Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. February 20th (next week) will kick off Fair Dealing Week 2023 which will run through the week until Friday, February 24th. 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… Read More
School. Keep Going. But Not If You Attend the MRLSC
The advent of technology has revolutionized the way we learn and access educational programming. With the rise of remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic, education systems have been able to cater to the needs of a larger population, making learning accessible to those who may have experienced barriers in accessing traditional face-to-face programs. In January of 2021 the provincial government of Manitoba announced the opening of the Manitoba Remote Learning Support Center (MRLSC) which was designed, in part, “to ensure students across Manitoba can access quality remote learning support when they need it” (Goertzen – MB EELC, 2021). This priority… Read More
Follow Friday – Dorothy Goddard
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