Category: Collaboration
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N is for Navigation
I love old maps. They speak to me of adventure, exploration, new worlds. Ultimately, they tell stories, and being an English teacher, I love stories! A cool thing that occurred to me is how maps show the big picture, not just point A to point B like GPS gadgets do. I think that is really…
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Ready, Set, Climate Action
The fall of 2017 was a turning point for me. It marked my official deep dive into global projects… and I was terrified! All the ‘what if’ scary scenarios popped in my head like ‘what if my students hate it?’, or ‘what if I bomb this?’ Fortunately, those scary scenarios were just that… an overactive…
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I is for Imagine
A humble imitation of Margaret Atwood’s reveries on a piece of bread. Imagine a classroom. You don’t have to imagine it, you’re in it right now. The colorful poster on the wall with the sparkly stars that says “Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you’ll land among the stars” stares back at you…
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E is for E2: Education Exchange
The excitement was palpable as we entered the conference area. There was an electric atmosphere that accentuated the enthusiasm of every individual and amplified it. I marveled at the apparent effect and afterward, I was in awe of the depth and breadth of learning I experienced. I am talking about Microsoft’s Global Education Exchange in…
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C is for Crayons
The third in a series discussing the Class of 2030. I remember one Christmas getting the SUPER large box of Crayola Crayons. One hundred undulating colours of possibility. I was absolutely giddy with excitement. Imagine all the beautiful things I could draw! Astronauts or ballet dancers, camels or dragons, elephants or fairies, anything I could…
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Feedback is Fabulous
Over the past few years, I have implemented a feedback form at the end of my course. The goal is for me to be able to reflect and improve the course and my teaching methods based on this student feedback and I have found it invaluable. In fact, it is something I wish I had…
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#OneWord2019
I have been considering what word would best encapsulate my goals for 2019 for quite some time now, and one evening during Christmas break, as I sat contentedly knitting a shawl from Norwegian yarn brought to me as a gift from a friend, I had an epiphany. My word was right in front of me…
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Best of 2018
It’s December: a time to reflect upon the year that is swiftly coming to a close, and a time to look forward to what the new year will bring. This past year has held a lot of new experiences for me. I presented at a conference for the first time, I hosted a #MSFTEduChat Tweetmeet,…
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Tweak It!
Katie Martin’s thoughts on tweaking learning experiences and the way we do things resonated with me this week, particularly as I am in the midst of doing just that. A couple years ago I asked my grade 11 English students what could be improved or changed in the course. What did they love? What impacted…
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Be Revolutionary: Focus on the People
There’s a revolution going on all around us. An innovation revolution. And an innovation revolution is just what we need to support our students and ourselves. If we truly want to do the best for our students we have to innovate. Teaching the way we were taught isn’t going to cut it anymore. We need to…