Virtual IRC
Podcast Project Seeks to Keep Endangered Indigenous Languages Alive
A new series of podcasts from a project by the First Nations University of Canada and community members aims to revitalize languages that are at risk of extinction. Learn more.
Peter Vietgen
Canada Games Research Spotlight
With his Canada Games Grant, Associate Professor of Visual Arts Education Peter Vietgen will engage eight Brock Faculty of Education students in hands-on art teaching and leadership experiences in schools and education sites across the Niagara region. Read more.
Educational Resources for Earth Day
April 22 is Earth Day, a yearly event meant to raising awareness about the environment and how to protect it. But the truth is, every day must be Earth Day if we plan on a brighter future.
Here are a selection of films and resources to help you tackle today's environmental issues in the classroom while taking a closer look at our world and sustainability.
Secondary Earth Day Resources
Mini-Lesson for Hadwin's Judgement (Ages 16+)
Overarching Question: Did Hadwin's motive justify his extreme actions? Is Hadwin a hero, an environmental "terrorist" or a man gone mad?
Mini-Lesson for Metamorphosis (Ages 15+)
Overarching Question: Can we, as Canadian and global citizens, maintain our current lifestyle and yet work towards a sustainable community?
Films about the Environment (Ages 13+)
Naomi Klein curated a playlist that looks at the impact of corporate decisions on the environment and celebrates the inspiring responses of communities in Canada and around the world.
Mini-Lesson for Sovereign Soil (Ages 12+)
Overarching Question: How can we connect ourselves to the land in the modern age?
Mini-Lesson for Waterlife (Ages 13+)
Overarching Question: The Great Lakes play an important part in Canada's identity, but how is their impact on our lives changing as pollution, invasive species and other issues continue to threaten them?
Mini-Lesson for Borealis (Ages 14+)
Overarching Question: With so many human and natural actions impacting the boreal forest, how does it continue to thrive?
Mini-Lesson for The Magnitude of All Things (Ages 16+)
Overarching Question: How can worldviews contribute to actions toward environmental stewardship, coping with ecological grief, and wellness?
Primary Earth Day Resources
Mini-Lesson for A Sea Turtle's Story (Ages 7-11)
Overarching Question: How can society promote environmental stewardship?
Issues Facing Our Planet (10+)
Celebrate our incredible planet with this selection of 10 films that tackle today's environmental issues.
When his home starts melting, a polar bear is forced to find a job in the big city. This short film looks at climate change from a different perspective.
Join a Grade 6 teacher and her class as they try out an experimental program aimed at preparing kids to take up environmental challenges.
The STEAM-3D Maker Lab is where Dr. Janette Hughes, Canada Research Chair in Technology and Pedagogy, and her research team:
Develop and evaluate constructionist “production pedagogies” that work to build students’ ‘performative’ competencies in digital literacies, and investigate whether and how they promote civic engagement, service learning, and social justice particularly among marginalized students;
Observe and evaluate the impact of “maker cultures” that facilitate the discovery, design, and development (3Ds) of digital “products” for students of all ages, their teachers, and the community; and
Build capacity for investigating and affecting change and innovation in formal and informal education settings in the use of emerging digital media and interactive tools.
#ForYou: A Game About Algorithms
#ForYou is a card-based pattern-matching game that helps youth aged 13 to 18 understand the role that algorithms play in their online and offline lives, and the value of their personal information to companies that use those algorithms. Read more.
Review Suggests Music Is Just as Powerful at Improving Mental Health as Exercise
According to the study authors, the mental health boost from music is "within the range, albeit on the low end" of the same sort of impact seen in people who commit to physical exercise or weight loss programs. Read more.
Learning for the Digital World
A first of its kind in Canada, the Framework will provide valuable guideposts for teaching computer science from Kindergarten to Grade 12 from coast to coast to coast.
International days are occasions to educate the general public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity.
Celebrate International Women's Day
(March 8) with NFB
Every year we celebrate International Women's Day on March 8 to commemorate the strength and courage of previous generations of feminists and their allies.
While the fight for equality and justice for women has certainly come a long way, we also remind ourselves and society that the struggle is far from over.
Visit the Ed_Tech_Resources Sakai Site, and navigate to the Web Resources page where you can find login info for this instructional resource (NFB Campus) and more!
At the stroke of noon on February 15, 1965, Canada’s red and white maple leaf flag was raised for the very first time on Parliament Hill. On the same day in 1996, National Flag of Canada Day was declared. Our national flag is a symbol that unites Canadians and reflects the common values we take pride in — equality, freedom and inclusion. On February 15, let’s celebrate the Canadian Flag!
Visit the Ed_Tech_Resources Sakai Site, and navigate to the Web Resources page where you can find login info for this instructional resource (On-Core) and more!
Selected Black History Month Timeline, exploring Blackness on the Prairies, and much more from the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, University of Calgary.
For example, Driving Through a Blizzard for a Taste of Home (featured in image).
Visit the Ed_Tech_Resources Sakai Site, and navigate to the Web Resources page where you can find login info for this instructional resource (On-Core) and more!
Learn about the history and experiences of Black, African and Caribbean Canadians through this brand-new 27-page study guide, featuring discussions of 6 NFB films made by Black filmmakers and allies of the Black community.
Visit the Ed_Tech_Resources Sakai Site, and navigate to the Web Resources page where you can find login info for this instructional resource (NFB Campus) and more!
New MediaSmarts resources to help youth respond to casual prejudice online
MediaSmarts' research shows most kids think it's important to stand up to casual prejudice or hate online, but don't know how to go about it. Another barrier to youth pushing back against prejudice is not wanting to over-react, particularly if they feel their peers were just 'joking around.'
In the new lesson Just a joke? Helping youth respond to casual prejudice, students consider the ways in which digital communication may make it harder to recognize irony or satire and easier to hurt someone's feelings without knowing it. Students then discuss ways of responding to it.
For parents and trusted adults, the new tip sheet Talking to kids about casual prejudice online explains how to help your kids respond to casual prejudice online. (Created with TELUS Wise).
Updated games now available: Co-Co's AdverSmarts and Privacy Pirates
This interactive game is designed to help kids ages 5 to 8 recognize the marketing techniques used on commercial websites that target children.
This game introduces children ages 7 to 9 to the concept of online privacy and teaches them to distinguish between information that is appropriate to give out and information better kept private – and to recognize how this may change in different contexts.
