WOW Wednesday – MVSD BYTE Presenters

On Wednesdays, I highlight some of our amazing MVSD staff on our social media pages. Every day our staff are using tech in new and exciting ways, are learning new skills, and are sharing ways in which ed tech is assisting them in their practice.

One of Manitoba’s main sources of edtech PD is the annual BYTE Conference that takes place in February. Registration is in full swing and I am very excited that two of MVSD’s own will be in attendance as they share sessions with their colleagues from across the province! It should be no surprise that Brandi and Judith are not strangers to the blog and I am forever thankful that I have colleagues like these two. Their work, both in their “assigned” buildings and beyond, has helped to strengthen the collective capacity of our entire community and I am excited to see them extend this reach at this year’s conference.

For full information on the BYTE Conference, including how to register, you can visit their website. The full session grid is available on the website for review but I will also include a highlight of our MVSD sessions below:

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Brandi’s Session — The Digital Classroom: Promoting Student Success in High School ELA With Microsoft Office

The purpose of this session is to explore how Microsoft Office can be used within high school ELA classrooms to support student learning. While we live in a digital age, many students still struggle to use technology effectively for learning. In order to address this, I ran all of my ELA courses using the Microsoft Office platform in order to help my students gain technology skills, and to support diverse learning needs. Based on my experience using digital course delivery with in-person learning, I will share my experiences and what I learned. Topics to explore include:

· Getting organized (how to sort/organize your files for easy access)

· Using Teams and OneDrive to run ELA courses (posting assignments, setting up files and sharing permissions, etc.)

· Supporting diverse learners with technology (using assistive technology, supporting executive functioning, scaffolding learning, chunking assignments, and differentiated instruction)

· Technology education (navigating/using different platforms, file setup and management, collaborative learning, etc.)

· Formative assessment and self-assessment

· Providing feedback in a digital format and tracking student progress

· Sharing progress with stakeholders (parents/guardians, administration, resource team, etc.)

· Using and enhancing the writing process with technology

Judith’s Session — Crafting Tales with BookCreator

BookCreator is a free app that allows the creation of solo and/or collaborative literacy projects. Will also explore several additional apps used in conjunction with BookCreator that help students add their own creative touches. as well as how to use it for language learners.