From all of us at the edcentre team, we hope you have a very Merry and safe Holiday Season and we look forward to seeing you in 2013!! Our office is closed at noon, December 21 to January 3, 2013.

R.O.V.E.R.

Recommended Online Video Resources (ROVER): 

Educators and students now have access to ROVER videos from anywhere with an internet connection using their Blackboard login credentials. This will allow teachers and students to access approximate 1500 videos (including some great PAA videos) from home, facilitating planning and providing access for students who would otherwise not have access (eg. home-schooled students or ill students). To access the video resources, go to the Curriculum website http://www.curriculum.gov.sk.ca/ and click on R.O.V.E.R. in the “Quick Links” section at the bottom right side of the home page. You will be redirected to the Blackboard login where you will be required to login using your legal first and last names (firstname.lastname) and password, the numeric month and day of your birthday day (eg. July 1st would be 0701). 

myblueprint.ca

Hi edcentre.ca students,
Check out the video below on myblueprint.ca and start developing a career portfolio.
Go to the website called myblueprint.ca here you will use the activation key "edcentre" to make your own account.  You need this account as part of your action plan for the Career & Job Search units.  Call us at edcentre.ca if you have any questions or need any help with this toll free 1-888-299-5680.

Check out the example of the Menu Project created by Workplace Math 10 student Thomas Durocher. The goal was to create a professional looking menu with all ingredients measured and converted to both metric and imperial units. Try some of the recipes and leave a comment here to let Thomas know if they worked.

Join us on facebook!

We have created an edcentre.ca Learning Community Group on facebook. This space will be used to share stories, announcements and student achievements. All you have to do is click here and it will take you to the facebook group. You can also join the group if you wish to receive a notification when a post is made.

Check out edcentre.ca learner Elliott Clarke solving problems on a portage. Prime example of the use of angles!

Pinehouse Student Visit

Yesterday I had the opportunity to travel to Pinehouse to visit students. It was a great day! The school was welcoming and the students were a pleasure to be around. Jenny Lariviere won a thermal mug for being the first to complete her class (should be done this week). Thanks to Catherine Currie for organizing the students and the lunch. I will be back soon!

Learning Resources Developer NLSD

Hi everyone. I thought I should introduce myself. I am Kandis ~ a proud northerner from La Ronge. I am the newest member of the edcentre.ca team and I am very pleased about that. I have been an employee of Northern Lights School Division #113 for 20 years. I was on medical leave for the last 5 years. I have 15 years classroom teaching experience. I am looking forward to this fascinating new adventure in education :)

Check out the new graphic novel from Canada's Office of the Privacy Commissioner. Great way to learn about being "social media" smart and protecting your privacy online.

Happy Halloween!

 (Krista was running the camera)

We recently had a chance to check out the "Hangout" feature that Google has rolled out. Many compare it to Google's answer to FaceTime or Skype. To make a long story short, it allows people to chat, have a web conference with up to 10 people at a time, and basically hangout over the internet. The video below explains it a little better.

If you have not signed up for a free Google account yet, there is no better time than now! No need for Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Skype, or FaceTime, with a Google account these capabilities are all included. Communicate with your instructor or other learners in a fun and easy way.

Staying Connected

 Sometimes we get busy and have to juggle many connections in our lives. Finding a balance between our connection with the natural environment (the real world) and the busy world of people phones and computers is important to me. Something as simple as taking a walk helps me to ground myself. Taking time to breathe and appreciate the world around me sometimes gets lost in the need to keep all of the connections going. As an online educator, the connection to learners at the other end is really important to me and I worry when I see learners in my course list who haven't connected for a week. Although I have an expectation that everyone keeps a weekly journal and keeps me up to date with their situation some learners can't connect for some reason and there are short term disconnects. If the disconnect goes on for too long it seems that it becomes more difficult to re-establish a routine.

Getting through online courses is all about staying connected. If you are in an online class and haven't connected for a few days call your teacher or message them to let them know what is happening. Finding a balanced and selective way to stay connected to all of the important things in our lives can sometimes be elusive, but is really worth the effort.

Here is a light hearted introduction to the edcentre.ca team. If you are travelling through La Ronge, please drop in at either the Northlands College location (GED/Literacy/Plato support) or the Northern Lights School Division central office (Online high school courses) for a visit.

