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 was first introduced to Dorothy when I started attending MAETL meetings in the fall of 2019. Since 2020, Dorothy and I have had the opportunity to work together through various positions on the MAETL executive board with our most recent roles as president and lead of the educational technologies committee. Dorothy, who is based out of Winnipeg School Division, is currently serving in the role of lead for Professional Support… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Access FREE Coding Workshop
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. This year the BYTE Conference has expanded their offerings to not only include amazing PD for educators who attend the conference but also offer resources for those who are unable to attend and will be in their classrooms with students. Through a partnership with Cobblestone Collective, BYTE is offering a workshop designed to get students and teachers problem solving, using computational thinking, debugging, getting creative and having fun! If you haven’t used CS First before,… Read More
Throwback to BU!
I am very excited to share that tomorrow I will be back at Brandon University (BU) taking part in their pre-service professional development series through the Faculty of Ed. BU holds a special place in my heart as I not only hold my B.A, B.Ed, and M.Ed from here but I also lived and worked on campus for five years from 2007-2012. This will be my 5th formal presentation at BU with previous guest speaking roles taking place as part of the Internet for Ed (#I4Ed) B.Ed class, formally taught by Mike Nantais. I took a quick trip down memory… Read More
PD on the Potty
Near the end of 2019 I implemented the idea of PD on the Potty following a podcast from Kasey Bell. This alternative method of professional development sees the inclusion of fliers placed in staff washroom facilities. Depending on the month these may include: divisional tech reminders upcoming PD opportunities tips & tricks program reviews social media recommendations and more! Not only do these fliers allow you to have a captive audience but they can provide a bridge for staff members who have technology as a barrier in their practice [for these individuals, emails, social media posts, digital resources, etc are inaccessible]. Here… Read More
February 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. February 2023 ICT Newsletter by Kirsten Cali
Data as a Pollution Problem
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. With last week playing host to Data Privacy Day I wanted to continue our discussion into this week with a call to action. As we better inform ourselves about the importance of data privacy and security, within the context of education, I ask you to reflect on your practices in the classroom: are there any visible passwords posted? are passwords updated regularly using strong password development? are you familiar with your Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) and how the role of data… Read More
Data Privacy Day 2023
January 27th serves as Data Privacy Day, a day dedicated to bringing awareness to the privacy and security of your data (and students). While this has been an important topic for quite some time, the past 3 years has seen a drastic increase in the amount of digital data created in the field of education. As such, this is the perfect opportunity to review these skills. The following posts have been shared in the past and can help guide your learning in the area of data privacy and cyber security. Student Data – ICT Considerations What we should know about… 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 January is recognized as Clean Up Your Computer Month all of this month’s tips will be dedicated to this topic! Keeping your device(s) clean and disinfected not only helps ensure that you are healthy but it can also help ensure your device is free of debris and running optimally. However, devices can be picky about how they are cleaned so you want to make sure you do so in a way that aligns with the specific… Read More
Follow Friday – BYTE Conference
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. February is almost upon us and that can only mean one thing…. it is time for the BYTE Conference! This conference holds a special place in my heart as it was not only the first large ed conference that I attended as a B.Ed student but it was also the start of my presentation experience. Since that time I have been able to attend 8 of the conferences (7 years as a presenter). You can… Read More
WOW Wednesday – Podcasting in the Classroom
On Wednesdays I highlight some of our amazing MVSD staff on our social media pages. Everyday 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. In MVSD we have three podcasting kits that are available for loan to any staff member or student. They include a Snowball USB Microphone, high quality headphones, and supplementary resources to support classroom use. One example of these kits in action comes from Megan out of Ethelbert School who used the podcasting kits with her Grade 11 and… Read More