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
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
Tips for Successful Online Lessons
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed A LOT of things for everyone; coordinators included. To say the adjustment has been easy would be a lie… I’m shared between all 16 of our school buildings and last year I strived to visit every building at least once a month to support teachers, staff, and students with all things ed tech. Sometimes these visits were scheduled appointments but often they consisted of me stationing myself in the libary, common-area, or staff room and developing organic conversations as people saw me. We all know teachers are busy and this method was fantastic because, while… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Blended Learning Practice MOOC
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. In the summer one of colleagues from Manitoba Ed recommended I participate in the Blended Learning Practice MOOC. This massive open online course is, “an introduction to blending technology and distance education teaching strategies with traditional, in-person classroom activities”. This four-week, FREE, course is accessible and provides practical supports for K-12 educators (and planning teams). I enjoyed this course quite a bit and have shared their open textbook regularly with our staff as… Read More
Remote & Blended Learning Resources for Educators
As our local Covid-19 situation changes we are seeing further restrictions put in place that impact education and our ability to have our students with us face-to-face. As such, we are seeing an increased need for information on Remote & Blended Learning Resources. While the majority of my blog posts focus on ed and ed tech resources I do a lot of curation that doesn’t necessarily get onto the blog; which is why I also provide a direct link to my curation platform of choice – OneNote. Please see a short video below showcasing how to find this resource in… 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
#TechTipTuesday – Data Usage
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. Let’s talk about data. When our students are in the classroom with us we are able to level the playing field. The infrastructure of our building can provide students with the same access to devices as well as the same access to connectivity. However, when we are talking about remote learning that playing field is replaced by the dynamic nature of our students’ individual home environments. At this time, any online programming is… Read More
#WOWWednesday – WCI
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. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions my visits to schools are more limited compared to last year. While I was previously able to visit schools on my own schedule, with a goal of visiting each one every month, my visits now require a lot more planning. I would previously have lots of time to visit classes, work… 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: This quote comes from the Blended Learning Guidebook which was used in the Blended Learning MOOC I participated in this summer. This quote applies both to students as well as teachers. I encourage all of our staff to explore their LMS together, co-create spaces with students, and give patience to yourself and them. Through the day I shared via Instagram/Facebook stories some quick tips on how one might introduce an ed tech platform with comfort/competency in mind.… Read More
Designing Online Learning Experiences – #ISTEsla20 Microcourse #2
The following post has been completed as part of my personal reflection as I work through the ISTE Summer Learning Academy #ISTEsla20 Any images,tables, or direct quotes (as indicated with the appropriate formatting) are provided from the specific course or webinar and can be credited to: ISTE Summer Learning Academy. (2020). https://summerlearningacademy.iste.org/ “This course is built to help educators design and facilitate effective, engaging, and impactful content and lessons for a digital or blended classroom. Identify your personal challenges and goals and explore tools and strategies to promote student engagement and autonomy. Throughout this course, you’ll also work on your own digital lesson design!“ All… Read More