Funny thing about data (or I’d like to call them stories) – when students are an intricate part of the conversation, it takes on a whole different meaning. Recently, I was with one of our Joint Teams (LSS/Classroom partners and Learning Technologies) focused on supporting learners with written output challenges. I had shared how we could…
Category: Tools that Make a Difference
Technologies Amplifies and Changes the Way We Create
Is it “technologies amplifies our ideas and changes the way we create”? Or is it the other way around or both in tandem? Last week our district came together for Pro-D. Aptly named “District Day”, it’s a day dedicated to learning and exploring together – meeting and connecting with friends and colleagues from other schools….
Updated Top 20 Apps for 2017
Finally rounding off our list of vetted “must have” TOP 20 APPS for 2017. While these are in no order, the apps can be categorized into two areas – student voice/design/creativity and productivity. Stay tuned for future posts on how you might use some of these apps. Design –*Communication, Creative Competencies Pic Collage Kids (elementary), Pic…
Assistive Software and More
There are a number of assistive software or add-ons that may support students with access to learning. Much like i-device apps, this area is constantly changing. A great start is to “know your purpose” when considering the following. (If you need support with these, please contact our Learning Technologies team.) ON THE COMPUTER EASE of…
Must be App Smash Time – List for 2016-2017
Seems like the world of apps is constantly shifting with an abundance of tools that promise just about everything except make coffee. I imagine that will happen soon. Here is our updated list of apps and ‘yes’, we like to keep the list to under 20 (leaving lots of space for saving creations). Again, some…
Summer Reading
We’re coming down to the home stretch in the final days of June. Time to look ahead to those long days of no alarm clocks, watching sunrises and sunsets. Oh did I say put away those alarm clocks? And just in time for summer fun we have a survey for you. We use Gravity Forms…
Outside the Box
Sometimes in our wish to try something new we forget that purpose and pedagogy need to ultimately drive the journey. But dabbling with new technologies and software also has purpose – play. It is through play that we explore what might be possible through new lens. In my last post I shared “change the lens,…
2016 Must Have List of Apps for iDevices
I can’t believe that it was February, 2015 since I started a list of Apps that every school should consider having on their idevices. Anyone who has been to the App Store will know all too well the number of apps represent a mountain of options. How do we choose our apps for “THE LIST”? While exploration…
Hour of Code
This week (Dec 7 – 13) starts an international phenomenon – The Hour of Code. In celebration of Computer Science Education week, this worldwide event (more than 4400 in Canada and across 180 countries) offer an opportunity for teachers and students to dabble in computer coding and demystify the basic workings of video games and…
Stories Told: Risk-Taking and Connected Relationships
We left off last year with celebration events for all of our teams. Many things stood out from those gatherings: risk-taking is built on trust, possibility thinking and time to ruminate, ideas start from what we know (a launch page), integration of purposeful technologies requires focused play, assessment is not an afterthought, articulating clear goals…
On the Geeky Side
If there’s one thing you can count on in Learning Technologies is that change is a constant. No longer can you rely on getting comfortable with only one tool; before you know it another version or upgrade is available. Even worse is when your favourite resource has been shelved and you’re on the hunt for…
Where and How of Using Images to Enhance…Sparking the Learning
What’s the one or two questions I get asked a lot from teachers and administrators? “Where do you get copyright free images to use for online platforms like blogs or in presentations like powerpoint. What types of images work better than others.” Images are extremely important especially in this increasingly visual world. They can serve to…
Our Must Have List of Apps for iDevices
Since ipads and ipod/touches hit the district, I can’t count the number of times I’ve been asked what apps are great. I wrote about this previously (Apps) using the lens of “Relevance, Thinking Skills, Sharing and Usability” (adapted by Tony Vincent; Kathy Schrock). Another layer may be to connect the app against the SAMR model (a…
Where the Intersection between Talk and Courage Meet
Created with Tagul.com We’ve been working and editing our Digital Citizenship (curriculum dare I say) for a bit now (squeezed in between all the other projects). And I’ve returned to the same conclusion I had at the beginning of this journey. The only thing that is really different is that we access an online environment…
PSA Day – BLOGATHON
As a professional, reflection takes up a large part of our lives. Active choices stem from reflective moments steering our professional learning. Ultimately that learning reflects back into our classrooms with students. We were privileged to spend Friday with a group of K-12 teachers and student teachers at Burnaby Central. Titled “Blogathon“, it provided an…
Engage in the Experience – Professional Learning
As we organize our teaching/learning environments, it is important to hold time to learn ourselves – to challenge ourselves to engage with new ideas, to seek out new opportunities in professional learning, and to reflect how they relate with personal beliefs. This is about connecting to what is important. Only then can we bring powerful…
Voice and Choice – Teachers & Students Ring Out
From time to time we continue our focus on sharing practices in SD41 that create community and build connected stories using our blogs. On the Cariboo side of the city, resides Armstrong teacher, Jude Comeau. Her blog called Division 11’s Class Blog-Learning One Byte At A Time, is a hive of connected learning. Her purposes are…
Who’s Telling Your Story If You’re Not?
Storytelling is as important today as years past – perhaps more so. There are many competing forces and it is challenging to capture audience’s attention. Questions to consider might be “What is your story? Who is telling your story? How are you telling it? Is it getting to the audience you wish?” Answers will differ…
Dialogue With A Twist
How would you create opportunities for students to practice dialogue? Perhaps it’s talk between two people or two characters in a book or a conversation between you and yourself? MMhh…now that would be interesting. A bit of reflective action produced in video format. And practicing a host of literacy elements to boot. The tool you…
iPad Apps that Enhance your Language Arts Program
Joined by a group of enthusiastic K-12 teachers and principals, we explored a number of apps at our District Pro-D session on February 21st. The feature story was Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin. After listening to the story and the oh-so catchy song, we used a strategy called Milling…