Today starts off the LAST week of school in 2021 (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 17 days we had over 200 participating Tweets with a total reach of over 100,000! While the majority of participants were local Manitoba educators we also had our network extend to include schools and student groups. This morning we used a random number generator to randomly select three winners from all eligible participants. I want to extend a HUGE thank you to: all of the #MBEdChat… Read More
Relax & Recharge
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. December is always a whirlwind month for educators as they push through fatigue (for both themselves and students), climatize to colder weather and less sunlight, and coordinate a variety of holiday activities, all while maintaining the plethora of regular classroom duties. As we near the 2-year mark of the Covid-19 pandemic, and work to once-again navigate rising case numbers, the risk of feeling overwhelmed is further increased. This quote is one that I shared last year as well simply because I… Read More
Follow Friday – Alan Levine
Every Friday I share what I believe to be a notable person/organization/school on our social media pages (linked at the top of the blog) to assist our staff in the development of their online Personal Learning Network. Alan is new to my PLN as I was only recently introduced to his work after being announced as the Keynote Speaker for the upcoming May 2022 Riding the Wave Conference. His website bio includes: “Alan Levine is an independent educational technologist, sometimes calling myself an “itinerant web geek”, providing anything from development of custom web sites, most often but not limited to WordPress,… Read More
Preliminary Research Map
*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina Background One unseen benefit of the Covid-19 pandemic is that the use of technology in education has increased at a far higher rate than if our traditional classroom model was still in place (Nantais, M. et al., 2021, p. 34). The switch to remote learning has placed all educators, students, and families in a position where they are required to modify their existing practices and learn how to use digital tools in new ways. However, an increase in the use of online… Read More
Follow Friday – Kids Code Jeunesse
Every Friday I share what I believe to be a notable person/organization/school on our social media pages (linked at the top of the blog) to assist our staff in the development of their online Personal Learning Network. Even though Computer Science Education Week is coming to a close, that doesn’t mean the learning needs to stop! Kids Code Jeunesse (KCJ) has worked with over 475,000 students and 14,000 teachers in the area of coding and computational thinking. Their website and social media platforms include: Teacher training workshops “Code in the Classroom” student workshops Coding events Supporting resources coding tutorials research… Read More
WOW Wednesday – Ecole Macneill
Every Wednesday 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. Ecole Macneill is no stranger to our WOW Wednesday series; they have integrated Smart bulbs into their classroom environments, shared out remote learning tips, and added to their tech inventory while supporting their learning through ongoing PD. This year their tech integration continues to grow as they added an eSports team to their school and have… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Hour of Code
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. Day 2 of Computer Science Education week is underway and I wanted to highlight Hour of Code again as an accessible way to bring coding into your classroom, regardless of if you are a beginner or a pro. On Friday I shared out about Code.Org (who hosts the Hour of Code activities) and yesterday I shared out more of my favourite coding activities, including curriculums for K-12. There are currently over 500 one hour coding… Read More
The Language of Creativity
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. Computer Science Education week is officially here! Running from today through to December 10, this event is an international movement designed to introduce students to the field of computer science, strengthen computational thinking and encourage creativity in the digital space. Last week I shared out one of my favourite coding resources Code.org which is being utilized across the division in a variety of ways. If the idea of coding is new to you, or you are trying to find ways to… Read More
Follow Friday – Code.org
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. Monday kicks off Computer Science Education Week which runs from December 6-10th, 2021. This event is an international movement designed to introduce students to the field of computer science, strengthen computational thinking and encourage creativity in the digital space. One way to introduce Computer Science Education Week is through an Hour of Code event! “The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+… Read More
December ICT Newsletter
In true Manitoba fashion, December started off with a day of bus cancellations due to inclement weather! 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.