I’ve been asking people I know, and even some I don’t, about their frustrations with learning new technologies. This episode unfolded in response to the answers I received, specifically one response.

Matt Dowd is a super techie, a 25-year veteran of the IT industry, and one of my go-to people for advice on technology. At first it seemed Matt articulated different frustrations than many of us, but as I discover in this podcast, it’s more accurate to say he has a different perspective on surprisingly common frustrations. He also has some solid advice on how to make taking on new tech a little less daunting.

For more visit: https://www.orangegate.ca/brickstobytes

Join Janneke in conversation with Joey Salvalaggio, a professional musician, educator and storyteller. As Creative Director at BabuPress - babupress.com - Joey creates meaningful educational experiences that engage audiences and performers.

Joey talks about transforming his in-person experiences into digital ones and what that has meant for his students and himself.

For more please visit orangegate.ca.

This year, celebrating the holidays feels very different. It’s the perfect time to be innovative.

It’s not going to be easy, but it’s worth it. There are messy realities and challenges of going digital, and there are extraordinary silver linings.

To make it just a little easier to go digital this season, we’re sharing some of our favourite Holiday Hacks for 2020.. May they bring you inspiration and joy, and maybe up your digital game too.

Happy Holidays!

P.S. We’re adding more all the time, so please keep checking in or follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram to stay up to date on the latest Holiday Hacks.

Rainey Weber and Laura Cividino of the Carya String Quartet in Houston, Texas join Janneke to talk about transforming how they engage with their audiences, and bring Houston to the world.

Janneke announces Season 2: Learning in the Digital Age launching in January 2021.

Founded in the spring of 2018, the Carya String Quartet is a Houston-based ensemble dedicated to performing string quartet repertoire new and old from around the world. Drawn together by Houston’s international and inclusive arts culture, the members- Eugeniu Cheremoush, Laura Cividino, Sonya Matoussova, and Rainey Weber- hail from Moldova, Italy, Russia and Canada, and the United States, respectively. They bring their individual experiences as performers and teaching artists to create inclusive concerts and innovative educational programming.

For more about the Carya String Quartet visit www.caryaquartet.org and follow them on Facebook and Instagram at @caryaquartet

For more about the podcast visit https://www.orangegate.ca/brickstobytes

Head of Data and IT at Communitech, Eric Bencina, joins Janneke to talk about how his organization has adapted to the new realities of collaborating over distance and transforming how they deliver programs and support to their community. We discuss the importance of place and why you just have to dive into tech. 

For more information about Communitech and our podcast, please visit orangegate.ca

Creativity Facilitator and Founder of Blooming Caravan, Emma Rooney, joins Janneke to talk about using modern technologies to stay connected with seniors during the pandemic and Janneke announces an exciting event.

We also talk about where family members can go wrong in protecting loved ones interested in tech and the importance of nature connection to stay grounded during isolation.

Janneke announces an exciting event planned for Thursday November 5, 2020.

Blooming Caravan is a mobile business that brings Creative Companionship to older adults in their homes across Toronto. To learn more, please visit bloomingcaravan.ca

To learn more about Janneke and listen to more BricksTOBytes podcasts, please visit orangegate.ca.

Peresa Jensen, Director , Community and In-Hospital Programs and Kelley Scadding, Director, Overnight Programs (Rainbow Lake) of Camp Ooch & Camp Trillium join Janneke to talk about the realities of taking camp virtual.

Camp Ooch & Camp Trillium, or Ooch and Trillium for short, is a privately funded organization that serves kids and families affected by childhood cancer in Ontario. 

As we can all imagine, a diagnosis of childhood cancer is a big, scary swerve in the road.

It changes life in an instant. For affected kids and families, it can suddenly feel like everything is about cancer.

Camp Ooch & Camp Trillium offer a different journey, where kids with cancer and their siblings can just be kids, and families connect with a community of strength and support when they need it most.

They focus on building fun, friendship and community, all injected with a healthy dose of camp spirit. 

In March, Camp Ooch & Camp Trillium, like other Ontario organizations had a big decision to make--, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person experiences would not be possible at overnight camp, in the hospital, and in communities all across Ontario…at least for a while.

Hardly missing a beat and clearly driven with a strong sense of purpose, the amazing people at Camp Ooch and Camp Trillium embraced modern technologies to transform 100% of their programs and create a virtual camp experience for their campers and their families. They’ve proven that even COVID-19 Can’t stop Camp.

This is their story.

To learn more about Camp Ooch & Camp Trillium, please visit https://campfirecircle.org/ or contact Melanie Lovering, DIrector, Marketing & Communications [email protected]

Want to learn more about bricksTObytes and what it takes to go digital? Visit www.orangegate.ca/brickstobytes

Imagine, your job is to help developmentally delayed children learn. You work with them at their schools, their homes. And then suddenly you can't. The kids can't afford to stop learning, so Ilene Pastor didn't stop either.

Join Janneke Ritchie for the inspiring story of Ilene Pastor, special needs instructor in Philadelphia. Ilene is transforming how she works with her clients using Zoom, YouTube and new apps...the tools of tele-intervention. It hasn't been easy, but that hasn't stopped her. 

For more on all our Bricks to Bytes podcasts please visit orangegate.ca. We love to hear from you!

We talk with David Griffin, PhD, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Art and Chair of Research Ethics Board, OCAD University, Toronto about the challenges of teaching artists and creators in an online format. We touch on the importance of content over technical expertise and what we think we know about how to adopt modern technologies.

Cam Couch, Chief Commercial Officer for Ethica, a Canadian tech start-up, joins me to talk about the challenges of leading a growing team, driving innovation and maintaining operational efficiency after going digital-only in response to Covid-19. We talk about the importance of accuracy, brevity and clarity in communicating using Slack and email, how going digital is making Cam and team more operationally agile and the surprising sense of connection we can get through Zoom.

Don’t let the fact that Cam leads a tech start-up fool you. Digital transformation is hard. For everyone.

Grab yourself a coffee and listen to Cam’s story.