Big Ideas in Education Blog

Category: Educational Leadership

  • It is not about the technology. It is about what we do with it.

    This year I have been greatly inspired from a Teacher-Librarian at another school, who has been an expert at garnering support for reading amazing Canadian Literature!  More specifically – The Forest of Reading from the Ontario Library Association.  What I love most about what she does, is that she has built a strong global sense of community…

  • Information-Processing in the Digital Age: Beginning with Content Curation

    The process of finding information and creating new knowledge involves key skills that are important for all learners. In the 21st century, the amount of information that our students must process has grown exponentially, and will continue to grow. This is one area where we need to build capacity with our educators. In the 21st…

  • Top 10 Criteria for Choosing Edtech

      There are important considerations that need to be at the forefront of our decision making when it comes to choosing edtech. When we metaphorically ‘grab’ onto the technology and use it without thought as to how it affects our pedagogy, we may be putting our learners at a a disadvantage. Therefore, there are several…

  • Reflections on Mindsets & the Psychology of Success

      Teachers expectations of students abilities in the classroom play significant roles in learner success. Likewise, learner mindsets have strong impacts in education. The best way to realize the potential within ourselves and the potential within others, especially our learners is, to set and identify reasonable goals – not as ultimate boundaries to where you can go…

  • It is not about Technology. It is about Pedagogy.

      In this era of rapid evolution of informational technology, new pedagogies are necessary to meet the demands of our connected world. This includes providing equal access and opportunity for students to partake, share and build knowledge in virtual spaces. Educators are creators, facilitators, curators and collaborators of knowledge in the 21st century, and technology plays a…

  • Unlearning the Labels we use in Education

      This past week I was fortunate to have the opportunity to engage in Facilitator Training with some wonderful leaders in our Board. It was energizing, supportive, informative and prompted a lot of great reflection and discussions. How do Labels affect the Learning Process? One of the key ideas that resonated with me was how…

  • Facilitating a Digital Publishing Program in my new Education Commons Role

      Last year started out as an exciting year, where I had the opportunity to launch a Student Publishing Program in our Library. Inspired by the SAMR and Technology Integration Matrix, and the TPACK models, I decided to design a Digital Publishing Program. As I continue with this initiative in this new school year, I…

  • New Pedagogies needed for Edtech Integration

    Technology has always existed, and there is nothing really new to teach our students. If we can consider this argument for a moment, and consider the implications of what it means for Education. If technology has always existed and evolved, then learning has also had to evolve across time and space. The newest and rapidly…