ManACE Memos

Upcoming TIN - February 16th

2012-01-12T18:39:00.000-08:00

Image credit: torres21

The ManACE Board is pleased to announce the line-up for our next Technology Information Night (TIN), taking place 5:30 - 7:30pm on Thursday, February 16th, 2012. Anyone is welcome to attend this event (you do not need to be a ManACE member), so please help us to spread the word...

For only $5 you get pizza, salad & refreshments, the chance to network with colleagues from various Manitoba school divisions, and the opportunity to take in these three presentations first-hand:

Sowing the Maple Seeds
Presented by: John Evans, Manitoba Education
Many educators have begun to realize the benefits of developing their own professional learning network by leveraging the power of various social networking platform. This presentation will provide a sneak peek at Maple, the Manitoba Professional Learning Environment. Find out how this new social networking platform can be used to connect Manitoba educators to each other, to curriculum content, and to a variety of professional learning opportunities.

Reaping the Harvest (of Opportunity)
Presented by: Ryan Maksymchuk, Swan Valley School Division For many years, ManACE has offered a number of workshops beyond the city of Winnipeg on SAGE Day. For the last three years, Swan Valley Regional Secondary School has played host to the hugely popular 'Harvest of Opportunity' sessions. Find out what inspired Ryan Maksymchuk and his colleagues to think outside the box and provide an innovative alternative to heading into the 'big city' for SAGE Day. This session will provide many practical suggestions related to re-thinking traditional professional learning models.

The Plight Of The Polar Bears
Presented by: Andy McKiel, St. James-Assiniboia School Division
Manitoba is home to one of the most accessible polar bear populations on the planet, drawing tourists from around the world. But the Western Hudson Bay population of polar bears may not be here very much longer due to global climate change. Andy McKiel will share pictures and stories detailing his experiences aboard Buggy One and the Tundra Buggy Lodge where he worked with some of North America's leading experts on polar bears and global climate change. If you're looking for ways to involve your students in taking action on issues related to sustainability, Churchill's polar bears are a great place to start.

This ManACE TIN will be held in the PSDC Auditorium at 150 Moray Street in Winnipeg. Please register to attend so that we can plan accordingly :-)

We look forward to seeing you February 16th...

Telling Our Digital Stories

2011-10-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

The ManACE Board invites you to join us at the King's Head Pub in Winnipeg between 7:00pm and 10:00pm on October 20th for this year's preSAGE event, Telling Our Digital Stories.

Not only will you be able to network with fun-loving educators from around the province, you'll also hear many success stories of how your colleagues are infusing technology to support the teaching and learning that is taking place within their classrooms and schools. You might even be inspired to share your own success stories with the people gathered in the room.

Educators from around Manitoba who attended the inaugural Unplug'd Summit in Ontario's Algonquin Park will be on hand to share their 'off-the-grid' experience. While 37 of Canada's most 'connected' educators left the wired world behind for three days in August, they connected more deeply on a personal level in an effort to implement meaningful change in the Canadian educational landscape. Hear their stories about Unplug'd and find out how you may have the opportunity help bring an Unplug'd event to Manitoba.

- register now -

All educators are welcome to attend our ManACE preSAGE event, so please help us to spread the word...

- share the poster -

iStream - uStream

2011-04-27T06:24:00.000-07:00

Last night I had an opportunity to share many aspects of streaming live video for about 20 educators who had gathered from around the province. Thanks to those of you who were able to attend - and thanks to Manitoba Teacher's Society for hosting this gathering :-)

I was asked to share some links and resources that were discussed and highlighted throughout the evening. While this may not be a comprehensive list, you'll find many of those materials listed below:

First of all, here's a copy of the presentation slides that guided our conversation and demonstrations:

iStream uStream

View more presentations from Andy McKiel

And here are links to several of the resources that were shared and discussed:

MB Edubloggercon - This 2007 preSAG event was one of my first experiences broadcasting an event for a virtual audience.

Awakening Possibilities - This was our 2008 preSAG event and it built upon the previous year's event. A combination of live and virtual presenters were streamed live to a global audience.

TEDxManitoba - A great example of the power of streaming live video to incorporate a virtual audience.

K12 Online Conference - An amazing resource for educators with five years worth of archived presentations of a range of topics related to infusing technology across grade ranges and curricular areas.

uStream - One of the free and easy tool that was demonstrated throughout the evening.

Livestream - The other free and easy tool that was featured as a means of connecting with a virtual audience.

Create Faire - This workshop was presented in front of a live audience of about 250 educators and students in Winnipeg and was also broadcast live over the internet to encourage virtual participation.

Today's Meet - Create your own chat room in seconds to provide participants with an opportunity to reflect on the content that is being shared, shares links & resources or push back on the thoughts and opinions being shared by the presenters. Harness the power of back-channel conversations with your live streamed events :-)

I really appreciated the opportunity to get together with a room full of people interested in tapping into the power of broadcasting content over the web. Thanks for being such an enthusiastic, inquisitive and receptive audience!

If you have further questions related to the tools that were discussed or just want to chat about how you can livestream an upcoming event, please feel free to get in touch with me :-)

Andy McKiel
andy [at] mckiel [dot] ca

Upcoming TIN - February 10th, 2011

2011-01-19T07:44:00.000-08:00

Consider yourself invited to ManACE's next Technology Information Night. We have an exciting evening lined up for February 10th.

