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. Media Literacy Week is still in full-force in the division, and I was so pleased to spot these posters during a recent visit to Gilbert Plains Elementary. Using various forms of media, such as photos, and appropriately citing your sources is an essential part of media literacy and these types of tips/reminders are a great tool… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Stopping Fake News
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. As October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, all of the tips shared this month will tackle common cyber security concerns (both student-related and work-place related). You can check out the other Cyber Security Awareness Month posts here: Has my account been compromised? Password habits teachers should break Protecting yourself from phishing emails This week’s tech tip serves double duty as it is also Media Literacy Week! These areas heavily overlap as our media and digital literacy… Read More
Media Literacy Week 2020
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 26-30, this week’s Mantra is: If you are new to Media Literacy Week, Media Smarts describes it as: “Media Literacy Week (MLW) is an annual event promoting digital and media literacy across Canada. Schools, libraries, museums and community groups organize events and activities throughout the week. In 2020, we’re encouraging Canadians of all ages to be good digital citizens by checking the info they see online before sharing it. Take part by becoming a… Read More
What I Learned As A Remote Student
On Friday 1000s of Manitoba teachers took part in #MTSPDDay which was primarily hosted via distance and online methods. It is my hope that we all use this opportunity to not only take back new content understanding to our practice but to also reflect on what it is like to be a distance student. I have personally been a distance student since September of 2013 when I started by M.Ed program through Brandon University. While this stage of my learning journey concluded with my graduation in 2018, I have continued to spend time as a distance student as I completed… Read More
Follow Friday – #MTSPDDay
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, as I do every year at this time, I’d like to bring recognition to the #MTSPDDay hashtag! To learn a bit more about what exactly MTS PD Day is and how it is being held during the Covid-19 pandemic, check out the video below from MTS President: James Bedford As educators take part in various professional development sessions across the province, many of them are choosing to share their learning… Read More
Assistive Learning Technologies
Yesterday I had the opportunity to share and learn with a fantastic group of clinicians to discuss assistive learning technologies. This group included speech-language pathologists, school psychologists, social workers, and physiotherapists who work to support learners and families within the Parkland-region: Mountain View School Division Frontier School Division Swan Valley School Division Turtle River School Division Parkwest School Division Prairie Mountain Health Manitoba Education As my background is as a classroom teacher, and my M.Ed focus was on educational technology, I developed a presentation based on my skill-set. Our Coordinator of Student Services, Jeane Mischuk, was then kind enough to… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Protecting Yourself from Phishing Emails
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. As October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, all of the tips shared this month will tackle common cyber security concerns (both student-related and work-place related). You can check out the other Cyber Security Awareness Month posts here: Has my account been compromised? Password habits teachers should break What is a Phishing Email? Phishing emails are fraudulent messages designed to obtain sensitive information such as financial information, usernames, or passwords. These emails often include links which sends… 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: I’ve always been a big believer of doing a few things well as opposed to taking on too many things and not being able to fully commit. There is a huge pressure in the tech industry, with ed tech being no exception, that there is always something, “bigger/better/newer”. While this can be exciting, jumping to something new all the time in education can lead to frustration for both teachers and students (this also extends to families). Before… Read More
Follow Friday – Matteo Di Muro
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 Matteo Di Muro, Ed Tech Specialist for Brandon School Division. Matteo is someone whom I’ve admired for years as his work was often praised in our B.Ed program at Brandon University. Since that time I’ve had the opportunity to connect with him both in person and online and this year sees this relationship grow as we: are working together as president and vice-president of ManACE are… Read More
Lungs Are For Life – MB Curriculum Supplements
This morning our admin council had guest presenter, Hailey Coleman, the Youth Vaping Program Coordinator and Operations Assistant from the Manitoba Lung Association. She shared about the newly revamped “Lungs Are For Life” program which now includes more information on vaping. She shared that, in 2019, Manitoba Gr 7-12 use of vaping products has increased by 21.5% and it can be speculated that this statistic has increased in 2020 given the correlation between youth mental health and the prevalence of vaping. Lungs are for Life Program Overview “Lungs are for Life! is the vaping and smoking prevention program for students… Read More