Literacy with ICT Blog

It would appear that you all quite enjoyed the Snap Circuit Kits!  Can you imagine how much fun your students will have with them?   What are some things you will consider when using the kits with your students?  What might you tell them about the kits before you start?  How will you prepare students for the fact that some components of the kit may not be working?

It would appear that you all quite enjoyed the Snap Circuit Kits!  Can you imagine how much fun your students will have with them?   What are some things you will consider when using the kits with your students?  What might you tell them about the kits before you start?  How will you prepare students for the fact that some components of the kit may not be working?

Robot mania is what your students will succumb to during this part of the Ignite Camp.  Your classroom will alternate between being very quiet to very loud as students begin to build their robots.  Collaboration and Cooperation are key to this learning experience.

Now that you have experienced building the robot firsthand, what will you share with your students before they begin?

It would appear that you all quite enjoyed the Snap Circuit Kits!  Can you imagine how much fun your students will have with them?   What are some things you will consider when using the kits with your students?  What might you tell them about the kits before you start?  How will you prepare students for the fact that some components of the kit may not be working?

Copyright has become such a hot topic of conversation in Manitoba at the moment, and indeed throughout the world.  We have  new copyright legislation being readied right now and right now we don’t know what it will look like.  However, an excellent alternative to using copyrighted materials  is the use of Creative Commons licensed material.  If you want to learn more or have a resource you can use with teachers, here is an excellent explanation of Creative Commons.
Creative Commons - Draft 1

Robot mania is what your students will succumb to during this part of the Ignite Camp.  Your classroom will alternate between being very quiet to very loud as students begin to build their robots.  Collaboration and Cooperation are key to this learning experience.

Now that you have experienced building the robot firsthand, what will you share with your students before they begin?

It would appear that you all quite enjoyed the Snap Circuit Kits!  Can you imagine how much fun your students will have with them?   What are some things you will consider when using the kits with your students?  What might you tell them about the kits before you start?  How will you prepare students for the fact that some components of the kit may not be working?

As the formal implementation phase of Literacy with ICT at K-8 comes to a close, we need to consider what will happen beyond this school year.  Please consider the following:

1. What supports exist in your school division that will assist teachers as they continue their Literacy with ICT journey?
2. What supports do you wish for Manitoba Education to provide beyond this year.

Thank you for your participation in our session and also for the leadership you provide in your school and school division.  We look forward to continuing to support you in any way that we can.

The past 3 years of implementation have flown by and this may be the last series of winter sessions we will hold. While formal implementation will end this year, we hope that the sharing of resources and the professional learning will continue. Please reflect on the following two questions.

• In your opinion, what impact has implementation of Literacy with ICT had on your students? Your colleagues?
• If you could make one change to your school/school division that would make implementation of Literacy with ICT easier, what would you do?

After 2 days of honing your mentoring skills, practising the roles of mentor and mentored colleague, you’re all set to try it back in your own schools! Take a few moments to reflect on your development as a LwICT mentor, and to provide feedback to us on what YOU might need to improve the effectiveness of your mentoring.

Thank you for coming to the LwICT Institute with open minds, for participating fully, and for learning from and with your peers!

Please reflect on your experiences at the LwICT Institute by responding to the following, or by reflecting on something of your own choosing.

1. In what ways will your assessment of LwICT support the growth of your students’ critical and creative thinking?

2. What are some opportunities and challenges you anticipate as you prepare to implement LwICT in your school?

Thank you for making time in your busy schedule to attend this 2-day Institute on LwICT. Please make a comment to this post by reflecting on the following:

1. How did your understanding of Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum develop today??

2. What did you learn that was a real “Aha!” moment?

3. What are you looking forward to learning tomorrow?

Please feel free to read and respond to any of the previous posts to this blog! Come back often!

After 2 days of honing your mentoring skills, practising the roles of mentor and mentored colleague, you’re all set to try it back in our own schools! Take a few moments to reflect on your development as a LwICT mentor, and to provide feedback to us on what YOU might need to improve the effectiveness of your mentoring.

Welcome to the Summer LwICT Mentoring Institute! This institute is an opportunity for divisional LwICT implementation team members to engage in professional learning about how to mentor colleagues on Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum.

This mentoring institute is a combination of strategies and techniques for mentoring in the context of LwICT implementation.

Reflect on your experience today by considering and responding either to the following prompts or to whatever is on your mind today

1. Reflecting on your plan, what are your first steps when school starts in September?

There is much debate in our schools regarding the use of Wikipedia as a source of credible information.  Arguments can be made on both sides of the equation.  Is it a credible source or is it full of nonsense?  A few years ago, Nature magazine asked experts to assess the information on a wide range of topics found in both Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia.  To their surprise, Britannica had approximately 3 errors per article while Wikipedia had approximately 4.  So, it would seem that NEITHER source could be considered infallible.  That, of course, makes sense as we should stress with our students that NO source should be considered infallible and both Britannica and Wikipedia could be used as starting points for research as long as they are not the only sources.

