Name: Kevin Wttewaall
Position: Director of Technology for Learning
CANeLearn Involvement: Board of Directors Member
Will you be attending the 2017 CANeLearn Symposium?
Yes.
What 2017 CANeLearn Symposium session(s) are you excited about ?
I am excited about Michael Furdyk’s keynote session.

Keynote: Education for Social Innovation: Sparking Deep Learning with Social Change
Thursday, April 6 • 08:45 – 10:00
Michael Furdyk will share with us his 15 years of work at TakingITGlobal in working with schools in over 100 countries to develop relevant, authentic, deep global learning. He’ll explore digital tools and resources that educators can use to bring complex issues into the classroom, highlight success stories and engage in a conversation with us about how students can be engaged in their learning through real-world problem-solving.
Michael Furdyk – Co-founder; Director of Technology, TakingITGlobal
Michael has appeared on Oprah, presented at TED, and was named one of Teen People’s “Twenty Teens that will Change the World”. Over the last decade, he has keynoted over 100 events, sharing his technology expertise and passion for youth engagement and educational reform to audiences in over 30 countries. One of “10 Tech Revolutionaries Redefining the Power and Face of Philanthropy” as co-founder, TIGed program that helps educators foster deep learning competencies through real-world problem solving

The opportunity to network with other education leaders from across Canada will benefit my school district tremendously.  Over the last few years CANeLearn has helped Rocky View Schools build valuable working relationships with both educators from other provinces and education technology vendors.  We have reduced our content development costs while increasing content quality.  Most beneficial of all has been what my team has learned from the amazing network of Canadian educators.
I am also excited to learn more about DL from across Canada with Randy LaBonte.

Canadian e-Learning Roundup: Program Spotlights and Research of Models of Online and Blended Learning from across Canada
Thursday, April 6 • 14:45 – 15:30
Join this discussion session to learn how schools are shifting practice to create flexible and personal learning. A brief overview of e-learning in Canada will provide the background for learning more about several successful programs from across Canada. A synthesis of successful principles from the programs will be the base for a discussion about how to improve your own program.
Outcomes include:
• Awareness of specific emerging online and blended models;
• Understanding policy and funding implications; and
• How re-characterizing the “Carnegie Unit” opens new opportunities.
Randy LaBonte – CEO, Canadian eLearning Network (CANeLearn)
I have been lucky to serve as a senior level executive for over 30 years in the education sector: | – lead consultant for seven years at the BC Ministry of Education involved in field work leading to the development of policy, agreements, and e-learning standards; | – helped develop, pilot, and implement the Quality Review process for BC online K-12 schools; and | – recently took on the role of Chief Executive Officer for the Canadian eLearning Network while continuing my other contract work and online teaching. I am passionate about online and technology-supported blended learning, still looking to change the system, now from without instead of within! I am here in a support role for the symposium and the partners who have planned the event.

These sessions and others draw me into learning about the changing landscape of DL, how it now improves learning for students, how it supports school districts goals to support digital literacies. We live in amazing times with broadband Internet in the palm of our hands and access to tools and information never before imagined.  The presenters in these sessions are describing how they are engaging our learners and improving their learning – how cool is that.
 

So, what 2017 CANeLearn Symposium session(s) are you excited about ?

To register for the 2017 CANeLearn Symposium, click here.