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’d like to highlight Sharon who teaches at Mackenzie Middle School in Dauphin. Sharon has been an integrator of ed tech long before Covid-19 including the use of MS Teams and classroom social media accounts on both Instagram and Facebook. She also had all of her Gr 8 homeroom class participate in… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Delayed Messages in Outlook
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. Delay Delivery. (2020). Uploaded by Kirsten Thompson. Available online at: http://fishbowlteaching.blogspot.com/ Lets be real, during “regular teaching” teachers are often working on their own time which may include evenings, early mornings, weekends, etc. Now that many of us are reporting from home this type of work schedule is even more common. With the balance of managing child care alongside work expectations I find that I do some of my best work between… Read More
Laptop Loan Program – EXPANDED to Junior High
Earlier this month I was able to share one of the new offerings our ICT Team was undertaking in an effort to help increase student learning success: the loaning of our divisional laptops to our High School (Gr 9-12) students. This was a big task for us as we did not have any device lending pre-Covid and are also not 1-to-1 so our available inventory is limited. As such, this has been a multi-phase approach that will allow us to help serve those who need the support most. We had a very positive response to this program… Read More
#MantraMonday
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: Ed Tech Quote. (2020). Uploaded by Kirsten Thompson. Available online at: http://fishbowlteaching.blogspot.com/ True distance and online instruction is delivered with conscious planning and pedagogical strategies. I’m curious to see how many PD sessions and university classes will address these topics moving forward. Right now, much of what I see advertised are remote learning PD designed by companies that promote the use of their own specific tools/platforms for online learning. One such resource are the courses available through the Microsoft… Read More
FREE Wifi Expansion
At the start of the month I announced that MVSD was able to offer FREE Wifi for our students who are engaging in online learning. This offering was hosted at our largest high school in Dauphin as this community allowed us to meet the needs of families from our six Dauphin schools. We are thrilled to announce that, thanks to the dedicated work of our network administrator and technicians, we are now able to offer this service in ALL 7 of our MVSD communities. This means that our students can now access FREE Wifi in: –… Read More
Follow Friday
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 wanted to share one of my “go-to” organizations when it comes to finding current, Canadian research on media use for youth and educators: Media Smarts. They also have a fantastic trove of FREE resources for parents and educators to help facilitate safe and informed use of various media forms. Follow Friday Media Smarts. (2020). Uploaded by Kirsten Thompson. Available online at: https://fishbowlteaching.blogspot.com/ In their own… Read More
#WOWWednesday
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 send a BIG thank you to the building admins, computer technicians, and teaching staff who have worked together to organize and distribute devices for our Laptop Loan Program. This is a big undertaking which required our staff to: – reorganize our tech inventory – reimage devices as needed… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Use of BCC
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. BCC. (2020). Uploaded by Kirsten Thompson. Available online at: http://fishbowlteaching.blogspot.com/ We have all been sending an increasing amount of email now that we are reporting from home due to Covid-19. In MVSD we had seen an increase of 49.6% in sent/read emails since the suspension of classes was announced on March 13th. As many of our staff now find themselves in a position where they are emailing their parent groups regularly I would like… Read More
Follow Friday
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 would like to share how you can find Mountain View School Division content via social media. The use of social media has been something that I have been very passionate about in my role as an educator; I think it is an incredible tool for building community and increasing transparency between schools and their stakeholders. Follow Friday MVSD Social Media. (2020). Uploaded by Kirsten Thompson.… Read More
#WOWWednesday – Laptop Loan Program
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 share one of the new offerings our ICT Team is undertaking in an effort to help increase student learning success. This was a big task for us as we did not have any device lending pre-Covid and are also not 1-to-1 so our available inventory is limited. As… Read More