I stopped at the Starbucks at King & University this morning on the way to see Carlo Fusco at Waterloo CI to consult regarding his library project. As I entered, I happened to notice the striking view change that (literally) just one step made.
One step, a small step, can strikingly change your perspective. Have a listen to Carlo’s perspective on library change.
~Mark
This post in my Virtual Coffee Shop series features a discussion with Huron Heights Secondary School Principal Ed Doadt examining the initial excitement, impact and observations around launching the school into a 1 to 1 program for all grade nine students are provided with Chromebooks.
Learn the insights through our discussion.
~Mark
A new school year brings new opportunities. Last Thursday I enjoyed attending the professional learning sessions at Huron Heights Secondary School and Sir John A. MacDonald Secondary School in preparation for our 1:1 chromebook launches this week. The energy was high and collaboration was benefitting all – awesome.
Image adapted from: http://schools.wrdsb.ca/jam/files/2015/07/chromebook1to1project.jpg
In conversations with principals Ed Doadt (HHSS) and Kathy Young (SJAM), I think we all agree that this project serves as a catalyst for visible change, new thinking, kicking the tires on ideas, exploring new practices and sharing our learning collectively and collaboratively. I am very excited to see what opportunity brings.
I thought I would share some of the excitement and conversation from my sites visits Thursday.
I look forward to phasing Jacob Hespeler Secondary School into the project in October.
Make it a great year – innovate, learn, collaborate and share.
Related Resources
Check out the twitter stream at #121wrdsb
Project Resource site: 121wrdsb
~Mark
I am looking forward to another exciting school year at WRDSB. Check out our system video as shared at the system kickoff meeting.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEscA_r9SBo]Participate: learn, connect, reflect, share. Make it a great 15/16 school year.
~Mark
Today Waterloo Region celebrates the 15th anniversary of WREPNet, a regional fibre optic network that was built to serve education and community partners within the region.
WREPNet is governed through the establishment of a joint venture agreement. The ongoing existence and development of the network is a real tribute to the technical team and steering committee members of each organization who have worked together in a cohesive and progressive manner to serve the needs of Waterloo Region.
It has been my pleasure to serve as WREPNet co-chair for a number of years, and I extend sincere congratulations to all involved in this fantastic venture.
Here are a few WREPNet fun facts:
A little WREPNet history:
Learn more about WREPNet [here].
~Mark
The 2015 WRDSB learning carousel day focused on Innovative Change was a great day of learning and connecting for me. I was impressed with the quality and quantity of the sharing sessions and loved the energy in the room. As a reflection, I wanted to share a few things that resonated with me by bringing together ideas from two conversations.
Each year, we have been purposeful about initiating targeted new projects to model change, inform our collective practice and leverage opportunities to share and role model. Some of our projects from the last few years are captured in this whiteboard ‘clip’.
Along this journey, we have learned some important items or “breadcrumbs” as I like to call them, that should be applied to new projects and scaling up strategies as we move our innovative change agenda forward.
Some of our breadcrumbs include:
In my view, as we look at a path forward, each of us has to own our piece of the collective through our own actions. I like the question, what is your next? Creating a culture where:
are all important elements in sustaining the synergy and energy of forward movement.
Join the move to innovative change and add to the ripple effect. Learn, connect, reflect and share.
~Mark
Related Resources
The storify of the days twitter stream.
The ongoing twitter discussion at #wrdsbchange.
The Innovative Change blog.
This post combines the slide decks and resources from the 2 English Association sessions on the April 17th professional learning session into one presentation.
~Mark
Today is one of those markers in time. For the last 7 and a half years, I have had the pleasure of working with and reporting to Marilyn Allen, Executive Superintendent of Business and Financial Services at the WRDSB. As Marilyn winds up her final day and prepares for stepping into retirement, it seems appropriate to share a few comments.
Over the years, there have been many hats worn: mentor, coach, cheer leader, planner, organizer, advisor, team builder, strategist, problem solver and friend. All hats were worn with purpose, integrity and thoughtfulness.
The #selfie
I have appreciated the qualities you emphasized in our going work: up front and open conversations no matter what the challenge or topic, pro-activeness, no surprises and clear language. On a personal note, I loved that no matter what was going on, you ended every meeting with a resounding “go forth and do your best work“.
Marilyn, you have been the champion of “awesome” and “keeping our ducks in a row“. Thanks for being a great mentor, open to new ideas and believing in me!!!
You have much to celebrate. I wish you a long, happy and healthy retirement!
~Mark
I recently had an opportunity to enjoy a site visit to John Mahood PS, a WRDSB K-5 school to see a their technology use in action.
Under the leadership of principal Tracy Tait, the staff has been working hard over the last 3 years to explore new effective ways to utilize technology to enable student learning in new ways, change and improve practice and share their successes.
The traditional lab at the school has been dismantled and the desktops have been redistributed throughout the school. The mobile technology (iPads and Chromebooks) within the school has been allocated so that each classroom has a minimum of 6 to 8 devices to share among the students. The lab space is now used as a “tech lounge” – more of a flexible creative work space.
In a site walk through, Tracy commented that she expects staff to integrate mobile technology into the learning environment as part of their daily practice. I enjoyed observing a couple of classes during silent reading time and seeing that student had a choice in both what they read and HOW they read it: paper based, via iPads or Chromebooks. Talk about a great example of student voice and choice!
The school focus on choice for students is making a noticeable difference. Several staff commented about technology options providing choice and independence for students. In some cases, the use of technology created benefits in socialization between students both in and out of class. In conversation, it was noted that technology use improves the focus on learning which in turn impacts behaviour in a positive way. In some cases, the use of technology removes frustration when paper and pencil based tasks create an obstacle for students. The result is increased participation through differentiated approaches.
This video captures some of the observations and thinking of students and staff at the school.
[youtube http://youtu.be/eEDd5oOwI4k]Note: The video and story presentations are published with permission.
~Mark
The Waterloo Region District School Board will host their 3rd annual summit in April 2015.
This will be a 4 day event with the following schedule:
Thursday April 9: Ontario GAFE Technical Community meeting
Friday April 10: Boot Camp courses
Saturday April 11th and Sunday April 12th: GAFE Summit with the EdTech Team.
Details are online at WRDSB hosted GAFE Summit.
Join us for a great professional learning opportunity.
~Mark
~ Mark's Musings ~ blog.markwcarbone.ca 