ECOO Support Series

Summary of ECOO Board Meeting – November 9th, 2020

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Your ECOO Board of Directors met on Monday, November 9th for the regular ECOO business meeting. The meeting commenced with the reading of the ECOO’s Human Rights Statement.

Highlights from the November 9th meeting include include:

Nominations Committee Report: The Board received the report from Lisa Noble, Chair of the Nominations Committee, 2020. The Call for Nominations for the ECOO Board went live on September 16th, and closed November 7th. Nominations were received for all vacant positions, including President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, two 2-year Director-At-Large positions, and one Year 2 of 2 Director-at-Large (one year backfill) position. No vacancies received multiple nominations, and therefore nominees will be acclaimed and announced by Lisa at the 2020 Annual General Meeting on December 16th, 2020.

ECOOcampON 2020 and Fall Support Series: Mary Walker Hope, ECOOcampON Chair, provided a final report on the summer’s virtual conference, and gave an update on the recently announced Support Series – Fall 2020. Registered participants from ECOOcampON can attend the new events in November-December at no cost. New registrants can join the Support Series at a reduced fee of $15 and will also receive access to the 100+ recordings and 80+ slide decks/resources from the August ECOOcampON virtual conference. Plans are underway for a follow-on Winter Support Series for January and February.

BIT/OASBO Conference Update: David Carruthers, Conference Chair, provided an update on the work undertaken over the term of the 2019-20 Board. The conference Admin team negotiated a new Memorandum of Understanding with OASBO-ICT which was approved in principle by both parties. The Admin team then developed and approved the budget for the Bring IT, Together! #BIT20 event, but the arrival of the COVID pandemic then led to the subsequent cancellation of the face-to-face event. Additional discussions took place through the intervening months with regards to the potential timing for a return to a face-to-face event. Given the current ongoing disruptions to normal School Board operations within this school year, no plans will be made to undertake an in-person event under the current conditions.

Outreach: The ECOO Board discussed a number of recent contacts with other organizations. News has arrived from TVOntario about the pending decommissioning of their Teach Ontario platform this December. We will work with TVO over the next couple of weeks to transfer ECOO resources from their site and incorporate them into the ECOO web presence.

Membership, Sponsorships, and Partnerships: Plans continue to evolve surrounding expansion of the membership, sponsorship, and partnership initiatives. The Board will meet again in November to sort out a number of interrelated developments in this area. Members should watch for an email later this month related to membership and member features.

Revision to ECOO Bylaw: Draft revisions to the corporate bylaw were reviewed. The Board hopes to consolidate a number of final changes so that a Notice of Motion can be provided to the membership in early December and then the revised Bylaw can be confirmed by the membership at the AGM.

Board Transition Procedures; The Board is reviewing a number of documents to streamline the transition process between the outgoing 2019-20 Board and the incoming 2020-21 Board in December.

Fiscal Year Review, Financial Update, Budget: The Board received the Review Engagement for the fiscal year 2019-20, along with Financial Statements. A number of questions were raised which will be pursued with the accounting firm. The Board has taken a number of necessary steps this year in light of decreased attendance at the BIT conferences in 2018 and 2019, and the anticipated effects of the continuing pandemic on the near future. The Board will bring the approved budget to the membership at the AGM.

Annual General Meeting 2020: The draft agenda for the 2020 AGM was reviewed. ECOO members are reminded that the annual general members’ meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 16th at 8:00 pm. Details will be forwarded to members via email closer to the event.

Today’s Support Series’ post is brought to you by the letter ‘E’.

Educational Computing Organization of Ontario ECOO News, Support Series @thehackergals, #ECOOsupportseries, #genderequity, ECOO Support Series, Equity, front

Education. Equity. Enlightenment. Energy. Eloquence.

When I first met Kumiko and Lucy, the two dynamos behind the Canadian registered charity, Hackergal, I was equally impressed by their knowledge of coding and their absolute determination to create an equitable space to increase diversity in technology.

