So after months of preparation: impromptu meetings, cold calls, networking, and the realization that I have a lot of great people surrounding me in unrelenting support – I have submitted my application to graduate school.Back in July, I visited my sister in Vancouver. I had been researching grad school programs, truthfully for a few years now, and none seemed quite right for me. I was beginning to feel like Goldilocks – school and clinical child psychology? No. Curriculum studies? Nah……and then I came across UBC’s Master of Educational Technology program. Just right.
I want to explore the use of video-conferencing in the classroom further, and I proposed adding an experts panel comprised of artists to the Digital Human Library website (link on my About page), where kids in rural areas like Northeastern Ontario can interact with artists from across Canada to enhance the Arts curriculum and engage them in an authentic learning experience. This is all done from the comfort of their classroom, which means costs are down. And when I say down, I mean FREE. I want to create a resource to help teachers, and ultimately, students.
My name is Melissa Lavoie. I’m from South Porcupine, Ontario (yep). I started teaching in 2006, fresh out of University of Windsor’s teacher’s college, and was employed by the Northeastern Catholic DSB from 2007 - 2017. I've taught grades 3 through 7, special education, and for my last 2.5 years, I was an Education Technology Special Assignment Teacher. I'm an Airbnb Superhost, a digital content creator for Learning Bird, and worked as a GIS-Education Specialist partnered with Mushkegowuk Council. I graduated from UBC's Master of Educational Technology program in November 2019, am VP of Board of Directors for the Digital Human Library and Board Member for Science Timmins, founder of the Walk With Us Project and currently learning how to use a CNC plasma cutting machine!
View all posts by Melissa Lavoie