If you've never been to one of our TIN's, you can expect to see three great presentations, enjoy some pizza, salad and refreshments, and network with colleagues from around the province - all for the low price of just $5 :-)

Here's an overview of what you can expect to see if you join us:

The Blurred Images Challenge
Students, teachers & committee members will come together to provide an overview of the Blurred Images challenge. Manitoba's contribution to the 2010 Media Literacy Week has generated a great deal of interest across the nation. This session will highlight the Blurred Images kickoff event and let you know how you can participate in the Blurred Images Challenge.

When Teachmeet Comes To Town
This presentation will introduce participants to a growing trend in providing meaningful professional learning opportunities. Find out what can happen when you get a room full of people (...not just educators...) together to share ideas and information. While Teachmeet originated in the United Kingdom, it's now hopped across the pond, with Winnipeg hosting the first Canadian Teachmeet. James Dykstra & Joel Ralph will share why and how they brought Teachmeet to town.

The Mobile Smackdown
Are you still holding off on investing in your first smartphone? Or are you looking for a 'better' mobile device - one that has more features or better suits your lifestyle? The purpose of this session is to highlight the features, capabilities & potential uses for some of the leading mobile devices currently available: Androids, Blackberries & iPhones. Participants are welcome and encouraged to add their own voice to the great mobile debate :-)

When?
February 10th - 5:30pm to 7:30pm

Where?
Manitoba Education, 1567 Dublin, Winnipeg

Cost?
$5

We hope to see you there :-)
The ManACE Board

Spreading Our Roots

2010-10-10T21:19:00.000-07:00

(click image to enlarge)

ManACE is pleased to announce plans for this year's preSAG event, Spreading Our Roots.

This innovative event will serve three purposes:
- to share ideas that can connect your students with a global audience
- to highlight details of six $1000 grants that ManACE is offering this year
- to provide teachers with ideas as to how they can grow professional learning opportunities

Anyone can register to attend this free event. Participants can attend the live event in Winnipeg, participate in one of several satellite viewing parties taking place in several locations throughout Manitoba, or stay home and catch the uStream feed in their pyjamas ;-)

The following brochure contains all of the details you need regarding Spreading Our Roots. Please share this information with your staff and/or your professional learning network:

http://mckiel.ca/docs/spreadingourroots.pdf

We look forward to 'seeing' you at Spreading Our Roots!

The ManACE Board

A Breakfast Date...

2010-06-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

The ManACE/MindSet/Microsoft summer institute program is pleased to announce a special event in conjunction with our regular workshops.

We are pleased to announce that John Weigelt, National Technology Officer for Microsoft Canada will be here to speak to us about Technology Futures and Education.

This special event will be July 6 at 8:00 am at Red River College (Princess St Campus). The event is free and includes a continental breakfast and everyone is welcome.

Also, while our regular workshop participants move on to their sessions, education leaders and IT specialists are welcome to stay for a Q&A session with John.

Please register for free this event at:

http://mmmsummer2010.eventbrite.com/

Scroll down to 'Breakfast with John Weigelt' and click on the link.

The 2010 ManACE AGM

2010-05-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

The stage is set - now who's going to attend?

When?

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Where?
Red River College - Princess Street Campus
The Heritage Room

Cost?
$5.00 (collected at the door)

What's included?
An evening of fun, food & presentations...
Dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m.
A great opportunity to network & collaborate :-)

Register to attend!
Add your name to the list of attendees now...
E-mail andy@mckiel.ca so that we can plan accordingly :-)

Please join us for the following presentations:

A Story of Children Helping Children
Brock Corydon School
Eileen Curtis and select students will showcase their school's prize-winning project and highlight their next steps with this project.

Community Unity
Brooklands School
Ryan Miller will showcase his school's prize-winning project and highlight their next steps with this project.

Tools of Choice
Andy McKiel
A quick look at how the tools that are now readily available are shaping the teaching and learning that takes place in our classrooms.

MMM Summer Sessions

2010-05-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendar!

Image: 'Farewell February'

ManACE/MindSet/Microsoft Summer Sessions

Most of the sessions are two-day sessions, but there are a few that are only one day long. The registration fee for all sessions is $35.00 (plus $1.86 registration fee) which is mainly to cover food costs. This is our first increase in more than 5 years! The main costs are covered by MindSet and Microsoft and we appreciate their support very much.

Note that we have:
• some specialized Smartboard sessions and
• one for resource teachers or anyone working with special needs students.

We still have to finalize a couple of sessions so check back, on the registration site, if you don’t find what you need.

Dates: July 5/6, July 7/8, Aug 30/31

We have some sessions in Winnipeg (at various locations) and some in Elm Creek (it’s worth the trip) and Sunrise SD (also worth a trip).

Elementary Teachers
PLN – Building a Personal/Professional Learning Network July 5-6
Dabbling in Technological Design - Elm Creek School Jul 5-6
Smartboard (Early Years Focus) - Elm Creek School Jul 5
Ya Mean It’s A Phone TOO!?! Jul 6
Blogs, Blabs & Inquiry - Elm Creek School Jul 7-8
A Picture Tells a Thousand Words - Elm Creek Jul 7-8
iTouch for Special Needs: There's an App for That! Jul 7
Fun and memorable multimedia projects for Kindergarten-Grade 8 Classroom Teachers Jul 7-8
Building Your Professional Learning Network the Web 2.0 Way Jul 8
Get SMARTer (taking the next step with a SMART Board) Aug 30-31 – Sunrise SD
Cheap and Easy Multimedia in the Classroom - Portage Collegiate Aug 30-31

