Fall Webinar Series: Registration is Open

It’s that time of year. The mornings are crisp, the leaves are turning, and learners are back in class, in some capacity. Educators are getting accustomed to the new routines. They’re channelling their creativity to adapt to new safety protocols and integrate new teaching practices to best support their learners. We designed our fall webinar series to support this creative thinking. They aim to equip educators to address difficult topics, apply assessment to new instruction models, and rethink their classroom space by taking learners outdoors, even when it’s cold. 

Our team thought about the most common questions we’re hearing from educators. We discussed many of the challenges educators in our partner communities face and focused on ones we could address. We selected three topics and plan to offer one free webinar monthly between now and the end of the calendar year. 

Preparing for Secret Path Week

Our first webinar in October helps educators prepare their learners for Secret Path Week, a national movement commemorating Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack’s legacies. October 17 to 22 each year provides educators with an opportunity to further the conversation about the history and impact of residential schools while encouraging their learners to take action.

This hands-on webinar will help educators move beyond reading and talking about Secret Path. Instead, it will address meaningful learning activities that lead learners to perform acts of reconciliACTION.

Educators will take on the learner’s role as they learn how educators can use our featured resources in a classroom. We’ll also host an open discussion on adapting these resources to a virtual, physical, or blended classroom. 

We’re offering the webinar in collaboration with The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund. Lisa Prinn, Manager of Education & Activation at The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund, and Rebecca Smith, Education Specialist with Learning Bird, will co-present the webinar. 

This session is open to all educators and parents. However, the featured resources are best aligned to high school-level learners. 

Watch the recording of the webinar.

Culturally Responsive Assessment in Online Learning

As we head into November, many educators will reflect on the first term and how they managed assessment in this new online or partially online world. As educators complete their first round of report cards, we will explore new assessment strategies for the next term. 

In this session, our team will focus on the principles of culturally responsive pedagogy for Indigenous learners. They will share ways educators can align these principles with best practices in assessment for distance learning. We’ll discuss choosing and adapting assessment tools to reflect a holistic worldview that resonates with learners and values multiple learning styles.

Watch the recording of this webinar (the passcode is jHHZ&2.m) and download the list of tools and references shared during the session.

Continuing Outdoor Learning Through the Winter

When the temperature starts to drop, it’s tempting to retreat to the warmth of the classroom. However, outdoor learning can be fun all year long. Our December webinar presents some dynamic new land-based and experiential learning ideas to strengthen learners’ connections to the land. We’ll look at creative, cross-curricular ideas for learning outside during the winter months. We’ll look at activities that hone traditional knowledge and skills and rethink how you use technology outdoors. 

Join us and share some of your favourite outdoor winter learning activities. This session is open to all educators. 

Watch the recording of this webinar (the passcode is RZMdp&2w) and download the list of resources shared during the session.

We hope you can join us for these sessions or watch the recordings. If you have suggestions for additional webinars, please let us know.