Educators engage in professional learning.

 

I have been extremely lucky as a teacher candidate to attend numerous professional learning opportunities. From Professional Development Days, to Experiential Learning, Training Conferences and Guest Speakers, I have been able to broaden my horizons and take in a broad wealth of knowledge from fellow professionals. These opportunities have impacted my own pedagogy and will continue to influence my thinking for years to come. These are just some of the moments that have helped shape me into an Educator:

 

Beaded Tweets with Noelle Pepin was an extraordinary peek into the world of technology-free coding. What a great opportunity to incorporate traditional First Nations traditions into the modern technology that is Twitter. Very eye-opening and cool.

 

The Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada was an experience like none I have ever had before. This is probably the most impactful way to visualize the Indigenous groups of Canada, and the history that has happened throughout the years between indigenous groups and colonizers. There are so many ways to use this map in the classroom, and hopefully one day I will have the chance to do so.

 

N.V.S.S. in Vanderhoof is doing some amazing things, including their aviation program wherein students are given the opportunity to train in Commercial Flight Simulators. This quality of training is extremely rare and may be the only of its kind for High School students in all of North America. N.V.S.S. is truly on the leading edge of innovation in education and is pushing the extremes with its various programs. Just seeing these programs was amazing, I can only imagine how engaged the students must be in this sort of environment. #Goals

 

POPFASD was such a learning experience for me, broadening my thinking on classrooms and alternative ways to approach education with every student in mind. Practical skills that apply to all learners were just one of the things I took away from this presentation.

 

Before this presentation, I had heard of Fresh grade but did not have any actual idea of how it was used in a classroom. After this presentation, I was extremely interested in the program and the opportunities it opens up for communication between teacher, students and parents. One day I may get to use Fresh Grade in the class, but I know that the mindset imbued in this presentation will stick with me throughout all of my career.

 

Ozobots! What an engaging and fun way of teaching coding. I have never seen a group of adults so engaged with learning. Laughter and creativity are at the core of Ozobots teaching, and that is an extremely exciting thing for me. Lots of ideas sparked from this presentation and created conversation among myself and my peers.

 

I was lucky enough to participate in a blanket exercise which helps visualize the history of Indigenous people in Canada, the arrival of colonizers, and the impact on everything thereafter. It was an emotional and moving experience for many, and has stuck with me, reaffirming my desire to strive for truth and reconciliation in my classroom.