Middle Years Teachers
PLN – Building a Personal/Professional Learning Network July 5-6
Dabbling in Technological Design - Elm Creek School Jul 5-6
Flash Animation and Games made Simple Jul 5-6
Smartboard (Middle Years Focus) - Elm Creek School Jul 6
Ya Mean It’s A Phone TOO!?! Jul 6
Blogs, Blabs & Inquiry - Elm Creek School Jul 7-8
A Picture Tells a Thousand Words - Elm Creek Jul 7-8
iTouch for Special Needs: There's an App for That! Jul 7
Fun and memorable multimedia projects for Kindergarten-Grade 8 Classroom Teachers Jul 7-8
Building Your Professional Learning Network the Web 2.0 Way Jul 8
Get SMARTer (taking the next step with a SMART Board) Aug 30-31 – Sunrise SD
Cheap and Easy Multimedia in the Classroom - Portage Collegiate Aug 30-31

Senior Years Teachers
PLN – Building a Personal/Professional Learning Network July 5-6
Dabbling in Technological Design - Elm Creek School Jul 5-6
Making games: Channel the energy used playing games into creative activity Jul 5-6
Get SMART with Senior Years Math Jul 5–6
Flash Animation and Games made Simple
Ya Mean It’s A Phone TOO!?! Jul 6
Blogs, Blabs & Inquiry - Elm Creek School Jul 7-8
A Picture Tells a Thousand Words - Elm Creek Jul 7-8
iTouch for Special Needs: There's an App for That! Jul 7
Literacy with ICT for Senior Years teachers. Jul 7
Building Your Professional Learning Network the Web 2.0 Way Jul 8
Get SMARTer (taking the next step with a SMART Board) Aug 30-31 – Sunrise SD
Cheap and Easy Multimedia in the Classroom - Portage Collegiate Aug 30-31

Register early to avoid disappointment. Registration will close on June 25 so we can let instructors know how many people will be in their sessions.

You must use a credit card and register online. We use Paypal to collect the fees, but you DO NOT need a Paypal account to register, just a credit card. If you are reluctant to use your credit card online, ask your principal or superintendent to register for you.

You can register at:
http://mmmsummer2010.eventbrite.com/

Questions and comments can be directed to rredekopp@gmail.com

The Contest...

2010-03-31T11:19:00.000-07:00

ManACE Developing Technology Contest

Aim:

To support Manitoba school-based projects that promote educational endeavours with schools in developing areas through the use of technology.

Overview:

ManACE will award up to six $1,000.00 prizes to Manitoba schools who present the best ideas for using the money to assist a school in a developing area in the use of technology. There will be up to two prizes awarded at each of three levels - K-4, 5-8, 9-12 if there are sufficient acceptable entries.

ManACE seeks to inspire students and teachers to use technology to reach out to others and to find ways to assist students and teachers who do not have good access to technology.

Schools must produce a short (max 5 min) video or online presentation explaining their project.

So basically:

Connect with a school in a developing place. Decide what that school needs. Then negotiate and get to know the people at the school, the other kids. Come up with a compelling argument and put it in a multimedia format Put together the package for selling this concept to the panel.

* ManACE reserves the right to showcase the winning projects.

Details:

Schools who wish to enter will either:

- Design a project to partner with another school in a developing area to find best ways to support their development.

-or-

- Present a project that the school has already begun which meet the criteria of this contest.

Judging:

Entries will be judged on the basis of:

Project (70%)
- Impact
- Sustainability
- Budget
- Practicality
- Evidence of support from receiving school and or other organization - can be a written submission
- Process - outline/description of project

Presentation (30%)
- Creativity/Originality
- Copyright free images, clips, sound and music
- Clear idea of the project
- Compelling promotion of the project {demonstrates need, appropriateness, feasibility, etc)

Presentations must use only free or Creative Commons images and music and other materials, pass school and divison policies.

Judging will be done by a panel of educators and non-educators.

Submissions:

Applications must include:
1. A document that states:
- Name of school and division
- Name of lead teacher
- Name and location of partner school(including a main contact)
- School divisional policies met
- A brief description of the project and how the partner school needs were determined
- Budget
- Plan of action
2. A student-created multimedia presentation (max five minutes) that explains and promotes the project
3. Adminstrator's Signature

Deadlines:

Entries must be submitted by midnight of Wednesday, April 28, 2010.

Results will be announced by May 13, 2010.

TEDxOntarioEd - The Winnipeg Satellite Event

2010-03-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

Looking forward to the upcoming TEDxOntarioEd event?

If you're anywhere near Winnipeg and would like to participate along with many other like-minded individuals, please register to attend this event in person.

Of course, you could take in most of the content while eating popcorn in your pajamas. However, you'll miss out on some of the rich virtual & F2F conversations that will be taking place at the Winnipeg Satellite event and many of the other TEDxOntarioEd Satellite events that are taking place synchronously around the world :-)

There is no cost to participate in this event.
And - we'll have refreshments & prizes!!!

The MSLA L.I.T. Forum

2010-01-31T18:49:00.000-08:00

The Manitoba School Library Association would like to invite ManACE members to an exciting professional development event that they are hosting on Monday, Feb. 22 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. At the L.I.T. Forum, they will be teaching participants how to use Skype and Twitter, discussing the benefits of using these social networking tools both on a personal and professional level. They will also be Skyping several members of the school library community from Thompson, Brandon and Boissevain and their provincial executive rep from MTS who lives in The Pas, Manitoba.

