The Best Laid Plans

After weeks of preparation for the teacher workshop today was a bust. I did the Instructional Technology workshop for 4 participants. Fifteen invitations were sent out. The local priests called a 3-day retreat in preparation for Easter last week. During the time the students were at the retreat, the teachers were attending staff training. Not surprisingly, their principals were not as keen on having the teachers attend another workshop on the following Monday. Some of the websites and activities did seem valuable to the assembled few. They especially appreciated the a4esl.org websites ability to provide Polish to English activities. On the down side, the internet connection speed did not allow them to fully explore the more dramatic free websites available for student products or listening comprehension. Until the school invests in higher speed connections, those sites will be unusable to their students.