Posts by Mark Taylor

A lively discussion on how we use learning strategies, visual appeal, tech tools, and creating a sense of belonging in the classroom. are looking for ways to engage your students?

We share ideas, tips, mistakes, and lessons learned. Plus, I am excited to hear what you add in the comments from your experience too!

Want to kick-start your students’ reading habits? Need to motivate a reluctant writer? Looking for a keynote or professional development session for your colleagues? Marty Chan offers a variety of engaging sessions that will have you laughing and learning. With over a quarter of a century of experience as a full-time writer, Marty breaks down the mystique of creative writing into practical ideas you can adopt and apply immediately. Marty Chan loves to write. Before he became a kids’ author, he worked in theatre, radio, and television. Now his passion is inspiring the next generation of lifelong readers and writers. Using a combination of storytelling, improv, humour, and stage magic, he shares his love of words with audiences young and old. Marty’s first young adult novel, The Mystery of the Frozen Brains, was a hit with young readers across Canada. Resource Links magazine listed it as one of the BEST BOOKS OF 2004 for grades 3 to 6. Another three books in the Marty Chan Mystery Series followed, including The Mystery of the Graffiti Ghoul, which won the 2007 Diamond Willow Award. In 2014, his steampunk fantasy book, Demon Gate, received nominations for best young adult novel from the High Plains Book Awards as well as the Aurora Awards. His books for striving readers have been a hit with teen readers. Haunted Hospital and Willpower both received the Gold Medal Standard from the Junior Library Guild. Marty has served as a writer in residence at the library systems in Edmonton, Strathcona County, Fort Saskatchewan, and St. Albert. He was the Citadel Theatre’s first playwright in residence. In 2016, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts named Marty one of the 25 most influential artists in Alberta.

Dr. Nagrath helps students overcome mathematics anxiety. Aditya is the creator and founder of Elephant Learning Mathematics Academy which helps students learn years of mathematics over the course of a few months using their system just 10 minutes per day, 3 days per week.

With a PhD in Mathematics & Computer Sciences, Dr. Nagrath has spent over 30 years in industry as a software engineer, author, leader, speaker, and serial entrepreneur working on everything from atomic clocks to iOS and Android apps to Amazon’s Kindle Fire. As the Founder of Elephant Head Software, which won the prestigious JD Edwards Innovation Award in 2015, he has also done software projects for Pearson, Verizon, Telefonica, JD Edwards (Oracle), and other billion dollar companies.

Catrina Lowri founded Neuroteachers to help educational settings work with their autistic and neurodivergent learners to find simple solutions for neuro -inclusive practice.

Catrina is neurodivergent herself, having the dual diagnosis of dyslexia and bipolar disorder and has traits of ADHD, dyspraxia and Auditory Processing Disorder. She is a qualified special needs teacher and an experienced SENCO and advisory teacher. She uses her unique status as an expert by lived experience and a teacher with 23 year of pupil facing experience to help schools improve behaviour, attendance, and attainment amongst pupils of all neurotypes. The Neuroteachers team do this through training, mentoring, coaching and culture change in nurseries, schools, and colleges.

Iona Jackson, Head of Insights at Edurio said: “Staff wellbeing has been an ever-pressing issue due to the recruitment and retention crisis in the education sector. So, it is vital to understand the lived experience of staff working in education today as it relates to their wellbeing so that we can find solutions and provide support to enhance wellbeing across the education sector.

Staff Wellbeing in Academies drew insights from a dataset created based on the Edurio Staff Experience and Wellbeing Survey consisting of more than 11,000 staff responses captured between September 2023 and March 2024. It is available to download at https://home.edurio.com/insights/staff-welbeing-in-schools-2024

“The aim of this report is to give school and trust leaders the information they need to create workplaces for their employees that support, take into account varying needs, and provide fulfilment for educating and raising future generations.”