The Power to Enrich

Deconstructing the Transformation

gregbass — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:51:57 +0000

Guest author: Greg Bass, Superintendent of Schools – It is time to tell Rocky View Schools’ story. Many conversations over the last six months with all stakeholders, both internal and external to our system, reveal that some people are struggling existentially with what the transformation is all about. What do 21st C classrooms look like? What are we aspiring to achieve? What is different? In RVS, and specifically in my [ Read More ]

Mobile Madness

Nancy Lake — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:33:59 +0000

Guest Author: Nancy Lake
I thought that as the subject of this blog is about mobile technology, I really should write it from a mobile device. I am on a bus trip with our PeeWee hockey team driving back to Airdrie from Regina, and my approximate location is somewhere in Saskatchewan, on the #1 highway between Swift Current and Medicine Hat. But one look at my cell phone, and I can see my exact coordinates on Google Maps. I know how far it is to the next city, and if I’m looking for the nearest Tim Horton’s, I just type it in the search field and I get directions, along with an ETA. I am writing this on a laptop, but I could also choose to write it from my iPad or iPhone…

NSD Hockey Program at WG Murdoch School 2012-2013

gregroberts — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:57:05 +0000

W.G. Murdoch School is very excited to announce that it will be offering a National Sport Development (NSD) Program, beginning the 2012/13 school year! Open to Grade 6 – 12 students of all skill levels residing in Airdrie, Crossfield, and surrounding communities, the NSD program will be built around 100 hours of professional coaching instruction, 70 hours of which is dedicated to ice time, 20 hours to dry land training, [ Read More ]

Teaching and the Classroom in 2050

donthomas — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:16:47 +0000

Guest Author – Don Thomas, Trustee, Ward 3 – As we ponder on the nature of teaching and what the future will be, one of the first questions may be ‘what will the school of 2050 look like?’ More specifically, and question two is ‘what will the structure within which the majority of learning is done look like?’ Will the classroom of today exist as such or will it change [ Read More ]

Innovation as Caring

derekkeenan — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 01:38:25 +0000

When I think about innovation in my classroom and the ways in which learning has changed as a result of the new directions education is taking, I really feel that it is about showing a deep and caring connection to our students and their culture….

Next Steps: Changing Airdrie’s Attendance Boundaries

donthomas — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 18:11:51 +0000

Guest Author, Don Thomas, Trustee Ward 3 Introduction The acrimony of the last Airdrie school attendance boundary review is still remembered for the pitting of one community against another. Unintended to be sure, RVS caused major conflict in its desire to resolve a school’s burgeoning population. This time around we have some advantages but we must use them to build a model which may serve RVS in future situations. Proposal: [ Read More ]

#SocialMedia #FTW ?

andrewdoyle — Fri, 20 May 2011 04:28:00 +0000

Guest Author – Andrew Doyle There is lots to be said about social media and its uses, advantages and vices. I myself have recently been added to the addicted to twitter list. I have been on facebook for years with varying levels of interest and I engage in the ‘always connected’ lifestyle without a second thought to it. When talking to colleagues about simple things such as email I hear [ Read More ]

How Much Do We Share?

Jen Friske — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 00:42:22 +0000

Guest Author – Jen Friske: While reading Sam Sherratt’s blog on International Mindedness I came across something he said that really struck close to home for me. Sam states, “…I am confronted by the dilemma of how much should be shared with elementary students. But then I ask myself whether our job as educators is to actually educate children or to delude them into thinking the world is a wonderful, [ Read More ]

Will We Let Them Sink or Swim?

donthomas — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 22:13:54 +0000

Guest Author, Don Thomas – Twenty first century learning and our kids’ use of technology has appeared to monopolize interest in recent times. But last night at a School Council meeting we discussed the idea of whether the ability to swim is a twenty first century skill. For my money there is no question; it was a twentieth century skill, first of course, but just as vital today as a [ Read More ]

Beam me up Scotty… Engage Engines!

Dan New — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 19:19:06 +0000

Guest Author, Dan New – In my recent post, “My Teacher is on the Television” there are implications of students interacting with a screen rather than an educator. It is this very conception that I have attempted to address in my classroom this semester. The question all distance educators (not just video conference educators) must ask is, “Are these students a part of my class, or are they simply observers?” [ Read More ]