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. The Manitoba chapter of the Internet Society is relatively fresh and came into being through the work of Joel Templeman. In their own words, the Manitoba chapter is described as: “Transforming Manitoba into an inclusive, equitable, interconnected and connected digital society.“ “Since its founding in 2021 as the Manitoba Chapter of the Internet Society, ISOC Manitoba has taken on the task of maintaining an open and transparent Internet and is… Read More
High Impact Leadership
Today our admin council, which consists of MVSD senior administration, school principals, and divisional coordinators, met face-to-face for the 3rd time since early 2020. This meeting not only addressed our regular admin council agenda but also allowed us an opportunity to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Treaty 2 and build in leadership development. As part of our PD we were presented with an article from John Hattie and had an opportunity to meet and discuss with our colleagues. The following are my own notes for reflection. Hattie, John. (2015). High-impact leadership. Improving Schools: What Works? 72.5, pp. 36-40. Transformational or… Read More
Ed Tech Talk with ManACE
Next week the Manitoba Association for Computing Educators (ManACE) will be hosting a virtual event: Ed Tech Talk. This informal professional development session is being organized as a facilitated conversation inviting educators, and educational stakeholders, to share their thoughts on educational technology. The event will take place via Google Meet and was specifically chosen for the evening prior to Remembrance Day so that educators may feel that they are more readily available to participate. To sign up for the November 10th event, check out the ManACE Eventbrite event page. Will you be in attendance? Let me know in the comments… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Microsoft Templates
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. Mountain View School Division operates within a Microsoft Office 365 (O365) environment and this is the system that I have the most experience with as I also used it as a student and in my former teaching position with Turtle River School Division. As they have expanded their suite with purposeful education content, the template feature of O365 has grown immensely. They currently offer templates for the most-used Microsoft tools: Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Why… Read More
November ICT Newsletter
The Monday after Halloween… who is more tired – students or teachers?! 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.
Happy Halloween!
I have to admit that I have never been a huge Halloween fan. Candy? Yes please! But dressing up? Not so much… With that in mind, I do love participating in school events and always made sure to dress up as part of the school-spirit events going on in the classroom/workplace. Since my move to division office, I have tried to align my costumes to a technology theme. 2019 – Microsoft Word’s favourite assistant: Clippy! 2020 – A North American House Hippo (this fell on Media Literacy week so it played into both elements) This year I wanted to find… Read More
WOW Wednesday – Vicky Ogg
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. This week is Media Literacy Week and what better opportunity to highlight the great work being done by Vicky Ogg at Henderson Elementary (HES)! If you are participating in Media Literacy Week you may know that there are 5 key themes to focus on through the week and Vicky is well on her way to practicing ALL… 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… Read More
Media Literacy Week 2021
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. In honour of Media Literacy week, which runs from October 25-30, this week’s Mantra is: If you are new to Media Literacy Week, Media Smarts describes it as: “Media Literacy Week is an annual national campaign hosted by MediaSmarts and the Canadian Teachers Federation to promote digital and media literacy, with activities and events taking place in classrooms, libraries, museums and community groups from coast to coast to coast.” Media Literacy Week Resources Break the Fake resources Media Literacy Week newsletter Media Literacy Week Teachers Hub… Read More
Digital Literacy Skills of Educators
*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina