1. Innovate, Collaborate,
Transform
with Learning Connections

2. Wet your APPetite with APPS
Polleverywhere
 Simple online voting APPlication to see live results
 Vote by text, Twitter or web
Nearpod
 Interactive multimedia presentations on mobile devices
 Please download Nearpod APP from your APP Store (iOS
and Android)
Reflector APP
 Wirelessly mirror your iDevice to your screen through
any computer

3. Where to find me:
Twitter: #canedu13
 Follow me: @adrossis

Wiki Spaces:
 http://adrossis.wikispaces.com/

Resources for this presentation:
 http://adrossis.wikispaces.com/E
COO+2013


4. Polleverywhere.com

5. Polleverywhere.com

6. What is Learning Connections?
Learning Connections (LC) is:
 Funded by a grant from the Ontario Ministry of
Education, Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat
 An online community driven by the collaboration of
school districts called District Champions
District Champions
 Align their involvement with their district level plans
 Engage in sharing and collaborations with other district
champions
 Build capacity within their district with support from LC

7. Who is involved?

8. Blended Approach to
Professional Learning
“Student learning
depends on every
teacher learning
all the time.”
(Fullan, 2007,
p. 35)

9. Nearpod Demonstration
If you downloaded the Nearpod APP:
 Open the app on your device
 Click on “Student” then enter PIN: DMJHY
Using a browser on a computer:
 Go to the website: http://www.nearpod.com/
 Click on “Join Session” at top right and enter PIN: DMJHY

10. Blended Approach to
Professional Learning
Personalized Learning
 Learning Online
 Educational Speakers
Collaboration and Learning
 Online Book Studies
 Pilot Applications
 Twitter APPdates
21st Century Leadership
 ABEL Leadership Round Table
 Leadership Summit: APP That!
http://plp.abel.yorku.ca

11. Personalized Learning
Learning Online – gain some APPtitude
 Scheduled Learning included:
Use Evernote Everywhere
 Collaborate in Google


OnDemand Learning included:

Google Drive, WordPress, Moodle…
Educational Speakers – APPsolute must see!
 Variety of videos available
 Learn about exemplary practices
presented by experts in their field

12. Collaboration and Learning
Online Book Studies
 Math Expressions
3 online asynchronous meetings
 Online activities and discussions

Pilot Applications
 Review and pilot new applications
 Coming soon
Twitter APPdates
 Note-taking
 Cloud Storage
 Capture Student Thinking

13. 21st Century Leadership
ABEL Leadership Round Table
 Topics for discussion included:
Collaborate and Share with Apps
 App That!
 Are you Online?

Leadership Summit 2014: APP That!
 Planning for 2 days at York U
 Leaders in Education

14. Building Community and
Sharing Best Practice
“Connected learning communities
are designed to support the
professional development goals
their members have chosen to
improve instruction and
subsequently bring about increased
growth and achievement for the
21st century learner.” (NussbaumBeach & Ritter Hall, 2012, p. 38)

15. Building Community and
Sharing Best Practice
Face-to-face
at York University
 Two conferences
Websites
 Access to the tools, resources and professional learning
 Share, collaborate and learn from each other
Monthly Online Meetings
 Synchronous to share, collaborate, and build community

16. Face-to-Face at York U
Fall LC District Champion Conference
 38 participants from 11 school districts and Ministry
 Meet and greet to promote collaboration
 2 opportunities for hands-on sessions
 Planning time
Spring LC District Champion Conference
 Coming May, 2014
 Time to share work done throughout the year
 Planning time for 2014-2015 year

17. Websites
LC hosts two websites for members to access:
http://www.learningconnections.on.ca/
 Access to the tools and resources
 Link to professional learning site:
http://plp.abel.yorku.ca/
http://lcchampions.abel.yorku.ca/
 Share projects, ask questions
 Learn from each other

18. Monthly On-line Meetings
Representatives from Champion Districts meet online
 Provide information regarding upcoming professional
learning
 Champions provide feedback to program office about
their needs
 Planning time for LC events
Sharing of best practices
 Each month 1-2 districts take 15 minutes to share
 Opportunity to ask questions and collaborate

19. Cross-District Projects
New this year!
 Proposals for projects with multiple districts
 Collaboration between LC Champions across Ontario
 Projects to promote the improvement of literacy and/or
numeracy instruction with the integration of technology
 Educators and students benefit from the cross district
collaboration

