Upcoming CORE Professional Learning & Networking Events

The best professional learning opportunities include three key elements:

1. Time
2. Collaborative space
3. Opportunities to experiment and learn with colleagues

So we're providing you with opportunities that include all of these elements. Check out our upcoming events!

Moderating Student Contributions in CORE - Webinars & Face to Face Events

The student contribution feature will soon be turned on in CORE across the CBE. Contributing to CORE provides an authentic audience for students to share found resources such as videos and websites, gather feedback on work in progress, remix, share, and publish their work in a safe environment.

Each CBE school has designated someone in their building who can act as a the moderator of student contributions. The moderation process is simple and fast. These sessions are for anyone in a school building who may be the moderator of student contributions. We will run through the 2-minute moderation process and show you how to easily transfer moderation duties to any member of your school community. In the face to face sessions, we will also explore how sharing, remixing, and connecting through digital resources can support professional networks and student learning.

• Webinars - Three 30-minute live sessions - Monday, April 28th, at 12:30 pm, and Thursday, May 1st at 12:00 pm, and 4:00 pm. Register now. Link to Join
• Face to Face - Two face to face sessions on Wednesday, May 7th, from 4:30 - 6:00 pm at Samuel W. Shaw School,  and Tuesday, May 13th 4:30 - 6:00 pm at Robert Thirsk High School. Register now. *Please bring your own device.
• Self-service - always available, includes instructions (video & PDF), FAQs, moderation checklist and more in this CORE Bundle. Additional resources are available by logging in to CORE > Guide to CORE > Guide for Contributors

CORE Input Advisory (CIA) Team - Face to Face Event

Are you a teacher in CBE, CCSD, RVS, GHSD or CRPS? Are you interested in using digital resources with students and sharing the best digital content to build your PLN? Want to provide input that will help to shape CORE, an innovative edtech prototype? We are inviting all educators in CORE’s participating districts to join the CIA (CORE Input Advisory) Team. CIA events are opportunities to:

• Chat and experiment with fellow educators
• Pick the brains of the CORE implementation team
• Explore digital resource trends, crowdsourcing, and user feedback for learning
• Learn through creating and sharing content

Our next event:

When: Wednesday May 14, 2014 from 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Where: Nickle Junior High School, 2500 Lake Bonavista Dr. SE, 2nd Floor Learning Commons
Who: Educators in CBE, CCSD, RVS, GHSD, and CRPS are welcome! Snacks will be provided.
RSVP here for this free opportunity. *Please bring your own device.

If you can’t make it to an event, watch for resource posts and future events in different locations around the city via Twitter @core4learning and here on the CORE blog.

Questions? Tweet us or email Stephanie at sdchan@cbe.ab.ca. 

Exciting News! The CBE is Getting Ready for Student Contributions and Sharing in CORE

Teachers and students have been making great use of CORE!

• Students and staff have provided 700+ comments and ratings to help their fellow users
• Teachers and staff have contributed over 1,300+ resources, links to useful websites, videos and articles, lesson plans, self-created items, and links to useful websites, videos and articles
• 77% of teachers have now used CORE and student use is rapidly rising

Announcing Student Contributions to CORE

The student contribution feature will soon be turned on in CORE. Contributing to CORE provides an authentic audience for students to publish and share work, a platform where they can get feedback and input on work in progress, and an opportunity to remix and share their work in a safe environment. To enable students to contribute, each CBE school will designate someone in their building who can act as a the moderator of student contributions. The moderation process is simple and fast. The role of the moderator is simply to:

• Scan metadata, keywords, and resource information in the contribution wizard for accuracy and searchability
• Confirm media release forms are in place when needed

For the time being, the role of CORE Student Content Moderator (SCM) for each school has been automatically assigned to your School Educational Technology Contact (SETC) (each Principal designated this person at the beginning of the school year). The principal or SCM designate at your school can change this assignment at any time using the moderator assignment tool. School-based moderators can choose how they would like to learn about moderation through self-service or hands-on experiences. CBE's CORE Team in ILT will provide three types of optional supports:

