At the start of June I posted about this summer's ISTE Summer Learning Academy being held from July 13-31.  The countdown is now on and with the sessions starting next week I wanted to share some of my tips and tricks for attending an online conference.   ISTE Summer Learning Academy Social Media Graphic. (2020).  Uploaded by Kirsten Thompson. Available online at:  http://fishbowlteaching.blogspot.com/  My first expeirence with online conferences was 8 years ago when I began tuning into EduCon that streamed out of Philadelphia.  I att ..read more

     Today marks the formal completion of my first year as Coordinator of ICT in Mountain View School Division.  What year to make this shift!  I had A LOT of hesitancy about leaving the classroom environment as I loved my Ste Rose family and was already missing "my kids" (Grs 7-12) while on maternity leave.  With that being said, this is easily my dream position and couldn't be happier with this stage in my career.      Much of this positivity has stemmed from the fact that my ICT Team is amazing, like utterly fantastic.  Any question I had ..read more

    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. Summer Holiday Tips. (2020). Uploaded by Kirsten Thompson. Available online at: http://fishbowlteaching.blogspot.com/  Today is the LAST day of the 2019/2020 school year in Manitoba and it was one for the history books!  As we wrap up the year, and I wrap up our regularly scheduled posting calendar on our social media pages, I wanted to focus our last "Tech Tip" on summer holidays.  Teachers tend to have the ..read more

Every Monday I share a different ed tech quote on our Thompson Classroom social media pages for our staff to consider.   This week's Mantra is: Ed Tech Quote. (2020). Uploaded by Kirsten Thompson. Available online at: http://fishbowlteaching.blogspot.com/  Through the month of June I have been encouraging all staff to reflect on the learning opportunities awarded to them through the experience of Covid-19.  (Some tools to facilitate this reflection include the Year End Tech Checklist & the Self-Reflection rubric).  This increase in tech usa ..read more

     While the past four months have drastically cut down on my meeting and conference plans (still mourning the loss of ConnectED and Riding the Wave face-to-face events) it did signicantly increase my ability to converse with some amazing educators from across Manitoba and Saskatchewan.  I consider myself pretty lucky to have some wonderfully creative educators in my social circle who are using podcasts to share, connect, and educate.       As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and resulting suspension of classes, there has been a lot of conversations ..read more

     Every Friday 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.      This week I would like to highlight Brittany Washburn, an M.Ed graudate with a focus on technology education.  As someone who has a middle school and high school background I appreciate Brittany's perspective on introducing early years learners to technology.  Her social media feeds also share several tech tips that are designed to make the use of te ..read more

As we reach the conclusion of the school year I am fielding many requests related to student data and the use of online tools.   Understanding how data about our students' is collected, stored, and shared is an ongoing priority but is especially relevant this year when the introduction of many online tools (including our online learning platforms) progressed rapidly and without the opportunity for detailed staff education. In an effort to provide clarification on the many levels of student data legislation and guidelines I have put together the following document that outlines the ..read more

     Every Wednesday 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 actually marks the LAST #WOWWednesday of the 2019/2020 school year!  If you're looking for inspiration please check out the #WOWWednesday label on this blog to see the staff/projects I have highlighted in 2020 or view one of the social media accounts to scroll back and seel ALL of the po ..read more

    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. Archive Teams. (2020). Uploaded by Kirsten Thompson. Available online at: http://fishbowlteaching.blogspot.com/  Last week I shared our Year End Tech Checklist to assist our staff as they wrap up the 2019/20 school year.  One of those tasks focused on the use of online learning platforms, specifically looking at what to do with these environments at the end of the school year.  Following the use of the ..read more

As we wrap up this 2019/2020 school year still in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic I continue to encourage educators to carve out time to purposefully reflect on this experience as it relates to their use of online learning platforms: - what worked and should continue - what did not work and show be discontinued or modified - what you need to learn more about to be successful - what strengths you can share with colleagues In my search for supports for our staff I came across The MOOBRIC which was originally designed for Moodle-users from the Avondale College of Higher Education ..read more