March 31, 2023

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Lang Innovation Lab: Maker-in-Residence Series

Please join the Innovation Team after school on April 3 for the start of the second Maker-in-Residence series in the Lang Innovation Lab.

Tess Butler-Ulrich is working towards her Masters in Education at OTU, with a focus on making and STEAM education. The subject of this series will be microprocessors such as micro-bits; this first workshop will introduce the micro:bit and go over how to connect it to a device, inputs, outputs, and setting up micro:bit and explore coding through a series of challenges and debugging activities. (E.g., create a simple shape using the LEDs on the micro:bit, write a short message using the LEDs)

Please sign up here if you are interested in joining us.

Copenhagen Participants

Teachers, the following students will be traveling to Copenhagen from April 22-29. They should be reaching out to determine what they will miss.

Please find the list of students HERE.

Girls Soccer Tryout

The following athletes will be dismissed at 2:50 pm in order to travel to Lamport Stadium on Monday, April 3 and Tuesday, April 4.

The list of participating students can be found HERE.

Fun Fact Bingo!

Our competitive co-ed cheerleader is Cresencia!

Andrew worked as a prep and line cook in Yorkville.

If you need a makeup tutorial or oxygen facial, you should visit the Admission office to see Charline (and get fashion advice from Ray!)

This week’s Fun Facts include a staff member who:

previously worked for Air Canada
was in a commercial for the game ‘Simon’
has a brown belt in Shorinji Kempo and an Ikebana certification

Submit this week’s responses here:

Name

First Name

Last Name

Email

Subject

Message

F2 YLLT Excursion to Evergreen Brickworks

As part of the F2 Sustainability Year-Long Learning Theme (YLLT), all F2 students will engage in outdoor learning activities at Evergreen Brickworks, to explore the Don Valley watershed for signs of watershed management, and ways to mitigate human impact. Students will also explore Indigenous land connections.

If any UTS staff can to join us, spend a lovely day outdoors, and supervise this excursion; please contact Richard Cook and Cresencia Fong.

Athletics Calendar

Conference Season

Here is an overview of this spring’s prominent education research and practitioner conferences that provide opportunities for practice-research conversations with a focus on implementing evidence-based pedagogy, and often leveraging the use of digital technology; to promote deeper learning.

All 1.0 FTE educators at UTS have access to $500/year of Personal PD funds, which can be applied towards these conferences.

Conference-related costs beyond a Teacher’s Personal PD allocation for the year, is the Teacher’s personal responsibility.

Before you register for the conference, submit a pre-approval request. UTS will also provide class coverage as needed.

AI and Implications for Teaching & Learning

Slides from the well-attended March 3 ColLAB, Generative AI: Implications & Opportunities for Teaching & Learning are posted on the ColLAB site. We are co-creating a list of AI Apps and AI Resources for education - please add to these! #SharingIsCaring

Parlay has partnered with Chat GPT, and has developed “Parlay Genie” - a feature within Parlay that automatically generates higher-order discussion questions and RoundTable prompts that are tailored to your class content and grade level.

Parlay + ChatGPT = AI-Generated Discussion Prompts
UTS has a paid subscription to Parlay

Innis Town Hall: The Franklin Lecture with Dr. Charlton McIlwain

On April 4 at Innis Town Hall, Dr. McIlwain’s book, Black Software: The Internet & Racial Justice, From the AfroNet to Black Lives Matter showcases computing technology's origin story amidst the turbulent racial confrontations of the 1960s, connecting it to the rise of the Black internet who helped to birth the Internet as we know it through the late 1980s and 1990s.

At the April 4 talk beginning at 7 p.m., Dr. Charlton McIlwain shares significant takeaways from the book, arguments never presented in the book - connecting computing technology's past with the prospect of our future will and ability to make technology work in the service of racial equity and opportunity. Register here (free).

Webinar Recording: Gender-Based Violence in Schools and the Intersectional Experiences of Black-Canadian Girls

This March 15th Webinar (recording) discusses the unique experiences of female identified adolescents of African descent in Canada, and their experiences with gender-based violence in schools.

Specific attention is given to cultures of violence, how they manifest, and the need to attend to prevention, as opposed to the current focus on punishment, when addressing the intersectional experiences of Black girls.

Here is an archive of webinars from the Learning Network & Knowlege hub at UWestern’s Centre for Research Education on Violence Against Women & Children.

June 5-11 Perusall Exchange: Trending Topics in Education and Social Learning

Some UTS teachers have been using Perusall with students.

The Perusall Exchange℠ is a asynchronous and synchronous social conference held entirely online via the Perusall platform. 4 presentation tracks:

AI and Deep Learning Technologies in Education
Learning Communities
Alternative Grading and Assessment Approaches
Other Topics in Social Learning

Presentations and conference program will be published the first week of April. Register here (free).

Accessing Teaching Resources from: NPDL, TC2, and I-Think

UTS is a member of New Pedagogies for Deeper Learning (NPDL).

NPDL Pedagogical focus: 6Cs and 4 Design Elements to foster Deep Learning
UTS teachers can access NPDL resources through the Deep Learning Hub 2.0. Contact Murray or Cresencia if you need assistance creating a Hub account.
The recording and slides from the March 22 meeting of the NPDL Canadian Cluster are now available.

UTS is a member of the Critical Thinking Consortium (TC2).

TC2 Pedagogical focus: Nurture high quality thinking in any discipline through Critical Inquiry and “C3”—critical, creative and collaborative thinking
Create an account and login to the TC2 site, to access TC2 resources. Contact Murray or Cresencia if you need assistance creating an account.

UTS is a member of I-Think.

I-Think Pedagogical focus: Integrative Thinking. The I-Think toolbox includes: Pro-Pro Chart, Ladder of Inference, Causal Model, Assertive Inquiry
Access I-Think’s curriculum-connected Challenge Kits, which are grounded in real problems, real people, and a replicable process

FNMIEAO 2023 Conference: Exploring the Power of Indigenous Knowledge Systems

The First Nations, Metis & Inuit Education Association of Ontario's 2023 conference is fully online and free (April 17-20). Participants will have opportunities to learn about Indigenous knowledge systems through the lens of several subject areas, including science, math, French, literature, and art. There will also be a session with Anishinaabemowin language speakers.

Participants will hear from speakers and explore resources to help them engage with authentic content that empowers Indigenous voices within these subjects and helps answer critical questions about how to meaningfully integrate Indigenous representation into classroom learning.

Reference Tool: Guidelines for Planning and Facilitating Trauma and Violence-Informed Meetings

This new guide, created by The Knowledge Hub (an initiative of the Centre for Research & Education on Violence against Women & Children at Western University), is a reference tool for those involved in in-person, virtual, or hybrid meetings that support trauma- and violence-informed practices.

It provides suggestions for incorporating trauma- and violence-informed principles into planning, hosting, or attending meetings (e.g., with colleagues, students, parents, etc.).

Making meeting contexts more trauma- and violence-informed can increase feelings of safety, trust, support, collaboration, empowerment, understanding, and connection for participants.