Today we recieved a presentation of a pilot project that is happening within the British Columbian education realm. Jay Dixon–Curriculum Support & Resource Development Lead, Ministry of Education (Secondment, School District 85 – VI North)– presented on ShareEdBC at the University of Northern British Columbia. ShareEdBC is still in the beginning stages of production, but works similarly to social media like facebook and Pinterest to cater to British Columbian educators. As someone who grew up in the social media generation, this is intriguing to me. The intention of this platform is to support BC’s educational transformation initiative-including implementation of a new curriculum, the ministry of Ed completed an in-depth service design process with the goal to address the following problem: Teachers do not have access to the quality resources, both online and in community to support the new curriculum. So, how do we collaborate, connect, and build networks?
Key Themes:
- Fostering Connections
- Student Engagement
- Student Choice
- Student Flexibility
- Equitable Access
- Mentor Matching
- Integrating Technologies in Learning
- Teacher Empowerment
What did teachers ask for?
Teachers want to connect with…
- Content
- Each other
- Community
As a preservice educator, I can think of the endless possibilities that a platform such as this would provide. I think that this project aligns with the modern world and embraces the technological advances that are occuring in our world. I hope that practicing teachers can get on board with this project because for this website to be effective, it requires mass participation. Teachers can build community and collaborate through this professional platform without the all of the extras that are added in to contemporary social media. This platform has real potential in the province of British Columbia and will connect educators located in the rural areas of the province to the educators located in heavily populated areas.
