This ten-week series will provide you with all the tools necessary for an organized and confident start to the 2024 year! Designed for both new and experienced OWL’ers, each week we will discover and explore resources guaranteed to leave you supported by other colleagues and with fresh ideas. Based on the Four Values of Equity & Relationships, Proficiency, Engagement & Empowerment, the Series will provide the spark, support and collaboration that you need to get through the winter months.
Jumpstart the Year with Strong Student Connections – January 21, 2026
We know that relationships are the foundation for building community and language success in the classroom. The winter can be a time where those sometimes feel a bit flat. This session provides strategies, tips, themes and topics that feel authentic to students, as well as movement ideas to provide that spark to reinvigorate connections with and between your students.
Pairings & Groupings to Foster Interaction – February 4, 2026
What does equity look and feel like in the classroom? How do we get students to feel connected at this point in the year? This session shares ideas around physical space configurations, pairings and groupings and immersive classroom strategies that work to help your students feel safe and seen in the learning environment. We explore thoughts and concepts that allow for long-term reflection and application of engaging practices in our spaces.
Winter Blues Engagement Strategies! – February 18, 2026
Oh, the winter lull between winter and spring break. This session will help break that spell and shake us out of our winter doldrums. Ideas for prompts and questions, games and authentic ways to provide consistent accountability, that is also fun to students! Shake it off with this fun, engaging session.
Proficiency: Fostering a Can-do Mindset – March 4, 2026
Proficiency is a powerful motivating factor for students and teachers alike. When language growth is tangible, measurable and documented, students become empowered to continue with their language learning. This session provides examples of frameworks that allow the teacher to put the learning on the student, and demonstrate ways to create a positive, supportive learning environment where students are fearless in the target language!
Empower Your Learners: Put It On the Students – March 18, 2026
‘Put it on your students’ is a phrase you will often hear in any OWL training. This refrain is all about transitioning from a teacher-led to a student-directed environment. OWL has unique classroom frameworks and planning structures that allow us to put the learning in the hands of the students. Tested for over a decade, these techniques empower students to take ownership and move towards intrinsic motivation. Come see how you can apply this in your instructional settings.
Additional Resources:
Looking to add Resources to the experience for you and your students? You can choose to add the Resource Bundle at a reduced rate with registration of the Series. The Resource Bundle includes:
1. PPATH Interactive Resource
When thinking about your classroom structure and practical application of student-directed, proficiency-based strategies, it is a fine balance of marrying theory to daily practice. This resource is intended to provide a roadmap to guide you through creating a framework for class that is consistent, flexible and student-directed. Classrooms across the world have been transformed into highly engaging spaces where students feel intrinsically motivated. The ideas contained in this resource are valuable for all levels and all languages.
2. Pairings & Groupings Cards
Ever noticed that your students are always pairing themselves with the same people? These cards will help alleviate that! The packet contains 36 cards with 6 different ways to combine your class: shapes, colors, numbers, animals, food, and clothing. Students will never work with the same people again!
3. Literacy Organizer
The literacy organizer helps students facilitate negotiation of meaning when they hit language breakdown. It can serve as a support and scaffold that helps the students stay in the target language in a meaningful way, which helps them express ideas on the topics that come up in class.
Online Platform
OWL uses Google Hangout to host Online PD opportunities. We encourage you to try it out before your scheduled online PD time so you don’t miss any of the session with technical difficulties. This should include having Google Chrome on your device, and giving the platform permission to use your video camera and microphone.
Reimbursement
OWL does not give reimbursement for the following:
- confusion of start time and time zones
- technical issues on the participant’s part
- inability to connect to the hangout
Anything we forgot to share?
Check out our Frequently Asked Online PD Questions!
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Winter Virtual Series - Spark Joy
January 21, 2026 - March 18, 2026
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Venue: OWL Online- Multi Sessions
Description:
Live Webinars:
OWL hosts live webinars daily using Zoom as our platform. Zoom can be accessed on a computer or mobile app so you may access wherever you may be!
A welcome email with a Zoom link for your specific event will be sent to you within 24 hours of the live event.
Can’t make a live webinar? OWL will be recording all sessions, and will be available 24 hours post session on the Mighty Network.
Questions on Zoom? Connect with us at (541) 690-8038 for additional help!
Community-based engagement:
OWL uses private, social community called Mighty Networks for between session collaboration. This network works both on a computer and via mobile app.
A welcome email with a link to OWL’s private, social will be sent to you within 24 hours of the live event.
Questions on how to set up? Connect with us at (857)-293-1706 for additional help!