TIGed

Hi everyone!

My name is Pritha and I am the new TIGed Program Assistant intern, a position which I’m very excited to take on, with a team that I’m really looking forward to working with.

I am currently a student completing my undergrad at the University of Toronto in Geography and Planning, where my focus is on regional development in connection to infrastructural and social issues. I bring a strong personal interest in social issues and the methods that can be utilized to mobilize individuals to seek and form change in their communities. Civic engagement has been a key driving point in my previous experiences working with organizations in Toronto, and a big reason for why I was drawn to TIG. I’m passionate about working with the advantages of an increasingly globalized world to secure educational opportunities for classrooms to voice their thoughts and solutions through innovative and interactive social platforms. Working on ways to help foster the potential of a student through the means of youth development by drawing on local, regional and global issues is an incredibly interesting and exciting way to learn, engage and connect.

I look forward to meeting and working with everyone!

Pritha 

Hello everybody!

My name is Dafna Lubocki and I am excited to be the new Communications Coordinator intern at TIG! I am very inspired by the passionate group of educators on the TIGed team, and I am looking forward to working on meaningful projects and initiatives this summer.

I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and moved to Winnipeg in 2002. I went to school at the University of Manitoba where I completed a Business Administration degree in Marketing and Accounting. I also had the opportunity to live and study in Jerusalem for a year and take courses in Social Sciences and History.

I have a strong passion for education and innovation, and I love working with young people. I have spent the last seven summers working at a summer camp where I worked on curriculum development as well as leadership training for youth. I also worked as an English teacher in both Israel and Argentina and had the opportunity to interact with children from diverse backgrounds and cultures. These experiences strengthened my commitment to support the educational endeavours of today’s youth.

I am very excited to be part of the TIGed team, and I hope to make a valuable contribution to the many projects and initiatives. Stay tuned for all the wonderful events coming up soon!

Dafna

Hello all!

My name is Sandra Kilfoy and I am an Intern from OISE at the University of Toronto. My teachables are English and History. Leading up to the start of the internship, I have been very excited to collaborate with the TIG team! I am a “pack rat” for resources and I am glad I am getting the chance to explore, create and improve resources for global education.

I am passionate about creativity and innovation. I believe the use of innovative methods in classrooms has the potential not only to improve education, but also to empower students to be critical, creative thinkers.

As a writer and artist working in many mediums (my strengths are poetry, collages and found art/poetry), I am always trying new ways to create; new ways for my voice to be heard. In tandem with TIG, I want to facilitate resources that allow for youth to challenge the world they live in.

And, most of all, to be inspired!

A lot of my inspiration for writing stems from working on a berry farm for five years in Cambridge, Ontario. During these five years, I learned a lot from hands on experience, working with an eccentric, dedicated team, and from being surrounded by nature.

I hope that I can take my past experiences, knowledge and strengths “to act today, so we can shape tomorrow.” During my time at TIG, I want to work with this mandate in mind. I hope to be able to contribute to the initiatives at TIG in any way possible!

I look forward to working with everyone! And if anyone needs help, I am around to pitch in!

Cheers,

Sandra

My name I Sylvia Chan, currently an intern at TIGed. I am pretty excited to be getting involved with TIG with the education programs online. I am passionate about the arts and was actually one of the Top 26 artists for the Defining Moments Art Exhibition that happened last year. It was a great event to be able to be apart of. Besides having my artwork shown and exhibited from province to province, I got the chance to meet with talented artists and to hear them talk about their art. It was a great way to give a voice to young people through their art. I believe that young people have many talents and skills yet to be discovered and fostered.

Besides being an artist (Painter, Performance artist, dancer), I enjoy sharing my knowledge with young people. I believe art can help empower young people and that everyone is an artist. They may not think they are, but everyone has the capability to be creative and to think outside the box. I believe the world can do much with people with new ideas and concepts. Before TIG, I worked as an art instructor at the Varley Art Gallery and an Outreach Director at Power Unit Youth Organization. I have been putting on art shows and exhibitions since I was in highschool. Last year, I was able to implement art programs for high school students to help foster their creativity, leadership and teamwork skills. I hope to be able to contribute to the TIG as much as I can. My background is in Fine Arts at Concordia University. I am currently finishing off my B.ED at University of Toronto.

You can check my artwork at www.sylviaartwork.com

I look forward to the programing as well as the chance to meet with like-minded individuals who wants to help youth around the world!

Cheers~

TakingITGlobal is pleased to announce the launch of an exciting new partnership between TIGed and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). The board has made a serious commitment to transforming education in our city through 21st century leadership, teaching and learning. This pilot project, with a family of 18 Toronto schools, will take over 100 TDSB staff through blended learning professional development courses in global citizenship, student voice, and environmental stewardship, with problem-based learning methodologies and innovative technology tools integrated throughout. The courses will culminate in final projects developed by each participant, or in teams, comprised of education units or projects to be implemented in schools across Toronto. Many of these projects will be showcased at an innovation fair in late May.

We co-hosted an event March 7 with the TDSB at Northview Heights Secondary School to launch the project. What a great day! TakingITGlobal co-founder, Jennifer Corriero, kicked off the day’s events with “global cafe” discussions to explore examples of student leadership, the future of the classroom, and education technology success stories. We were blown away by the depth of discussion and obvious passion of everyone in the room for creating meaningful and relevant educational experiences for Toronto students. Later in the morning, we heard from Gen Ling Chang, Chief Academic Officer of Teaching and Learning, and Jeff Hainbuch, Superintendent of Education for the family of schools with whom we are working. Gen Ling and Jeff talked about the importance of this kind of partnership in today’s education landscape, and projected one of our favourite images of the day: TDSB + TIGed = Global learning for all, an equation inspired by Jeff’s young son. Jennifer Klein, our resident problem-based learning expert, delivered a jam-packed session to introduce everyone to the concept they’d be exploring in depth over the next two months. The afternoon was dedicated to meeting in course groups with instructors and support staff to delve into the content of the courses, and to get to know one another.

As an organization focused on making global connections and addressing international challenges, this tie to our most local school board is critical. The adage “Think global, act local” rings true for us here. The potential to affect change on a system level is evident in this pilot program, and the TDSB is taking great care to measure teacher, administrator and student outcomes, which is very exciting for us.

There are several people we’d like to thank for making this project possible: Gen Ling Chang, Chief Academic Officer of Teaching and Learning; Jeff Hainbuch, Superintendent of Education, WR3 Family of Schools; Shaun Chen, Vice Chair and Trustee; Roula Anastasakos and Samuel Zheng, who are leading research efforts; Peter Paputsis and Richard Stein, principals of  Northview Heights Secondary School and Flemington Public School, which are the host schools for our in-person sessions; everyone on the steering committee for this project; our friends at Deloitte Canada for making this amazing connection; and all the participants who will dedicate time and energy to this exciting new program! Thank you, everyone!