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. I first had an opportunity to meet Lisa a few years back and have been so appreciative of her Twitter feed ever since! Lisa is an Ontario teacher, Ph.D Candidate, speaker, consultant, author, mother, and so much more. She shares regularly about coding in the classroom, computational thinking skills, lifelong learning and general education positivity. In 2019, Lisa Anne visited Manitoba as a spotlight speaker at the Riding the Wave conference in… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Year End Tech Checklist
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. The end of the school year means a very standard routine for educators: time to clean out your classroom! For many of us this includes removal of any unnecessary clutter that has accumulated, archiving and filing, revamping bulletin boards, and perhaps the beginning of an update to certain decor elements. Guess what? This should be happening digitally as well; especially with increased use of digital tools/files! When I taught at Ste Rose our secretary would always provide… Read More
Technology for Reflection & Metacognition
On Mondays I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. At the end of May we started discussing some tech options for final assessments. For a lot of our staff, their report card comments are due this week which means that they are working to finalize summative understanding with their learners and, for many of them, tech tools play a role in this task. While I’m discussing this at the end of the school year, don’t be fooled, the use of technology as a tool for reflection and metacognition should be… Read More
Follow Friday – Christopher Nesi
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. I was first introduced to Christopher and his work when I found the House of #EdTech podcast in 2019. I quickly learned that Christopher is extremely active across all social media platforms as he strives to provide high-quality, accessible professional development for teachers. I find his work most regularly through his Twitter feed, podcast, and TikTok account. Located in New Jersey, Christopher has worked at the high school and post-secondary levels and… Read More
WOW Wednesday – Ochre River School
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. This week I was so pleased to share and learn with the Ochre River School (ORS) community at an evening session entitled: Social Media for Parents. This session, hosted by the ORS Parent Advisory Council, was designed to help inform caregivers about the world of social media so that they feel confident and prepared to explore… Read More
Follow Friday – Dr. Verena Roberts
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. Dr. Roberts and I have been in the same Twitter circle for some time (although I can’t pinpoint when or how we found each other). I am regularly reminded of her work as my Ph.D supervisor, Dr. Couros, also recommends her regularly as I work through my research. Dr. Roberts currently works through the University of Calgary and has extensive experience in the area of Open Educational Practices (OEP). Both her Twitter… Read More
M.Ed… 3 Years Later!
On Thursdays I usually use our social media platforms to share using the #ThrowbackThursday trend where users participate by sharing a memory (recent or distant). These posts don’t usually make it to the blog but when a memory popped up today I was surprised to see I hadn’t placed it as a feature on the blog in the past. In 2014 I decided to head back to Brandon University to pursue by Master of Education degree. Throughout this journey I shared about my experiences and published assignment work using the tag “University” and, in the spring of 2018, I published… Read More
June 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. June 2022 ICT Newsletter by Kirsten Cali
#TechTipTuesday – NFC Tags
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. Today’s tip focuses on NFC (or near field communication) tags. These small pieces of plastic can be easily coded via a variety of app options so that when a smart device is placed in proximity to them, they automatically share some type of digital information (opening a website, sharing a file, etc). This is the same type of technology utilized in the “tap” function of your debit/credit card. For further explanation, check out the video… Read More
Tech Options for Final Assessments
On Mondays I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. As we approach the final month of our school year that means that it is also time to discuss final/summative assessments. I am a strong believer that student choice is key when it comes to demonstrating understanding and that a learner should not be hindered by an assessment style if it is not a component of what is being assessed (ex: a student should not fail an exam because they cannot effectively write about their science understanding if they are able… Read More