The AMDSB EdTech Learning Community was founded by Leigh Cassell in 2013 to provide a collaborative learning space for members of the 2013-2014 TLLP Project Team. Our project, Blogs as Digital Portfolios, continues to provide students with a balance of inquiry-based learning opportunities leveraged by the power of a digital learning platform (Edublogs) to improve student outcomes (competencies) in the areas of 6C’s* (communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking & problem solving, citizenship, character). As teachers continue to learn how to design, develop, and integrate deep learning tasks into their classroom programs to transform learning into high levels of achievement for students, learners are engaging in learning partnerships with other students and global learning partners to start conversations, find answers to their questions, document their learning, make a difference, take action, and drive change.
Teacher Learning and Leadership Program for Experienced Teachers, 2013-2014
In 2014-2015, our TLLP Project Team expanded to include a 10 more teachers as we continued moving forward with our learning and implementation of Blogs as Digital Portfolios in our schools. By the end of the school year over 250 teachers in the AMDSB joined us in our learning journey and are have now integrated blogging as a platform for learning board wide to improve student achievement in literacy and maximize student outcomes in the areas of 6Cs (communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking & problem solving, citizenship, and character). The EdTech Learning Community blog has become THE collaborative hub for blogging as pedagogy in the AMDSB, supporting hundreds of teachers during the stages of technology implementation, and throughout the process of learning new literacies.
By the end of the 2015-2016 school year, over 6000 K-8 teachers and students in the AMDSB are using blogs as digital portfolios. We hope you will join our conversations and share your stories, reflections, favourite resources, and thoughts about teaching and learning with technology!
The following AMDSB staff were members of the TLLP Project Teams between 2013-2015 and are recognized for all of their contributions to the AMDSB EdTech Learning Community:
TLLP Team 2013-2014
Leigh Cassell (Project Author & Project Lead), Stephen
Jennifer Regier (Project Author & Project Lead), Seaforth
Danielle Mascolo, Anne Hathaway
Jennifer Yantzi, Avon
Jen Cook, Brookside
Becky Versteeg, Eastdale
Laura Stanley, Elma
Tracey Peters, Goderich
Shannon Hughes, Milverton
TLLP Team 2014-2015
Leigh Cassell (Project Author & Project Lead), Stephen
Jennifer Regier (Project Author & Project Lead), Seaforth
Danielle Mascolo, Anne Hathaway
Rosemary Halle, Anne Hathaway
Jennifer Yantzi, Avon
Susan Steven, Avon
Jen Cook, Brookside
Kim Liddle, Brookside
Becky Versteeg, Eastdale
Kerry Hill-Keil, Eastdale
Laura Stanley, Elma
Becky Dietrich, Elma
Tracey Peters, Goderich
Sherry Hodges, Goderich
Shannon Hughes, Milverton
Corey Hernden, Milverton
In 2015-2016 we shifted the focus our project work to explore the meaningful application of assessment for, as and of learning to improve student learning in K-6 Numeracy, while at the same time leveraging the power of digital tools like the use of iPads and blogs as digital portfolios to improve student outcomes in the areas of 6C’s and P (creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, citizenship, character, and problem solving).
The following AMDSB staff were members of the TLLP Project Teams in 2015-2016 and are recognized for all of their contributions to the AMDSB EdTech Learning Community:
TLLP Team 2015-2016
Leigh Cassell (Project Author & Project Lead), Technology Coach
Kerri-Lynn Case-Schepers (Project Lead)
Nicole King
Allison Plumsteel
Jenna Lange
Sherrie Hearn-Smith
Andrea Yantzi
Heather Rempel
Nancy Bicknell
Kim Littleton
Leigh Cassell Consulting 