First time podcasters and Teacher Candidates, Jonathan Cowper and Madison Prinzel from Lakehead University in Orillia, took a leap of faith and agreed to be guests on my podcast! (Rochelle Gardener joins in later and speaks about her current podcasting project). I have a fun time speaking with Jonathan and Madison about how we can prepare our students for their future, how being a connected educator on Twitter can be beneficial to a Teacher Candidate and how Google Suite is a GAME CHANGER in Education. We may be getting these Teacher Candidates into podcasting ! Stay tuned…

After a short, but well needed winter break, Que sera Sarah? is back to its regular episodes (coming out every Wednesday!).

This episode features Helen Dewaard, teacher at the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University in Orillia. I was so inspired talking to Helen and wish I could sit in her Media & Digital Literacies class every week. I got to take a glance at that class as we spoke about the importance of digital literacies, digital fluency, taking time to play in the Digital sandbox and being a digital citizen. Helen also explain the importance of applying critical digital literacies in an age where we are sometimes bombarded by the choice of TechTools to use in the classroom.

Helen's Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/hj_dewaard

Connected Educator Infographic: https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=164&category=ISTE-Connects-blog&article=

It was a blustery night when this got recorded and aired LIVE on VoicEd radio in early December. I was accompanied by some very incredible educators and experts: Shauna Pollock, Rola Tibshirani and Stephen Hurley as together, we unpacked each piece of Design Thinking.

EMPATHIZE. DEFINE. IDEATE. PROTOTYPE. TEST.

I realized that Design Thinking is - the process of learning, teaching a purposeful set of skills, visualizing an idea and so much more. It is not the product but rather the process and experience. Looking to try Design Thinking in your classroom? This podcast is a great foundation of the basics behind this process.

Avec TAC2017 encore frais dans nos mémoires, Joannie Girard et moi avons passé une soirée à discuter de notre expérience à la conférence qui a eu lieu la semaine dernière. Quel honneur d'entendre le témoignage de ce CP avec l'équipe TacTic qui a organisé le tout. La préconférence, la conférence et même maintenant en post-conférence, on couvre le tout. Lors de l'épisode, Joannie et moi parlons de l'importance du développement professionnel, l'importance de donner la voix aux élèves et suite à TAC on se fixe des buts SMART pour l'année prochaine.

Le lien au montage vidéo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0hQE0sQYGg

La préconférence “L’’école de demain c’est aujourd’hui” a joué un grand rôle lors de la conférence #tac2017dec! Les trentaines de participants ont eu l’occasion de se lancer dans le défi proposé par les mentors du CFORP. Ils devaient choisir un défi, se regrouper avec 2+ différents conseils scolaires et complètement repenser cet aspect de l’école afin d’en produire un plan et une présentation. J’ai eu l’occasion de discuter avec 2 participants, 1 mentore et 1 membre du jury pour connaitre davantage leur expérience lors de la préconférence… Un grand merci à Danik Forgues (participant),  Nya Njeuga (mentor de l’équipe TacTic) Delphine Cuny (Membre du jury) et Janelle Giroux (Participante). Vous m'inspirez!

I've learnt that it is never a dull moment with Jen Apgar a 21st century Tech Coach with the Upper Grand District School Board! We had a very energetic conversation ranging from immersive experiences in the classroom (in relation to Disney experiences) thus leading to responsive classrooms and transformational spaces. We also touched upon the subject of meaningful feedback (observe, converse, give feedback), the importance of life long learning and 21st century competencies. The conversation with Jen and I also got her to reflect about her time in Teachers College in Australie with her associate teacher as well as her experience being an associate teacher!

J’ai eu l’honneur d’échanger avec Catherine Lapointe, une pédagogue curieuse et créative que j’ai rencontrée à #AccèsEDU en début novembre. Lors de cet épisode, Catherine et moi discutions de l’importance de briser l’isolement de l’enseignement et de créer un réseau d’apprentissage professionnel, soit à l’aide de colloques professionnels ou soit sur les médias sociaux. De plus, nous avons parlé du pouvoir créatif, de la pédagogie sociale, de son approche réflexive et de ses nouvelles pratiques professionnelles.Parler à une enseignante passionnée comme Catherine Lapointe m’aide à m’épanouir en tant que future enseignante.

Ever thought about adopting Inquiry Based Learning into your practice?

Well, in this special live edition of Que Sera Sarah? I am joined by 7 educators dedicated to taking a deeper dive into inquiry-based learning. This episode is lively and insightful!

A big thanks to:

Rola Tibshirani - @rolat

Chantal Larivière - @chantal_koala

Joanna Bull - @IdeaSmashing

Trevor Mackenzie - @trev_mackenzie

Noa Daniels - @noasbobs

Lisa Corbett - @LisaCorbett0261

Brad Shreffler - @BradShreffler

Got the chance to chat with Dr. Will about his dissertation on "An Implementation of a Twitter-Supported Personal Learning Network to Individualize Teacher Professional Development" I wanted to dive a little deeper into the the elements of Twitter free professional development, how it can impact your practice, the networking, the struggles and the advantages and everything in between. I even ask Dr.Will about his views on teacher's being silenced on Twitter by their school boards... If you are greatly involved in Twitter, are just beginning in this social network and don't even have a Twitter account, this is the podcast for you!

Le dimanche 5 novembre, j'ai donné l'atelier "L'art du podcast" à une vingtaine de pédagogues à Saint-Jérôme, QC. Je me suis enregistré en direct de la salle, afin de partager l'atelier qui a duré environ 30 minutes avec ceux et celles qui n'ont pas pu y être. Pour accéder à la présentation suivi ce lien: https://goo.gl/N1CCLT