Well here we are again - back to our virtual classrooms. To assist you in this transition may we suggest -

OTF Connects Webinars

This latest series of OTF webinars brings together a selection of great facilitators to share hands-on distance teaching strategies and approaches to well-being in a relaxed atmosphere.

Click OTF Connects for more information on sessions which include:

Introduction to Lynx Coding - Thursday, April 22: 4:00 – 5:30 pm

Marcia Piquette: In this webinar, we will explore the Lynx website and go through some introductory activities to get to know the programming environment. Lynx is easy to use because it is text-based and completely online. Nothing to download, and LOTS of resources to provide support at any entry level. Most of all, it is fun and engaging! I will share my experience using Lynx with my Grade 5 class and give you some tips and tricks for how you can use it in your class tomorrow!

Let Us Code! - Thursday, April 29: 4:00 – 5:15 pm

Amanda Deneau & Iain Brodie, OAME: Ready? Set. Code! Using a step-by-step infographic, this webinar will walk you through the new mathematics curriculum expectations from the very beginning and teach you tips and tricks to integrate coding into your classroom and discover what it takes for you and your students to be computational thinkers! Learn to pseudocode, debug and more. No tech or low tech? No problem. Unplugged coding is just as fun. Hosts are bilingual and happy to assist in both French and English.

Addressing the Data Analysis Expectations: Using Google Colab to Analyze and Graph Your Data - Thursday, May 6: 4:00 – 5:30 pm

Peter Beens & Grant Hutchison, ACSE: Data analysis is becoming a common theme in many curriculum areas, including Mathematics, Business Studies, Science, Social Studies, History, Geography, Sociology, and others. In this webinar, we will have a look at how Colab, Google’s implementation of Jupyter Notebooks, can be used in these curriculum areas. We will address what Colab is, how to input the data that we want to analyze, and explore different graphing options such as bar charts and scatter plots.

Student Centered: K-8 Culturally Responsive Coding Experiences -
Thursday, May 13 and 20: 4:00 – 5:15 pm

Melanie Mulcaster, Amanda Williams-Yeagers & Mishelle Pitter-Adlam: In this hands-on two-part learning series, participants will explore culturally responsive pedagogy and a framework to design and implement coding learning experiences that reflect, honour and value the lived experiences of our learners. Together, we will investigate different modes for students to communicate their understanding. Providing an entry point for all learners, participants will have opportunities to tinker with no tech, low tech, and high-tech applications for learning that supports integrated instruction across the K-8 curriculum.

Integrating Minecraft and MakeCode Codebuilder into your Math Program -
Thursday, May 27: 4:00 – 5:30 pm

Andy Forgrave, ECOO: Minecraft is an engaging platform to explore many different program areas. In this session, we’ll look at how MakeCode and the Minecraft Codebuilder can be used to explore coding concepts from the Grades 1-8 Math curriculum. We’ll look at the various event structures (sequential, concurrent, repeating, nested), conditionals, and controls referenced in the document and examples that show how these work together to develop problem solving skills as students grow. We’ll explore some appropriate and engaging activities to motivate learners along the way.

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ETFO Occasional Teacher’s Conference 2021 - The Occasional Teacher’s Toolbox -Friday, June 4 (evening) and Saturday, June 5, 2021 (Virtual Event)

Join us for the first Occasional Teachers conference, The Occasional Teacher’s Toolbox. This exciting learning opportunity is designed to provide resources, strategies and networking opportunities for ETFO daily and LTO Occasional Teachers in the various positions they may encounter. The workshops will focus on activities and resources to ensure a day of teaching runs smoothly for all. You will hear from an engaging keynote speaker and presenters who will share practical applications and resources to support and engage students in your teaching practice. Each participant will attend two workshops from the choices provided. Participants will attend one workshop in the morning and one workshop in the afternoon. Participants are asked to select three of the workshop options in order of preference. We will do our best to accommodate your top two requests

Friday, June 4 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Keynote by Danique Lewars Danique Lewars, RECE, B.A. Hons., is a Resource Consultant with EveryMind Mental Health Services. She has over 10 years of experience providing resources, strategies and coaching to families and educators of children, who have mental health needs. Danique uses a trauma informed lens to unpack and understand the possible reasons behind one’s emotions and behaviours.

Saturday, June 5 9:30 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Welcome 10:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Healthy Break 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. AM Workshop 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Lunch 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. PM Workshop 2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Guide Questions Networking 3:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. Closing

Saturday Workshops

Workshop 1: Teaching Mental Math: No plans? No problem! With the release of the new mathematics curriculum, there is an even greater need for Ontario teachers to do number talks with their students. This session will provide teachers with open-and-go mini video lessons that highlight a variety of mental math strategies ranging from Kindergarten to grade 8. This workshop will investigate how to use these videos in classrooms to orchestrate number talks so ALL students can build fluency with numbers and be inspired to love mental math strategies for adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing and more!

Workshop 2: Strategies for Classroom Management: Every day in every classroom! This workshop will explore practical, simple to implement classroom and behavioural strategies that can be used every day and in every classroom. The focus will be on ideas and strategies that will support whole class instruction as well as working with individual students. Teachers will leave with a list of ideas that require no prep and, few if any, materials.

Workshop 3: Ready Set Go Arts! Explore curricular ready to go arts activities that can be used on a moment’s notice. Children love to move and make believe. Harness this energy to provide rich, creative, fun and memorable learning opportunities. Whether you are a daily OT or working as an LTO, teachers will be given fun tools to teach music, movement, drama, games, and visual arts.

Registration Information • The registration fee is $30. • Open to all Occasional and LTO members. • A limited number of spots are available. Successful participants will be selected by random draw (within locals) with preference given to participants who represent a variety of locals from across the province. • Successful participants will be notified by email after registration closes. Applicants not selected will be refunded the $30 registration fee. Register by May 5 at events.etfo.org/upcoming-events