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. Chelsea has served as a mentor to me for many many years; I will not date either of us but she was someone who I looked to for advice while I was completing my B.Ed. Since that time Chelsea and I had the opportunity to complete our M.Ed together as part of the MVSD-Cohort and, given our… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Convert Word to PowerPoint
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. One thing that I always struggled with in the classroom was student PowerPoint presentations. When offered the option of how students want to share their learning with others it was often a PowerPoint. Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing inherently wrong with a PowerPoint; for many students it is a comfort medium. However, there are always those students who could spend WEEKS of class time on the design of the slides and not… Read More
Welcome to April!
Today is our first day back from Spring Break in Manitoba, as well as our first work day in the month of April. As such, it is time for 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.
WOW Wednesday – Melanie Keown
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. When I came into this position it was clearly identified that Melanie served as an in-house tech leader, a position that elevates the capacity of our entire divisional team. Melanie is eager to expand her knowledge and recently participated at the BYTE Conference. The information she acquired at this PD was immediately put into practice by creating… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Language Tools in Office 365
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. I’ve included a video below to showcase this tool in action.
The Teacher Next Door
I am always in search of ways to assist our staff in accessing professional development in the area of ed tech. As I’ve grown in this position, and our teaching environment has changed drastically, this has taken multiple forms: in-person PD sessions for staff groups one-on-one or small group in-person PD sessions social media posts PD on the Potty monthly newsletters Tech Tidbit PD presented virtually over the noon-hour book studies As we progress through what is arguably a year for the record books, I continue to look for ways to strengthen our staff capacity. Last Wednesday during our monthly… Read More
Supporting Ed Tech – Check Your Mail!
Today felt somewhat like Christmas at my office as I was busy packaging up different ed tech resources to be sent out to schools via our divisional mail system. I am always on the look out for different ways to build in ed tech PD and tech integration and for the past few weeks I have been working with our Coordinator of Library Services and Coordinator of Educational Services on two projects: School-Based Book Study Each of our schools has been gifted a book that discusses a specific aspect of ed tech. These books were chosen based on: school goals… Read More
Manitoba & A Digital First Future
Starting in the spring of 2020 I was asked to participate in a steering committee to assist Tech MB and ICTC as the started a two-phase research project examining digital equity in the province of Manitoba. They describe phase one of the project as, “This study explores broadband connectivity and its impact on education equity in Manitoba, highlighting how a lack of reliable and affordable high-speed internet is particularly detrimental to learners.” Kotak A., Leblanc S., Martell T., & Snider N., January 2021. Manitoba and a Digital-FirstFuture: The Implications of Connectivity for Equity and Education. Information andCommunications Technology Council (ICTC).… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Find Time
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. Determining an appropriate meeting time across multiple stakeholder groups is always an onerous task. In my experience, you are either stuck in a long email thread while participants discuss their schedules or you are tasked with creating/completing another survey (which sometimes leads to another survey if none of the included times worked). Enter the Find Time add-in. This add-in feature in Outlook allows users (both within organization and outside) to quickly see participant availability so… Read More
Educate, Don’t Legislate
Today is the day Manitobans will be able to view the long-awaited Ed Review. Originally scheduled to be shared in March of 2020, this framework was delayed as the world shifted gears in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the new education minister, Cliff Cullen, has now stated that the review is ready to be made public (although there is no indication if the contents of this document were altered in response to the pandemic). If you have read my blog for some time you know that I don’t align with our province’s current leadership and I have previously shared… Read More