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: preforming maintenance on all infrastructure and hardware inventorying and setting up new equipment setting up classrooms As we approach the end of August, we are also preparing for our summer PD series which will include: August 29th – Secretarial PD all building secretaries from across the division Updates to PowerSchool, Office 365, shared calendars, and more August 30th-31st –… Read More
Time to Unplug
On Mondays I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider. Today marks the LAST Monday of the 2021/22 school year and it goes without saying that, for anyone involved in education, this time of year is chaos (organized chaos… but chaos). While we are still very much in the trenches these past few days I wanted to share this reminder from Brian that taking time to unplug is good for everything (whether that is tech or people). For many of us, unplugging is taking time away from work during the months… 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
MVSD People of Dance
On Thursdays I usually use our social media platforms to share using the #ThrowbackThursday trend where users participate by sharing a memory (recent or distant). These posts don’t usually make it to the blog but when a memory popped up today I was surprised to see I hadn’t placed it as a feature on the blog in the past. Given the Covid-19 pandemic, we wanted to find a way to offer technology-related professional development to staff while having fun and staying safe during the 2020/2021 year. This project saw staff practice their understanding of collaborative documents and cloud-based storage systems… 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 2022 ICT Newsletter by Kirsten Cali
#TechTipTuesday – #MBEdChat
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. This week I would like to highlight a community of Manitoba educators who have been sharing and learning together on Twitter using the hashtag #MBEdChat The brainchild of Zoe Bettess in Thompson, this hashtag has 9 years of archives sharing information, inspiring discussions, and helpful links from MB educators from across the province. Connecting monthly, the #MBEdChat network hosts influential educators for a one hour period in which participants can view or participate in accessible online professional… 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
PD on the Potty
Near the end of 2019 I implemented the idea of PD on the Potty following a podcast from Kasey Bell. This alternative method of professional development sees the inclusion of fliers placed in staff washroom facilities. Depending on the month these may include: divisional tech reminders upcoming PD opportunities tips & tricks program reviews social media recommendations and more! Not only do these fliers allow you to have a captive audience but they can provide a bridge for staff members who have technology as a barrier in their practice [for these individuals, emails, social media posts, digital resources, etc are inaccessible]. Here… Read More
April 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. April 2022 ICT Newsletter by Kirsten Cali
Follow Friday – Education Podcast Network
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 Manitoba we are heading into Spring Break which will run from March 25 – April 3. As we step back for an opportunity to recharge and connect with activities that bring us joy, I know that many of us are looking for easy and accessible PD opportunities. Podcasts can be the perfect way to build in both PD and entertainment as they can be played: while enjoying a spring walk… Read More