You’ve Got a Friend In Me- Grade 9’s Sharing Ideas around Friendship Skills With Our Grade 6 Students

Do You Have a Story of Worthiness? Authors wanted.

Are you ready to be inspired by the stories of women around the world who have discovered their own worthiness? Look no further than the I am Worthy book project!

The objective of this project is simple: to remind everyone that they are innately worthy, even if they don’t always believe it. Through the inspiring stories of 30 women from all corners of the globe, this book aims to help women believe in themselves and recognize their own worthiness.

Taking a Tour of BEARDY’S AND OKEMASIS CREE NATION

Yesterday I had the privilege of touring Beardy High School on the Beardy and Okemasis Cree Nation.

BEARDY’S AND OKEMASIS CREE NATION BVideo2  BVideo3

I was completely overcome with the beauty of this magnificent location, 45 minutes north of Saskatoon Saskatchewan

Right as Rain

The acronym RAIN is an easy-to-remember tool for practicing mindfulness and compassion using the following four steps:

Recognize what is happening;
Allow the experience to be there, just as it is;
Investigate with interest and care;
Nurture with self-compassion.

On the eve of #etmooc2

I am so excited that our dream has almost come to fruition. Tomorrow we are starting our 4 weeks of playing with AI. As of this evening we will be welcoming 212 delegates from all over the world

What type of bird are you?

Birds can teach you about your communication patterns.

STEM and Me

Technology is a part of my Life Long Learning Journey
– Starting my Butterfly Effect

Life Long Learning- 308.5 (official) hours of PD since getting my Masters in Counselling Psychology (2007)

I knew I was a life long learner… but reviewing my transcript of all I’ve done (officially) since getting my Masters in 2007 makes me smile. Over 308 hours of post graduate pd

Walking Along Side my Graduate

It takes a village to raise our graduate

Dr. Alec Couros- continues to inspire me

 

January 14, 2014

To Whom It May Concern:

 

As a former student participant in #Etmooc2013 I would love to nominate Dr. Alec Couros for the Teaching Award of Excellence for Flexible Learning. I joined #Etmooc in January 2013 as a relative rookie to the field of educational technology. As a high school counsellor from Calgary, I had no formal training related to educational technology but had wanted to learn how to connect with my students in a meaningful manner. I was very nervous to jump into a world I had never known, and wasn’t sure if I belonged. Thankfully I entered an environment where we were encouraged to ask questions. We could go back and review videos, Google Hangouts, Blackboard Collaborate sessions and Open Source course notes as often as we wanted and on our own time lines. This helped individuals like myself who were full time professionals and parents, explore their new environment on their own terms. Dr. Couros and the rest of this team had a very approachable demeanor which was always patient. The key phrase was “take what you need, when you need it”.

 

 

They say that a manager directs and a leader encourages those around them to stretch their wings and become all that they can be. By this definition I would definitely say that Dr. Alec Couros is a true leader. Dr. Couros encourages all of his students to take what they learn from the experiences he facilitates online and go out into their worlds and apply their skills. Since the end of #Etmooc I have continued to connect with my colleagues through a number of off-shoot projects which developed based on connections I made through #Etmooc. First I am a regular vlogger for the Fellowship of the Openspokes https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/116395158372553895482 . A community of vloggers from around the world who ask questions and offer support to each other around teaching and learning.
Second I was involved in the planning committee for another cmooc the Open Online Experience OOE13 https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/102207059956192791361 This project was inspired by #Etmooc with many of the participants being both former students and professionals recommend by Dr Corous.
Finally we, the students of #Etmooc, have maintained an active Post #Etmooc community https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/111431081834171225314 which has continued to connect through twitter chats, hash tags, Google + and Google Hangouts. We organize both twitter chats and Google Hangouts to continue to maintain and facilitate the personal connections that Dr. Couros modeled were so critical to educators during our #Etmooc experience.

 

My connections with Dr. Couros continue to impact my career. This year I have taken a position as an English teacher and coordinator of international relations in Tarui, Japan. The PLN (professional learning network) that I developed under Dr. Couros’ tutelage, continues to provide me with support and suggestions on the other side of the world. I am truly grateful that I was able to learn the skills to connect online before my move as I can not image how much more isolated I would feel without them.

 

Dr. Alec Couros is a leader, a visionary and a role model. I am truly honored to have participated in one of his courses and I feel that he has demonstrated exemplary skill in providing flexible learning.

 

Sincerely,

 

Erin Luong