On Thursdays I usually use our social media platforms to share using the #ThrowbackThursday trend where users participate by sharing a memory (recent or distant). These posts don’t usually make it to the blog but when a memory popped up today I was surprised to see I hadn’t placed it as a feature on the blog in the past. Given the Covid-19 pandemic, we wanted to find a way to offer technology-related professional development to staff while having fun and staying safe during the 2020/2021 year. This project saw staff practice their understanding of collaborative documents and cloud-based storage systems… Read More
Collaborative Video Projects
On Thursdays I usually participate in the online social media trend of #ThrowbackThursday where you re-post a picture or video memory. These posts can be anything the user wants: good memories, bad memories, recent history or decades-old memories. Today, as I was scrolling through old posts on the blog and was reminded that 9 years ago this week I was working with Mike Nantais (who was teaching at BU) and Tyler Letkeman (fellow B.Ed student at the time) on our contribution to the #ETMOOC Lipdub. This project saw participants from around the world work collaboratively to divide up a song,… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Disinfect Your Tech
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 January is recognized as Clean Up Your Computer Month and, with so much more of our practice being digital during remote learning, all of this month’s tips will be dedicated to this topic! Here in Manitoba we are one week into our return of in-person learning and our classrooms are the busiest they have been in 2022, while navigating the current wave of the pandemic. One strategy in increasing the overall health and safety of staff/students… Read More
Status Quo or Time for Transformation
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. Education is under fire across North America as we grapple with developing programming admits another wave in the Covid-19 pandemic; this time fueled through the omicron variant. Educators, parents, students, and community stakeholders are trying to find answers to questions such as: what upgrades can be completed to school ventilation systems? what type of masks are available to staff and students? will school cases be documented and communicated? how will we address widespread absenteeism of students and staff? how do we… Read More
WOW Wednesday – BLP MOOC Staff Participation
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, Myla Krauskopf from Winnipegosis Collegiate has teamed up with myself to provide further information about the Blended Learning Practice (BLP) MOOC that is starting up another round on January 16, 2022. The infographic, shared above, was prepared by Myla and shared out via our social media accounts to help provide context for other educators… Read More
Intentional Planning During Remote Learning
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. Today kicks off yet another round of remote learning here in Manitoba. As we near the end of year 2 of the Covid-19 pandemic it is a safe assumption that a majority of our staff and students have experienced some form of remote learning, but not all. For new staff and students this could represent a new experience for them and it is also important to remember that every class is different. In the same way that you never teach a… Read More
Follow Friday – Blended Learning Practice MOOC
Every Friday I share what I believe to be a notable person/organization/school on our social media pages (linked at the top of the blog) to assist our staff in the development of their online Personal Learning Network. This week I want to highlight the collaboration between Athabasca University and the Commonwealth of Learning as they relaunch one of their popular MOOCs. As Manitoba transitions into ANOTHER round of remote learning, it couldn’t be more timely. In the summer of 2020 one of colleagues from Manitoba Ed recommended I participate in the Blended Learning Practice MOOC. This massive open online course is, “an… 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
#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
WOW Wednesday – ICT Team
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. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, we have transitioned into another round of remote learning. As a result, uptake in our laptop loan program has dramatically increased at a time where our team was initially expecting to start receiving laptops back for returns. I think it is important to note that, as a new program this year,… Read More