Dear Thought Leader,
Welcome to our Spring edition of This Week in Canadian EdTech Top 10 brought to you by the MindShare Report.
Another fascinating week in Canadian learning & innovation. Lots of news to digest from the Ontario government after their flurry of announcements, strategically over March Break. The mobile phone ban drew significant media attention and outrage. The other notable news is the proposed four online courses that will become a requirement for high school students, in addition to increasing classes sizes. One can read between the lines which suggests strategic cost saving measures inspired these new government initiatives. All good in theory, however, unfortunately at the heavy cost of teacher jobs and student success.
On a more positive note! It was refreshing to see that B.C. education is committing to nurturing physical activity with a significant investment in outdoor playgrounds!
A few notable highlights of the week in Canadian EdTech and beyond!
1. Featured Podcast of the Week: Christopher Usih, the New Chief Superintendent of Schools at the Calgary Board of Education. Chris shares insight on his transition from the TDSB, his visionary leadership and passion for learning and innovation.
2. 8 Days to Go! 11th Canadian Classroom of the Future Challenge. Teachers, engage your students to share their passion for learning through technology in a 2-3 minute video submission! Deadline, Friday, March 29th midnight!
3. Welcome Dr. Karen Grose to the MindShare Learning Team! Dr. Grose will be supporting the continued growth of the MindShare strategic consulting practice. As former VP Digital Learning, TVO and Central coordinating Superintendent, TDSB, Dr. Grose brings extensive expertise and thought leadership to the team.
4. The Canadian government budget table this week was very favourable to education with a number of announcements highlighted in this issue, including Candcode renewal of $60 million over two years, and a heavy investment in work integrated learning at the post-secondary level. Great to see the new Yukon University receive $26M for a new science building. I'm looking forward to visiting as we'll be hosting our winter C21 CEO Academy Summit in the Yukon next February.
5. I would be remised if I didn't highlight the CanAm merger this week of two notable EdTech players from Canada and the U.S., STEM Learning Lab and Edgemakers, partly inspired by C21 Canada! Read the full story in this report. Watch for the podcast interview coming in the April CanAm edition!
6. Kudos to our friends award-winning Canadian EdTech company, Classcraft, who recently achieved B Corp status.
7. EdTech Startup Notetonic, who performed strongly at the MindShare EdTech Summit Startup Challenge placed first this week in the iCube, University of Toronto Startup Gala Challenge.
We hope you enjoy this week's edition of This Week in Canadian EdTech Top10! Thanks for inspiring us to raise the bar with every issue we publish! Don't forget to send us your comments, news stories and upcoming events!
Until next time, keep the digital learning curve steep!

 P.S. Join us for our Grand Finale Dragon's Den Style Mississauga EdTech Startup Challenge this coming Wednesday, March 27th, 6:30pm at Erin Mills Town Centre, or live on twitter @mindsharelearn. 

Robert Martellacci, M.A. EdTech
President, MindShare Learning Technology™
Chief Digital Publisher, The MindShare Learning Report™
Co-founder & President C21 Canada™

Follow us on Twitter @MindShareLearn

Featured Podcast of the Week: Christopher Usih, the New Chief Superintendent of Schools at the Calgary Board of Education

Robert Martellacci, Founder & Chief Digital Publisher, MindShare Report and Stephen Hurley, Founder of VoicEd Radio tackle the hot issues of the week in learning & innovation simulcast on VoicEd and twitter (Periscope)
Listen to VoicEd Radio Stream here!
  

news.gov.bc.ca, March 15, 2019

The B.C. government is building 50 new playgrounds in 34 school districts this year, delivering healthier, more accessible learning environments for kids, while reducing pressure on parents to fundraise, announced Rob Fleming, Minister of Education.

“As a parent, I understand first-hand how tough it can be for schools and parents to find the time and volunteers to fundraise for playground equipment and activities,” said Fleming. “Our government is committed to improving the learning environment at B.C. schools — safe, fun and accessible playgrounds are very much part of delivering on this commitment. And to make this happen, parents should not have to become dedicated fundraisers in their spare time.”

The Star, March 17, 2019

The Ontario government’s blueprint to increase class sizes will mean the loss of approximately 800 public high school teaching positions in Toronto, according to a TDSB document obtained by the Star.

It’s a number that, according to a local teachers union executive, would decimate the city’s secondary school system

Last week, the provincial government announced that secondary school students will be required to take four out of the 30 high school credits required for an Ontario high school diploma as online courses.

The announcement had few details, except that the changes will be phased in starting in 2020-21 and the delivery of all e-learning courses will be centralized. However, if the province goes ahead with plans to make four courses mandatory, Ontario high school students will have more compulsory e-learning than any other jurisdiction in the world.

So what is e-learning? A necessary skill for the 21st century or a way for the province to save money on education? We asked experts what they expect from the reforms.

West, March 19, 2019

Classcraft, an award-winning Engagement Management System for schools, announced today it has been officially certified as a B Corp. In order to receive certification, companies must meet the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability and aspire to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. Brothers Shawn and Devin Young, along with their father Lauren, founded the business in 2013 and launched their innovative edtech product in 2015.

Computers for Success –Canada Inc. (CFSC) is pleased to announce its partnership with Shaw Communications to donate computer equipment through the Government of Canada’s Computers for Schools (CFS) program– which has distributed more than $450 million worth of computers to schools, Indigenous communities, non-profits, and low-income families since 1993.

To launch this partnership, Shaw and Computers for Schools will distribute more than 300 computers to Pathways to Education (Pathways) – a national, charitable organization working to help youth in low-income communities to graduate from high school and successfully transition to post-secondary education, training, or employment. This important donation will help to level the playing field for Pathways students across Canada. The partnership between CFSC and Shaw also includes technology donations to the BC Technology for Learning Society for the CFS program in BC as a first step in a potential national partnership.

 

STEM Learning Lab, March 20, 2019

ENC, March 21, 2019

Yukon College today welcomed the Government of Canada's announcement of $26M over five years for the construction of a new science building for the future Yukon University (YukonU) as part of Budget 2019. The vision for the new science building is to allow science learning through two lenses - using both Indigenous knowledge and western science. Yukon College will officially become YukonU, Canada's first university North of 60 in May 2020.

University of Toronto, March 21, 2019

The University of Toronto is lauding a number of measures announced in Tuesday’s federal budget aimed at giving more students the opportunity to learn in the workplace and around the world.

The budget also supports research by promising to create more master's and doctoral scholarship awards through the federal granting councils. 

“These investments in experiential learning are investments in Canada's future,” said U of T President Meric Gertler, the co-chair of Canada’s Business/Higher Education Roundtable, which has been advocating for increased investments in work-integrated learning.

 

Frontier College, March 21, 2019

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