This afternoon I will have an opportunity to chat with the Internet for Educators class (#I4Ed) out of Brandon University. Our discussion today will build off of a shift in mindset that I experienced in 2017 while working on my M. Ed. This is a topic that I’ve been able to share a few times both with previous #I4Ed classes but also at the BYTE and Riding the Wave conferences. As we approach the one-year anniversary of a shift to remote learning; this mindset has never been more relevant for educators. It is my hope that this post will serve… Read More
Mantra Monday
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. This week’s Mantra is: As I work with educators I am finding that it can be easy to get hyper-fixated on a particular tool (Teams, Seesaw, Forms, etc). This focus can create a tunnel-vision where educators are only seeing the features of that particular tool and end up designing their lessons around that tool rather than focusing on pedagogy and how particular tools can help address their learning goals. Even though our teaching environment may shift from the classroom to student… Read More
Equity & Inclusion
*This post has been written as part of my professional growth plan through my #ISTE20 scholarship. Why Digital Equity Matters Presenters: Dr. Desiree Alexander, Darren Bell, Patricia Brown, Keri Hennessy-Wilson, Matthew Hiefield, Carla Jefferson, Valerie Lewis, Dr. Michael Mills, Dr. Adam Phyall Overview: “As we reimagine and further define digital equity, there’s an increasing need for professional learning opportunities. We’ll facilitate a dialogue about the multiple dimensions of digital equity with the goal of determining actionable steps for K-12 campuses.“ Main Takeaways: *This was a challenging sessions to participate in the VOD format as the primary component of their session was… Read More
Follow Friday – MB Remote Learning Support Centre
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. Given that much of the province of MB has started off 2021 in a Remote Learning environment I felt that it was fitting for this week’s Follow Friday post to share more about the MB Remote Learning Support Centre. While it remains a “work-in progress”, with new resources/projects/features added through January, the MB Remote Learning Support Centre has established a presence with a website and social media accounts. They currently offer: Professional… Read More
WOW Wednesday – Katrina Mitchell
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. For the first WOW Wednesday post of 2021 I would like to highlight Katrina Mitchell! Katrina has previously taught at MMS in Dauphin but was selected this year as one of our local teachers to work full-time supporting students with medical accomodations via the Westman Remote Learning Consortia. While many of our staff are reacquainting themselves with… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Clean Up Your Computer Month
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. January is recognized as Clean Up Your Computer Month and, with so much more of our practice being digital during remote learning, this is especially important! As such, the month’s posts will be focused on this theme. To kick off the month, this week’s tips follow a series based on a graphic I shared last year at this time. I chose to film this series via TikTok (see videos embedded below)
Mantra Monday
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. January is recognized as Clean Up Your Computer Month and, with so much more of our practice being digital during remote learning, this is especially important! As such, the month’s posts will be focused on this theme. To kick off the month, this week’s Mantra is: Within our classrooms we usually have a pretty set routine when it comes to organizing and maintaining the physical items we accumulate: final assessments (exams), physical mail, administrative memos, secretarial notes, anecdotal records, sub records,… Read More
Assistive & Adaptive Technology
*This post has been written as part of my professional growth plan through my #ISTE20 scholarship. Accessibility Tools Smackdown Presenters: Karyn Fillhart & Kristin Oropeza Overview: “Karyn is a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, Google certified, former elementary and special education teacher and current tech trainer. Kristin is a Google certified trainer, Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, educator and former special education teacher. Together, you get a smackdown of tools broken down by platform and area of need.” Main Takeaways Microsoft information presented by Karyn and Google information presented by Kristin (both use both platforms and will be comparing and contrasting) Enter all programming design… Read More
Assessment, Evaluations, & Use of Data
*This post has been written as part of my professional growth plan through my #ISTE20 scholarship. TPACK Leadership Diagnostic Tool: Guidance for Teacher Education Toward Technology Infusion Presenters: Dr. Arlene Borthwick, Jeffrey Carpenter, Dr. Jon Clausen, Elizabeth Finsness, Dr. Kevin Graziano, & Mary Herring Overview: “This session highlights the JDLTE Outstanding Research Award Paper entitled, “TPACK Leadership Diagnostic Tool: Adoption and Implication for Teacher Education Leaders.” JDLTE recognizes one article from the prior volume year with the highest possibility to advance the field of teacher education. Authors will provide the background that lead to the tool’s development and discuss how institutions have… Read More
#TweetTheHalls Winners!
Today is the LAST DAY of school in 2020, which also means that our #MBEdChat #TweetTheHalls event has come to a close. Over the course of 15 days we had almost 60 educators participate with a total reach of over 10,000! While the majority of participants were local to Manitoba we also had our network extend to include those from Ontario and the East Coast provinces as well; welcome to all! This morning Donna Miller Fry and myself joined Stephen Hurley at VoicEd Radio for “Hurley in the Morning”. We had an opportunity to not only share about the connections… Read More