Every Tuesday I share a Tech Tip on our social media pages to assist our staff in their use of technology as it relates to their role. In my role I am shared between 16 schools in 7 different communities. It is quite common that many of my school-based enquires aren’t necessarily urgent enough for a planned meeting so I often get the phrase, “can you pop in and check on this with me next time you’re at my school?”. As such, at any given time I have a list of potential conversations on the go and I want to ensure that… Read More
The New Normal
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. This week’s Mantra is: As we enter our 3rd school year in the presence of a global pandemic our “new normal” has been established. How are you using tech differently compared to 2019? I purposefully selected this quotation to not only encourage reflection on the role that technology plays in your classroom but also because it aligns with the wording of a fantastic Manitoba PD that is taking place this week! The New Normal School is a half-day virtual event on… Read More
Objecting the Subjective: Manitoba Education’s Positivism Reform
*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina Manitoba sits at a crossroad in their quest for educational reform. After 3 years of external consultation and widespread planning the current Progressive Conservative party has backtracked on their Better Education Starts Today (BEST) strategy. Interim premier, Kelvin Goertzen, who oversaw this campaign in his role as Minister of Education, announced on September 1, 2021, that he would be pulling the associated Bill 64 legislation from the fall docket (Gowriluk & Bernhardt, 2021). While the future of what public education looks like… Read More
Follow Friday – ManACE
Every Friday I share what I believe to be a notable person/organization/school on our social media pages to assist our staff in the development of their online Personal Learning Network. ManACE is a provincial organization that I have been involved with since 2013 when I was invited to join as a board member. Over the past 8 years I have been involved with a variety of ManACE initiatives and am honoured to now be serving in the capacity of president. To learn more about who ManACE is as a group, check out the infographic below: To keep up-to-date with ManACE… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Disinfecting Technology
Every Tuesday I share a Tech Tip on our social media pages to assist our staff in their use of technology as it relates to their role. As we prepare to welcome staff and students back into our buildings in the coming weeks our ICT Department has been working to help ensure that the use of shared digital devices is as safe as possible. From our perspective we want to help make sure that anyone who uses one of our shared devices can do so as safe as possible while ensuring appropriate disinfection practices are occuring that won’t damage our devices. What… Read More
September ICT Newsletter
September is here and this week will see all of our divisional students and staff back in our buildings. With the start of a new month comes a new monthly ICT newsletter. These newsletters are designed to serve as an outreach to all MVSD staff and provide: general ICT updates (software changes, divisional ICT timelines, tech-themed holidays) upcoming PD for the month tech tips divisional highlights These newsletters are sent out to staff via our divisional email but are also shared out through our social media pages and divisional website. September 2021 ICT Newsletter by Kirsten Cali
Starting My Ph.D Journey!
In February of this year I hesitantly shared out my personal statement as part of my application to the University of Regina. After graduating with my M.Ed in the spring of 2018 I was sitting on my largest absence from formal education and I knew that I needed a change. Prior to this jump I had explored the idea of pursuing a second M.Ed as the requirement for first year residency for a Ph.D seemed unattainable for me due to the age of my children and our proximity to institutions. However, the Covid-19 pandemic had resulted in online classes which… Read More
Back to School Checklist
Welcome to a new school year! At the start and end of each school year I find it helpful to share out the following checklist that was inspired by a practice from when I was a classroom teacher. This checklist is designed to ensure the effective and professional use of various ICT elements and support your growth in the 2021/2022 school year. Please note that not all checklist elements may apply to you depending on your position within the division. The checklist itself has each task hyperlinked which leads to a tutorial or video providing more information on how to… Read More