On Mondays, I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. Today, the third Monday of January, is known as “Blue Monday” and is widely referred to as “the most depressing day of the year”. Waking up to temperatures around -44C this morning, coupled with the unknown impacts of today’s inauguration to the south… it is definitely an odd day. While the “depressing” statistic has been disproved as pseudoscience, many people continue to utilize this time of year to bring awareness to mental health and wellbeing. I find that there can be… 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. Semester one is coming to a close and our high schools are in the midst of final assessments. For some, this looks like the completion of final projects and observations while for others this means final exams or provincial 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 in tradition where these summative assessments are: Even in the absence of provincial exams or… Read More
Supporting Parents in Digital Citizenship
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
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
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
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
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