Our MVSD Admin Council is continuing our work with the Covey Institute as part of our professional growth plan. This has been an ongoing journey with my involvement including: This post will serve as a summary of resources to document my learning journey through this session. We started our morning with a review of the 7 Habits program and a reflection on the MVSD journey thus far. *Reflection Question regarding the potential to lead your ideal school. My qualities included: This reflection for myself was, of course, hypothetical as I am not a school leader. GET: What impact/results would you be… Read More
September 2024 ICT Newsletter
Welcome back to school! 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: These newsletters are sent out to staff via our divisional email but are also shared through our social media pages and divisional website. September 2024 ICT Newsletter by Kirsten Cali
MVSD Back-to-School ICT Checklist 2024
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 2024/2025 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
Summer 2024 Tech PD
Happy New Year! For those involved in education, fall time is our new year and we are ramping up for the whirlwind that is September. When it comes to the ICT Department, my technicians have been hard at work ALL summer: As we approach the end of August, we are also preparing for our summer PD series which will include: This is a busy week for everyone across the division but it is one marked by enthusiasm and a sense of renewal. I always look forward to welcoming people back, catching up, and learning about how my department can support… Read More
AI in EDU: Opportunity and Dilemma
This evening is the ManACE AGM and my last ManACE meeting as president! I will remain on the board in the future in the capacity of past-president but I am thrilled to be welcoming a new senior executive team and celebrating the success our organization had in the 23/24 school year. As part of our AGM, we will be hosting a keynote presentation by Greg Kulowiec titled, “AI in EDU: Opportunity and Dilemma“. This post will serve as my reflection on this learning experience: When internet connected devices were introduced to classrooms, creating powerful 1:1 learning environments, students and educators… Read More
Sharing Generative AI Practice
This morning I had an opportunity to tune into a PD event hosted via the University of Regina. This post will serve as my reflection on this learning experience: Join us for this online panel discussion as three faculty members share their experiences integrating generative AI into their teaching practices. These individuals include: Dr. Wei Cai – Professor in the Division of Chinese Studies and Japanese Studies in the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Calgary. Dr. Paul Sinclair – Associate Professor of Business Communications in the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Regina. https://uregina.libcal.com/event/3801752… Read More
#TechTipTuesday – Device Norms
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. Today I wanted to share one strategy that I have been implementing to help guide people in the use of their personal devices. As the “cell phone debate” continues at many levels, I strongly believe that: To assist with this, I have begun implementing a “device norm” conversation into the PD sessions that I facilitate. This conversation, based on the work of Dr. James Lang, serves multiple purposes. It can: To learn more, check out… Read More
Empowering Educators: AI Awareness for Today’s Classroom and Beyond
If there has been one constant over the past 18 months it has been that awareness and training surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) is necessary for all stakeholders. In MVSD, we started this work in the spring of 2023 following the public release of Chat GPT in late 2022. Since then, I have expanded this work to educators across the province and beyond as we all work to navigate the advancements and disruptions AI has brought to our individual roles. With that being said, I am excited to share that I will be further expanding this work via the Manitoba Rural… Read More
My First Keynote!! – Riding The Wave 2024
This past week I delivered my very first KEYNOTE as part of the Riding The Wave 30th anniversary celebration. This experience was nothing short of a complete whirlwind and I am so honoured that I was asked to play a role in this milestone event. Looking back on the keynote, there were a few tech hiccups which I felt leant some reality to the situation but I don’t feel like it was enough to throw me off. With this being an anniversary event I wanted to kick things off with a nostalgic throwback to the early 90s, the first conference,… Read More
Leader in Me – Community Learning
This year the MVSD Admin Council is continuing our work with the Covey Institute as part of our professional growth plan. This has been an ongoing journey with my involvement including: Fall 2022 – 7 Habits Fall 2023 – Leader in Me This post will serve as a summary of resources to document my learning journey through this session. We started off the day with a reflection on our current understanding of the PD topic and where we are at in terms of our implementation. This was introduced through this video. GET: What results were you getting? DO: What were the top… Read More