91��ɫ Region District School Board Archives | Research & Innovation

YRDSB recognizes ABEL program director Janet Murphy for service to education

fmaquito — Mon, 30 May 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Teaching with technology is a good thing, and no one knows it better than Janet Murphy.

The (YRDSB) has awarded Murphy, director of 91��ɫ’s (ABEL) on applied research program in the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, an Outstanding Service Award.

Under Murphy’s leadership, ABEL’s team has worked with teachers in more over 100 YRDSB schools to help them better understand and integrate technology’s research impacts into their curriculum. Any teacher in 91��ɫ Region’s public district can become part of ABEL; the program is also active in the Toronto, Simcoe County and Upper Grand District School Boards.

Right: Janet Murphy

“We work with teachers from kindergarten to Grade 12 across disciplines to help them to best use technology to support their curriculum goals in the classroom,” said Murphy, who received her award on April 25 at the YRDSB’s annual Awards Evening.

This support includes extending the reach of university research and expertise into high school classrooms. For example, , an interactive learning event led by the Faculty of Science & Engineering in May, was made accessible to schools across 91��ɫ Region through the ABEL program. Through the effective use of video conferencing, collaborative technologies and streamed on-demand video, the ABEL platform distributed the event’s science content, making it available for classroom use.

ABEL also provides technical support and facilitation to support and enhance YRDSB teachers’ professional learning through a blended learning program. Leveraging interactive technologies, ABEL delivers professional learning to the classroom or school in a variety of online formats, including real-time and/or asynchronous transmission.

“The advantage to ABEL’s approach is that it allows teachers to engage in their individual learning at a time and place convenient to them, apply their learning and then re-visit the archived session as needed. This collaborative approach allows participants to gain feedback from the group about what worked and what didn’t, and continuously improve their practice,” says Murphy. “For example, 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Education recently ran a session on teaching mathematics that was streamed live and archived to ensure teachers wanting the latest numeracy pedagogy had flexible ways to access the material.”

Outstanding Service Awards reflect the YRDSB’s commitment to quality, service and teamwork. The recipients – who may include individuals, teams or departments – provide extraordinary service that has had a positive impact on the school board’s efforts to achieve its mission and goals.

Typically, those recognized have introduced positive change, significant and permanent improvements to the organization, and/or positively influenced individuals or teams around them to make great contributions.

“Janet received the Outstanding Service Award for her ongoing leadership, vision and commitment to mobilizing new knowledge for 21st-century system change,” said John Steh, manager of Leadership Development, YRDSB. “Her team’s approach has led to new organizational structures and system change, and is an excellent example of social innovation initiated by the District’s participation in the ABEL program.”

”Janet’s recognition reflects her strong leadership and the success of the entire ABEL team. ABEL’s niche is staying ahead of the technology curve in making 91��ɫ’s research in ICT, pedagogy and digital media accessible to the education community from kindergarten through to Grade 12,” said Stan Shapson, vice-president research & innovation. “Through the partnership with ABEL, the YRDSB has continually demonstrated their commitment to seeking out best pedagogical practices while ensuring teachers have access to the latest professional development. For 91��ɫ, ABEL provides an institutional platform to move the latest research out to schools while helping to attract the best high school students to programs.”

About the ABEL Program at 91��ɫ

Launched with funding support from , Canada’s Advanced Research and Innovation Network, to a consortium led by Shapson, ABEL has nearly 10 years of experience helping teachers to make better use of technology. Through public and private sector partnerships and networks, ABEL has gained national recognition as a research-based authority and leader on the effective use of existing and emerging information communication technologies (ICT) within new models of teaching, learning, training and collaboration.

ABEL’s combination of networks, partnerships and research focus drive institutional transformation and create new opportunities:

Facilitates community outreach for researchers interested in working with public school boards.
Demonstrates the value of inter-institutional and jurisdictional collaboration by providing research and outreach platforms.
Leads the effective use of technology in teaching, training and learning environments.
Provides a platform for applied research, along with expertise into the effective use of interactive and collaborative technologies.

