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. The use of Office 365 Bookings has streamlined our Parent-Teacher Interview Process in multiple ways: our secretarial, admin, and teaching staff are no longer required to manage incoming appointment times our teachers know automatically when their bookings are as they sync to their Outlook calendars Teams video meeting links are autogenerated for every family who requires… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Remote Learning Back-Up Plans
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. Yesterday there was a province-wide internet outage in all school divisions that are hosted through MERLIN. While they did a fantastic job of addressing this large-scale concern quite quickly, it did mean that most educators were without internet access for at least half the day. What would have been an inconvienance last year was now a major concern for schools and families as we now have a significant amount of students engaged in… Read More
The Virtual Teachers of Our Childhood
I came across the following image this past week on social media and I can’t seem to get it out of my head. Its true, many people that I can credit with acting in a “teaching” role through my childhood are people that I never met or had any one-to-one interaction with. If I had to personalize this graphic, mine would look something like this: The virtual teachers of my childhood include individuals such as: Bill Nye Fred Rogers Mr. Dress Up (aka Ernie Coombs) Reading Rainbow with LeVar Burton Hal Johnson & Joanne McLeod As I work with teachers… Read More
Strengthening the Ed Tech Capacity of the Community
If you are a social media user you are probably familiar with the Throwback Thursday trend where users participate by sharing a memory (recent or distant). I was reminded on my ICT social media accounts that this time last year was the kick-off to our community outreach program (see Instagram post below): When I entered this position last September I was pleasantly surprised to realize that although I didn’t have “my kids” (students) anymore, I now had an extended network of over 4000 new “students” to support. This group includes MVSD students, teachers, admin, support staff, and our MVSD families.… Read More
WOW Wednesday – GPCI O365 Training
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 I would like to highlight Gilbert Plains Collegiate. For the second year in a row they committed to providing formal training to all of the students in the use of Office 365. This training is specifically on how to use these tools to enhance their learning and included: platform overview and navigation of tools… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Custom Cursor
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. Accessibility is key both in the classroom and when teaching remotely. Whether you are projecting onto a screen or sharing your view via a video call it can be difficult for participants to track the moves of your cursor. For someone in my position, who does a lot of tech training sessions, having participants understand what I am doing and where I am clicking is essential! By changing to a custom cursor your… Read More
Making Waves – MVSD Programming During Covid-19
This information is presented from the divisional perspective. The realities of teaching day-to-day during the Covid-19 pandemic can only effectively be shared from a teacher voice. MVSD has just under 90 accounts, across various social media platforms that share on behalf of their school/classroom/professional position. I invite you to visit these accounts to see a glimpse of what teaching and learning looks like within MVSD and connect with our network. (You can also check out the #mvsd_mb on the platform of your choice) “Ground Up – Not Top Down” Our Programs & Planning team consists of our Assistant Superintendent and… 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 you may know, I am a huge advocate for equity in education. Unforunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has stripped our learners from the environment which strived to offer a level playing field for all: our school buildings. In the ed tech world, these buildings were our source for connectivity and digital devices. With our learners now being at home (whether that is full-time, part-time, etc) we have lost that level playing field and, if educators are relying… Read More
Follow Friday – ICTC
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 Information & Communications Technology Council (ICTC-CTIC). ICTC-CTIC describes themselves as, “The Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) is a not-for-profit national centre of expertise for the digital economy. ICTC is the trusted source for evidence-based policy advice, forward looking research, and creative capacity building programs for the digital economy. OUR MISSION IS TO: Strengthen Canada’s digital advantage in a global economy OUR VISION IS TO: Foster… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Virtual Parent-Teacher Conferences
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. November brings about the first round of report cards in Manitoba and, traditionally, this has also meant an open opportunity for parents/guardians to visit the school and discuss student progress with their teacher(s) face-to-face. However, admist the Covid-19 pandemic, having multiple visitors in our school buildings is not ideal (and in some cases not possible). As such, virtual options have been built in for families with connectivity. For those with access, these tools… Read More