Professional profile

My name is Yves Mainville. I am currently a technopedagogy coordinator for the Conseil scolaire du district des écoles catholiques du Sud-Ouest (CSDÉCSO). Our schools our spread across southwestern Ontario, from Windsor to Owen-Sound, a region spanning 450 kilometres, approximately the size of Belgium.

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I have B.A. with a combined concentration in mathematics and computer science, as well as my B.Ed. I have completed a variety of additional courses along the way, including my principal courses. In stints away from education and upon my return, I collected a variety of designations such as the MCSE, CNA, Domino PCLP and most recently Google Apps Certified Individual. I have been fortunate enough to try my hand at teaching at all levels, from Primary all the way through to College and University level courses. Athough I have been in education for 15+ years, the bulk of my experience is at the secondary and post-secondary levels. I consider myself an ‘EduGeek‘ as I am passionate about new technologies, especially when it comes to its use in education to enhance student learning.

Why the MET journey?

My reasons for undertaking the MET journey are twofold. The first reason, is a personal one; I feel that if I can complete a master’s degree and perhaps even a doctoral one in the future, I am being a role model for my sons. Like all parents, I want them to grow up and do something everyday that will make them happy. This ‘something’ may or may not require graduate level education, however, I want them to understand the importance of education as a key element to lifelong success, something I truly believe in. The second reason for completing the MET is professional. On top of the various professional advantages to completing a graduate level degree, I feel that the depth of knowledge I will have with regards to Educational Technology will make me a better educator. I feel that I need to ‘put my money where my mouth is’ when I claim to be a lifelong learner. To quote a superintendent during one of my principal courses I took awhile back: “We are in the business of selling education, and to this end, if we are willing to sell education, we have to be willing to buy it“. This really resonated with me and since that day I am always trying to be learning something, whether that is in a formal or informal context.

The road flight ahead – my professional perspective

Michael Fullan reveals the roadmap for education in Ontario in Great to Excellent: Launching the Next Stage of Ontario’s Education Agenda. We see on page 8 and 9 the focus on the ‘6 Cs’ of the new learning paradigm.

For the last few years, I have been focusing on the ‘4 Cs’ of the p21.org framework as I really think that traditional teaching practice lacks these elements to fully prepare students for the future that awaits them. However, we are in an era where cyberbullying is rampant and people online (young and old) lack the skills and judgement for a healthy online presence. To address this problem, Fullan expands on the notion of the original 4Cs (Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking and Creativity) to the 6Cs to include ‘Character Education’ and ‘Citizenship’, a very important and required addition in my opinion. In his latest publication, ‘Stratosphere‘, he goes into far greater detail about the state of technology and education, and identifies trends and tendencies that are significant to student success. He states : “

• Only 8 percent of teachers fully integrate technology into the classroom.
• Some 43% of students feel unprepared to use technology as they look to higher education and their work life (and I would venture to say that many of those who feel prepared got that way from their outside-the-school digital learning).
• Only 23% of teachers feel that they could integrate technology in the classroom.”

Having worked closely with teachers for the last 7 years, I can personally identify with the objectives outlined in the Fullan-Ontario education roadmap, and furthermore recognize that I also have a professional responsibility towards them. I am pleased that my professional educational goals and professional objectives align very well with current Ministry of education thinking.

The road flight ahead – my personal perspective

I am currently enrolled in my 7th and 8th MET courses and have learned a great deal thus far. Although my ‘students’ these days are typically teachers from our school board, I am fortunate to be able to play with new technologies on a regular basis and collaborate with other educators. To date, I have already applied much of the knowledge I have garnered along the way and look forward to this course to further develop my thinking and skills around virtual learning environments and technologies. I have significant experience with Moodle, Drupal, WordPress, Joomla and a few other CMS/LMS platforms, but I look forward to learning about methods and frameworks to evaluate, select and deploy these kinds of platforms and tools in appropriate contexts. Having worked extensively with video production, programming, web and graphic design and network administration, my desire is to add depth to my pedagogy around technology by focusing specifically on transformed teaching practice and assessment, and this, within the framework of the ‘6Cs’ as outlined by Fullan.