ABEL’s partners include the , the Ministry of Education’s , the (including more than 10 school boards), , the , the , the , the and many others.

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.

The post YRDSB recognizes ABEL program director Janet Murphy for service to education appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Knowledge Mobilization launches 28 new ResearchSnapshots; part of United Way of 91��ɫ Region partnership

fmaquito — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 08:00:00 +0000

91��ɫ’s Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) Unit is expanding its repository of clear language research summaries – RsearchSnapshots – as part of its mandate to maximize the impact of research.

Using peer-reviewed 91��ɫ research, students working within the KMb Unit developed 28 new summaries over the summer. This brings the existing searchable of ResearchSnapshots to over 120 summaries.

The KMb Unit focused on three priorities identified by one of 91��ɫ’s leading partners, the United Way of 91��ɫ Region (UWYR).

The are:

Helping youth grow up strong.
Enabling individuals and families to achieve economic independence.
Improving the well-being of individuals and communities.

These research summaries provide the United Way and its network of member agencies with an important foundation for decision making and policy setting.

“Having access to relevant research strengthens UWYR’s capacity to make evidence-based decisions, and informs the planning and delivery of our strategic investments in communities of rapid growth,” says Daniele Zanotti, CEO of the UWYR.

This is the third year that the KMb Unit has developed ResearchSnapshots based on 91��ɫ research, and the project has attracted notice and enthusiasm among the wider community.

“I was able to include the research summary of the 91��ɫ Region Infrastructure project in my PowerPoint presentation,” says Joanna French, a researcher for the . “It provided a succinct, pertinent and accessible way to introduce academic research into my presentation.”

Visit Knowledge Mobilization’s website for more information about how the unit works with 91��ɫ researchers, community agencies, government and the private sector.

Submitted by Michael Johnny, manager of 91��ɫ’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit

The post Knowledge Mobilization launches 28 new ResearchSnapshots; part of United Way of 91��ɫ Region partnership appeared first on Research & Innovation.

ABEL Summer Institute mobilizes new technology, best practices and partnerships to transform classroom learning

fmaquito — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:00:00 +0000

The Advanced Broadband Enabled Learning (ABEL) program has wrapped up another successful ABEL Summer Institute (ASI). The theme of the ninth annual ASI, which took place at 91��ɫ from Aug. 23 to 25, was Creating the Future Now. The event welcomed some 200 delegates from across Ontario and Canada.

The two-and-a-half-day professional learning event included keynote and spotlight presentations, hands-on training sessions and networking opportunities, focusing on implementing new technology tools and best practices in the classroom.

Right: Anita Townsend (left), Simcoe County District School Board's principal of curriculum services, and Anita Drossis, a teacher at Vaughan Secondary School, participated in the 2010 ABEL Summer Institute

A highlight on the first day was the keynote speech by Alec Couros, a professor of educational technology & media and coordinator of information & communications technologies at the University of Regina. His talk, “How Informal Learning Networks Can Transform Education”, demonstrated how educators can embrace informal networks such as Twitter and Facebook, and looked at how our networked future is key to the reform of teaching and learning.

The conference also included talks from Garfield Gini-Newman, a lecturer at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, and Bill Muirhead, associate provost, academic, at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Both speakers had unique takes on how the rapidly changing technology landscape will affect the future of teaching and learning.

Left: ASI 2010 participants discuss the course material

The ABEL program launched its new Web site and online community at the conference, giving delegates the opportunity to continue discussions and stay connected online once professional learning and networking sessions had ended. Visit the new Web site.

Private and public sector sponsors make the ABEL Summer Institute possible. This year’s ASI sponsors included Microsoft Canada, Polycom, Apple, the Ontario Research & Innovation Optical Network, Pearson Education Canada, Duplicom Presentation Systems, Mindshare Learning, Ontario’s Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, 91��ɫ, the 91��ɫ Region District School Board, Turning Technologies Canada and Sobeys.

For more information and to view the event agenda, visit the Web site.

