On Wednesdays 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. Ahead of the start of our school year, tech PD was offered here at Division Office for any staff members who wanted to fine tune their skills before stepping back into their classrooms. Spread across three days, these sessions incuded a variety of topics including: August 29th – Secretarial PD all building secretaries from across the… Read More
House of Ed Tech – Episode 207
Earlier this month I had the pleasure of chatting with Chris Nesi from the House of Ed Tech podcast. If you’ve been a follower of this blog for a while you know that Chris’ podcast has been a part of my accessible PD plan for a number of years and his work appeared as part of our Follow Friday series twice: Education Podcast Network Christopher Nesi After being a listener of the podcast for so long it was kind of surreal to be able to see Chris “in-person” (via video call) and put a face to the name. We chatted… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Summer Holiday Tech Prep
Every Tuesday I share a Tech Tip on our social media pages to assist our staff in their use of technology as it relates to their role. We are pushing right through this last week of school for 21/22 and this week’s tech tip aligns with a section of our Year End Tech Checklist. I recommend turning on your automatic replies on your email indicating that you are in holiday. (I’ll include a tutorial below for those who operate within Outlook) If you previously had your work email on your Smart Phone or personal devices consider removing it for the break. Alternatively,… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Year End Tech Checklist
On Tuesdays I share a Tech Tip on our social media pages to assist our staff in their use of technology as it relates to their role. The end of the school year means a very standard routine for educators: time to clean out your classroom! For many of us this includes removal of any unnecessary clutter that has accumulated, archiving and filing, revamping bulletin boards, and perhaps the beginning of an update to certain decor elements. Guess what? This should be happening digitally as well; especially with increased use of digital tools/files! When I taught at Ste Rose our secretary would always provide… Read More
June ICT Newsletter
With the start of a new month comes a new monthly ICT newsletter. These newsletters are designed to serve as an outreach to all MVSD staff and provide: general ICT updates (software changes, divisional ICT timelines, tech-themed holidays) upcoming PD for the month tech tips divisional highlights These newsletters are sent out to staff via our divisional email but are also shared out through our social media pages and divisional website. June 2022 ICT Newsletter by Kirsten Cali
#TechTipTuesday – SmartArt for Charts
On Tuesdays I share a Tech Tip on our social media pages to assist our staff in their use of technology as it relates to their role. Charts are something that teachers create and use ALL the time! This can be for: their own personal organization task lists for student completion seating charts committee/group participant organization sports brackets the list goes on and on! If creating these digitally you can be tempted to spend the extra time aligning shapes to create the perfect look, or searching for that perfect template. Did you know, that SmartArt within PowerPoint can take your text data… Read More
WOW Wednesday – Barker Elementary
On Wednesdays 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. Barker Elementary is no stranger to our WOW Wednesday series as they are a leader in the division when it comes to staff collaboration to benefit student learning. They have utilized technology to: digitally compile school data in their month-end reports host virtual school assemblies when faced with Covid-19 restrictions implement digital bookings for families during… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Zooming PowerPoints
On Tuesdays I share a Tech Tip on our social media pages to assist our staff in their use of technology as it relates to their role. If you are a fan of Prezi, which features easily accessible “zooming” transitions for presentations, then you’ll love that this feature is now built into PowerPoint! Check out the tutorial below from Mike Tholfsen’s TikTok account: This can be a helpful tool for: those who like the options available in Prezi but don’t like having to open 3rd party software those who want transitions in their presentation but aren’t comfortable applying them to every slide… Read More
March ICT Newsletter
With the start of a new month comes a new monthly ICT newsletter. These newsletters are designed to serve as an outreach to all MVSD staff and provide: general ICT updates (software changes, divisional ICT timelines, tech-themed holidays) upcoming PD for the month tech tips divisional highlights These newsletters are sent out to staff via our divisional email but are also shared out through our social media pages and divisional website. March 2022 ICT Newsletter by Kirsten Cali
Follow Friday – BYTE Conference
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. Being that it is the 3rd Friday in February it can only mean one thing…. it is time for the BYTE Conference! This conference holds a special place in my heart as it was not only the first large ed conference that I attended as a B.Ed student but it was also the start of my presentation experience. Since that time I have been able to attend 7 of the conferences (6 years as a presenter).… Read More