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 through our social media pages and divisional website. March 2024 ICT Newsletter by Kirsten Cali
WOW Wednesday – Stacey Penner
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. Earlier this month I had an opportunity to connect with Stacey Penner at Henderson Elementary regarding the graphic design software, Canva. Through this work, we started chatting about “I Love To Read Month” and discussing potential connections between literacy and digital integrations. Stacey moved forward with an amazing project that saw students use Canva to create posters… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Fair Dealing Week
On Tuesdays, 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. February 26th kicked off Fair Dealing Week 2024 which runs through to March 1st. The Fair Dealing Canada website describes this legislation as follows: “Fair dealing recognizes that certain uses of copyright protected works are beneficial for society. By placing limits on instances where copyright owners can require payment, fair dealing leads innovation, to the creation of new works and new scholarship. The Supreme Court of Canada increasingly refers to copyright as providing a balance between the… Read More
Follow Friday – #FairDealingWeek
On Fridays, 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. Monday will kick off Fair Dealing Week, which I shared about earlier this month. When it comes to this event, the information associated with “Fair Dealing” and “Copyright” is shared and distributed by a variety of organizations. For Manitoba educators, these resources are commonly shared by our union, the Manitoba Teachers’ Society, post-secondary institutions, and the Library Services lead of individual school divisions. As such, there isn’t necessarily “one” place to go… Read More
Introduction to Power BI
I am spending this week in Winnipeg taking part in software training via MERLIN on Power BI. This is part of the back-end of our divisional strategic plan in which we will utilize the Power BI software to connect to our divisional data, create visualizations, and publish reports. An overview of the course is included below as an image: Microsoft Learn (Educator Center) There are numerous training modules, both one-off courses and extensive learning paths, on the Microsoft Learn webpage that anyone can access. Microsoft Learn offers FREE, asynchronous, micro-credentials for all of the Microsoft programs (you can learn more… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – AI for High-Interest Texts
On Tuesdays, 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. When it comes to divisional- and school-based literacy goals, something that I see as a strategy in multiple situations involves high-interest texts. However, this implementation relies on access to these resources. While some schools have access to a variety of text sets, that is not always the case. We also know that it can be challenging to easily reach every interest and every reading-level. Enter AI! Regardless of what AI platform you are using, effective… Read More
BYTE 2024
On Friday I spent the day in Portage la Prairie for the 20th annual BYTE conference. This was my 8th year joining their team as a presenter and I am thrilled to still be a part of this fantastic event! If you weren’t able to join the event in person, and even if you did, I recommend scrolling back on Instagram and X/Twitter as many participants and presenters shared their learning throughout the day. You can find applicable posts by following the #BYTEMB hashtag or you can follow the BYTE Conference directly on X/Twitter and Instagram. The learning will also continue TOMORROW, February 21st with… Read More
WOW Wednesday – Sophie Thomas
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. This week I am excited to showcase an example of how our staff are using digital tools to strengthen literacy. Sophie Thomas, who currently has a Grade 7 French Immersion class at Mackenzie Middle School, is currently supporting their students with written and spoken language fluency. Sophie accessed both Immersive Reader and Dictate features within the Microsoft EDU… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Office 365 Learning Tools
On Tuesdays, 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 continue our “I Love To Read Month” posts, I want to highlight some of the great accessibility tools built into the Microsoft Office 365 suite that all MVSD staff, students, and families can access. These tools can be one option in your literacy toolkit to assist users in their literacy skills in both classes and their professional roles. The following resources and tutorials can assist you in your understanding of what these can… Read More
Fair Dealing Week 2024
On Mondays, I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. February 26th will kick off Fair Dealing Week 2024 which will run through the week until Friday, March 1st. With the next two Mondays being “No Classes” days in MVSD I wanted to make sure I got us thinking about this event today! The Fair Dealing Canada website describes this legislation as follows: “Fair dealing recognizes that certain uses of copyright protected works are beneficial for society. By placing limits on instances where copyright owners can require payment, fair dealing leads innovation, to… Read More