• Self-service - includes instructions (video & PDF), FAQs, moderation checklist and more in this CORE Bundle. Additional resources are available by logging in to CORE > Guide to CORE > Guide for Contributors
• Webinars - Three 30-minute live sessions - Monday, April 28th, at 12:30 pm, and Thursday, May 1st at 12:00 pm, and 4:00 pm. Register now. Link to join: http://eduadvisory.adobeconnect.com/corepartnerswebinar/  
• Face to Face - Two face to face sessions on Wednesday, May 7th, from 4:30 - 6:00 pm, and Tuesday, May 13th 4:30 - 6:00 pm. Register now.

If you have any questions, please contact Sue Bell smbell@cbe.ab.ca or Stephanie Chan sdchan@cbe.ab.ca. 

We're looking forward to seeing CORE grow as students and teachers leverage the system for sharing and collaborating.

Pssst...Last Night at the CORE CIA Event

Last night, we kicked off our first not-so-undercover CORE CIA Professional Learning & Networking Event. Members of the CORE Input Advisory Team trekked through the snow all the way to the Rocky View Schools Education Centre to:

• Chat and experiment with fellow educators
• Pick the brains of the CORE implementation team
• Explore digital resource trends, crowdsourcing, and user feedback for learning
• Get started with accessing, creating, and sharing content

We're sending a shoutout to: Agents Slalom, Lorenzo, M. Trevor, Captain BVI, room36, Bunny, Blaster, Special OPS, Twix, and those agents who haven't yet shared their undercover names. Be ready next time! We started off with a brief intro and networking activity. Here's what it looked like as we were filling out our networking cards.

Just getting started with our CIA session! #AlbertaCORE pic.twitter.com/25lhUs2PFR
— Alberta Core (@core4learning) April 16, 2014

The groups then moved into discussions about what networking and building your PLN is like in both online and face to face settings, and how accessing and sharing the resources that you find most useful in CORE can support professional learning.

Chatting about CORE and professional networks at our CIA session. pic.twitter.com/Uz32z62TCz
— Alberta Core (@core4learning) April 16, 2014

The CORE team sees many intersections around how people share and learn together.

The CIA Agents who came to our session mentioned the importance of face to face events like this to stay in touch with each other, learn about what other educators are doing, and sharing resources with a wider network. So we are hosting more of them! Some used an array of tools including Twitter, blogs, and Google+ to share their insights. Here are some ideas for how to continue the conversation:

• Check out the CIA bundle in CORE and share with your colleagues. It includes all of the resources that we used last night
• Use this feedback survey to tell us what you would like to see at our next session
• Take the conversation online with Twitter @core4learning and sign up for email updates here on the CORE blog
• Join additional edtech networking sessions hosted by CBE's ILT Team (all districts are welcome, no registration necessary)
• Watch for updates on our next face-to-face CIA event in May. We'll post the details on the CORE blog and Twitter feed as soon!
• If you're attending EdCamp YYC on April 21, members of the CORE team will be there to support anyone interested in chatting about CORE  

See you online, in person, and undercover...

Shades on!
~The CORE Team

Half a Million Page Views and Growing!

In running the statistics for CORE this morning I was excited to notice that we have passed the 500,000 point for total page views since September 2013. As more people hear about CORE and take the time to explore it to see what it has to offer, we are seeing our usership grow significantly.

In January of 2013 we had just 1100 teachers registered and using CORE. As of this month, we are at over 18,000 teachers and students.  That's cause for celebration!

If you are one of our 18,000 plus users, please take a moment to share your story of how you use CORE and why. Keep spreading the word to make the CORE community even stronger.

Here's How

• Who: All students and staff who have used CORE are welcome to share! 

• Length: Anywhere between 2-200 sentences long. Feel free to include links, images, and anything else that illustrates your experience. 

• Where: Submit your story now at http://albertacore.blogspot.ca/

Follow Us & Your Stories

• Twitter @core4learning https://twitter.com/core4learning
• CORE blog http://albertacore.blogspot.ca/