LEARN Podcasts

Scott DeJong is a PhD student in Communication studies at Concordia University examining serious play, web literacy and digital cultures. I recently caught up with Scott to discuss the difference between gamification and game-based learning, the power of gaming in education, social justice games and how to get started with making classrooms more engaging through playing games. Not only does Scott...

Educational strategist Ron Canuel joined ShiftED podcasts for an intriguing conversation on technology integration into school systems. Ron’s 44 year perspective is rich in experiences, practices and strategies to better engage students throughout their learning journey. With insight into many edtech initiatives, Ron’s words ring true today as much as they did 40 years ago; technology as a tool fo...

On the latest instalment of ShiftED Podcasts we had the great fortune to talk with Eric Rosenbaum, director from the Scratch Lab. A Lifelong Kindergarten alumni, Eric has been with Scratch from the get go, developing creative tools for learning. Not only is Eric a lifelong tinkerer, he worked with Jay Silver on perhaps one of the most inventive tools in education today, the Makey Makey. As Eric jo...

Lance Eaton, a writer, educator, instructional designer, educational and social media consultant in Providence, Rhode Island. Lance joined ShiftED to discuss A.I. as a tipping point in education. We hope you enjoy our conversation about education and the future with A.I. Checkout his blog https://www.lanceeaton.com

Teachers and artists talk about their experiences leading the spoken word poetry process with students. It’s an inspiring discussion that covers tips and techniques for “teaching” spoken word poetry, but also emphasizes the benefits of fostering creative expression in schools. Spoken Word Round Table Show Notes Episode features the voices of: Deanna Smith Jason Selman Liana Cusmano Resources LEARN...

I throughly enjoyed talking with one of my mentors, author, educator, maker, programmer, musician Gary Stager. I have been following Gary for well over two decades, so it is such a treat to talk with him again and be able to ask him anything. We chatted about tennis, music, integration of technology, his early memories of programming logo. Plus all the amazing educators he brings to his summer con...

Digital Moments Our Approach: We are catalyzing change makers through immersive and engaging experiences where young people can learn digital skills such as coding, algorithm and data literacy, and artificial intelligence to have a social impact. https://digitalmoment.org https://kidscodejeunesse.org Check them out!

At this year's installation of the LCEEQ provincial conference we had the great pleasure of listening to Chief Innovation Evangelist, and Future of Education Strategist Dwyane Matthews. His talk was so compelling and dare I say timely, where he asked a poignant yet simple question, "Are we preparing students for 2019 or 2030? " Many recent points of inflection have been propelling t...

In between professional development sessions with Quebec educators, Peter Liljedahl carved out some time to chat about his amazing book “Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics”. A thoughtful conversation about how to engage more learners into really thinking about math. Our conversation journeyed back in time to some of Peter’s earliest memories about school and learning math (spoiler alert-...

Just before the holidays I had the great privilege of sitting down with educator, author and outdoor learning expert Juliet Robertson for a wonderful chat about her journey into outdoor learning and play. We discussed her own experiences as a teacher, along with activities designed to get children involved in hands-on learning. We also covered topics such as the importance of play and the outdoors...

Follow Cindy @ https://www.curiousneuron.com On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/curious_neuron/  

In the latest ShiftED podcast #15 I spoke with Ian Shanahan, editor and chief at Green Teacher. We discussed leveraging OutdoorEd, inquiry based learning and student agency. Please find out more at https://greenteacher.com And be sure to signup to their newsletter, so many rich ideas on integrating outdoor learning into your subject areas and cross-curriculars. Stay Connected https://twitter.com/G...

THE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT (CEBM) ​As a support to the 10 English School Boards of Quebec, the CEBM aims to enable boards and their staff to find developmentally friendly and trauma informed interventions that are effective in helping students who are struggling with behavioural challenges in the school setting.​ Visit https://www.cebm.ca

I speak with Nathan Gage from James Ling High School (EMSB) who discusses his project: Walk a Mile in my Shoes 2. The project was an evolution of a previous project where donated shoes were upgraded with art. This year, they brought in a filmmaker to help the students make great videos! You can find traces of James Lyng projects and original music on Up Next Recordings (https://www.upnextrecording...

In the most recent ShiftED podcast I had the great privilege of talking with preschool educator/consultant Katherine Divolis, currently working as Conseillère en éducation préscolaire, at Ministère de l'Éducation et de l'Enseignement Supérieur du Québec (MEQ). We had a rich conversation about the newly revised preschool program that was just launched in the last school year which is curr...

LEARN had the privilege of talking with Brian Silverman and Artemis Papert recently, about programming in our Quebec schools. Being the first episode of this school year, I wanted to have a casual conversation about how education is shifting more and more towards computation and programming/coding. Brain and Artemis have been exploring computers in education for the better part of their lives, dev...

In Dec 2020, students in Stephanie Jonker’s grade 5/6 class were asked to look around and identify an authentic community need. Since this was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, what they saw were so many blue disposable masks being thrown away, or littering the ground.  Using a grant from LEARN’s I Belong project, they decided to TAKE ACTION. Ms. Jonker and the students followed a Community...

During this episode of ShiftED I caught up with Dr. Sheryl Smith-Gilman of McGill University's education department to touch base on how our future educators were dealing with their pre-service schooling during a pandemic. Our intriguing conversation revolved around the changing educational landscape in Quebec, dealing with online learning and teaching, and the new pre-school program that was...

The Bloomer Report is hosted by Ben Loomer and showcases conversations with teachers working in English Schools across Quebec. Featured educators are leading projects that engage their students and their results need to be shared widely. The hope is that others will be inspired to replicate these projects in their own school and community.   A conversation with Maria Raskin, an English Language Ar...

ShiftED Podcast is back with two outstanding elementary math consultants from English Montreal School board: Aliya Somani and Shana Rowen. Our conversation is all about math, the pandemic, and re-understanding the purpose of math. Check out our blog which has the transcript for the episode as well as other articles written by the host, Chris Colley! This episode originally aired on February 25, 20...

This month, ShiftED is joined by Cycle 1 educators Stephanie Gordon and Alexie Csipak of the semi-private Vanguard School , whose mission is to "help students with severe learning disabilities by offering them the resources that will enable them to learn and to experience academic success." This episode originally aired on December 7, 2020

For this episode of the ShiftED podcast I met up with Eastern Shores School Board’s Math and Science consultant Zak Likely to discuss how our most eastern English school board is coping with the ever-changing reality of a Covid-19 world. Zak and I discuss the evolving educational practices that have surfaced since Spring 2020, such as rich tasks in math, strategies for engaging online learners and...

Today, I had the chance of catching up with the Assistant Director General of the Lester B. Pearson School Board, Tom Rhymes, regarding how his board has been adapting to our new "normal." His wonderful reflections are both inspiring and reassuring. Our future educational system is chock-full of creativity and humanity, as Tom eloquently puts it, this is "Education's finest mom...

LEARN caught up with Russell Dennis of the Western Quebec School Board to discuss how a small school in northern Quebec has fared during the pandemic. Russell teaches cycle 3 elementary out of Dr. Wilbert Keon school in Chapeau, Quebec. It is unique in that the school houses both elementary/secondary students. We discussed the challenges of online teaching, how to engage students virtually and wha...

LEARN caught up with Jeremy Wouda, ELA teacher at Philemon Wright High School, from Western Quebec School Board (WQSB), who is also an online tutor with LEARN. We talked about how his experiences over the last few months have changed, his strategies to connect with and keep his students engaged online, and what the future might hold for education. Jeremy offers some concrete ways to communicate an...