*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina. Ed tech…. ed tech skills… ed tech tips and tricks… ed tech capacity… ed tech meme… ed tech chat… when I type ed tech into the search bar of my blog it literally brings back over 100 results. But what exactly is educational technology and what should we know about it? The Type A, straight-forward part of me wants to go to the Oxford dictionary when it comes to defining anything but I don’t actually agree with it in this instance. EDUCATIONAL… Read More
Critical Reviews of Selected Technology Integration Models
Introduction Educators are ill-equipped to analyze educational technology to determine suitability for their programming. The Covid-19 pandemic, and its resulting influence on educational programming, has accelerated the rate at which educators integrate digital tools into their programming (Nantais, M. et al., 2021, p. 34) but Latchem (2013, p. 384) warns that, “educators need to resist the urge to jump at new ideas without thinking of how its implementation can be maximized, what problems may arise, and how sustainable the tool will be for students down the road”. Johnson, Riel, and Froese-Germain (2016, p. 43.) found that 45% of surveyed Canadian… Read More
Archiving Old MS Teams
Monday, February 7th will mark the start of second semester here in Manitoba and today sees all of our students at home while staff engage in a variety of administrative and professional development tasks. As we transition into this new calendar cycle it is a perfect opportunity to clean up your digital files, including our learning management system (LMS): Teams. All of our staff, K-12, use Teams in some capacity whether it is for: student programming virtual/remote programming hybrid programming professional development across the division administrative meetings extracurricular organization parent-teacher conferences etc This means that our staff’s Teams interface can… Read More
Teacher Education: Part 1
*This post has been written as part of my professional growth plan through my #ISTE20 scholarship. PD Magic: Applying the Best Practices of the Walt Disney Co. Presenters: Ryan Boeckman, Jerry Johnson Overview: “P.D. Magic is a transformative professional development model that strives to create future-ready classrooms and schools. Explore the instructional methods, concepts and activities that P.D. Magic uses to develop graduate-level courses, workshops, online courses and experiential on-site learning experiences.” Main Takeaways: 6 Core Values 1. Creative storytellers 2. Innovative designers 3. Memorable leaders 4. Blue sky thinkers 5. Empowered learners 6. Knowledge constructors The goal is to develop… Read More
Technology & Blended Learning – Blended Learning Practice MOOC Wk 3
The following post has been completed as part of my personal reflection as I work through the Blended Learning Practice MOOC ; a partnership between Commonwealth of Learning and Athabasca University. 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: Blended Learning Practice MOOC. (2020). https://www.blpmooc.org/ Technologies for Blended Learning define technology in the context of education and explain its role in blended learning, outline common components of online classrooms, describe tools for management, communication, creativity, and assessment, and evaluate the appropriateness of these tools for your own teaching or institution. Read Chapter 5 of… 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
ICT Team Overview
Today marks the formal completion of my first year as Coordinator of ICT in Mountain View School Division. What year to make this shift! I had A LOT of hesitancy about leaving the classroom environment as I loved my Ste Rose family and was already missing “my kids” (Grs 7-12) while on maternity leave. With that being said, this is easily my dream position and couldn’t be happier with this stage in my career. Much of this positivity has stemmed from the fact that my ICT Team is amazing, like utterly fantastic. Any question I had… 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
Follow Friday
Every Friday I share what I believe to be a notable person/organization/school on our social media pages to assist our staff in the development of their online Personal Learning Network. This week I would like to highlight Brittany Washburn, an M.Ed graudate with a focus on technology education. As someone who has a middle school and high school background I appreciate Brittany’s perspective on introducing early years learners to technology. Her social media feeds also share several tech tips that are designed to make the use of technology easier and more accessible to both students and teachers. Follow… Read More
Student Data – ICT Considerations
As we reach the conclusion of the school year I am fielding many requests related to student data and the use of online tools. Understanding how data about our students’ is collected, stored, and shared is an ongoing priority but is especially relevant this year when the introduction of many online tools (including our online learning platforms) progressed rapidly and without the opportunity for detailed staff education. In an effort to provide clarification on the many levels of student data legislation and guidelines I have put together the following document that outlines the ICT Considerations of our governing student data… Read More