On Mondays, I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. This week’s quote comes from the book, The Digital Citizenship Handbook for School Leaders, by Mike Ribble and Marty Pack. Within MVSD, our schools will spend this week hosting their “parent-teacher” conferences with families and supporting adults. In addition to communication on student learning and well-being, this is a fantastic opportunity to strengthen community understanding on a variety of topics; digital citizenship and technology use being one of them. Marty and Mike argue that before effective guidance from families can occur, they… Read More
The STEM Mindset
On Mondays, I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. This week, on November 8th, we acknowledge STEM Day so I wanted to make sure that I kick off the week with some thoughts to get us started: If you are looking for STEM Resources, Tuesday’s post will be FULL of links to explore! In the meantime, check these out:
You Think Halloween Is Scary?
On Mondays, I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. How many Terms of Service agreements do you think you have clicked, “I Accept”, on as part of the requirements of accessing a digital service? How many times did you actually read the full agreement before selecting, “I Accept”? If you did read it all (good for you), did you understand everything? Terms of Service (TOS) agreements are notoriously difficult to understand and, although some platforms have made their information more accessible, most are full of jargon specific to that field. If you are guilty of… Read More
Media Literacy Week 2024
On Mondays, I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. It is here! Media Literacy Week is taking place right now, from October 21-25th. If you are new to Media Literacy Week, Media Smarts describes it as: “Media Literacy Week is an annual national campaign hosted by MediaSmarts and the Canadian Teachers Federation to promote digital and media literacy, with activities and events taking place in classrooms, libraries, museums and community groups from coast to coast to coast.” Media Literacy Week Resources Crash Course Media Literacy Playlist Read More Digital Literacy & the… Read More
Passwords Are Like Underwear
On Mondays, I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. As we progress through Cyber Security Awareness month I want to continually remind both staff and students about the importance of strong passwords. This will be a topic we continue tomorrow as part of this week’s Tech Tip Tuesday. I thought it would be fun to ask BYTE AI about passwords. The provided prompt was, “How can teachers help students when it comes to secure password development?”, and the response included: Great question! Teachers play a crucial role in helping students develop secure… Read More
You Don’t Need To Do It All
On Mondays, I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. I’ve always been a big believer in 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 implementing a new tech… Read More
Time to Recharge
On Mondays, I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. Guess what!? Today is the LAST Monday of the 2024/25 school year! This time of year is always chaotic for those in education. When I shared this graphic last year I commented on the fact that the spring of 2023 had been a challenging one for our communities. At the risk of coming across as a “Debbie Downer”, 2024 has also not been easy. Our school division has been highlighted in various media outlets throughout the spring such as: While I… Read More
Don’t Stop Accommodations at Exams
On Mondays, I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. Final report cards will be sent out in less than three weeks and, for our high schools, graduation events start as early as next week. With this in mind, our schools are in final assessment mode. For some, this looks like the completion of final projects and observations while for others this means final exams. I don’t want to pick on high schools but I find that when it comes to “final exams” there continues to be an unspoken routine stepped… Read More
Empowering Digital Responsibility: How Schools Can Foster Effective Cell Phone Use Among Students
On Mondays, I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. This week’s quote comes from the work of Dr. James Lang, Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It. The topic of device use, whether that is school-issued or personal, is on my mind heavily this week as I will be traveling to Winnipeg to work with Manitoba Education on this very thing. While the Cell Phone Debate is still a hot topic for many in the education field, I stand by my statement that schools should… Read More
Privacy Awareness Week
On Mondays, I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. Happy Privacy Awareness Week! This is a global initiative that is taking place from May 6-10, 2024 that is designed to promote awareness of, “privacy issues and the importance of the protection of personal information”. The theme of this week is, “Privacy and technology: Improving transparency, accountability, and security.” Some of the resources shared by The Office of the Privacy Commission of Canada (OPC) include: 10 tips for protecting personal information Tips for creating and managing your passwords Gaming and personal information:… Read More