Focused Education PD Day

The first Focused Ed meeting I attended was the general K-8 one. I am so excited to really get access to these resources when I get hired by a school district. 4 Canoes, Worldbook, and KnowBC are the ones I think I’m looking forward to most. I loved the idea of creating a scavenger hunt with the facts on KnowBC. This feels like such an engaging, student-centred way to build research skills while keeping learning playful and interactive. I can really see myself incorporating that into a future classroom.

The second meeting I attended was on cybersecurity for students. This is such an important topic for students to learn. The course for cybersecurity is open to anyone, not just educators. It can be found here: https://focusedresources.ca/privacy-technology/cybersecurity. Having premade lessons is always handy, and I think the videos are engaging and well done. I’m honestly a bit surprised that cybersecurity is not more explicitly embedded in the BC curriculum, given how important and relevant it is in today’s digital world. Teaching students how to identify scams, create strong passwords, respond to cyberbullying, and understand how their personal data is collected and used are vital life skills. These are foundational competencies for participating safely and confidently in online spaces.