Coding for Kids: The New ABC’s of Digital Education
A plumber from Brooklyn lies next to a racetrack. His vehicle—smashed. The audience—shocked. His condition? Unknown. A few Toronto children could determine whether he lives or ...
STEM
Transforming the Class with Google Apps
When I reflect on my years working in classrooms with students, I think about how much time it took to access and use essential technology B.G. (before Google). I compare it ...
How Schools are Implementing ‘Bring Your Own Device’
As the school bell rings, thirty grade six students settle into their desks for a history class. After a brief overview of last night’s homework, the teacher lets them know ...
How Virtual Worlds Can Transform Learning
My journey began in Vancouver 30 years ago, as an aid with Trainable Mentally Handicapped students. Designated as ‘uneducable,’ these students were relegated to gaining work ...
Coding is Cool
It’s official. Computer programming is cool. And not just a tepid sort of as-seen-on-TV cool, but a seething hot rock star kind of cool. It must be, anyhow, if people like ...
Where the Wild Things Are—Outside Your Classroom
The mid-winter sun is peeking from behind the clouds and a cold breeze is blowing across the open soccer field. A line of grade two students, dressed in puffy coats, colourful ...
Don’t Forget to Wonder: Has The Internet Made Knowledge Too Easy?
It's nice to think of the Internet as a wonderful invention that has made our lives both richer and more efficient. It's a nice notion and it's an accurate one—the Internet ...
Network Ninja: Teaching Digital Citizenship
Under the umbrella of Digital Citizenship (DC) are some complex concepts. Netiquette, Internet safety, information usage and cyber bullying are just a few of the topics that ...
Sparking Communication in Autistic Students
As the assistant head of special education at Vaughan Secondary School in the Toronto area, Tim Wesson describes his professional learning journey as one driven by the desire ...
Making Time for Outdoor Activity
A recent survey conducted by the David Suzuki Foundation finds that 70 percent of today’s youth (aged 13 20 years old) don’t spend any more than one hour a day outside. This ...