we'd all travel to a central location to gather and conduct much of our lesson planning and coaching, we are now doing it remotely via Zoom meetings and some supporting digital curriculum tools. In the end, we've been able to continue to make the process of matching content and historical specialists, with digital learning design specialists alongside exceptional classroom teachers from across the U.S. the REAL FOCUS thanks to this technology.