The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Digital Literacy With 2learn

Digital literacy has been a key topic of interest for 2Learn since the organization’s beginnings. One of 2Learn’s first goals in the late 1990s was to help Alberta teachers confidently navigate the new landscape of educational resources. In 2018, the main collection of curated digital literacy resources can be found in Your Digital Presence at www.2learn.ca/ydp. This website contains resources, including lessons plans, research and media, that relate directly to teaching students about digital life skills.

In the Digital Citizenship section, there are articles about digital citizenship and digital footprints, as well as digital literacy lesson plans for each grade level. The Copyright and Teaching section of Your Digital Presence includes valuable resources about the basics of copyright (specifically in relation to the work of educators and students), understanding Creative Commons and other open-use multimedia resources.

The last section focuses on Engaging in a Digital World. This section includes lesson plans and media about consumerism, cyberbullying, online safety, privacy, social media, and visual literacy. The media literacy resources are particularly topical, as are the research resources, which include lesson planning ideas about effective search strategies and authenticating online information.

Visit 2Learn’s “Your Digital Presence” at www.2learn.ca/ydp to find ideas for integrating digital literacy into lesson planning and class discussions.

New ATA Publications Available

Breaking the Silence: A Guide for Sexual and Gender Minority Teachers in Alberta

The Alberta Teacher’s Association is committed to fostering understanding and acceptance of sexual and gender minority (SGM) teachers and works to protect the conditions of professional practice for all members. This guide was written to help break the silence that still surrounds the experiences of SGM teachers in schools. It is a source of information and support for SGM teachers who have questions or concerns about matters related to their employment.
(PD-80-40 2018 04)

Off-Campus Education in Alberta:
Current Realities and Future Prospects

This study explores select off-campus coordinators’ (OCCs) responses to questions about their employment experiences, administrative responsibilities and working conditions. The report raises awareness about the important role of OCCs and emphasizes their often inconsistent and nonformalized positions in Alberta schools.
(COOR-101-14, 2017 12, 64 pp)

We The Educators

This literature review works to provide a balanced view of the standardisation, personalisation and privatisation of learning to inform an analysis of the converging fields of educational technology and datafication. It is part of a larger project, “We the Educators” (www.wetheeducators.com), which brings the concepts explored in this research to life through video animation in English, French and Spanish.
(COOR-124, 2017 04, 20 pp)

Respectful Schools Online Toolkit

A new online toolkit is available to help teachers and principals create respectful school learning environments through human rights education.

Developed by the Alberta Teachers’ Association in collaboration with various partners, the Respectful Schools Online Toolkit provides curriculum-related activities, lesson plans and resources that help teachers demonstrate concepts like fairness, equity and inclusion.

The toolkit was developed due to a 2015 amendment to the School Act that added a requirement that school boards, students and parents contribute to a “welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environment that respects diversity and fosters a sense of belonging.”

The toolkit contains resources, articles and real-world best practices related to human rights and human rights education. It’s available at respectfulschools.ca.