Tip for Success

“Pay attention: It's much harder to commit something to long-term memory when our attention's divided, for example while multitasking.”

Have you met Krista? Krista is the administrative secretary at the online learning centre. She began working with the edcentre last spring and has been transforming, organizing and making things work better every day. If you want to brighten your day, give Krista a call. Right now she is in search of high bush cranberries to make jelly. If you have spotted high bush cranberries in the La Ronge area, she would love to talk to you. Maybe you will get a jar of incredible cranberry jelly in exchange.Call 425-5680  or 1-888-299-5680

Did you know that awards are available through your online courses at the edcentre?
Everyone who completes a course is entered into a course completion draw each time a course is completed. In January and June names are drawn for completion awards. If you qualify, you could end up with a netbook, an ipod or similar device to assist with your learning. Please see the student handbook for further information about awards and completion draws.

The staff at edcentre.Ca are back to work and ready to assist students on their educational journey.  Good luck to all students during the 2012-13 school year.

edcentre.ca has a second location

edcentre.ca has expanded to a second location. The high school staff has moved to the Northern Lights School Division Central Office. The GED and Literacy instructors are still at Northlands College Administration building. Our contact information is the same as before 425-5680 (in La Ronge) or 1-888-299-5680.

Please stop in when you are in La Ronge. The coffee is always on!

Just in case you were somewhere else, we recorded the Celebration of Learning event on Wednesday, June 20, 2012. Unfortunately you can't smell the fish cooking outside, taste the bannock, drink the tea or commiserate with the partipants in real time, but you might get a sense of the flavour. Thank you to all of the participants in our online learning community this year. Thank you also to the many people who have supported the learners along the way. All the best and have an awesome summer!

Celebration of Learning 2012

Congrats to all award winners of the 2012 edcentre.ca Learning Celebration !

• Masinahikana Achievement Award- Wanda Iron
• Masinahikana Communication Award- Shaona McKenzie
• Masinahikana Progress Award- Mervin McCallum
• Northern Saskatchewan Student Achievement Award- Elliot Clark & Houston Epp 
• Northlands College Achievement Award- Wanda Iron

Honor Roll Draw - Kiara Calladine

Course Completion Draw- Wanda Iron

edcentre.ca Completion Prizes

All students who complete classes at edcentre.ca get their name put in a draw for one of the completion prizes. This year the prizes are a netbook computer and an iPod touch. Good luck!

How do you learn?

The "index of Learning Styles" (ILS) is a free online questionnaire that allows you to reflect on your learning strengths and consider possible learning strategies.
To find out how you learn, read this handout put together by David Murray (Northlands College Learning Strategist), then click on the link to the ILS Questionnaire. After answering the multiple choice questions click on the submit button and your results will be displayed.

Free MONEY!

Do you want some "FREE MONEY"?

All you have to do is fill out some applications for scholarships & bursaries and wait for the check in the mail....
Click on the link below to get started....
http://career.kcdc.ca/index.php/funding

To be Literate or Illiterate

Masinahikana School, also known as edcentre.ca will soon have a new home. Renovations of the new space are now under way. The old walls are coming down and we expect the new walls to quickly appear. If this project continues at the same pace, we will be able to move in before the end of June and have a fresh start in a new location in the fall. Part of the edcentre.ca team will remain at the Northlands College Administration building in Air Ronge, but the office location and most of the team will be located at the new space in the Northern Lights School Division Administration building. We are looking forward to working from our new permanent location. Stay tuned for a grand opening date.

Team edcentre.ca

Team edcentre.ca has been "Simpsonized". We are getting closer to the end of the school year and there is a flurry of activity happening in the courses. As you continue to learn, it's important to take mental breaks as you work to prevent "burn out" or monotony. Here is an example of my mental break; between marking and developing I decided to create our staff as Simpson characters. It was refreshing to change gears for awhile and charge my batteries to continue to keep up to the quickened pace of the learners in my courses. If you want to create yourself as a Simpsons character, click here.

