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 highlight Wendy Oversby from Ochre River School (ORS). Earlier in the fall the staff at ORS began discussing how best to organize and deliver their Remembrance Day Service as the school-provided service is the only one available in the community. Due to Covid restrictions that prevented any type of gathering or… Read More
Strengthening the Ed Tech Capacity of the Community
If you are a social media user you are probably familiar with the Throwback Thursday trend where users participate by sharing a memory (recent or distant). I was reminded on my ICT social media accounts that this time last year was the kick-off to our community outreach program (see Instagram post below): When I entered this position last September I was pleasantly surprised to realize that although I didn’t have “my kids” (students) anymore, I now had an extended network of over 4000 new “students” to support. This group includes MVSD students, teachers, admin, support staff, and our MVSD families.… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Custom Cursor
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. Accessibility is key both in the classroom and when teaching remotely. Whether you are projecting onto a screen or sharing your view via a video call it can be difficult for participants to track the moves of your cursor. For someone in my position, who does a lot of tech training sessions, having participants understand what I am doing and where I am clicking is essential! By changing to a custom cursor your… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Virtual Parent-Teacher Conferences
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. November brings about the first round of report cards in Manitoba and, traditionally, this has also meant an open opportunity for parents/guardians to visit the school and discuss student progress with their teacher(s) face-to-face. However, admist the Covid-19 pandemic, having multiple visitors in our school buildings is not ideal (and in some cases not possible). As such, virtual options have been built in for families with connectivity. For those with access, these tools… Read More
The Complete EdTech Coach – Part 1: Philosophy
*Part 1 of a 4-part series Presenting at teaching conferences and hosting PD sessions has always been a passion of mine. To me, teaching is teaching, whether my learners are school-age or adults. While this fills my cup, it often means that I am involved as a presenter and not a participant during school PD opportunities. As such, my personal PD comes in on my own time. My most recent PD endeavour is, The Complete Ed Tech Coach: An Organic Approach to Supporting Digital Learning, by Adam Juarez & Katherine Goyette. As always, I will be using the blog to… 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
#WOWWednesday – G.P.E.S
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. Media Literacy Week is still in full-force in the division, and I was so pleased to spot these posters during a recent visit to Gilbert Plains Elementary. Using various forms of media, such as photos, and appropriately citing your sources is an essential part of media literacy and these types of tips/reminders are a great tool… 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
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: I’ve always been a big believer of doing a few things well as opposed to taking on too many things and not being able to fully commit. There is a huge pressure in the tech industry, with ed tech being no exception, that there is always something, “bigger/better/newer”. While this can be exciting, jumping to something new all the time in education can lead to frustration for both teachers and students (this also extends to families). Before… 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