“New media provides powerful new ways of representing and manipulating information.” This quote, taken from the paper “Confronting the Challenge of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century” by Henry Jenkins, suggests that digital tools and media afford teachers and students a variety of engaging and relevant ways to learn, create and express. With… Continue reading Remixing Worldviews
We believe that one of the key elements of inquiry based learning is designing student work with an authentic and purposeful audience in mind. It’s a key piece of the inquiry rubric that we use to guide our understanding of effective inquiry-based learning. We are continually trying to find places where student work can live… Continue reading Showcasing Student Work with QR Codes
As a 1:1 school, one of our continual goals is to leverage the power of technology to support deep and intellectually rigorous work. Like many others, we believe that teaching and learning should not be about the tools, however emerging technologies, when embedded in well designed projects, can assist students in deep understanding and meaningful… Continue reading Using iMovie for Scientific Thinking
Earlier in the year our grade 8 Humanities students completed a project where they retold a chosen novel in a graphic novel form. Our two grade 8 Humanities teachers, Dave Scott and Jaime Groeller, recently compiled all the materials they used for this project into an “integrated inquiry resource.” If you have an iPad, iPod… Continue reading Creating Graphic Novels
Thanks to all those who joined us for our first Innovation in Education “Think Tank” discussion event. For those who joined us (either face to face or digitally) you’ll know the content. The resources and ideas presented by Dave Scott and Neil Stephenson were: The 2011 Horizon Report The Future of the Book Video Video… Continue reading Digital Publishing Discussion Follow Up
Today we’re holding our first Innovation and Education “think tank” discussion! This initiative is designed to get a range of educational stakeholders together to discuss emerging ideas and possibilities in education, particularly around different technologies and their implication for the classroom. We have planned our first “Innovation in Education” event for Wednesday, March 23rd, from… Continue reading Digital Publishing Discussion: Today!
Over the last few weeks a few of our staff have begun experimenting with the potential of digital publishing using ePub, both for students and teachers. We are excited about the possibilities, and we imagine digital publishing being used for: Students publishing their own fiction writing within the school community Students creating images and videos… Continue reading How to create a Digital Publishing Culture
At a recent PD day, our staff had a lengthy discussion about iMovies. We’ve been a 1:1 school for 5 years, and had Mac labs for years before that – so our teachers have been doing digital storytelling in various forms for quite a while now. As the examples and uses of iMovie have spread… Continue reading Creating Trailers for Short Stories
Recently we shared some posts about a grade 6 math problem built around the question: Are there enough trees in Canada’s Boreal Forest to be considered the lungs of the Earth? In order to solve this problem, students were given a few pieces of background information and worked in small groups to formulate the specific… Continue reading Boreal Math Part 2
Our grade 9 students recently completed a project where they were asked to take a complex idea (the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms) and explain it in a short, simple and entertaining format. To accomplish this, they used the Common Craft video format. What is Common Craft? Here’s the description of what they do… Continue reading Explaining the Charter with Common Craft
