On Mondays I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. As we enter Pride month I’ve been thinking more and more about equity and how it relates to my role: Many of the prominent programs that our students interact with, including search engines and social media, cater to the lived experiences of the majority population with potential gaps being found in areas such as sexual orientation, class, gender, literacy levels, handedness, and physical disabilities (Friedman and Nissenbaum, p. 343). While digital equity and access to technology continues to be a central… Read More
AI (Actual Intelligence) Before AI
On Mondays I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. During the third session of #ETMOOC2 – AI and You, Krissy Venosdal shared the above quote. Well actually, she shared an aesthetically pleasing version that was created using AI-assisted graphic design (see embedded Tweet below). I think this message is so important. Like anything we see online, work generated by artifical intelligence still requires the user to think critically about what they see and evaluate it against a set of criteria to determine authenticity and suitability. It can be assumed that… Read More
Change Is The New Normal
On Mondays I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. Last week I had the privilege of attending the Riding The Wave conference in Gimli, Manitoba which featured David Usher for their keynote presentation! A quote that we have heard for years now is, “the new normal”. While we all shifted in various ways during Covid, many sectors continue to find “normal” as if it is a destination we can arrive at; something that will remain static for us. The fact is that the goal posts are always moving. Whatever “normal”… Read More
The Growing Pains of AI
On Mondays I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. Calculators are going to ruin the foundational skills required for mathematics! Search engines are going to ruin the ability for student’s to find information in their libraries! Wikipedia is going to fill the world with misinformation! Are we sensing a theme here…… as we see troves of concerns along the lines of: AI is going to ruin all my assessment plans! In the words of John Finch (circa 2013), “we can either legislate out of the problem or educate out of… Read More
Educational Apps – Challenges
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. One unseen benefit of the Covid-19 pandemic is that the use of technology in education has increased at a far higher rate than if our traditional classroom model was still in place (Nantais, M. et al., 2021, p. 34). The switch to remote learning has placed all educators, students, and families in a position where they are required to modify their existing practices and learn how to use digital tools in new ways. However, an increase in the use of online… Read More
How to Integrate National Robotics Week in Your Classroom
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. National Robotics Week or “Robo Week” is officially here; running from April 8-16th. If this event is new to you, I recommend starting off with the hyperlink in the previous sentence to check out the introductory post I shared last week. The following are some resources to get you started! Follow Along with National Robotics Week Stay up-to-date with event details, resources, and get insight into what other schools are doing through the following channels: Website Facebook Twitter YouTube Where to… Read More
National Robotics Week ’23
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. Next week, April 8-16, plays host to National Robotics Week or “Robo Week”. This event is self-decribed as: “The mission of National Robotics Week (RoboWeek) is simple — to inspire students in robotics and STEM-related fields and to share the excitement of robotics with audiences of all ages.“ A promotional video for the 2022 event is embedded below: To help prepare staff for this event I am spending the whole week sharing robotics tips, tricks, and highlights to help ensure they… Read More
Technology NOW – Don’t Wait for the Future
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. Almost a full year ago I shared the quote, “Technology is not technology if it was invented before you were born“. Since that time, the rise of AI programming has increased rapidly and the coversation surrounding platforms such as Chat GPT have inundated the education world. The quote of the week, shared in the graphic above, was created by Chat GPT. In the past few weeks I have been immersed in this topic as I have: refined resources and supports for… Read More
Assistive Technology is for Everyone
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. Today is one of two division-wide professional development (PD) days in MVSD which will see all school-staff participate in a variety of training sessions hosted at Grandview School. Held virtually for the past few years, this is the first time we will be together face-to-face since 2019. My role will see me working with our middle- and senior-year educational assistants (EAs) in the area of assistive technology. The presentation, which was used in conjunction with live demos, can be viewed below:… Read More
Fair Dealing Week 2023
Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. February 20th (next week) will kick off Fair Dealing Week 2023 which will run through the week until Friday, February 24th. The Fair Dealing Canada website describes this legislation as follows: “Fair dealing recognizes that certain uses of copyright protected works are beneficial for society. By placing limits on instances where copyright owners can require payment, fair dealing leads innovation, to the creation of new works and new scholarship. The Supreme Court of Canada increasingly refers to copyright as providing a balance… Read More