Inspiring Education is a dialogue – an exchange of ideas to change each other’s thinking about what education is and what education means. It’s about looking to the future and deciding what education in Alberta should be in twenty years. No matter who you are or where you live in Alberta, you are invited to listen and contribute to the conversation. One of the primary goals is to reach a clear understanding of what it will mean to be an educated Albertan 20 years from now.

The Mokakioyis/Meyopimatisiwin project is an ethno-ecological inquiry that seeks to digitally preserve traditional Aboriginal knowledge in an interactive online environment. Students, Aboriginal elders, cultural and spiritual advisors, eminent scholars, teachers, new media artists, and educational mentors collaborated to conduct this ethno-ecological study. Together we are digitally preserving traditional knowledge online. This site contains photographs, video and sound recordings, maps, and text-based information resources.

Come join our online community! Share your comments pictures and stories with us all.

The work that the grade 7 students from Calgary Science School embarked upon is truly authentic, intellectual work. Students were invited to re-mix images and designs from historical documents to produce fresh interpretations of the stories that helped to shape Canada’s past and our current national identity. The digital re-mixes that these students created are now on display in the Calgary Science School’s own Virtual Museum. In addition to these extraordinary digital collages, students produced original historical fiction movies which are also showcased on the website. The CSS Virtual Museum will soon be permanently linked to the “Canada in a Box” display at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull Quebec. The work of these students was real work that was created for a real purpose and audience.

Did you know that when you read the names on a map you're actually reading history? What is there about naming that intrigued these students? Using old maps, historical documents, local histories and lore, these students brought to life the place names on this map. If you look behind the names of the places, locations and people on their map, the lives and stories of their ancestors come to life and reflect their heritage.

Naming the West connected 22 teachers and 450 grade 2, 5 and 9 students from 11 schools within Foothills School Division, Chief Old Sun School (Siksika), and Chief Jacob Bearspaw School (Eden Valley) with education mentors from Galileo Educational Network, archivists from the Okotoks Museum and the Museum of the Highwood. This year long partnership enabled the teachers and students to work as: historians, archivists, toponymists and designers of authentic, innovative educational learning experiences that reached outside of the traditional classroom setting.

Foothills School Division, Galileo Educational Network, Okotoks Archives and Museum and The Museum of the Highwood were recognized as the 2009 winners in the Special Settings category by the Calgary Educational Partnership Foundation.

Thank you to all school administrators who participated in the 2008 and 2009 Principal 21st Century Leadership workshops.

A Classroom Observation Rubric has been created to guide administrators in their observations of classroom practices to ensure that all students are meaningfully engaged in robust 21st century learning environments. The French translation is available.

This year, 2009, a follow-up session was designed to assist principals in using the Classroom Observation Rubric. These sessions introduce principals to using criteria to inform, guide and increase their capacity towards more effective Instructional Leadership.

Presentation from winter, 2008 sessions

Presentations from winter, 2009 sessions:

Presentation from first day

Presentation from second day