Spring is here! We know this from the wacky weather we are having. The buds are growing and colours are popping everywhere and it’s a timely reminder of transitions even in education technologies. There are apps (applications) and then there are “apps”. While all apps are meant to do something, it is not until you…
Category: Tools that Make a Difference
Shared Conversations and Communities of Practice
It was an energizing Pro-D on February 28th as we came together virtually with colleagues and friends. Ideas shared and processes unpacked throughout many of the workshops. As we move into March and April we might consider taking deeper dives into those ideas. We have been hard at work developing on-demand videos in a wide…
Set up Green Screen Portable Kit
Here are instructions to set up your Green Screen kit. (Video is also in Burnaby Learning Community Team – Tips, Tutorials, ProD > Files)
Adding Video within Video Creating Intrigue in Your Story
You can add more than one video to a Green Screen project. This might be used when you really want your story to have a level of intrigue or you wish to add complexity to your story. Here is an example of a video using this technique. To do this, you would need to create…
Reimagining Learning Spaces
Learning spaces are created anywhere we find opportunity to engage students and staff in possibilities. They may be in a forest, on a walk (eg. “Walking Curriculum”), in a classroom or hallway. Human nature seeks out difference and expect continuity at the same time. It could be anything from looking at a situation in a…
A Culture of Curiosity and Creative Thinking
There’s something quite wonderful about April. You know Spring (March 20th to be precise) has sprung bringing with it warmer, sunnier days. April is National Poetry Month. With that in mind, there are many ways to approach this. Here is an opportunity to consider ‘spoken word poetry’ or ‘poetry slams’. This is a combination of…
Winter Ponderings
It is the middle of winter and the anticipated snow advisory came but not really. Over the weekend, EdCampBC – Core Competencies organized by Janice Novokowski and Carrie Antoniazzi moved online and this effort was not lost on the participants who attended. It really showed that there are significant positives as more people from all…
January Starts a New Year
Welcome 2021! We’re looking forward to the longer days of sunlight from January onwards. 2020 saw the transition back to the classroom as well as a mixed form of hybrid learning. O365 Teams and blogs continued to be the backbone of communication and storytelling. As well, the Canvas platform served to provide another alternative to…
It’s November – Leveling Up Feedback
Feedback could be considered the basis to all learning in whatever capacity. Consider a golf swing – you gain immediate feedback when that tiny ball doesn’t quite get into that tiny tiny hole. Or perhaps it’s the cake that doesn’t quite poof up as shown in the picture of that recipe especially when they say…
It’s October – What’s Happening?
The weather is certainly autumnal. Leaves are changing and there’s a nip in the air. We have had quite a start to the year in our journey to support schools in the new environment we find ourselves. As a recap: Teams have been created for every class across K-12 with imported courses ready for use,…
Remote, Online, Blended?
We have had quite a journey these last few months and we continue to take heart that we are not alone but working side-by-side to figure out approaches that work for staff and students. What is very clear is the bravery it takes to learn new processes and procedures with calmness and kindness. I am…
On the Horizon – Learning
Hi Everyone, As you’re all finalizing learning during the week prior to Spring Break, I thought I would drop a tiny spark regarding what is coming up. These are currently in the Staff Development calendar: https://learn.burnabyschools.ca/ All sessions are at Canada Way Learning Centre – Room 8 Office 365 – Getting Started (Start with the…
Winter Happenings – M365 Tidbits
Well winter has certainly provided some excitement – shoveling walkways and driveways, negotiating hills, scientific discoveries of snow and storytelling. All of this culminates into tidbits of possibilities. How is your comfort in O365? – Whether it’s organization of OneDrive or Teams or Forms (for assessment or gathering data), we continue to offer insights in…
Happy September – Welcome back!
Happy September Everyone. Hope you all had a great summer with time to connect with family and friends. This year we have quite a few new things to share, including our new home base at Canada Way Education Centre (tucked in between Canada Way and Woodsworth). Pop by and say hello in Room 3 >…
Learning Walks
We are fortunate to live in an area that is surrounded with nature right outside our doorstep. The popularity of using “learning walks” add new elements to our day. I can think of the power of this opportunity in every one of the curricular areas. “What if” we placed devices in the hands of students and…
Authors & Voice – Using Google Classroom/GAFE
Storytelling is about discovery; discovery of oneself, discovery of our relationship with the world, discovery of questions within ourselves. Purposefully and intentionally immersing technologies that are simple to grasp, amplifies the discovery allowing the power of voice to lift off. This year’s joint project between Learning Technologies and Literacy accessed the collaborative nature of Google…
Mid November Reflections – Voices
It’s mid November and the leaves have displayed their Fall colours (either still hanging onto trees or splashed across the landscape). We truly live in a wonderful part of the world. One of our concentrations is to provide a written voice for every student. Six teams of classroom and LSS/ELL partnerships from six schools launched,…
Welcome back – It’s a New Year
Happy September. Hope your summer was filled with lots of time for family, rejuvenation and fun. Back to another year of learning, connecting with familiar faces and meeting new faces. Whether you’re starting in a new site, new job position or deepening your understanding of the redesigned curriculum, it’s an exciting time. One of the…
Voices as Stories from the Heart
Ever hang out with people who dream up things that make your head spin? While lots of people come up with over-the-top ideas, it’s rare that these come to fruition with powerful lasting impacts. I was fortunate enough to have been a part of a listening circle to see this one unfold. Imagine the months…
Why Blog?
With the many demands on a teacher’s time, what would make a person want to blog? Yes we know all about how a blog or what I prefer to say, “a web presence”, can communicate. That is what a blog can do. However this is too simple of an answer. Here is my current short list…