Information literacy is a critical skill in our knowledge-based economy.  Our students need to learn to think critically as they Gather and Make Sense of information they come in contact with, regardless of the supposed credibility that is assigned to a particular source.

Here is an interesting video from a project called Project Information Literacy based on 7 college campuses in the United States.   Food for thought!

This summer, MECY is proud to announce 3 summer institutes to further the implementation of Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum.   A detailed announcement has been emailed to superintendents from each school division in the province, as well as to divisional implementation team members.  MECY will pay SOME of the expenses for ONE participant, per insitute, per division.

1. School Leaders Institute - August 18 - This one-day institute is intended to support School Leaders NEW to Literacy with ICT who have NOT already attended a LwICT School Leaders’ Institute.
   School divisions are invited to send ONE school leader for whom MECY will cover HALF of mileage or air travel expenses, and FULL accommodations, if required.
2. Introduction to Mentoring - August 19-20 - This two-day institute is intended to support EXPERIENCED divisional implementation team members who are mentoring other teachers in LwICT.
   School divisions are invited to send ONE experienced LwICT team member for whom MECY will cover HALF of mileage or air travel expenses, and FULL accommodations, if required.
3. Introduction to Literacy with ICT - August 26-27 - This two-day institute is intended to introduce NEW teachers or teachers new to Literacy with ICT to this important initiative. School divisions are invited to send ONE teacher for whom MECY will cover HALF mileage or air travel expenses, and FULL accommodations, if required.

Registration forms should be faxed to our office (as per instructions on the form) by June 12/2009.

Hope to see you there!

Thank you for your attending our 4 day institute on mentoring colleagues.  We hope that these four days have been valuable to you professionally and have extended your understanding of the role of mentor, particularly as it pertains to implementation of Literacy with ICT.

We would like for you to share some final thoughts regarding your role as mentor.  What are your plans for the next school year, as they relate to mentoring?

Thank you for attending the third day of the Mentoring Institute.  We value your participation and the investment of time you are providing.  Please make a comment to this post by reflecting on the following:

1. How has being a mentor over the past few months /years influenced your own teaching practice?
2. What has been the most effective approach when it comes to working with teachers who are reluctant to include ICT in their learning experiences?

Thank you for coming to the LwICT Institute with open minds, for participating fully, and for learning from and with your peers!

Please reflect on your experiences at the LwICT Institute by responding to the following, or by reflecting on something of your own choosing.

1. What are some things you learned when you made your classroom visitations and observations of students?

2. In what ways will your assessment of LwICT support the growth of your students’ critical and creative thinking?

3. What are some opportunities and challenges you anticipate as you prepare to implement LwICT in your school?

Hers is an excellent website that walks students through the steps of assessing Internet resources for accuracy, reliability and currency.  Our students have never had more access to information than they do today.  But too much information, like too much of anything, is not necessarily a good thing unless students have the critical thinking skills to find GOOD information.

http://21cif.com/tutorials/micro/mm/accuracy/

In addition to giving students some good strategies to ensure the information they encounter is reliable, the site also provides a game for students to play that focuses on the following items:

• finding embedded evidence
• checking evidence for accuracy
• triangulation of data

Thanks to Howard Griffith for passing along this excellent resource for teachers and students.

After two days of reflection about your third year of divisional implementation of LwICT at K-8, and of critical and creative thinking about moving your implementation of LwICT into Senior Years, please share your thoughts on:
1. further supports for LwICT you need from Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth
2. next steps you will take in your classroom, school, and/or division to develop student and teacher literacy with ICT across the curriculum, and throughout all grades from early to middle to senior years

Welcome to our LwICT Winter Sessions for 2009!
January 19-20: Hanover, Lakeshore, Mystery Lake, Pembina Trails, River East Transcona
January 22-23: Borderland, Garden Valley, Pine Creek, Portage-la-Prairie, Prairie Rose, Western. Session held in Carman
February 5-6: Evergreen, Flin Flon, Red River Valley, Sunrise
February 9-10: Frontier, Interlake, Seine River
February 12-13: Lord Selkirk, Louis Riel, Seven Oaks, St-James-Assiniboia, Whiteshell
March 3-4: Kelsey, Mountain View, Park West, Swan Valley, Turtle River. Session held in Dauphin
March 10-11: Brandon, Beautiful Plains, Fort la Bosse, Prairie Spirit, Rolling River, Southwest Horizon, Turtle Mountain. Session held in Brandon

1. When you reflect on your own ‘LwICT Journey’, what are some of the key learnings from your LwICT implementation that have prompted changes in professional practice in your classroom/school/school division?

2. What are your initial thoughts on the potential barriers and opportunities for moving LwICT into Senior Years?

After 2 days of honing your mentoring skills, practising the roles of mentor and mentored colleague, you’re all set to try it back in our own schools! Take a few moments to reflect on your development as a LwICT mentor, and to provide feedback to us on what YOU might need to improve the effectiveness of your mentoring: