Ontario: Learning Together at Home: Recent Episodes
voicEd Radio
Recently, learners and educators throughout Ontario began working together under very different circumstances. In what has been described by the provincial government as Continuous Learning, and by others as Emergency Remote Learning, Ontario Teachers are again working with their students — not in their classrooms — but rather from their homes. Join us as we converse with Ontario educators and hear, in their own voices, what it is like to be in Ontario: Learning , Together, at Home.
Arianna Lambert is a grade 4/5 teacher with the Toronto District School Board. In addition to her classroom work, you'll find her blogging at #ETFO's heartandart.ca. A thoughtful, reflective educator, it was a pleasure catching up with Arianna to find out how she, her students and her families are doing during this time of shutdown.
Mahfuza Rahman is a Digital Lead Learner and Hybrid Teacher with the Toronto District School Board. In this conversation, we explore the meaning of both roles and how Mahfuza and her team have moved into this time of COVID-19 shutdown. A complex and interesting set of transitions!
Cal Armstrong is a mathematics teacher at Appleby College, Oakville. The school had actually been building the infrastructure for online learning for the past two decades. Listen in as we explore how that planning has stood up in this time of emergency remote learning, and both the personal and professional tweaks that Cal has been making along the way.
Rola Tibshirani is a teacher at All Saints Secondary School in the Ottawa Catholic District School Board. Her commitment for learning alongside her students has made this a very interesting time for Rola and her students. Listen how the work that she has already done in building a sense of learning community has translated into her remote teaching/learning practice.
Follow Rola Tibshirani on Twitter: @rolat
Jim Pedrech is the English and Canadian & World Studies department head at Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School in Strathroy, Ontario. In this conversation, we learn about some of the projects that Jim had been working on before the COVID-19 shutdown and how he has attempted to translate some of that vision and energy to an online environment.
Amit Mehrotra is Vice Principal at Heart Lake Secondary School in Brampton, In this conversation, he brings his unique perspective as a high school administrator to our discussion on how educators in the province are seeing the current COVID-19 context. Lots of insight on equity and engagement.
Jason To is a mathematics teacher at Westview Central Secondary School in the TDSB. He is a passionate advocate for de-streaming and, as you'll hear in the conversation, the current COVID-19 shutdown has him concerned about his students, many of whom are already marginalized by systemic barriers.
But Jason is hopeful and I was inspired by the conversation, his work and the insights that he brings to his work.
Follow Jason on Twitter: @Jason_To
Zoe Branigan-Pipe is a Special Assignment Teacher for the Gifted in the Hamilton Wentworth School District. Zoe also teaches the Junior Additional Basic Qualifications Course at Brock University.
In this conversation, we focus on how her role has been transformed over the course of the year and, in particular, during this time of COVID-19. How does a non-classroom teacher function in a time of remote learning?
Michelle Fenn is an Instructional Leadership Consultant with the portfolios of Innovations and NTIP at the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. Among other things, we explore her commitment to connecting in a different way with teachers in her district.
Jamie Reaburn is Head of English, Huron Heights Secondary School, Kitchener. In this conversation we talk about how she is continuing to connect with students, colleagues and her family during this COVID-19 period.
In addition to his role as current President of ECOO (Education Computing Organization of Ontario), Andrew Forgrave is also a newly-minted retired educator. In this conversation, however, he pushes back against that familiar notion of retirement, revealing the ways in which some new work in coding with kids has been impacted by the current COVID-19 crisis. Some powerful insights into the importance of human interaction and feedback during these times.
Rolland Chidiac teaches Grade 3 in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board. In this conversation, Rolland inspires educators to take a measured approach in the way we move into this time of remote learning. Holding an equity lens in front of him during the past few weeks has allowed him to see and connect with his students in a more empathic and compassionate way.
Danika Tipping is the head of English at London South Collegiate Institute in London, Ontario. She's always been an imaginative and innovative educator and, as you'll hear in this conversation, that sense of commitment to creativity is still strong during these challenging times. Yet, it's not the technology or the curriculum that are the number one priority for Danika: it's the connection with her students! Listen to the end for the word that she encourages all educators to carry with them during this time.
Alanna King teaches English in the Upper Grand District School Board. But there is so much more to her teaching life than that. She is cohost of the "Read Into This" podcast, and is actively involved in the Ontario Library Association. Her passion and creativity shine through in this conversation about the first weeks of remote learning. Stay tuned until the end of the podcast when Alanna reveals the inspiration for the title of her blog, "Threadbare Beauty".
Colin Jagoe teaches Science at East Northumberland Secondary School in the Kawartha Pineridge District School Board. It was great to connect with Colin to talk about his experiences in the first weeks of remote learning. I appreciated Colin's optimistic sense of confidence that "we'll figure it out." We'll need more of that attitude as we move forward.
Jason is a hybrid-teacher digital lead learner in the Toronto DSB. He is a google innovator, Apple distinguished educators and a director at large of ECOO.
In this conversation, Jason talks about how someone so steeped in digital technology is making the transition to remote learning, how he is working hard to support other teachers, and how he is achieving a sense of balance in his own personal life.
Tim King is an EdTech champion with a passion for bringing the tools of ICT to his students, and to the world. Yet, he brings a critical eye on the whole EdTech landscape and wants to engage us in conversations about equity, security and privacy. It makes for an interesting conversation—always!
In this conversation, Tim reflects on his initial experiences with the Ontario Learn at Home context.
Aviva Dunsiger teaches Kindergarten in the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board. In this conversation, we explore experiences from her first week of remote learning. Listen as she talks openly about connecting with her students online, their willingness to respond to feedback and the adaptations that Aviva and Paula, her teaching partner, have made to their expectations and approaches. A conversation about possibility!