Leslie McBeth Shares Knowledge at Ontario Conferences

Leslie McBeth
My weekend started at the York Region District School Board Ed Tech Camp in Richmond Hill, an event that drew more than 350 teachers from across York Region to learn how they can use educational technology to support student learning in the classroom. On Sunday, I headed to Waterloo for the EdTech Team Summit featuring Google Apps for Education, which also attracted more than 350 teacher from across Ontario.

I presented two workshops at each conference to a total of about 150 people.

The first presentation focused on how I use design thinking as a framework for Project Based Learning that requires students to develop solutions for real-world problems. I used my Green Industries class as an example, showing student work such as:
  • Des(s)ert, a concept for a smartphone app created using the MIT App Inventor that would link individuals in food deserts with food delivery services to increase their access to healthy food. Created by Harry Faulkner and Jack Trachuk (‘17)
  • The Bees Next Door, a prototype for a home bee keeping system that aims to address the declining bee population in urban environments. Created by Jemma Bridges (‘17)
  • Homegrown Hydroponics, a concept for a business and a prototype hydroponic gardening system that is built into a staircase, to afford individuals living in small downtown residences the opportunity to grow their own food at home. Created by Keegan Rigby (‘17)
  • My Organic Garden, a prototype for a countertop garden that would provide fresh, homegrown produce year round. Created by Carlyn Smith and Hannah Kinney (‘17)
The second presentation demonstrated how I am using technology to track students as they embark on these personalized learning journeys. I showed participants how to use docAppender to provide timely feedback to students throughout the learning process. This presentation featured the work of former Greenwood students, Quinn Scott ('14), Maddie Kennedy and Katie Shier ('15), and Cameron Brady ('15).

It was a great opportunity to show off some of the creative work of our students, to reflect on how I can improve these processes in the future, and to learn from other inspiring educators from around the province.

Editor’s note: Leslie’s presentations were a hit! She has been invited to present at the Thunder Bay EdTech Team Summit on April 16 and 17.
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