The facilitators and coaches in Innovative Education hear this question a lot: “How am I supposed to use just 6 devices in my classroom?” This question often gets highlighted as intermediate and senior students in our school board are fortunate enough to each have a Chromebook. The fact that some have one to one puts […]
Using Authentic Student Voice in Innovative Spaces
As I quickly rushed down the hallway of Seneca Trail Public School, I couldn’t help but stop mid-stride as I saw a number little students completely engaged in their learning. Seeing them so focused was what made me inquire further as to what they were working on. It was from conversation with both the ECE […]
Accelerating Pace of Change
…we don’t need to be the experts in every room I spent the first 10 years or so of my teaching career in a classroom where the overhead projector was the most advanced piece of technology. My spouse could send docs digitally to his office photocopier years before that tech showed up in our work […]
Getting Started with Coding in the Elementary Classroom
So your school has purchased some robots? Now what? A lot of schools have recently purchased coding and robotics kits through their Matchbox grants and to be perfectly honest, a lot of teachers are too busy and too intimidated to crack open the box. It is okay to dive in without being an expert; this […]
Technology: The Elixir of Life?
If you are a perhaps only a few years off retirement or even just feeling a bit stagnant as an educator ask yourself the questions “Am I still learning and growing” and “Am I still passionate about what I do?” If not, then try and find an area of education that challenges you and perhaps even pushes you out of your comfort zone.
Is your Music classroom Flat?
The awesome part of my job is that I get to work with teachers in all subject areas. As you may know my area of expertise is Mathematics and I love to dabble in robotics. I recently received a request from a Music teacher asking me to help them with a Chrome extension […]
Let go
What is your position in your classroom? Are you the transmitter of knowledge? Are you a facilitator of learning? Are you a designer of experiences? Chances are that you are more the latters than the former if you’re here and reading this. But how much control do you need to have? How tightly are you […]
Take A Walk In The Forest
When one thinks of a forest we might think of a picturesque environment. One with large trees, the crisp smell of leaves with nature all around. One doesn’t really think about a forest full of books, unless you have visited a school library during the fall and winter months. The Forest of Reading, organized by […]
Flipping the Class with Google Classroom
What is a flipped classroom? Typically, the term is used to describe teacher recorded lessons viewed by students at home, followed by assignments and assessments that allow students to apply the theories and concepts learned in the videos. Sounds like students are teaching themselves, but what it really means, is students have the opportunity […]
Reflections from a Teacher
I started using the Chromebooks in my ENG 2D1 class February 2018. With the help of Chris Vezeau and Adam Grenon at lunch, and the one-to-one sessions with the Technology Coach Andrea Strype, I have enjoyed and made use of the Chromebooks as a teaching tool. Andrea Strype even came to my class and gave […]