The event will be facilitated by your past-president, Andy McKiel, and the president of the MSLA, Jo-Anne Gibson. It is being held at the St. James Professional Development Centre, 150 Moray Street. Admission is $5.00, payable at the door. Anyone wanting to participate should contact pleclerc@retsd.mb.ca to register. Those participating are encouraged to bring a laptop.

LIT%20Forum.pdf

Upcoming TIN - Nov. 17th - Making Connections

2009-11-09T11:57:00.000-08:00

Image: 'Working Together Teamwork Puzzle Concept' - www.flickr.com/photos/22177648@N06/2137737248

The Board of ManACE is pleased to announce that we will be offering a Technology Information Night (TIN) next week, on Tuesday, November 17th.

All educators are welcome to attend this event - you do not need to be a ManACE member to register/participate. For the extremely low price of only $5, you get dinner and three short presentations related to the use of technology in education.

The TIN is scheduled to begin at 5:30 with pizza/salad being served. Presentations will begin at approximately 6:00pm, and the evening should wrap up around 7:30pm.

The focus for the evening will be all about 'making connections'. The presentations will be as follows:

Introduction to Mindstorm NXT
This presentation will highlight how teachers/students can learn about robotics through the use of LEGO Mindstorm NXT. Find out how Mindstorm NXT can enable anyone to build a basic robot. Then discover how the addition of a wide range of sensors can transform this robot into a complex character that is capable of performing a wide range of tasks.

Putting Together The Pieces
This presentation will highlight one of the ways that LEGO Mindstorm NXT has been incorporated into an enriching and motivating classroom experience for students within Manitoba. Furthermore, this presentation will highlight some of the ways that educators can infuse a wide range of technologies to connect:
- the teaching to the learning
- the content to the curriculum
- their students to each other
- their classrooms to the world

Connecting To A Professional Learning Network
This presentation will examine the role of professional learning networks and shed some light on some of the tools that can be used to enable anyone to become an active participant in the networks to which they belong. Twitter is one of the tools that will be highlighted, and participants will learn how to harness the power of Twitter through the use of hashtags, direct messaging and creating Twitter lists.

Next week's ManACE TIN will be held in M.E.C.Y.'s Professional Learning Lab - 1567 Dublin Street. Details regarding parking and entrance to the facility will be sent by e-mail to all registered participants the day before the TIN takes place.

Please register to attend our 'Making Connections' TIN by e-mailing andy@mckiel.ca

We hope to see you there :-)
Andy

Media Literacy Event Registration

2009-10-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

With Media Literacy Week (Nov. 2nd - 6th, 2009) drawing near, we encourage you to find opportunities to get involved.

One way that you can participate is by attending M.E.C.Y. & ManACE's upcoming Media Literacy event, as described in the previous blog post. Although you can participate in this event virtually, we would encourage you to get involved by joining us in person.

If you plan to participate in this live event the evening of November 2nd, please take a moment to complete the following registration form.

We hope to see you there :-)
Andy

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Media Literacy Event - November 2nd, 2009

2009-10-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth (MECY), along with Manitoba Association for Computing Educators (ManACE) are celebrating Media Literacy Week, a national week of focus on Media Literacy in the Digital Age. Media Literacy Week was conceived by the Media Awareness Network and the Canadian Teachers' Federation. This year, the week of November 2-6 has been declared Media Literacy Week and we are celebrating in the following ways:

Media Literacy Event

Purpose: to highlight 'Media Literacy' in classrooms across Manitoba, Canada and around the world, connecting to the ongoing work of Manitoba educators infusing Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum
Co-Developed by: ManACE and Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth
Date: November 2, 2009 7:00 -- 8:30 PM CST The event will be UStream'ed or you can attend in person at the St. James-Assiniboia School Division's Professional Staff Development Centre (PSDC) -- 150 Moray Street (access off of Portage Avenue)
Presentation: Leading Question: Pan Canadian Perspective -- "What does Media Literacy mean to you?"
- A 5 minute 'IGNITE' Presentation format: 20 slides/ 15 seconds per slide/Autoplay similar to the MB Bloggercon and Awakening Possibilities. We have a Pan Canadian panel with a EY/MY/SY, Higher Education perspective including Kathy Cassidy (Gr 1 Teacher, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan), Dr. Alec Couros (Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Regina, Saskatchewan), Ben Hazzard ( Consultant: Assessment & Evaluation K-12, Lambton Kent District School Board, Ontario) and Jacques Cool (New Brunswick Ministry of Education)
Panel Discussion: Manitoba Teachers from across the province.
- Leading Question: Local LwICT Perspective -- "What does media literacy look like in your classroom and how do you make it part of developing your students' Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum?"

Digital Media Production: Students can create videos, digital stories, text, images or any digital media that showcases the different ways they are Media Literate. To get things started, we have created a video (shown below) that is hosted on our YouTube Channel also located at http://drop.io/medialiteracyvideo.

We want your students to view the video and create their own digital representation of media literacy. Students can then upload their video responses or link to their digital artifacts using our YouTube Channel.

Celebrating and Sharing: If you and your students take part in this exposition of student media literacy, we encourage you to promote your activities with local media outlets and draw attention to the critical importance of developing media literacy in the digital age.

We hope you choose to participate in this exciting event with your students and attend the Media Literacy evening either in person or via uStream where everything will be archived.

If you have any questions regarding any aspect of either event, please email john.evans@gov.mb.ca, darren.kuropatwa@gov.mb.ca or rob.fisher@gov.mb.ca.

