In this episode, we talk to Chris Heidebrecht and Corey Kapilik, who were involved in creating a new Minecraft Edu experience, Manito Abhee Aki, which teaches about Indigenous Anishinaabe culture, history, and reconciliation. Minecraft EDU is an educational game world created by Microsoft, based on the popular MInecraft video game.

Chris is a teacher at St. George School in the Louis Riel School Division in Winnipeg, who has been using Minecraft Edu in his classroom. Corey is a principal at Marion School in Louis Riel School Division in Winnipeg. Both were involved in the creation of this lesson, in consultation with Anishinaabe Elder and grandmother Chickadee Richard.

Join us as we discuss the experience of the creation of this lesson, and how it is relevant and being used in classrooms today in Manitoba and beyond.

You can find our guests on Twitter:

Chris Heidebrecht: @CHeidebrecht1

Corey Kapilik: @CoreyKapilik

This week, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Mike Ribble, who is an educator and author. You can check out Dr Ribble’s most recent books, Digital Citizenship Handbook for School Leaders – Fostering Positive Interactions Online, and Digital Citizenship in Schools.

Dr. Ribble has worked within the education field his entire career at various levels, which has given him a unique perspective of working with educators and students. He’s spoken on the topic of digital citizenship to parents, teachers and students both in the United States and internationally.

We have a wide-ranging interview with him today, starting with what digital citizenship is, what it means for schools, parents, students, and administrators, as well as what the future holds for digital citizenship here and abroad. So join us for this latest sip of knowledge and kick back and relax.

You can find and follow Dr. Mike Ribble on various social media.

Twitter: @digcitizen

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeribble

And online at his website: http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/

This week we talk to Dr. Kelly Christopherson, who’s doctoral work was in the area of professional learning communities and networks.

Dr. Christopherson is the creator of myPDtoday and saskedchat. He’s been working in education for over 25 years as a teacher and as a principal.

We chat with him on the topic of what makes PLCs work, where you can find them, and his answer to our magic wand question also intrigues as at the end.

You can find Dr. C on Twitter @kellywchris or join #saskedchat each Thursday at 8 PM Saskatchewan time.

*Music courtesy of Luke Sellick, from his album "Alchemist", track 2, "Q - Tippin". Used with permission.

Join us as we continue with our theme of Games in Education. After speaking about Esports last episode, we now dive into gamification of learning and project based learning with Louis Riel principal Mike Heilmann and vice-principal Warren Nightingale.

We talk general gamification of education, game based elements in learning, and how it can tie into project based learning. 

Grab a beverage, and enjoy another 832 Sips! 

*Music courtesy of Luke Sellick, from his album "Alchemist", track 2, "Q - Tippin". Used with permission.

In our series on Esports in Education and Gamification of Learning, we talk to Melissa Burns and Brian Cameron. Melissa is the Esports Director at Archwood School in Winnipeg, MB, and the founder of Middle Years Esport MB (MYEMB) and also the nonprofit Canadian Middle School Esport Association (CMSEA). Brian Cameron is the Principal at Louis Riel Arts and Technology Center in Winnipeg, MB. He is also the President of MHSEA and an executive member of G.A.M.E. 

Join hosts Matteo Di Muro, Dean Vendramin, and Curtis Bourassa as we explore why we should have Esports in our schools, the benefits of Esports, how they connect to 21st century learning, some critiques of Esports, and also some discussion on how to get started with Esports at your school. Sip on!

*Music courtesy of Luke Sellick, from his album "Alchemist", track 2, "Q - Tippin". Used with permission. 

This week, we had a chance to sit down virtually with Benjamin Kelly, who is an experienced STEM teacher in the Anglophone East School District of New Brunswick, Canada. He is the recent recipient of the Canadian Prime Ministers Award for Excellence in Teaching STEM for 2019 & 2018, among other things. You can check out his website at bbtnb.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @BBTNB

Ben teaches grade 6-12 STEM at a small but mighty rural school where he strives to provide a world-class, authentic and future-proof learning experience through his "STEMpathy" program. He started Canada's first K-12 Dronography (Academic Drone) Program in 2014 and is a published education researcher in the area of Universal Design for Learning. Benjamin's students work daily with cutting-edge technology including the Microsoft HoloLens and Surface Studio, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift virtual reality devices and Minecraft Education Edition. The experiences don't stop there as his students explore coding and hands-on skilled trades adventures that are truly innovative.

Nancy Smith works for the city of Calgary, leading their social media and digital communications implementation. She also teaches marketing, communications and social media classes at the University of Calgary. She is the creator of https://www.socialcitizens.ca/, and has written a on social media: “Social Citizens: A positive approach to social media & parenting in a digital world.” You can buy it on amazon. Join us as we discuss how educational technology can enhance and detract from learning, and the perception of social media in our lives and in the media at large. Strap in!

A frank discussion with Saskatchewan French language teacher Daniel Dion, where we dive into his experience with remote learning using Crowdmark, eventually ending with blended learning, and student engagement now that everyone gets a credit due to school closures.

TIMESTAMPS

0:33 Who is Daniel Dion?

2:18 How are you handling remote learning?

3:54 What platforms/apps is Daniel using to deliver his online classes?

7:37 Crowd mark (https://crowdmark.com/) A tool for online assessments and assignments

12:52 Do we need to modify the delivery method depending on the course content?

16:48 How to monitor student engagement

18:11 Insights tool in Microsoft Teams

19:43 Using Zoom to screen cast and record

20:36 Positive changes Daniel would like to continue to see moving forward in teaching

22:23 Potential for schools moving towards blended learning environments, and other changes brought about by school closures due to Corona Virus

24:15 School closure has allowed Daniel to work on online projects he never had time/need to try before

26:54 Take some risks and do something new, it’s now or never!

In this two part episode, we explore with April her journey in suddenly having to shift all her classes online amid the school closures due to Corona Virus. We chat about how schools might take the opportunity to shift to learning hubs and classes that are more online than offline, and what that might mean for assessment and the teacher's role in the classroom.  

A chat with April Pulak, long serving teacher in Brandon School Division. We chat about technology integration in classrooms and teacher professional development.