Welcome to a new school year! At the start and end of each school year I find it helpful to share out the following checklist that was inspired by a practice from when I was a classroom teacher. This checklist is designed to ensure the effective and professional use of various ICT elements and support your growth in the 2023/2024 school year. Please note that not all checklist elements may apply to you depending on your position within the division. The checklist itself has each task hyperlinked which leads to a tutorial or video providing more information on how to complete the… Read More
ICT Team Overview 22/23
It is hard to believe that I am wrapping up my fourth year here at MVSD as Coordinator of ICT. I strongly feel that, after 3 years affected by Covid-19, I finally hit my stride this year and am feeling much more confident in the role as a whole. My enjoyment in this role has a lot to do with the team that I get to work with. With a combined experience of over 80 years within MVSD, our team is the ONLY department in the entire division that did not see any position changes through the Covid-19 upheaval and… Read More
WOW Wednesday – Gilbert Plains 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. I am very excited to share that Gilbert Plains Elementary has expanded their Minecraft EDU deployment! Minecraft is now available in their dedicated lab space, as well as on student laptops and compatible tablets. Exploration with Minecraft EDU has been lead by Megan Porter and allows for: student choice for creation and assessment options, as well as during… Read More
Year End Tech Checklist – Part 1 – LMS
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 2023 ICT Newsletter by Kirsten Cali
WOW Wednesday – Gilbert Plains Collegiate
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. This week I am pleased to highlight the community at Gilbert Plains Collegiate who recently hosted a presentation from Valerie Caldwell on the topic of Social Media Safety. (see poster below for full presentation details) If you have not yet had an opportunity to attend one of these sessions, the following context can shed light on the presentation:… Read More
WOW Wednesday – Laura Joss
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. This week I am excited to showcase Laura Joss from Ochre River School. Laura, who would self-identify as “not techy”, actually models an excellent integration of purposeful technology at the K-2 level. One example of this is their use of the Learning A to Z (RAZ Kids) platform. This program is one tool in their traditional literacy programming… Read More
WOW Wednesday – Candice Taylor
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. Earlier this spring I shared out information from LogicsAcademy regarding their MyFIT program which not only assists teachers and students with their ICT skills but also brings FREE devices into our classrooms! LogicsAcademy had been on my radar as Mike Washburn had visited our January MAETL meeting to share about their offerings so I was excited to push… Read More
May 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. May 2023 ICT Newsletter by Kirsten Cali
Follow Friday – MVSD Strategic Plan
On Fridays 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. Here in MVSD we are completing the second in a series of one-year divisional plans as our last comprehensive plan, which was a 5-year strategic plan, concluded in 2020/21 in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. As is no surprise, the landscape of education has changed drastically in the past 3 years and our Board of Trustees has also experienced a change following the recent election period. With this in mind, it… Read More