20. District iPad Minis
Collaborative project for LC Champions
 Capture district LC story through media and
sharing
 Photos and short video of district LC events
 Capture short interviews or reflections
 ABEL videographers to produce video for each
district
Learn to manage iDevices at a distance
 How to add apps
 How to share and collaborate
 How to engage teachers using iPads

21. Sample LC Projects
“The integration of technology
and pedagogy to maximize
learning must meet four
criteria. It must be irresistibly
engaging; elegantly efficient
(challenging but easy to use);
technologically ubiquitous; and
steeped in real-life problem
solving.” (Fullan, 2013, p. 33)
http://lcchampions.abel.yorku.ca/

22. Reflector App

https://www.reflectorapp.com/
Cool features:
 You don’t need an Apple TV to project
your iDevice
 You can project multiple devices
 Inexpensive
 Cautions:
 Use the trial version to check if it
works on your network


23. Rainbow DSB
Integrate inquiry-based learning with literacy in
the grade 7-8 science classroom
 Based on Professional Learning Cycle using literacy
strategies from: “Adolescent Literacy Guide”
 Co-planning among teachers from different
schools


24. Near North DSB
Professional learning for teachers for literacy and
numeracy instruction using D2L
 Coaching model to build capacity
 Plan and share their learning in an LC course in D2L


25. Simcoe County DSB
Educators learn in their area Hubs through
collaborative inquiry
 Teachers propose inquiry projects to include several
schools to obtain release time and support
 Professional learning and sharing based on their
project


26. Limestone DSB
Continue building on student understanding of
accountable talk
 Teaching and learning mathematics through
problem solving and math processes
 Professional learning throughout the year
 Create LC community in LDSB


27. Ottawa Catholic DSB
Support tools to capture conversations, observations
and product
 Core LC teachers to host job-embedded classroom
observational sites for other teachers
 Professional learning to build capacity


28. Research in LC
Partnered with Institute for Research in
Learning Technologies, York University
 research and evaluates the work of the
program
 2011-2012: Learning Connections: Project
Year End Report
 2012-2013: Learning Connection:
Developing Skills for the 21st Century
 2013-2014: To be determined


29. Research for Improvement
2011-2012: LC Project Year End Report
 Changed format of monthly meetings to highlight 1-2
districts
 Provided comprehensive online space for sharing and
collaboration: http://lcchampions.abel.yorku.ca/
 Continued to provide two face to face conferences:
“Continue to provide the two face-to-face sessions. They
really help to build capacity and collaboration across
boards in Ontario. We really appreciate and look forward
to those opportunities to meet and share with others.”
(Wideman, 2012, p. 13)

30. st Century
Research for 21
Learning
2012-2013: LC - Developing Skills for the 21st Century
 Provide a framework to align LC project proposals with
21st century learning skills
 Case study of 2 districts
 Preliminary review of past proposals:
“Most projects explicitly incorporated inquiry, expository,
communicative, and collaborative skill dimensions in their
pedagogical design and classroom implementations, and
all made use of ICT in ways that required students to apply
(and further develop) important ICT literacy skills.”
(Wideman, 2013, p. 34)

31. For more information
Learning
Connectionshttp://learningconnections.on.ca/
LC Collaboration
http://lcchampions.abel.yorku.ca/
ABEL Program site http://abelearn.ca/

32. Resources





Wideman, H. (2012). Learning connections: Project year-end report
2011-2012. Toronto, ON: Institute for Research on Learning
Technologies, York University.
Wideman, H. (2013). Learning connections: Developing skills for the
21st century. Toronto, ON: Institute for Research on Learning
Technologies, York University.
Nussbaum-Beach, S., & Ritter Hall, L. (2012). The Connected
Educator: Learning and leading in a digital age. Bloomington, IN:
Solution Tree Press.
Fullan, M. (2013). Stratosphere: Integrating technology, pedagogy,
and change knowledge. Toronto: Pearson Canada Inc.
Fullan, M. (2007). Change the terms for teacher learning. JSD The
Learning Forward Journal, 28(3), 35-36. Retrieved from
http://www.michaelfullan.ca/media/13396074650.pdf

33. Thank you!
Anita