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
10 Year Blogiversary!
In 2012, on the recommendation from a university professor, I started a blog to document my learning journey and connect with other educators. That initial blog post started with, “I will admit that I am not the most tech-savvy person, but it’s a start!”. If there was ever an example of foreshadowing, this introductory sentence would be it. Little did I know that that start would swell to a 900+ post documentation of my journey from, “… not the most tech-savvy person” to the Coordinator of ICT; responsible for the technology programming and purchasing for over 3,000 stakeholders. This journey has been, and continues to be, guided by both an internal motivation to seek out new information as well as… Read More
December ICT Newsletter
In true Manitoba fashion, December started off with a day of bus cancellations due to inclement weather! With the start of a new month comes a new monthly ICT newsletter. These newsletters are designed to serve as an outreach to all MVSD staff and provide: general ICT updates (software changes, divisional ICT timelines, tech-themed holidays) upcoming PD for the month tech tips divisional highlights These newsletters are sent out to staff via our divisional email but are also shared out through our social media pages and divisional website.
November ICT Newsletter
The Monday after Halloween… who is more tired – students or teachers?! With the start of a new month comes a new monthly ICT newsletter. These newsletters are designed to serve as an outreach to all MVSD staff and provide: general ICT updates (software changes, divisional ICT timelines, tech-themed holidays) upcoming PD for the month tech tips divisional highlights These newsletters are sent out to staff via our divisional email but are also shared out through our social media pages and divisional website.
Happy Halloween!
I have to admit that I have never been a huge Halloween fan. Candy? Yes please! But dressing up? Not so much… With that in mind, I do love participating in school events and always made sure to dress up as part of the school-spirit events going on in the classroom/workplace. Since my move to division office, I have tried to align my costumes to a technology theme. 2019 – Microsoft Word’s favourite assistant: Clippy! 2020 – A North American House Hippo (this fell on Media Literacy week so it played into both elements) This year I wanted to find… Read More
PD on the Potty
Near the end of 2019 I implemented the idea of PD on the Potty following a podcast from Kasey Bell. This alternative method of professional development sees the inclusion of fliers placed in staff washroom facilities. Depending on the month these may include: divisional tech reminders upcoming PD opportunities tips & tricks program reviews social media recommendations and more! Not only do these fliers allow you to have a captive audience but they can provide a bridge for staff members who have technology as a barrier in their practice [for these individuals, emails, social media posts, digital resources, etc are… Read More
October ICT Newsletter
September has FLOWN by and we are now into my favourite month of the year, October! With the start of a new month comes a new monthly ICT newsletter. These newsletters are designed to serve as an outreach to all MVSD staff and provide: general ICT updates (software changes, divisional ICT timelines, tech-themed holidays) upcoming PD for the month tech tips divisional highlights These newsletters are sent out to staff via our divisional email but are also shared out through our social media pages and divisional website.
Interpretivism: The Ed Tech Coaches’ Playbook
*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina In our discussion of research paradigms, interpretivism operates on the foundation that sociology needs to be approached differently than the positivist objective stance taken by natural science branches. Crotty (1998) shares that the interpretivism epistemology is one that, “looks for culturally derived and historically situated interpretations of the social life-world.” The role of an educational coach depends on one’s ability to operate within this context as our students’ [educators, administrators, and support positions] programming requires an understanding of symbolic interactionism. A primary… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Location Based Reminders
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 my role I am shared between 16 schools in 7 different communities. It is quite common that many of my school-based enquires aren’t necessarily urgent enough for a planned meeting so I often get the phrase, “can you pop in and check on this with me next time you’re at my school?”. As such, at any given time I have a list of potential conversations on the go and I want to ensure that… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Disinfecting Technology
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 we prepare to welcome staff and students back into our buildings in the coming weeks our ICT Department has been working to help ensure that the use of shared digital devices is as safe as possible. From our perspective we want to help make sure that anyone who uses one of our shared devices can do so as safe as possible while ensuring appropriate disinfection practices are occuring that won’t damage our devices. What… Read More