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 have been employed with the NeCDSB since 2007. After having taught grades 3 through 7, and special education for four of those years, I had the amazing opportunity to serve as Educational Technology Special Assignment Teacher for my board for 2.5 years. During my time in this position, I spearheaded an ongoing research project for my board’s CODE funding. Phase 4 of this project spanned from January to June 2015, and the topic was using Google tools as a platform to enhance collaborative inquiry and group work in Junior and Intermediate classrooms.  Phase 5 (September 2015 to June 2016) was all about the system-wide growth our board experienced during our board-wide GAFE training model, and the impact it had on academic staff and students. Phase 6 (September 2016 – June 2017) was an extension of Phase 5. I was also a member of NeCDSB’s Educational Technology and FNMI Steering committees, and am currently looking to establish applied classroom research partnerships with a focus on videoconferencing in the classroom. I’m also a Google Maps and Street View enthusiast, and am a Street View Trusted photographer and participate in the Local Guides program, where I am developing a local Guides online community for northeastern Ontario. I have completed the Google Training Essentials certificate in December 2015, and a next step is to become a Google Certified Trainer. Currently, I am a graduate student at UBC in the MEd, Educational Technology program and have had the opportunity to speak at two international conferences as part of my education.  I am also founder of the Walk With Us © project, partnered with Google Earth Outreach, and VP of the Board of Directors at the digital Human Library founded by Leigh Cassell of AMDSB. While work and school take up much of my time these days, I enjoy playing volleyball, running, trying new recipes when inspiration strikes and hoping for the best, supporting local businesses and adding them to Google Maps, bonding with my Godson, and watching the sun set in my backyard.

my cv