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 want to provide a shoutout to members of our team who help provide the supports so that our tech is accessible to the broader community. Beginning in April, as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic and suspension of classes, MVSD began offering free wifi via hotspots in all 7 of our MVSD communities:… 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
The Inequity of Remote Learning
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced schools around the world to rethink how education is delivered to our youth. It has also placed a magnifying glass on the number of social services provided by schools. No longer is the conversation simply centered on, “how are schools teaching children”. This dialogue opened up an often overlooked fact that schools have become not only centers of education but also that of nutrition, mental health, security, and facilitators of economic participation. On September 8th, four days after a draft version was shared with school divisions, the province of Manitoba published the Manitoba Education Standards… Read More
Tech Training for Parents/Guardians
When the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the suspension of in-person classes in March of 2020 we were all thrown into an emergency scenario that saw all stakeholders try their best to accomplish distance content delivery for their students. In all cases, educators relied heavily on the parents/guardians of their students to assist however they could. This included: picking up hard-copy packages from schools or via mail providing a device of some type assisting in whatever troubleshooting was needed learning alongside their child and answering questions as they arrived serving as a communication liason between children and teachers Six months later… Read More
Clever Badges
Clever Badges have been implemented as of September 2020 for all MVSD students K-3. These paper badges feature a QR code with the student’s name and, when displayed in front of the webcam of a divisional computer, initiate an automatic login into the device for that student! Check out this video from our IGTV below for more details and a demo of these badges in action! View this post on Instagram In an effort to increase accessibility for our youngest students we’ve implemented Clever Badges for our K-3 students across MVSD! #mvsd_mb #edtech #mbedchat A post shared by Kirsten Thompson – ICT… Read More
Digital Devices – Disinfection & Appropriate Use During a Pandemic
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 is a shared device? In MVSD, we consider any digital device that is used by multiple-users to be a shared device. Whenever possible we are… Read More
Tech Tips for Attending an Online Conference – #ISTEsla20 Prep
At the start of June I posted about this summer’s ISTE Summer Learning Academy being held from July 13-31. The countdown is now on and with the sessions starting next week I wanted to share some of my tips and tricks for attending an online conference. ISTE Summer Learning Academy Social Media Graphic. (2020). Uploaded by Kirsten Thompson. Available online at: http://fishbowlteaching.blogspot.com/ My first expeirence with online conferences was 8 years ago when I began tuning into EduCon that streamed out of Philadelphia. I attended via their virtual options for two years and later became even more… 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/ Through the month of June I have been encouraging all staff to reflect on the learning opportunities awarded to them through the experience of Covid-19. (Some tools to facilitate this reflection include the Year End Tech Checklist & the Self-Reflection rubric). This increase in tech usage has fast-tracked the use of educational technology for many of our staff; our direct Office 365 stats show just how big… Read More
Covid-19 Podcast Discussions
While the past four months have drastically cut down on my meeting and conference plans (still mourning the loss of ConnectED and Riding the Wave face-to-face events) it did signicantly increase my ability to converse with some amazing educators from across Manitoba and Saskatchewan. I consider myself pretty lucky to have some wonderfully creative educators in my social circle who are using podcasts to share, connect, and educate. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and resulting suspension of classes, there has been a lot of conversations to be had when it comes to the impact… Read More