When we were setting up the Panel for the opening night of ECOOcampON, Kumiko asked if, instead of placing herself on the panel, if it would be all right to have a student voice talking about happiness and resilience. Of course, that sparked the idea of having a completely student-led panel instead and now that is coming to fruition.

The student ambassadors from Hackergal were the perfect fit for this session. They have embodied equity, enlightenment and energy and their humbleness will likely astound you as they speak about their experiences in the computer science world and how educators in their lives either turned them towards or away from the path they are on now. The Ambassadors will candidly share what has opened doors for them through their coding journeys – literally and figuratively.

This Panel Discussion will be interactive, with time for audience questions, so participants can better understand their pivotal role in creating safe and supportive spaces for girls to learn computer science. This is an opportunity to be inspired by a student-led discussion about how technology shapes the world we live in and the importance of the tech sector truly representing the people who are living in it.

Join us on November 26 for this Student-Led Panel: Reimagining Computer Science – Gender Equity

Register on the Fall Support Series page. Once you are registered, you will be directed to a form to choose this event and select from any of the other sessions offered. They’re all part of your package.

Come learn and connect. You’ll even be given a chance to play … but more of that closer to the day.

Get your Minecraft Code ‘n’ Learn on!

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Following on the November 21 Fall Support Series Learning Math with Minecraft: Education Edition session with Fair Chance Learning, members of the GamingEDUs will be hosting a number of Monday evening Code ‘n’ Learn Drop-In events where you can gather in game in Minecraft to connect and enjoy some play and learning time with your fellow participants.

Monday, November 23, 7-9 pm
Monday, November 30th, 7-9 pm
Monday, December 7th, 7-9 pm

The GamingEDUS very much believe that gaming and play is at the centre of learning, and so these evenings will start with some open-ended exploration and fun, before moving to a specific project focussing on coding during the second hour.

You can easily register for the drop-in sessions as a participant in the ECOO Support Series.

Details are provided on the Support Series – Fall 2020 page.

A Brave New World in our Fall Support Series

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In my mind, Fair Chance Learning has always been equated with fun events at the yearly Bring IT, Together conferences in Niagara Falls. When we heard that they wanted to be involved in the Fall Support Series, all I could think was that axe throwing and computer screens may not be the best fit this year.

What they are contributing instead makes up for not getting together in person and throwing axes.

Blaise Patterson at FCL is the mastermind behind a new Financial Literacy World in Minecraft EDU with in-game coding lessons and resources aimed specifically at supporting Ontario educators with the implementation of the new math curriculum. Blaise will be guiding participants in an exploration of that world after introducing them to Minecraft itself in the session: Learning Math with Minecraft: Education Edition.

What I love about every session in this Support Series is the passion and support that is being offered. Not to spoil anything but imagine a Mindful Knight world, space exploration and earning income to buy a car in FCL’s Digital Literacy world. These are all things you will be doing in this 3 hour session! You’ll also earn your accreditation of “Minecraft Certified Teacher”, badge and all!

If you’ve never explored Minecraft before, this is your moment. Come play, learn and connect. Imagine the engagement of your students as they learn as they play too! Fair Chance Learning will be there for you after the webinar and ECOO has your back as well, but like yesterday’s post, there’ll be more about that tomorrow.

Full session description can be found on the Fall Support Series page under the events tab:

Register at the Fall Support Series page. Once you are registered, you will be directed to a form to choose this workshop and select from any of the other sessions offered. They’re all part of your package!

Let’s play!

The Fall Support Series is Launched …

Educational Computing Organization of Ontario ECOO News, Support Series @LOGICSAcademy, #ECOOsupportseries, coding, ECOO Support Series, Fall 2020, front

… and our first partner up to bat will be Logics Academy, kicking things off on November 17!

This Support Series embodies the importance of collaboration and networking. When we were planning ECOOcamp Ontario in the summer, Ramy and Keith from Logics approached us with an idea that sparked a bigger conversation. They wanted to offer multi-part workshops that delved deeper into a concept or tool so that educators were able to work their way through with support and resources and come out the other end understanding the concept and being able to implement it in their classrooms with confidence. We loved the idea and wanted to offer opportunities like that to our members and colleagues.