Motivation: Pulling Through

Experiences I can share that may help my fellow classmates to become better learners is to not give up, keep trying even when it gets difficult. Maybe when you think that you can't do it, just know that everyone gets those feelings. Let yourself know and tell yourself everyday before you wake up that " I can do hard things". My instructor gave me a little card and that is what it said. I can say it is helping cause I believe in myself and others that we all can do hard things. Just know that when it is all done, that you have already accomplished a whole lot then what you actually thought.  by Chantelle McDermott

New face (voice) at edcentre.ca

When you call us at edcentre.ca, you will be greeted by a new voice. Krista de Feijter is the newest member of the edcentre team. We would like to welcome Krista to edcentre.ca as the new Administrative Secretary and thank Jody Caron for filling in for the last two months.

The edcentre has procrastination officers! I swear!

Here is the proof. http://bit.ly/I6uZok

Git-R-Done!!!

Yes folks, it's that time of year to start thinking about finishing your course on time. In order to do this, you will need to be well organized and motivated. Remember, your time is valuable so plan it well!!  Please click the link below on Wednesday, April 25 at 2:30 to join the edcentre staff and guests in discussing effective ways to organized and manage your classes.  

http://breeze.edcentre.ca/assembly1

How do you stay organized and manage your time?

How do you multi-task so that you are able to run a restaurant, catering business, the rest of your life and somehow make the time to talk with people online?  Find out on Wednesday afternoon when we talk to Erin, owner/manager of Naina's Kitchen in Calgary. (Naina's Kitchen is at the top of the list for Burgerquest in Calgary.)

Time to tune in: Wednesday April 25, 2:30

Link: http://breeze.edcentre.ca/assembly1

Join us for some tasty talk about getting things done! See you on Wednesday.
Git er dun, Git er dun, Git er dun!!

Fond du Lac Student Keen on Learning

This photo is taken of Allan Mercredi from Fond du Lac, Saskatchewan. He is refreshing his math skills through the Online Literacy Class with Edcentre.ca. He plans to attend high school to complete his other grade ten subjects. A goal of Allan is to become a world traveler.

Congrats to Elliot Clarke on completing Foundations Math 10!

Elliot Clarke has completed Foundations Math 10 and now will have his name entered into the famous edcentre.ca completion draws at the end of the year. Elliot is the proud owner of Swift Paw Kennels and incorporated many of his math assignments into his mushing. Check out his facebook page here and throw him a "like". If you ever wanted to know anything about sled-racing, this is the place.

Congrats again Elliot!

It's Crunch Time!

We're in the home stretch and people are putting themselves in high gear to finish their courses on time. The edcentre is buzzing with learners trying to win themselves a netbook, ipod touch, and many other completion prizes awarded at the end of the year.

Get' er dun !

Using our new sever in distance education

Hi folks... just a quick introduction of how we use the server in our online classes.

A Walk in the Forest

Bernadette is a Science 10 student with edcentre.ca who chose to create a video showcasing her learning on biodiversity. She takes us on a walk through the forest near Ille-Ile-A-Crosse and throughout her walk, she talks about human interaction with nature, flora and fauna, and indigenous ways of knowing. Well done Bernadette on proving that learning can be enjoyable and assignments can be unique.

edcentre cartoon

Here is one of the many tools we use at the edcentre to make learning engaging and, dare I say, ...fun. Try it out, totally free. Can't beat that price. (It works best in a browser other than Mozilla)

GoAnimate.com: edcentre promo by murfinz


Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

Google Science Fair

Great approach to transformative learning...

A View of the Hydrology Cycle from Buffalo Narrows

Spencer is currently exploring the hydrology cycle in Science 10 and submitted a picture of his home town of Buffalo Narrows along with a description of the cycle at work.

"I chose this picture of Northern Saskatchewan because it is an astonishing picture taken just outside of Buffalo Narrows, of a lakeside sunset, but it also consists of the lake, the trees, the clouds, and the beauty of nature and the setting sun. If you take an even closer look at this picture you will see the forest, the water, the sun heating that water, and the hydrology cycle taking place right in front of your eyes, creating clouds."


He was also asked what he can do as a member of his community to help ensure they have a clean water supply:

"A basic example of doing my part, is not littering. As I am currently residing in a town surrounded by bodies of water, I put an effort into not throwing garbage on the ground. Obviously not everyone in my community follows this practice, which results in waste finding its way into the water. A more complex example could consist of forming a committee of other concerned residents. With this committee we could monitor natural water preservation and educate others about the dangers of water pollution and unnecessary use of water within our community. The committee could raise money for an upgraded water treatment centre for our community."

Small steps lead to great distances

YOU ARE INVITED
Join us as we celebrate learning!

