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 January is recognized as Clean Up Your Computer Month all of this month’s tips will be dedicated to this topic! A new year calls for a fresh start and what better way then making sure that the tech in your life is running optimally! This checklist of tips is designed to get you started in a way that ensures your tech is clean (physically) and organized in a way that works for you. Let’s get… Read More
January ICT Newsletter
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. January 2023 ICT Newsletter by Kirsten Cali
#TweetTheHalls 2022 Winners
We are in the LAST week of school of 2022 (a short week as students’ last day is the 22nd), which also means that our #MBEdChat #TweetTheHalls event has come to a close. Over the course of 16 days we had over 400 participating Tweets from 17 provincial school divisions (and beyond)! This morning we used a random number generator to randomly select our last weekly prize winner as well as our six GRAND PRIZES from all eligible participants. As we wrap up our 3rd year of #TweetTheHalls I want to extend a HUGE thank you to: all of the #TweetTheHalls #MBEdChat participants… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Out of Office
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. We are only a few days away from the end of 2022 and a well-deserved winter break for those involved in education. Teacher’s tend to have their, “teacher-brain”, on all the time and sometimes have challenges stepping back and finding time for themselves. Trust me, you will be a better teacher if you take the break for yourself. Relax, recharge, and engage in activities that bring you joy. I recommend turning on your automatic replies… Read More
Assessment in the Age of AI
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. I don’t know about you but AI-assisted content creation programs are ALL over my online feeds this past month. The big one was Chat GPT (which I wrote about last week) and now the Magic Writing feature within Canva. Understandably, the education world is now trying to find where these programs fit within their current model. So what do you need to know? What are AI-Assisted Programs Programs such as Chat GPT, Canva – Magic Writing, Dall E-2, etc can be… Read More
Follow Friday – Seven Oaks Tech Hub
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. This week I want to introduce you to the Tech Hub program from Seven Oaks School Division in Winnipeg. Their program, which operates at two different sites, connects students with industry experts from New Media Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg. Designed for creatives, designers, coders, innovators, and builders, students from Gr 7-12 can explore and stregthen their skills in daily or after-school programs. Their social media pages offer insight into… Read More
What is Chat GPT? What Educators Should Know
Chat GPT, also known as Generative Pretrained Transformer, is a type of artificial intelligence that is able to generate text based on a given prompt. It is based on a neural network model that has been trained on a large amount of data and is able to generate human-like responses to various types of prompts. One of the key benefits of Chat GPT is that it can help teachers to save time by automatically generating responses to common questions or tasks. For example, a teacher could use Chat GPT to create personalized feedback for each student, or to quickly generate… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Microsoft Designer
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. With Mountain View School Division being a Microsoft division operating on the O365 platform I am always looking for updates to their platform that I can share with staff. One comment I get from staff, especially our secretaries who design a lot of material for their schools, is why isn’t Publisher included in O365 updates? While I can’t speak directly to that, I am thinking that the new Microsoft Designer may be the answer! The… Read More
The Online Village
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. Over the past two decades, teachers have increasingly turned to social networks to create and grow their professional learning networks (PLN). A professional learning network is a group of educators who come together to share ideas, resources, and support each other in their efforts to improve their teaching and better serve their students. In some schools, teachers have dedicated planning time in their schedule to meet with an in-house PLN that may consist of a teaching partner or grade-group but for… Read More
Follow Friday – Minecraft Student Ambassadors
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. I am thrilled to share that our division now has their very own Minecraft Student Ambassdor organization through Ecole Macneill. This group is comprised of students at the elementary level who are interested in the Minecraft program and work under the supervision of a staff member who has completed the Minecraft Student Ambassador sponsor program through Microsoft. Our students, through this program, have: investigated climate change through the Frozen Planet 2… Read More