Founded in 2002, ABEL is led and funded by the Office of the Vice-President, Research & Innovation at 91��ɫ and the 91��ɫ Region District School Board. ABEL has established national and international credibility as a leading authority on new modes of teaching, training, learning and collaboration.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post ABEL Summer Institute mobilizes new technology, best practices and partnerships to transform classroom learning appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Teaching and education: How to reach the iPod generation in school

fmaquito — Fri, 14 May 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Janet Murphy, project manager for the at 91��ɫ, participated in a panel at Canada 3.0 this week on learning in a digital society.

The covered Murphy's remarks at the event in an article published May 12:

The younger generations are living their lives with iPods blaring in their ears and a cellphone glued to their hand. So when they head into the classroom, it's no wonder their minds begin to wander when their teacher starts writing on the blackboard.

Learning in today's digital society was just one of the issues tackled during this week's Canada 3.0 forum, held at the Stratford Rotary Complex Monday and Tuesday.

“We’re in an old-school way of thinking and we have some work to do around that teaching culture,” said Janet Murphy, project manager for the program at 91��ɫ and the 91��ɫ Region District School Board.

She noted most schools ban cellphones, which are the “most powerful computing devices” we possess. She was quick to point out teachers and faculty are prepared to shift, but face a number of impediments along the way.

The ABEL program works with both public and private sectors to help transform learning and connect people together. She noted that young people don’t view technology as technology – it is only the older generations who see it that way. “This really is an opportunity like no other,” she said, of digital learning, calling every day a “learning day”.

The complete article is available on the .

ABEL supports the effective use of new and existing information communications technologies to encourage innovation, and provides educators and researchers with pedagogical support, technological assistance, the use of collaborative and innovative applications and tools.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post Teaching and education: How to reach the iPod generation in school appeared first on Research & Innovation.

High-school students get an inside look at science and research at 91��ɫ

fmaquito — Wed, 12 May 2010 08:00:00 +0000

On May 6, the Science in Action bus brought 30 high-school students from the 91��ɫ Region District School Board (YRDSB) to the University as part of a tour created to showcase the many opportunities that await these future scientists and entrepreneurs.

, along with the Regional Municipality of 91��ɫ, the Town of Markham and YRDSB organized the tour to educate students about the potential of medical and biotechnology research and development in the region. As part of their day, the students also visited IBM, Estée Lauder, Apotex, AMD Markham, MDS Sciex, Dalton Pharma Services, sanofi pasteur, 91��ɫ Central Hospital, Markham Stouffville Hospital and Seneca College at 91��ɫ, to see how successes of scientific and health innovation contribute to the quality of life of Canadians.

During their visit to 91��ɫ's Keele campus, the students, led by Emmanuel Matiya, a 91��ɫ student ambassador for the University's Recruitment Division, had the opportunity to tour the new Sherman Health Sciences Research Centre. The building, which is set to open this fall, is home to researchers in the health, science and engineering fields. Students toured the future labs of the Centre for Vision Research and learned how biomedical and assistive technology experiments will be conducted. With support from the Faculty of Health, the high-school students also visited the School of Nursing's resource centre to watch how nursing students can run clinical simulations on low- to high-fidelity mannequins.

“Setting the foundation for future entrepreneurship and scientific innovation is an important role that YORKbiotech plays in the growth of the bio-economy in the 91��ɫ Region,” said Janet LeClair, chief administrative officer of YORKbiotech Inc. “Through programs like the Science in Action tour we are able to demonstrate the value of collaboration by bringing students closer to research and business in various sectors.”

91��ɫ Region is in the heart of a hub of Ontario's innovative technology sector with over 120 companies involved in producing medical devices, biopharma and medical assistive devices. In addition, more than 900 companies in the information and communications technology, digital media, software and manufacturing sectors reside in the region.

YORKbiotech is a regional innovation network for biotechnology-related industries at the centre of the Greater Toronto Area. The mission of YORKbiotech is to act as a catalyst, harnessing the wealth of intellectual and technical resources to promote economic success and growth of the biotechnology and related industries as a key component of regional economic development. Read their about this event.

By Sana Mulji Dutt, research communications specialist, YORKbiotech.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post High-school students get an inside look at science and research at 91��ɫ appeared first on Research & Innovation.