 It's often surprising how far we can go by stepping  toward our goals every day. Small steps lead to great distances.

Join us on Wednesday, February 15 from 2:30-3:00pm as we celebrate learning through the edcentre.ca online learning community.


There will door prizes for participants!  See you there!
Follow this link on Wednesday at 2:30 pm

Who Knew Math Could Be Fun ?

One of the unit projects in Workplace Math 20 is to design a tourist brochure using graphs to represent information. Check out the work by Melanie Klassen. It could pass for a real brochure from the tourist centre.

There is an app for that!

There is a new app for the edcentre.ca online school. You can download the app to an i-phone or an i-pad and quickly access contact information and related edcentre.ca links. The app can be found in the app store under edcentre.ca or edcentre. Thanks to Jason Murfin for jumping into the future and figuring out how to make this happen.

Joanna's First Glogster

Joanna, a Native Studies 20 student, created her first "glog" to represent an indigenous culture outside of Canada.

Check it out here!

A glog is an interactive poster creator that allows users to add color themes, video, audio, text, and pictures to a poster background and then easily share it with others. It's a fun way to represent a message or present some info and can be found at www.glogster.com.

We have a new video channel !

We have started a channel on Youtube called edcentreTV where we are hosting numerous videos organized into classes. Here you will find tutorials and video resources uploaded by the edcentre staff that will assist you in your studies. Check it out by clicking the Youtube button on the right-side of this blog. You will also see a Facebook button underneath, make sure to "like us" if you haven't already.

Is Time Managing YOU?

Is time managing you, or are YOU managing you? This is the topic of discussion today in a LiveTalk session hosted by edcentre.ca staff, Kona Guest and Jason Murfin. This is a question that I have a little difficulty wrapping my head around. I would like to think I am managing my time wisely, but I know that distractions suck away time that I had envisioned would be productive. If you suffer from post-procrastination stress, this session might be of interest. Tune in at 2:30.  If you can't make the session, we will post an archived link.

Like us on Facebook

edcentre.ca is using Facebook to share stories and announcements. All you have to do is like us on Facebook and you will have a chance to win some fabulous edcentre.ca gear. The draw will be made at our next LiveTalk session January 18.

Another New Online Course

New online course "Career & Work Exploration 10" is fully completed and ready for students.
This course is an opportunity to access career development information in school/online (40-60 hours) and in the work place (40-60 hours). Students are introduced to career development and focus on career awareness. They participate in a variety of of self-awareness activities and instruments and gain valuable experiences both in and out of the classroom.
Coming very soon Career & Work Exploration 20 & 30.

Buffalo Narrows Students

Recently, I have been instructing a Chemistry 30 course to a group of students from Buffalo Narrows, Sk. What's unique about the course is that it has been presented using a hybrid instructional approach in which several of the units are teacher-instructed using web conferencing tools and java applications, while the remainder was student self-directed. The course has proven that distance education not only can be a highly effective alternative in student learning, but can effectively support a variety of student needs in all locations regardless of culture, location, etcetera. Way to go guys!!!

Edcentre.ca has a new course ready for you! Yes.... you!

Workplace and Apprenticeship 20 is now being offered at edcentre.ca! It is the second course of the Workplace and Apprenticeship math pathway and builds on the applied math concepts from the 10 level.

The topics explored are slope, graphical representation, surface area/volume, trigonometry, scaling, financial services, and personal budgets.

The topics and activities apply to everyday life situations and careers. People interested in a career in the trades industry or just want to get better at consumer math may want to explore this route.

Contact Jason at the edcentre for more details.

How I motivate myself to finish things

Hi edcentrites,
I want to help you kick start the new year and finish your online courses. One little thing that I do is recognize what motivates me. I enjoy doing carpentry and improving my home. I like "seeing" the changes, improvements and the "before and after." Now how I get that to work when I am "building" my online classrooms is I have a print out of all the modules that I need to develop. Each time I finish a section I color it in. I keep that on my desk in front of me at all times to keep me focused and moving. I often tell myself, "Today I am going to get two sections done before I go home." I make it my number one priority. You can do the same thing with your online courses. Just click on "My Grades" and print it out. Then simply highlight as you complete each one. Keep it by your work area as a motivator. Don't forget to give yourself little deadlines and rewards.