My First Keynote!! – Riding The Wave 2024
This past week I delivered my very first KEYNOTE as part of the Riding The Wave 30th anniversary celebration. This experience was nothing short of a complete whirlwind and I am so honoured that I was asked to play a role in this milestone event. Looking back on the keynote, there were a few tech hiccups which I felt leant some reality to the situation but I don’t feel like it was enough to throw me off.
With this being an anniversary event I wanted to kick things off with a nostalgic throwback to the early 90s, the first conference, and what ed tech meant for learners and educators at the time. We then did a comparison to the reality of education in 2024 and the very real stressors that contribute to teacher burnout. However, one aspect to combat this is by reconnecting with the elements of your role that bring you joy and we specifically looked at the role digital tools have in shouldering some of the weight of our jobs so that we have more time to engage in those joyful elements. A summary video that I put together of the full experience is embedded below via TikTok, followed by additional posts curated from X/Twitter:
I also had an opportunity to facilitate a breakout session on the second day of the conference titled, The 21st Century Classroom, and take in some sessions as a learner! As always, this post will serve as a summary of my experiences.
Playful Learning: Engaging Students with Data Dunkers & Girls Who Game
Discover the magic of play-based learning where the excitement of basketball and video gaming opens doors to data science and STEM. This session unveils how combining passions with education not only captivates but also equips students with critical skills for the digital age, promoting equity and inclusion along the way. Join us to transform play into a powerful vehicle for learning and empowerment in an ever-evolving digital world.
Playful is defined as:
- helping students find meaning
- deeply engaged
- iterative thinking processes
- social interaction
- joyful
- Over 500 clubs in 5 countries
- Girl-centric environment with authentic mentorship opportunities
- Gradual release of responsibility as leadership grows
- Level 2 has the students leading the group
- Sign up for more information
- An example of these projects is shown in a YouTube embedded below
PS43 is a not-for-profit organization that supports children through financial literacy, sports, and life skills. This leverages basketball and technology as learning tools
Why Data Science?
- The opportunities to learn about data and data-related skills are lacking
- It helps make informed decisions
- Data is a top in-demand occupation
Program Objectives
- Learn foundational data science through basketball stats
- Engage and inspire underserved students, schools, and communities
- Discover and explore career pathways
Presenter: Katina Papulkas – DELL
Creating an Environment for Innovation
Cultivate creativity and develop problem-solving and computational thinking skills while engaging your students through coding and robotics. In this session, educators will learn how to create an environment for innovation and foster a lifelong love of learning through the integration of coding and robotics throughout the PK-3 learning environment.
Daphne has a series centered on the character of Gracie that helps inspire and teach students about innovation, coding, and STEAM. When educators are coding and emphasizing computational thinking is placing a focus on perseverance, collaboration, and communication.
These types of activities are not “subject-specific” and can be integrated into any grade level or subject area.
Learn more on Gracie’s YouTube series (embedded below):
Presenter: Daphne McMenemy – CodeBreaker EDU
Engaging, Supporting & Challenging Students in an Online Learning Environment
Have you ever wondered how to design online learning to keep your students engaged and motivated? Or, how to create a sense of community and support your students’ self-efficacy to become independent, self-regulated learners in an online environment? Join us in this session to learn more about intentional instructional design and remote learning framework strategies for engaging, supporting and challenging students in an online learning environment.
Development vs. Facilitation Time
- Leave enough time to plan for both the development of content and the facilitation of our online classroom
- Online needs more context
The MB Remote Learning Framework
- 3 guiding principles
- 27 evidence-based strategies
- Good information that supports any teaching, not just online
Basic Design Principles
- Multimodality
- Consisting Cueing
- Accessibility
- Visual Design
- Practice
- Learning Intentions
Engagement
- Discussions
- Collaboration
- Documentation of learning
BrightSpace
- Educators in Manitoba have access to this platform, in addition to their divisional LMS options
- All of the above tips and resources (below) can be applied to any LMS platform
The Canadian eLearning Network (CANeLearn) is a great organization with online and in-person events and supports.
There are also a TON of resources curated via Padlet to support these ideas further. The image below is hyperlinked to allow direct access to this list:
Presenters: Chris Frederickson & Rosalind Robb – Consultants, Manitoba Education & Early Childhood Learning
The 21st Century Classroom
This session will provide an overview of what it’s like to be a student in your typical 21st Century classroom. Participants will be encouraged to ‘BYOD’ and they’ll be expected to use their device in a variety of ways throughout the session. You’ll discover a variety of meaningful and authentic opportunities to leverage the devices that you (and your students!) have the ability to access!
The following links were referenced through the presentation and can provide follow-up support for those interested in learning more about the resources that were discussed:
Follow along with Riding the Wave through their:
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