Technolandy

Day 151 (of 2024/25) Digital Learning Symposium 2025

Keynote: A Metarelational Approach to Technology

Dr Vanessa Andreotti

Power of Place and Land; Warning of dangers of colonialism; we are all relations! Humans and non-humans…<— hmm, what is ‘humanity’ when compared to AI? What makes ‘us’ different? (Me, not keynote!)

Sketchnote time! 

Session 2: Supercharge Online Teaching with Microsoft’s Online Learning Accelerators

Kara Dawson – sd71

(Important to me because staff works with k-12 and I think the online 

Reading Coach/Progress ~ Reaching Coach standalone

Teams

Math Coach/ Progress ~ Math Coach standalone (coming soon)

Search Coach/Progress

Speaker Progress ~ Speaker Coach use in PowerPoint is standalone

Resources

Progress = teacher assign

Coach = students can do on their own (practice at home is free!) can be assigned directly now!

Open Reading vs Chosen Passage

Join Code or Link

Multiple Languages… could be a francais assessment….

GoTo: learn71.ca

– integrated technology

-Office 365 Resources

– Reaching Coach

Reading Process is the next level to get more results… engaging and rewarding

All through Teams

– Assoignments

– then details

– also can add a rubric

– can edit … cut & paste… use the embedded AI…  <— should edit… don’t assume

It still makes me uncomfortable with how well the Reading Progress works to do the same thing I did with Reading Recovery and looking for fluency, comprehension, etc but so much faster. Really see this tool working well because it can be done asynchronously – so whether an in-person or online school, the student can read and the teacher can get information about what the next steps are. I used to be able to do one or two a day during silent reading, but can easily envision me modelling reading while students do the same – but doing reading that gives me insights on what to do next – for the class… and for individuals! Then I know who needs more 1:1 with a real person and who is fine to continue to get AI encouragement!

Insights include: 

WPM

Accuracy

Phonics rules

Uses different measurement types – lexile, benchmarks, etc

Math Progress

Customize math problems (grade 4+)

Auto grading

Insights (including what the misconceptions are)

Assignments

– Create

– Math Progress

– Choose category

– choose own/create own

– choose topic

– generate (it’s still new, so as of 2025 some limitations)

This could easily be our Grade 4+ math activation assignment… and we could curate our own 

Search

Search Coach: Stand alone

Search Progress: assigned

Eg find 3 sources

Search by domain; file type; date range; operators; 

– even more narrow – eg domain – country

Speech

Will give feedback on rehearsals – slides to work on during presentation; pauses; originality; pitch; and a way to do a presentation without having to take on the anxiety of a live performance right away/only to get feedback…

District can do a connection to/thru brightspace!! But there is work district needs to do for this.

 <— Josh in sd71 is working on this

Definitely ways to focus on personalization/individualization… 

Session 3: Creator+ with Shannon Hagen

(Important to me because I want to get the PBL approached History of Math 11 onto a more available platform for my staff)

Good example of using a bitly link to see who is in the room (in person and online)

Creator+ three types

1. Insert Elements – reorganize text so students aren’t overwhelmed; present in an engaging way
2. Insert Practice – a quick way to check knowledge/understanding without assessment
3. Capture Web – screen record built into brightspace – and being easier seen via an icon in the file menu!

1. Insert Elements:
   1. Take tons of text, but display  it differently. Accordion, tabs, callout, click and reveal, stylized quote, flip cards, carousel, hot spot
   2. Call Out and Stylized Quote emphasize text (example)

After lunch, an ‘in camera’ (no notes) session 4 round table talking about cross enrolment, academic advising, francophone cross enrolment… and other things that are hopefully kept discreet! 😇

Session 5 – decolonizing simple tools with Diane Henderson

think and do a deep dive around the history(s) of the sewing needle…

Eg its expansion into a harpoon… specifically the Inuit toggle harpoon and how with a ‘needle’ approach (and leather strap) allows the harpoon to ‘break’ into a hook when it pierces the prey…

Is deconstructing and exploring this decolonization? 

Nice break-down into a circle for a discussion about what decolonization can be – it is not a checklist nor a clear pathway. There is also a lot of stigma about changing ‘things that are’… even if it is biased… and systemic blockers in the way – as I get when I ask, why not be in session on Good Friday and Easter monday?

1. Digging deeper can be a great step (explore history and see where it leads to)
2. What are people seeing and responding to (from US politician insulting china to math & science approaches)
3. Honouring ‘other’ ways of knowing (and doing etc) and not ‘taking away’ – but adding to
   1. Eg struggle early on about incorporating indigenous ways into scientific method in some courses…
   2. The ‘five’ senses… maybe more…
   3. Allowing wisdom to exist without being ‘approved’ by subject terms such as ‘science’ to justify it
4. Embed and inclusify indigenization into the learning
5. Role of spirituality – differing levels of comfort for this (and not the same as religious) 
6. Sitting with complexity – not everything gets simplified…. And sometimes it is about “an” answer, not ‘the’ answer – from one truth to many perspectives
7. Metaphor of “projectors are always installed to point one way” (except I keep mine on carts whenever possible) – different vs one pov
8. Only one way to make cookies (follow a recipe??) Not always about messing up – can also be about improvements/enhancements!

Session 6: Learn, Laugh and Level Up!

Be awesome to each other. Have fun. More tomorrow!!