This two day workshop was a collection of presentations given by teachers for future teachers. The following are the workshops that I participated in:

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Day 01, April 25:

Two Sides to the Story w/ Chris Nihmey:

I learned about the importance of individual differences and using this understanding to create inclusive classrooms. This workshop taught me how important it is to inspire others and to seek out opportunities to be inspired myself. What an important mindset to implement in primary grades.

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Creating a Digital Presence Online w/ Jessica Coleman:

I learned about how to make your digital hub a true representation of yourself, as well as techniques & edtech to include in classrooms (Kahoot is going to change my teaching practice!).

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Every Teacher is a Language Teacher w/ Stephanie Arnott:

I learned about the importance of individuality and how to bring out students' best selves, especially for English Language Learners.

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Day 02, April. 26:

EQAO Assessments of Reading, Writing and Mathematics w/ Michael Young:

I learned about the misconceptions regarding testing (stress/anxiety in students), EQAO's philosophy (to provide accurate, valid, and reliable standardized results), and the many accommodations and modifications they provide to suit each students' learning styles (mp3, braille, scribes).

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Creating Sketchnotes w/ Laura Wheeler:

I learned all of the elements of sketchnotes (containers, fonts, bullets, arrows) and the coolest edtech tool, Google Quick Draw!

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"It's All Up to You!" - Positive Classroom Environments w/ Jim Giles:

I learned about techniques to create a welcoming and safe classroom for students. Jim Giles' humour really enforced how important it is for teachers to be themselves and to showcase who they are in their choices of instruction!

This workshop, brought to the University of Ottawa by the Ministry of Education, presented teacher candidates with current topics in education, including policies, resources, and programs that we will be able to learn from and use in our practicum and beyond. The following are the workshops that I participated in:

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Building Trust – Engaging and Communicating with Parents:

The question that was asked and discussed was 'How can you work alongside parents who are not engaged in their childs' education?'.

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Promoting Well-Being; Developing Positive Conditions for Learning:

The question that was asked and discussed was 'What can educators do to keep students from diverse backgrounds engaged and excited to participate in class?'.

This day was dedicated to first year teached candidates at the University of Ottawa to teach them about the side of education that we may not be too familiar with.

The first workshop was presented by the Ontario Teachers' Federation (OTF) presentation, in which I learned about the basics of AQ/ABQ courses, the application process, school boards, and unions. As a newcomer into the field of education, this was an invaluable presentation.

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The following workshop was presented by the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO), in which Professional Boundaries were discussed. I along with many other teacher candidates learned a lot about professionalism as a teacher and about teacher-student relationships.

I was fortunate to have participated in the Discovery Education workshop that stopped at the University of Ottawa in September of 2016! It was such a fun day of meeting new people, discussing educational ideas, and learning about new edtech resources! The following were the workshops that I participated in:

Discovery Education In Action w/ Dean Shareski: The biggest takeaway from this talk was learning about Techbook! This is a virtual textbook that has a variety of resources and media to teach students about math, science, and social studies. The best part is that the lessons and ideas shared through this platform are ministry-aligned! 

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A Spotlight on Strategies… Yes Please! w/ Terra-Lee Gratton: During this presentation I learned about different (but most importantly fun) ways that students can show their learning. One idea presented was Table Top Texting, where students mimic real text bubbles on a sheet of paper and pass it around to share ideas and questions. Another technique is Snowball Fight, where students respond to a prompt and toss their idea around on a crunched up ball of paper; it's a great way to toss ideas around!

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STEM is Virtually Everywhere in Discovery Education w/ Patti Duncan: What an amazing talk this was! Patti's enthusiasm for STEM was so contagious. Her presentation inspired me to learn more about different STEM activities that I could incorporate into my practicum.