Here are some brief news to take away this week.
1. When the school prepares to become truly… virtual!
Although the start of the school year is scheduled in all Quebec school service centers, we are ready for a rapid turnaround. We also learned from the mainstream media that some CSS were even preparing to "open new schools" entirely virtual. A bold decision which, we hope, will meet the challenges that lie ahead!
“Students who will have to stay at home this year for medical reasons will attend virtual schools in certain places, where classes will be centralized and can be taken care of by teachers who have been granted exemptions to work from home. Already, several service centers are busy setting up such remote schools, learned The Press. "
La Presse
- The CSSDM sets up its virtual school (The duty)
- Virtual schools for students at home (The Press)
2. Rebroadcast of the workshops of the Learning Disabilities Institute summer conference
The TA Institute announced earlier this week that reruns of its Summer Congress are now available until October 31, 2020 at midnight. “On the program, more than 35 conferences lasting approximately 1 hour on pandemic management, caring and inclusive reception, inclusive educational practices, etc. »Free for TA Institute members, otherwise it costs a well-invested 150 $. Click here for details!
3. The seed pencil, for school eco-financing
Sometimes L'École branchée receives press releases about news that does not go directly into its editorial line, but that the team finds cool. This is the case of the drill pencil as a means of ecological financing. This is a pencil that you can simply plant in the ground when you are done with it and which will grow a cherry tomato plant! Made in Quebec at the initiative of the Arbre-Évolution cooperative, sold at a cost of 10 $ per unit and allowing the school to obtain 4.50 $ on each sale. “Schools can reserve their pencil-seed kits via the www.lesemoir.org/crayon-semence and have until October 19, 2020 to complete their order. "
4. Three new French vocabularies in IT
Because we have a little side geek, we follow the news of IT in general. This week, the Office québécois de la langue française is offering new vocabularies on electronic commerce, data processing and software publishing. “The production of these vocabularies reflects the Office's concern to meet the most current needs in terms of terminology. We can find out more here:
PS: we did not find anything too strange as a proposed term! Good job!
5. The Network School is back in full force… and with new colors!
The start of the school year also takes place and the team of Networked School is no exception! Their latest newsletter reminds us that:
- Their virtual support room will resume service on Tuesday, September 8.
- There is still time to submit a workshop for their next Transfer Session, which will be held online on October 8-9.
- The four training programs I teach remotely of TÉLUQ are now available! L'École en Réseau was also part of the module design and production team.
Also, today is August 28th that the team officially unveils its new colors !! Magnificent!
Well done and have a good start!
6. Let's dare the next school
After Dare to go to school, then Dare to use AI at school, the duo Ugo Cavenaghi and Isabelle Senécal, respectively president and CEO of Collège Sainte-Anne and director of educational innovation for the three levels of education at the same establishment, return with Let's dare the next school, an essay in which they examine the following questions in the context of ambiguity and potential distance education:
- What kind of education are our children and youth really entitled to?
- A substitute or an education worthy of the 21st century?
A book added to our upcoming reading list!
7. On Twitter…
Often, we get “tagged” on Twitter; we suppose then that these people hope that their information is relayed. Well many times it works 🙂
The Solver: remedy for headaches caused by multiple-stress schedules
The Montreal Computer Research Center (CRIM) has developed Le Solutionneur, an application in response to a problem experienced by many Quebec schools: the difficulty of developing class schedules based on multiple requirements and constraints. It is "the result of recent advances in the field of digital technology and artificial intelligence which are implemented in real contexts of use". It is said that he can:
- generate class schedules that take into account non-homogeneous groups
- consider "à la carte" options and profiles for schools with specialized programs
- produce schedules that minimize overruns in the number of students per group
- optimize the quality of teachers' schedules: number of different premises, preferred location, number of full days, etc.
The Solver is offered to all high schools in the province! More info here.
Produce educational material on your iPad
Some time ago, our colleague Maxime published an article on the fact that "Apple has launched, in full containment, a series of videos to support teachers in the transition to more distance teaching and learning." It's a joy to know that he inspired a little article in The watchman, the higher education watch blog of the University of Sherbrooke's Research Support Service! Thumb up! 👍
And that's what concludes my tour of the week! Good weekend to all!