*Cross posted from the M.E.C.Y.'s new 'Shining Eyes' blog/podcast

ManACE SAG Sessions

2009-10-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

If you're a teacher in Manitoba and you haven't yet registered to attend one of the Special Area Group (SAG) Conferences on October 23rd, please consider registering for one of our ManACE SAG Sessions.

All of our session information is available online, and ManACE is also one of the few SAG groups that offers the convenience of online registration :-)

We're offering a wide range of sessions this year, including digital photography, the use of interactive whiteboards, and Flash action-scripting. Sessions are filling up quickly, so please register early to avoid disappointment!

ManACE SAG Sessions

Stay tuned to the ManACE Memos blog to learn more about an exciting 'postSAG' event taking place in early November - details to be released soon ;-)

Please feel free to leave us a note,
The ManACE Board

MMM Summer Sessions

2009-06-09T06:51:00.000-07:00

If you haven't signed up yet for one of the ManACE-MindSet-Microsoft sessions, please have a look at all of the great sessions that we are offering this year for all educators in the province of Manitoba.

We have a wide variety of one and two day sessions to choose from, focussing on many different aspects of infusing technology into your classroom teaching and learning.

The MMM Summer Sessions are being held in many towns and cities across Southern Manitoba and, for only $25/session, these sessions are extremely affordable :-)

Check out the available dates and sessions...

Diggin' Deeper at the ManACE AGM

2009-05-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Adapted from: 'Hand' http://www.flickr.com/photos/75424716@N00/467231755

Thanks to everyone who participated in the ManACE Annual General Meeting this evening :-)

We had a fantastic AGM with good food, great presentations and some excellent conversations. The evening's presentations were broadcast live over uStream, which enabled us to archive them to share with those who weren't able to attend in person.

The first presenter of the evening was Kevin Hnatiuk from New Media Manitoba. Kevin shared tonnes of amazing resources, including:

Peacemaker - an educational game about conflict in the Middle East
Living Sasquatch - a cool Flash application to control a virtual sasquatch
DiamondTouch - a multi-touch and multi-user work surface
EyeTech - incredible eye-tracking software
EyeTronics - 3D scanning hardware

Check out Kevin's presentation to see all of these tools (and more...) in action:

You may also want to think about registering to attend 'Going From Beat to Tweet', an upcoming New Media Manitoba event being held in Winnipeg on June 25th, 2009...

The second presentation of the evening was 'Mining Our Resources', presented by John Evans and Andy McKiel, which included Skype conversations with Clarence Fisher (aka @glassbeed) and Jarrod Robinson (aka @mrrobbo):

One of the other highlights of the evening was being able to present Clarence Fisher with ManACE's Technology Educator of the Year award for his exemplary use of technology.

On behalf of the ManACE Board, I'd like to thank all of our members for your interest in participating in ongoing professional learning opportunities.

Please feel free to leave us a note,
Andy
BTW, don't forget to check out our list of Summer Sessions that will be offered in July & August - registration is now open :-)

The AGM - Please Join Us :-)

2009-05-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

Image: 'Invitation' - http://www.flickr.com/photos/11121785@N00/140042679

The ManACE Annual General Meeting (AGM) is taking place next Thursday evening, May 21st. Everyone is welcome to attend this event, which will be held at 150 Moray Street in Winnipeg.
Please register to attend the ManACE AGM by e-mailing andy@mckiel.ca

We'd love to see many of our members there, and we've got lots of reasons why you should attend:
- free dinner and refreshments
- networking with other educators
- great professional learning opportunities
- presentation of ManACE awards
- election of officers & directors

Our AGM will follow the format of our Technology Information Nights (TIN's). We'll gather at 5:30 p.m. for dinner, then we'll have a couple of 20-30 minute presentations that highlight interesting and innovative technology use.

The first presentation will feature Kevin Hnatiuk, from New Media Manitoba, who has many exciting tools and toys to share. The second presentation will be a continuation of our recent 'Windows To The World' event, where we'll Skype in some leaders from the field, and uStream out this portion of the evening so that we can foster virtual participation from a global audience.

If you're not on the list yet to attend our AGM, please register as soon as possible so that we can plan the food and refreshments accordingly - just e-mail andy@mckiel.ca

We hope to see you next week at our AGM :-)
Andy

Another One For The Books... #wttw

2009-04-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

Wow, we had a great time the other night! It was nice to have an opportunity to chat with others in the room, and it was exciting to be able to bring so many talented educators into the room virtually from around the world. some of our online participants came from as far away as the UK and Australia :-)

One of the first things that took place during this event was the creation of a wiki (thanks, @charbeck) to record the Twitter usernames of a few Manitoba educators - http://mbteacherswhotweet.wikispaces.com/ - if you're in Manitoba and on Twitter, please add yourself to the list :-)

You can catch many of the evening's festivities by watching our Windows To The World uStream recording here:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1388826

Many thanks go out to everyone who participated in this unique event...

We'd love your feedback about this event, so that we can continue to provide quality professional learning opportunities for educators around the province, and around the world :-)

Please feel free to leave us a note,
Andy

Opening up the Windows (to the World)

2009-04-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

ManACE's next event, Windows To The World, is just around the corner. If you're not already signed up to attend this event in person, please register soon by e-mailing me: andy@mckiel.ca

If you're planning to attend Windows To The World, you're in for a treat! You'll have an opportunity to network with the people in the room, and then we'll be inviting guests in virtually so that we can connect with a few members of our professional learning networks, including Ryan Maksymchuk, Rodd Lucier, Liz Kolb and Ben Hazzard.

