February 9th serves as Safer Internet Day for 2021. Originating in the UK, Safer Internet Day is now celebrating it’s 18th year in countries around the world. The following description is provided direct from their website: “With a slogan of “Together for a better internet”, Safer Internet Day is a call to action for every stakeholder to contribute to a safer and better internet, especially for its youngest users. The past year has shown us first-hand the importance of ensuring that the largest possible number of children and young people are adequately prepared to handle digital technologies responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively. Only… Read More
Teacher Education: Part 2
*This post has been written as part of my professional growth plan through my #ISTE20 scholarship. Championing Technology Infusion in Techer Preparation Presenters: Dr. Arlene Borthwick, Dr. Jon Clausen, Dr. Denise Crawford, Dr. Teresa Foulger, Dr. Kevin Graziano, Dr. Liz Kolb, Dr. Michael McVey, Dr. Rob Muller, Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, Ji Soo Song, Dr. Joseph South, Dr. Debra Sprague, Dr. Jo Williamson Overview: “This session addresses the complexity of technology infusion from a systems perspective, considering the complexity of teacher preparation as an outcome of teacher candidate, faculty, program, field and unit-level participation. The panelists will share their perspectives of the complexity… Read More
MB Students A Product of Their Society, Not Their Schools
Yesterday the Manitoba funding announcement for the 2021-2022 school year was released which will see a 1.56% increase for a total of $1.35 billion; the highest in the history of our province. However, this marks the fifth year in a row in which the funding allocation has failed to meet the rate of inflation or account for the increasing needs of our provinces’ students. What is perhaps more upsetting for those involved in education is that this announcement was coupled with critiques from the newly appointed education minister, Cliff Cullen, who voiced his displeasure over the academic achievement, or lack… Read More
Teacher Education: Part 1
*This post has been written as part of my professional growth plan through my #ISTE20 scholarship. PD Magic: Applying the Best Practices of the Walt Disney Co. Presenters: Ryan Boeckman, Jerry Johnson Overview: “P.D. Magic is a transformative professional development model that strives to create future-ready classrooms and schools. Explore the instructional methods, concepts and activities that P.D. Magic uses to develop graduate-level courses, workshops, online courses and experiential on-site learning experiences.” Main Takeaways: 6 Core Values 1. Creative storytellers 2. Innovative designers 3. Memorable leaders 4. Blue sky thinkers 5. Empowered learners 6. Knowledge constructors The goal is to develop… Read More
Follow Friday – Brian Aspinall
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. This week I’d like to give a shout out to Brian Aspinall. Brian is an incredibly passionate teacher, author, and speaker who brings attention to education reform, coding, and creativity. His online presence is positive, upbeat, and full of practical resources to support educators in the classroom. Follow Brian Aspinall online: Website Twitter Instagram YouTube
WOW Wednesday – Megan Collier
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. Since 2014 Megan, who teaches at Ethelbert School, has been publicly curating resources via her Ethelbert ELA blog. Now 7 years deep, her blog features hundreds of posts for multiple middle school and high school courses including: ELA Science Social Studies elective courses By establishing a routine of curating and sharing resources online Megan has not only… Read More
Project-, Problem- & Challenge-based Learning
*This post has been written as part of my professional growth plan through my #ISTE20 scholarship. Anatomy of Effective Digital-Age Projects: Designing for Equity, Inquiry, Literacy Presenters: Suzie Boss, Myla Lee Overview: “From project launch until final showcase, decisions about project design, technology integration, and student choice shape the quality of the learning experience–both in person and via remote learning. We will analyze the anatomy of effective projects, emphasizing opportunities to amplify inquiry, equity and digital-age literacies in PBL.” Main Takeaways: PBL allows for collaboration, creativity, curiousity, connection, critical thinking, etc How can we amplify inquiry, equity, and digital-age literacies in… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Embedded Content in Hyperdocs
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. Online navigation, while ripe with possibility, does open up a unique set of challenges: incorrect links due to typos tabs opened/closed accidently uncertainty on if you opened the correct resource clicking on ads, third party links, etc within the resource Whether I am working with students or with staff as part of a PD session my goal is to make navigation as easy as possible. My personal belief is that, “the more steps you add… Read More
What Have Your Students Taught You?
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. I recently found a series on Tik Tok entitled, “Tech Tips I Learned From An 8-Year Old”, where teachers share the game-changing tech tips their students have taught them. The tips range from keyboarding shortcuts and program features to tech tool suggestions and digital “life hacks”. The series is very light and fun and has resulted in the curation of a variety of tech tools that are assisting teachers while also creating a collaborative learning environment that honours the student expertise… Read More
Follow Friday – Manitoba High School eSports Association
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. This week I’d like to highlight the Manitoba High School eSports Association. As we continue to plan student programming within the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic it has become evident that many of our traditional extra-curricular options are not able to happen. While there are strict guidelines in place preventing activities such as organized sports, band/choir, and field trips; online activities are easily organized within distancing requirements. Within MVSD we have some… Read More