That conversation led to the two series of workshops on Coding that Logics is going to facilitate during the Fall Support Series.

Grade 1-4: The Fundamentals of Coding through StoryTelling
Grade 5-8: The Fundamentals of Coding through Game Design

Full session descriptions can be found on the Fall Support Series page under the events tab:

As Ramy expounded so passionately in our planning sessions:

“Come learn to code with us. No prior knowledge is required. We’ll provide all the training and support along the way. All you need is a device that has the Chrome browser.”

Can’t say it any better than that! It’s your turn to come play and learn!

Once you are registered, you will be directed to a form to choose these workshops and any of the other sessions listed on the Events page. They’re all part of your package … but more of that tomorrow!

ECOO Support Series Fall TechTime4EDU francais

On Flip sur Flipgrid (en français)

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Découvrez les bases de cette plate-forme interactive que les étudiants peuvent utiliser pour documenter leur apprentissage à l’aide d’enregistrements vidéos. Apprenez à fournir de la rétroaction aux élèves par vidéo ou par écrit. Cette plate-forme n’est pas seulement excitante et engageante pour les étudiants, c’est un gain de temps énorme et une merveille organisationnelle pour les enseignants! Cet atelier met également en évidence les mises à jour superbes de Flipgrid! Des nouvelles polices aux options d’édition vidéo, c’est une NOUVELLE expérience Flipgrid. The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.

ECOO Support Series Fall TechTime4EDU english

Flipping over Flipgrid

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Learn about the basics of this interactive video response platform for students to use to document their learning. Learn how to provide feedback to students on their responses. This platform is not only exciting and engaging for students, it is also a huge time saver and organizational marvel for virtual teachers! This workshop also highlights the exciting updates from Flipgrid! From new fonts, to video editing options, this is a NEW Flipgrid experience. The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.

Student-Led Panel: Reimagining Computer Science – Gender Equity

Educational Computing Organization of Ontario @thehackergals, #ECOOsupportseries, ECOO Support Series, Equity, Fall 2020, Hackergals, ssFall2020

“Insert all pronouns here.” Come join a student-led panel discussion on gender equity in technology! Student voice is the foundation of making change for a better future. In this panel, students take the mic to candidly chat about the under-representation of girls in computer science courses and how to foster a sense of belonging and confidence in any classroom. Student panelists will unpack what gender equity means to them, their own experiences, and share practical strategies to inspire (and sustain!) a passion for computer science and technology in your teaching practice. The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.

Minecraft Code ‘n’ Learn Drop-In

Educational Computing Organization of Ontario @GamingEDUs, #ECOOsupportseries, ECOO Support Series, Fall 2020, GamingEDUs.org, Minecraft, ssFall2020

Would you like to have a supportive place to poke around in Minecraft?
Are you looking for a safe place to lay down some creative blocks?
Do you want to get up to speed in how you can use Minecraft to support learning?

The GamingEDUs invite you to drop in on Monday evenings to explore Minecraft in our welcoming environment. Play to Learn how you can use the immersive Minecraft platform to engage your learners. Although our time together can take direction from your specific needs, the rough outline for each two hour session will first feature an hour of scaffolded Minecraft exploration, followed by an hour to undertake a weekly Minecraft coding project using MakeCode. You are welcome to come for one hour, both hours, or drop in as suits your schedule! The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.

Grades 1-4: The Fundamentals of Coding Through Storytelling

Educational Computing Organization of Ontario @LOGICSAcademy, #ECOOsupportseries, ECOO Support Series, Fall 2020, Logics Academy, ssFall2020

Logics Academy has developed a series of sessions that will allow participants in the ECOO Fall Support Series to create their own stories in many unique ways by completing coding challenges and puzzles as they build their coding skills. Participants will learn how to use Dash’s Neighbourhood as it provides a playful 3D environment to create and explore while building coding literacy in a block-based coding platform. In between sessions, participants will have the opportunity to integrate what they’ve learned at the end of each session into their classrooms with their own students. Finally, participants may present their stories through a Virtual Showcase by sharing pre-recorded videos on Flipgrid.

The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.