While we'd like to get as many people participating face-to-face as we can, we're also encouraging the participation of our online audience at this event. The backchannel will be coming to the forefront for this unique event.

Windows To The World will be broadcast out to virtual participants through uStream at the following URL:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/windows-to-the-world

In addition, Twitter users are asked to tag their tweets with #wttw so that we can monitor backchannel conversations.

Please join ManACE for Windows To The World :-)
April 15th
7-9pm CST

Windows To The World - An open invitation...

2009-03-20T07:07:00.000-07:00

Adapted from: 'BCE Toronto' - http://www.flickr.com/photos/7578081@N07/2409088184

Over the last couple of years, ManACE has organized a variety of forward thinking events. You may have participated in 2007's Manitoba Edubloggercon. Or you may have heard about the innovative approach that we took with presenting 2008's Awakening Possibilities. These events were all about bringing together educators from around the province of Manitoba (and around the world) to showcase some of the many talents that exist in the vast region of Canada where we are situated.

Enter 'Windows To The World'. This event aims to throw the windows open a little wider in an effort to connect with more people in even more meaningful ways. Windows To The World will provide a greater opportunity for face to face networking with educators from around the province. For participants in the room, there will be opportunities to connect and collaborate with the other like-minded educators who are in attendance.

In addition to bringing people together, we'll turn our own walls into windows by sharing what we're doing with other educators from around the world. Using a variety of video conferencing tools and techniques, many distinguished guests will join us throughout the evening. We will have an opportunity to ask questions, highlight successful collaborative projects and connect with our own circle of experts by showcasing the benefits of being a connected learner. We will also broadcast the live video feed from this event out to our global audience, to facilitate increased virtual participation.
If you plan to be in or around Manitoba the evening of April 15th, we hope that you'll consider joining us in person for 'Windows To The World'. If you'll be in another province, country or continent, we hope that you'll join us online for this event to help us demonstrate the power of networked learning.

There is no cost to participate in Windows To The World. Everyone is welcome to attend, and refreshments will be provided for participants in this event. Virtual participants --> BYOB :-)

Register to attend this event in person by emailing: andy@mckiel.ca

Please help ManACE spread the word about Windows To The World by posting, printing and sharing this open invitation:

WindowsToTheWorld.pdf

We look forward to having you join us for Windows To The World :-)

As always, please feel free to leave us a note,
Andy

Another Page in The Book

2009-03-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who came out last week for another very successful ManACE TIN!
And a special thanks to all of our presenters!

Phil Taylor demonstrated the many ways that he's been using Diigo to further develop his own personal learning network. Not only does he love Diigo's ability to share bookmarks with other educators, he regularly annotates websites to share information with his students and he subscribes to many different groups within Diigo to ensure that relevent web content is dropped off in his mailbox on a daily basis :-)

Shawn Kleebaum demonstrated Google Apps, and showcased how his school has been using many of the applications that Google offers free for educators. Not only did he share some great content about Google Apps, but his presentation was delivered using Prezi, a new online presentation tool that is currently accepting beta testers. If you haven't yet had the opportunity to experience Prezi, you should check out their site and consider subscribing for your own account.

The final presenter of the evening was Steve Dudar, who shared MARVIN. Steve demonstrated some of the many ways that MARVIN avatars can be programmed to add a variety of media to any desktop application. MARVIN utilizes a simple scripting language, so that users of all ages can easily adapt their avatars' voices and languages. If you're interested in finding out more about getting started with MARVIN, stay tuned to this blog to find out more upcoming training events...

To cap off the evening, Andy McKiel offered a quick demonstration of GE's Smart Grid. If you haven't yet seen the Smart Grid in action, you should check it out :-)

We're almost ready to release the details of our next event, 'Windows To The World'. This event will be a follow-up to the 2007 Manitoba Edubloggercon and 2008's Awakening Possibilities. Mark your calendar for the evening of April 15th, as this is one event you won't want to miss. Also, if you're not already subscribed to the ManACE blog, simply click the link below the ClustrMap on the right to make sure that you get updates about future ManACE events :-)

Please feel free to leave us a note,
Andy

ManACE March TIN: The Next Steps...

2009-02-23T08:27:00.000-08:00

Please join us on March 11th, 2009:
3 sessions + dinner = $5
Why not?

Diigo - Develop / Expand your PLN
Presented by: Phil Taylor
Did you miss 'Getting Connected' at the end of January? John Evans & Andy McKiel, hosted a wonderful hands-on session on two social networking tools, Twitter & Diigo. This TIN session will explore some of the powerful features of Diigo from a new user perspective. Diigo is an exciting social bookmarking tool to develop/expand your presonal learning network. Diigo offers two services in one: a research and collaborative research, and a knowledge tool with a focus on sharing community and social content.

Google Apps Education Edition
Presented by: Shawn Kleebaum
Ask not what you can do for Google but what Google Apps can do for you! Google Apps Education Edition offers free communication, collaboration and publishing tools, including email accounts on your school's domain. Google Apps Education Edition includes Start Page, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Sites, and Google Docs. You can select any combination of the available tools and services and customise them with your school's logo, colour scheme and content. Manage your users through a web-based control panel. Best of all, it's all hosted by Google, so there's no hardware or software to download, install or maintain. This session will demonstrate the benefits of getting started with Google Apps Education Edition.

MARVIN - Bringing Your Stories To Life
Presented by: Steve Dudar
Marvin is an award winning training, education and presentation authoring application using 3D Avatars to communicate important information and stories to audiences. Marvin uses a multi-sensory approach, integrating real voice, computer generated voice, written text, images, video and PowerPoint presentations to quickly create presentations that reflect cultural, lingual and social attributes of the audience. This demonstration will show how easy it is to create basic Marvin scripts, change the language and the character in order to customize the message for the audience.

