Dear Thought Leader,
Thanks to our readership for the great feedback we received on our Back2School issue of the MSL Report. Your inspiring comments continue to challenge us to make our next issue the best ever! Below are the Top 10 new stories for September chosen by you, for a quick read, view, or listen!
Watch for our October Cross Canada Spotlight on B.C. in combination with our official launch of the 6th annual Digital Classroom Video Challenge! We encourage you to send us your blog posts for our feature blogger of the month.
In case you missed it, we’re extending the early bird special for our 4th Annual Canadian EdTech Leadership Summit to this Friday, September 20th. Click here to register.
Until next time, keep the learning curve steep!
Follow us on Twitter @MindShareLearn
Robert Martellacci
M.A. EdTech
Publisher & Managing Editor, The MindShare Learning Report™
President, MindShare Learning™
Connecting Education & Business to Support Student Success
P.S. Be sure to check out the Microsoft Surface special offer ad below. My son has one and absolutely loves his Surface for both school and home.
1. Five Things You Can Do With Technology This New School Year
by: Timothy Gard, TDSB
If you’re a new teacher, you’re no longer a neophyte, and if you’re a veteran teacher you’re ‘back in the saddle’ so to speak. No doubt you’ve put in your first day back at school and you’re excited, nervous, anxious and perhaps a bit weary after getting back to the classroom for this brand new school year. This new year brings with it new ideas about how you might use technology in innovative ways, and perhaps a bit of trepidation with the anticipation of new challenges that are always a part of the landscape in the journey to an innovative pathway through the forest of education, especially a 21st Century education.
2. Feature Back to School Podcast with Ontario’s Minister of Education Liz Sandals
Robert Martellacci, President and Publisher, shares a MindShare moment with Ontario’s Minister of Education Liz Sandals.
3. 8 Tips and Tricks to Redesign Your Classroom
Edutopia 08.06.13
If you’re thinking of completing your own classroom remake project, good for you. I have been helping teachers redesign classroom spaces for the past three years, and have seen this process work for projects of all sizes.
The tips below can be used for smaller scale remakes right way. If you want to do something bigger, you can start planning immediately and schedule some time over a holiday or long weekend. Either way, much of the prep work can be done now, and incrementally over a few weeks as a lead-up to a larger remake project.
4. 9 Starter Tips for Teachers Who Just Got iPads
IPadsforSchools.Org
5. TCDSB Appoints New Director of Education: Message from Ann Andrachuk, TCDSB Chair TCDSB
TCDSB
The Board of Trustees of the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) is pleased to announce that Angela Gauthier has been appointed as the new Director of Education. Ms. Gauthier is presently the Board’s Associate Director of Academic Affairs, and will replace current Director Bruce Rodrigues who has been selected as the Chief Executive Officer of the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) for the Province of Ontario.
6. 11 Ways to Use Technology in the Classroom
The Teachers’ Lounge 06.29.13
The use of technology in the classroom is becoming more mainstream than ever. From using it as a way to gain resources and inspiration for lessons to leveraging the relationships with others in your Professional Learning Network (PLN) to find pen pals for your students, the benefits of using technology in and for the classroom are plentiful. However, it is also important to remember that access issues and outdated technology can create issues when integrating it in lessons.
7. Students Are Cool With MOOCs, So Why Aren’t Profs?
The Globe and Mail 08.06.14
For those of us who still use calendars – the paper kind, with glossy photos of places we’d rather be – turning the page to August is always a bittersweet experience. It reminds us of the compressed nature of a Canadian summer and the cool nights that will soon herald its end.
August is also the month when the phrase “back to school” re-enters our daily lexicon, sending shivers up the spine of the Huck Finn in us all and a wave of relief among parents everywhere. It’s the month when we have to get serious about our futures again.
8. CMEC’s Recent Meeting in Iqaluit
By: John Kershaw 07.08.13
On July 5th, 2013 Canada’s Ministers called for higher levels of innovation in public education.
C21 Canada welcomes this public call to action, issued in a communique from CMEC’s meeting in Iqaluit. CMEC (Council of Ministers of Education Canada) is the forum where provincial and territorial Ministers of education convene to collaborate on pan Canadian initiatives and share best practices. In Canada, education is constitutionally a provincial jurisdiction, and as such there is no federal department of education. This means that CMEC is the only Canadian entity where a “national”vision and policy framework for public education can be formed and shared with the public. Thus, when Minister’s call for more innovation in education, they are in fact calling on themselves to act.
9. Interview with Greg Estell of SMART
MindShare Learning Moment with Greg Estell of SMART at ISTE 2013.
10. Startup Weekend Toronto EDU Recap: Fall in love with a problem
By Joseph Wilson @ MaRS 08.19.13
From August 9 to 11, 140 developers, teachers, designers, students and mentors worked almost non-stop for 48 hours to create the next big education startup. Canada’s first education-specific Startup Weekend took place at The Working Group offices, crammed with pop cans and iPhone chargers. On the Sunday evening, 12 companies pitched their prototypes and business models to a panel of judges, vying for over $20,000 in prizes.
The team behind LearningLoop, the parent-teacher communication app that won the weekend’s competition, credits their success to a strong validation strategy.
