For the second year in a row the Riding the Wave conference that is traditionally held in Gimli is moving online! (You may remember that last year saw the Making Waves series of sessions). This year Riding the Wave chair, Andy McKiel, has arranged a session with Danny Michel! In an effort to be accessible for all educators, this session is: FREE (no cost required) outside of the school week (no coverage needed) plus there are prizes! “Danny Michel is an award-winning Canadian singer, songwriter and producer who has amassed a dedicated fanbase over the last couple of decades. We’re… Read More
WOW Wednesday – Chelsea Hockridge
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. Chelsea has served as a mentor to me for many many years; I will not date either of us but she was someone who I looked to for advice while I was completing my B.Ed. Since that time Chelsea and I had the opportunity to complete our M.Ed together as part of the MVSD-Cohort and, given our… Read More
Follow Friday – Matteo Di Muro
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’d like to highlight Matteo Di Muro, Ed Tech Specialist for Brandon School Division. Matteo is someone whom I’ve admired for years as his work was often praised in our B.Ed program at Brandon University. Since that time I’ve had the opportunity to connect with him both in person and online and this year sees this relationship grow as we: are working together as president and vice-president of ManACE are… 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
Dial I.T. Up Podcast – Covid-19 Discussion
Interested in what the class suspension looks like across MB? I was able to sit down in a virtual “round table” with some of our other ManACE board members to share our experiences on the “Dial IT Up” podcast. Episode 11 Dial I.T. Up Podcast. (2020). Uploaded by Kirsten Thompson. Available online at: http://fishbowlteaching.blogspot.com/ If you are new to Dial I.T Up it is a podcast produced by Mike Nantais and Rennie Redekopp and is sponsored by ManACE. You can listen to episodes through a variety of platforms; click HERE to see the full availability. I’d also like to remind you of another Dial… Read More
Dial I.T Up Podcast
Need something for your commute to work this week? I’d love it you checked out my episode on the podcast, Dial I.T Up, where we discuss blogging and social media. If you are new to Dial I.T Up it is a podcast produced by Mike Nantais and Rennie Redekopp and is sponsored by ManACE. You can listen to episodes through a variety of platforms; click HERE to see the full availability. Episode 9 Dial I.T. Up Podcast. (2020). Uploaded by Kirsten Thompson. Available online at: http://fishbowlteaching.blogspot.com/ Like I mentioned, this episode is centered on blogging and social media and was designed… Read More
Whats New With ManACE
Earlier this week I headed into the city to attend the annual planning meeting for ManACE (Manitoba Association for Computing Educators). After serving on the board for the 2013/2014 school year I took a leave of absence to focus on my M.Ed journey. Now that I’ve graduated and am home on maternity leave I thought that this would be a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with this wonderful organization. Here are some of the awesome things you want to know about! 1 ) #MTSPDDay / SAGE Sessions – ManACE is the only SAGE group to offer PD opportunities across the province rather than centralized in Winnipeg or… Read More
Have You Checked Out ManACE!?
Today I spent my first day out of the classroom attending the annual planning meeting for ManACE (Manitoba Association for Computing Educators). Being that I am almost 4 hours out of the city I don’t get to attend many meetings in person so it was awesome to catch-up with those that I only see once or twice a year! Furthermore, we are welcoming four new members to our board so I am adding new contacts to my circle 🙂 Here are some of the awesome things you want to know about! 1 ) SAGE Sessions – ManACE is… Read More
Blogging 101 – My Session at MTS Awakening Possiblities
If you missed my reflection on the MTS Awakening Possiblities Conference, check it out here! Always wanted to blog with your students but were unsure about how to get started? Did you get started by could not determine how to maintain the blog throughout the year? This session shares an educator’s experiences as she introduces blogging to her students for the first time. Topics such as project implementation, purposeful use, and assessment integration will be discussed. Challenges and successes of the project will also be shared. I am very excited I had a “speaker” name tag! All excited,… Read More
MTS Awakening Possibilities Conference
This week was the MTS Awakening Possibilities Tech Conference and my head is still spinning over how amazing it was! Starting on Wednesday the 16th, approximately 600 educators got together to discuss educational technology in regards to:– implementation– policy– potential tools– project options– and much more!Here’s an excerpt from the official MTS Awakening Possibilities website: This conference was exciting for me for a lot of reasons. I remember attending the MTS Fab 5 Conference in Brandon in the fall of 2012 and seeing a banner advertising for an upcoming technology conference. At this time there wasn’t… Read More