When?
Wednesday, March 11th @ 5:30 p.m.

Where?
Ecole Robert H. Smith
315 Oak Street, Winnipeg
*click here for the location and directions*

Cost?
$5.00, to cover the cost of dinner (pizza and salad)

How do I register?
E-mail: andy@mckiel.ca
*please register ASAP so that we can plan accordingly*

We hope to see you at our upcoming TIN :-)

Upcoming Events...

2009-02-20T06:52:00.000-08:00

It's a busy time of the year, with many technology workshops and conferences taking place across the province. We're just a week away from Minnedosa's annual BYTE Conference, and there are several other major conferences on the horizon, including Riding The Wave (in Gimli) and the MaDLAT Conference (in Winnipeg).

ManACE is pleased to offer a host of workshops and sessions throughout the next few months. Mark your calendars for our next Winnipeg TIN, taking place the evening of March 11th. Details about the presentations will follow before the end of February. ManACE is also planning to host a second March TIN in Brandon. Details will be posted here to the blog and distributed through the ManACE mailing list when available. If you're not currently subscribed to our mailing list, you can sign up for our mailing list now :-)

Thanks to the positive response to our 'Getting Connected' event held at the end of January, ManACE is planning a series of follow-up events to assist Manitoba educators with continuing the journey of getting connected with their own professional learning networks. Participants in our January 29th event found the focused play time with Twitter and Diigo to be very useful in beginning the journey to get connected to like-minded educators. Visit the wiki that was used for our session to access some of the resources that were shared.

Another opportunity worth noting is the upcoming 'Game On Manitoba' conference. Click on the following link to view and share a .pdf with details of this event:

Game%3Dbased%20Learning%20and%20Simulations.pdf

Lastly, the Board of ManACE is working toward offering several 'Winter Workshops' (...or Spring Workshops) this year. If you have any suggestions for topics that you'd like to see included, please feel free to share them through comments to this blog post :-)

Feel free to leave us a note,
Andy

'Getting Connected'

2009-01-19T18:28:00.000-08:00

Photo credit - Get Connected - http://franksblog.edublogs.org/2009/01/16/get-connected/

Getting Connected

What does it mean to have your own professional learning network?
How can you start building your own circle of experts?
Find out what it takes by 'Getting Connected'...

Getting Connected takes place 6:30pm - 7:30pm on January 29th in M.E.C.Y.'s Professional Learning Lab (1567 Dublin, Winnipeg).

Your hosts, John Evans & Andy McKiel, will show you how easy it is to get connected with other like-minded educators. Participants will be introduced to two social networking tools (Twitter & Diigo) that will help you get connected. There is no cost to attend this event, but registration is limited to 30 participants. Everyone who participates is guaranteed to get connected.

Please register early to avoid disappointment.

E-mail andy@mckiel.ca to register...

Fun & Games @ our January TIN

2009-01-15T07:31:00.000-08:00

Created with the Big Huge Labs' Motivational Poster Flickr Toy...

Image: 'Alan and Susanna' - www.flickr.com/photos/71401076@N00/3101300945

On behalf of the ManACE Board, I'd like to thank all those educators who participated in our recent Technology Information Night (TIN) held in M.E.C.Y.'s Professional Learning Lab. We appreciate your willingness to brave such extreme elements for the opportunity to share ideas and resources with like-minded educators from around the province.

And the pizza was good, too :-)

Over the last couple of years, ManACE has been looking at ways that we can find a larger audience for professional learning opportunities we provide. One result of this is that we've begun to archive content from our TIN presentations so that those who aren't able to attend in person can still review some of the relevent information. Please visit the 'Technology Nights' page on the ManACE website to find out what you've missed from previous TIN events...

In addition to sharing these resources, we'd like to make some content available through the ManACE Memos blog as well. So, feel free to click on the link below to view a click-able slide show from my 'Into The Atmosphir' presentation about the role of video games in the classroom:

Into The Atmosphir
(BTW, you can right click this link to download and share the slideshow)

For more information about the 'Girls in Gaming' program that was shared by Reyn Redekopp, check out the Girls in Gaming blog.

And if you're looking for a variety of tools that your students can use to manipulate digital images to create content, check out the Flickr Toys & More page of John Evans' wiki for examples and links to all of the resources that he shared during his hands-on presentation.

If you missed this Winnipeg TIN, mark your calendars for the next Winnipeg TIN event, taking place the evening of Wednesday, March 13th, 2009. More details will follow in the coming weeks.

Lastly, mark your calendars for January 29th. Within the next couple of days, you can check back here to find details of our next ManACE sponsored event - Getting Connected...

Please feel free to leave us a note :-)
Andy

January 13th TIN: Fun & Games

2009-01-06T01:10:00.000-08:00

ManACE TIN Night: Fun & Games
Please join us on January 13th, 2009:
3 sessions + dinner = $5
Why not?

Girls In Gaming
Presented by: Reyn Redekopp
Girls in Gaming is currently a Technical-Vocational Demonstration Project designed to inform girls about the gaming and new media careers in Manitoba (and beyond). It grew out of a MindSet project and now incorporates both a rural and Winnipeg component. Schools are invited to send teams of up to five girls to the sessions which include art, story, game design and programming. Currently we have twelve schools and approximately 40 girls involved and have received great support from the new media community in Manitoba.

