2017 CANeLearn Symposium Presentations

2017 CANeLearn Symposium

Over the next three days, I’ll be at the CANeLearn Symposium in Vancouver, British Columbia! Sweet!

I’m sooooo looking forward to the opportunity for  conversations and face-to-face connections with the many friends and colleagues of whom I’ve only connected with online – OR maybe I just haven’t seen you in WAY TOO LONG.  You know who you are! This will be the best part!

I am completely honoured, humbled, inspired and energize to be a featured speaker – along side such forward thinking and creative educators and leaders. Thank you so much to the CanELearn Team, Volunteers and Leaders for organizing such a fantastic event!

  • Michael Furdyk of TakingITGobal
  • Dr. Sean Lessard (Assistant Professor of Indigenous Education and Core Studies at the University of Regina’s Faculty of Education)  Recipient of the CEA Pat Clifford Award 
  • Alanna King (@bannana29), another Ontario Educator is sharing her experiences and knowledge in a session called The Frontierland of secondary school E-learning, conquering fear and fostering courage. This is a MUST attend session. Alana is not only an incredible educator, but she is funny, kind, and generous and doesn’t need to work hard to inspire those around her. It is just natural.

My presentations:

I will present my own story as a Maker Teacher and how I have made connections between practice and pedagogy and in particular how this has shaped a second Makerspace classroom (2017), one that is not just rich in technological resources, but also promotes social justice, global awareness and community action. I will describe and share how my team and I developed a classroom as a mix between a cafe, a living room and a Makerspace – all intentionally designed around collaborative, safe and comfortable spaces.  I will explore and reflect on my own experiences as an educator and how I have used a variety of frameworks to connect teaching and learning to topics of  Social Justice, Indigenous perspectives and Inquiry based-learning to the Maker or Do it Yourself (DIY) Culture as we see it today.  In sharing my own journey as an innovative teacher and leader, I will discuss how adversity, pushback and isolation impacted me in the process of standing up for education system that is not only fair and equitable for all learners, but one that promotes critical thinking and constructivism – which is at the heart of a Makerspace environment.

Thursday April 6th, 1:30

I’d like to think that I am a facilitator, but TOGETHER we will all be sharing! The UN Development Global Goals provides context, in all areas of education, for teachers and students to ask questions. In this session, I will share simple strategies for anyone interested in enhancing an inquiry driven classroom, one that is student-centric and has a strong emphasis on Maker Culture, Social Justice, and Experiential Learning. I will talk about the role of self-directed learning, health and well-being, and how we can use a variety of tools, spaces, and lesson types to engage students to think deeply about the world around them.

Friday April 7th, 11:15

Can you imagine a learning space where nature, music, art, and literature are infused in the design of the STE-A-M focused classroom? A kindergarten classroom for students of all ages? A place where tea is served at the start and end of each day in beautiful porcelain cups – where there are no bells or specific transitions and subjects are infused by “Big Ideas or Themes”? A classroom that celebrates community through nutritious food prepared each day by students who gather at a cafe bar or surround a kitchen table and prompted by deep discussions of innovation and creativity?

We will talk about it and find out what the research says. Why Tea? Why an indoor garden? Why a cafe bar? Why Knitting or Sewing? Why Cooking? Why Art? Why Chess or Games? Why Guitar/Piano? Why Kitchen Table? Why Livingroom? Why 3D printer? Why 1:1 Computers? Why light? Why Music? Why Blogs? Why Programming?


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