YORKbiotech announces winners of Sanofi pasteur Healthcare and Biotechnology Venture Challenge

fmaquito — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

What do you get when you match an inventor with a business student? Among many things, you get a commercialization plan for a new product or discovery that could potentially transform health care.

That was the case in YORKbiotech's sanofi pasteur Healthcare and Biotechnology Venture Challenge 2009 competition, which matched students enrolled in the MBA Program in 91��ɫ's Schulich School of Business with inventors of viable health-care inventions to devise market strategies and goals to commercialize new products. Industry mentors were on hand to offer teams advice and guidance. Each team consisted of two students working with product inventors and a mentor for a chance to win more than $17,000 in prizes.

Above: From left, Gavin Zealey (contest judge), scientist Arjen Bogaards and MBA students Dilip Chary and Saif Mohamed

The project, which started last fall, saw teams work with the inventors to learn about the product and then create a commercialization plan before Nov. 29, 2009.

In the final stage of the competition, three shortlisted teams pitched their invention commercialization plans to a panel of judges in a session that resembled an episode from “Dragons' Den”, the popular CBC Television venture-capitalist show. Industry experts Gavin Zealey, executive director of corporate development for sanofi pasteur Ltd.; Borys Chabursky, founder and president of SHI Consulting Inc.; and Janet Lambert, president & CEO with Lambert BioConsulting, served as the competition's judges.

The winners of the 2009 sanofi pasteur Healthcare & Biotechnology Venture Challenge are:

Sono Pharmaceuticals Inc., which placed first for its venture involving photodynamic therapy and sonodynamic therapy to produce an immune-therapeutic response to treat certain cancers. The team includes scientific entrepreneur Arjen Bogaards and MBA students Dr. Dilip Chary (who is also a family practitioner) and Saifuddin Tajuddin Mohamed. The team was awarded $7,500 and a business advisory package provided by MaRS Business Services, valued at $2,500.

Above: From left, Schulich Professor Amin Mawani, MBA students Aravind Petlu and Nilotpala Jena, and scientist Herman Lo

The second place award of $5,000 went to ViewsIQ Inc. for its real-time slide-scanning system for digital pathology. The product, named EyesIQ, is a diagnostic tool for scanning, storing and retracing pathologists' image data. The team included scientist Herman Lo and MBA students Aravind Petlu and Nilotpala Jena.

The team awarded third place and a cash prize of $2,500 was J. Strupat Technologies Ltd. for a portable pandemic ventilator life-critical system that provides mechanical assistance to individuals who are unable to breathe properly due to infection or physical damage. The team was comprised of scientist John Strupat and MBA students Darryl Baptiste and Akyljan Noupbaev.

Above: From left, Janet Lambert (contest judge), MBA students Akyljan Noupbaev and Darryl Baptiste, and scientist John Strupat

Fostering an entrepreneurial culture is integral to this competition, says Janet LeClair, chief administrative officer of , who organized the competition along with Schulich Professor Amin Mawani. “Such collaboration between scientific, business and academic communities is essential in connecting concept to commerce,” LeClair says. “The competition helps in identifying investment opportunities critical to move the economy forward.”

sanofi pasteur was the gold sponsor for the competition, MaRS and the Town of Markham were silver sponsors, while bronze sponsors were the Health Technology Exchange and 91��ɫ Region District School Board.

About YORKbiotech Inc.

YORKbiotech is a growing cluster of public- and private-sector members that promotes the convergence and commercialization of research and development in information & communications technologies and biomedical technologies.

Its members include biotechnology-related companies from Toronto through 91��ɫ Region to Simcoe County, along with service providers, industry associations, research and educational institutions, municipalities, hospitals and government.

It is one of 12 active clusters in , which supports partnerships among business, institutions and local governments to promote innovation. 91��ɫ is a founding member of YORKbiotech.

By Sana Mulji Dutt. Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

Thanks also to the .

The post YORKbiotech announces winners of Sanofi pasteur Healthcare and Biotechnology Venture Challenge appeared first on Research & Innovation.