Into The Atmosphir
Presented by: Andy McKiel
There is a growing body of research that merits the use of video games in the classroom. This session will highlight some of the ways that educators are using video games to engage their students. Playing video games nurtures critical thinking and problem-solving skills in your students. However, designing video and sharing games is an excellent way to encourage collaboration and communication among students. Find out how you can take advantage of Atmosphir in your classroom. This free and easy video game design platform will have your students instantly hooked on designing their own unique video games.

Flickr Toys & More
Presented by: John Evans
This hands-on session will walk participants through a number of engaging activities that can be used to create original content with digital photographs. Many teachers are beginning to embrace different forms of digital storytelling, and this session will introduce many creative and simple ways that you and your students can share your stories through photo activities. If you're looking for original ways to publish some of the photos captured in your classroom, you won't want to miss this session!

When?
Tuesday, January 13th @ 5:30 p.m.

Where?
Manitoba Education Citizenship & Youth
1567 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg
Professional Learning Lab
*information about parking will be e-mailed to registered participants on Monday, January 12th*

Cost?
$5.00, to cover the cost of dinner (pizza and salad)

How do I register?
E-mail: andy@mckiel.ca
*please register ASAP so that we can plan accordingly*

We hope to see you at our upcoming TIN :-)

Something Uplifting - post SAG

2008-12-08T12:15:00.000-08:00

Image: 'Thank You!' - www.flickr.com/photos/37183619@N00/1574355646

Thanks to all educators around the province of Manitoba who chose to participate in a ManACE SAG session on November 28th, 2008. We trust that you attended an interesting and informative session, and that you walked away with new knowledge and resources to utilize in your own classrooms.

Thanks, also, to those who attended 'Awakening Possibilities' the evening before SAG. Interestingly enough, the virtual participation at this event outnumbered face to face participation by about 2-1. What does that say about the increasing role of technology in education today? A special thanks again to all of our many presenters, each of whom challenged us to open our eyes to the possibilities that currently exist. Each of the presentations from the Awakening Possibilities event has been archived and all presentations can be viewed on this page of the wiki: The Archives

Now that SAG 2008 has come and gone, ManACE is preparing to offer several Winter Workshops for our members. If you have any suggestions or recommendations for possible ManACE Winter Workshops, please feel free to leave us a comment :-)

Thanks,
The ManACE Board

preSAG @ Red River College - Princess Campus

2008-11-21T19:45:00.000-08:00

The location of 'Awakening Possibilities', our 2008 preSAG event, has finally been confirmed.

We hope to see you next Thursday evening in Room P107 at Red River College's Princess Street Campus.

Come and learn about the benefits of blogging, featuring both live presentations (Clarence Fisher, John Evans, Chris Harbeck and Darren Kuropatwa) and virtual presentations (Kathy Cassidy, Alec Couros, Dean Shareski and Jeff Utecht).

'Awakening Possibilities' is a free event and everyone is welcome to attend. Please register soon so that we can plan the food/refreshments accordingly. There will also be a cash bar available during the event.

The following .pdf contains all of the details about registering for this year's preSAG event:

Awakening%20Possibilities.pdf

We hope to see you there,
Andy McKiel
ManACE Board Chair

'Awakening Possibilities'

2008-11-16T17:27:00.000-08:00

It's almost here :-)

Click on the following picture to find out more about 'Awakening Possibilities'...

If you'll be near Winnipeg on November 27th, the evening before the 2008 SAG Conferences, we invite you to join us in person for 'Awakening Possibilities'. This unique event will feature many short presentations by leading edubloggers from around the province, and around the world. While some presentations will be delivered in person at the event, other presenters will join us virtually.

More information can be found at the 'Awakening Possibilities' wiki.

Please help us to spread the word about this year's preSAG event by sending the following .pdf to everyone you know who may be interested in this event :-) There is no cost to attend, and everyone is welcome...

Awakening%20Possibilities.pdf

To register, please e-mail Andy McKiel: andy@mckiel.ca

We hope to see you there :-)

Feel free to leave us a note,
ManACE

Morphing the MB Edubloggercon

2008-11-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

ManACE is offering a full slate of presentations at the upcoming Manitoba Teacher's Society SAG (Special Area Group) Day. If you are a Manitoba teacher and you haven't signed up to attend any SAG sessions yet, you may want to consider registering online for one of the many sessions being offered by ManACE.

ManACE traditionally hosts a preSAG social event to provide an opportunity for like-minded educators to network and share their innovative and creative ideas. Last year's ManACE preSAG event, the Manitoba Edubloggercon, proved what can happen when many curious minds come together in this manner. All of the presentations from last year's MB Edubloggercon are still archived and available for viewing through uStream.

Last fall, the MB Edubloggercon created quite a buzz across the blogosphere and we look forward to morphing the concept behind this event into something equally innovative on November 27th, 2008. Stay tuned for more details, or leave us a comment to influence the content and/or format of this event :-)

Feel free to leave us a note...
ManACE

Introducing ManACE Memos

2008-10-29T16:24:00.001-07:00

We, the ManACE Board of Directors, have decided to take the plunge and establish a ManACE blog.

Our goal at ManACE is to provide you, our members, with quality professional learning opportunities in the area of technology instruction and integration.

Through this blog, we'll be able to share interesting and innovative uses of technology. More importantly, we're enabling you, our membership, to provide us with feedback and suggestions so that we can successfully accomplish our mission.

On that note, welcome to the ManACE Memos blog :-)

Feel free to leave us a note...
ManACE