I will be honest and say that I was not thrilled about attending the Virtual Summer Institute. I am not a pessimistic person, but the thought of sitting in front of my computer for a week doing virtual sessions made me cringe a little on the inside. However, this has been the best virtual experience that I have had. It was engaging and fun (I also learned some new ways to make my potentially virtual classroom experience more engaging for my students this coming school year). There were many activities that we participated in that allowed us to get up, move, laugh and learn a lot about our fellow fellows. I have already made plans to do the virtual scavenger hunt with my students when we begin school in the fall.
I also really enjoyed the conversations that took place. We had several sessions on cultural relevance and issues regarding equity. These conversations are very much needed and to hear educators who are passionate about addressing these issues is uplifting. My cohort is full of some pretty amazing and talented individuals and I am looking forward to being able to continue to work with them.