The idea Lab began as a process to take innovative ideas and make them a reality. This process has now evolved and grown to a point where it has a physical space and a dedicated team of project stewards.
The concept began in 2013/14 as 'The Pitch'. The Pitch was a 1-day event, where anyone in the entire KCDSB system, students, teachers, principals, custodians, librarians, education assistants, could pitch an idea to the panel. The premise was that the pitches had to be 2 minutes max and had to meet the criteria of collaboration, making an impact on student achievement and wellbeing and include a technology component. The Pitch process allowed people with innovative ideas to apply for up to $15K in funding to have their project or idea become a reality. The panel ended up listening to 25 pitches over 3 hours. "We didn't know what to expect, but we realized at that point that we had tapped into something important," says Jamey Robertson, Innovation and Creativity Coordinator.
Pitches were student led, cross school collaborations and pitches also spanned all 5 schools in the board. In the end the panel formally accepted 22 of the 25 pitches. The other 3 pitches were connected and realized in other ways. "That year we had projects implemented that were focused on student learning and student engagement, learning spaces and wellness. We also had cohorts and teams created", says Tammy Bush, Early Years Lead and Curriculum Coordinator.
"After the pitch night it was apparent that we really have a group of people here at the KCDSB that are pioneers. They want to take risks and experiment with ideas. There were too many ideas for us to handle and we had to scale up. We wanted to take it to the next level. We knew we'd have to restructure internally to meet the demand." says Jamey Robertson, Innovation and Creativity Coordinator. "That's how the 'Idea Lab' evolved to become a physical space with a dedicated team of project stewards."
Today the pitch process now has its own physical and virtual space at the Catholic Education Center called the Idea Lab. It also has a student-designed logo, a dedicated email address, and an online application process so ideas can be submitted and realized all year long. The Idea Lab also has a dedicated team of project stewards that collaborate together to strategize and support the ideas that come into the lab. There are 5 Instructional Services staff that are home-based in the Idea Lab as well as 5 others that support special projects. Their role is to strategize and support how to make the idea a reality and work through the details and research so teachers and students can focus on the results they want to achieve.
"We see ourselves as stewards", says Tammy Bush. "It's the way we collaborate as a team and it provides a framework for how we serve staff and students. We come together as a team and we tackle big learning projects that involve innovative approaches to learning. We connect the dots between needs and available supports. Through the idea lab we are able to align ideas and expertise to make an idea become a reality."
"There have been projects that wouldn't have been implemented without the support of the idea lab," says Jamey Robertson."
RECENT IDEA LAB PROJECTS:
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Environmental Learning spaces
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Bring Your Own Device
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Student Devise Charging Stations
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Student Fresh Grade Portfolios across the board K - 6
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Interactive Floor at St. Louis School which may be the first of its kind in Northwestern Ontario
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Rethinking of Playground Spaces for Kindergarten students at Pope John Paul II School
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Bringing Curriculum to Life in grade 4/5 class at St. Louis School
IDEA LAB FACTS:
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The stewards supported 22 projects year one (2013/14)
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The Idea Lab is currently supporting 14 active projects in (2015/16) and it's only December!
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Every year there has been projects that originated from each school
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5 returning applicants have completed multiple projects
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There have been 61 applications for Learning Projects since year one (2013/14)
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There are 10 Idea Lab Stewards who support the Learning Projects
OUR IDEA LAB STEWARDS
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Mary Cunningham, Superintendent of Instructional Services
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Tammy Bush, Learning Coordinator and Early Years Lead
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Jamey Robertson, Innovation and Creativity Coordinator
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Chris Moorley, Special Education Coordinator
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Jordan Temple, Numeracy Facilitator
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Kirsten Dexter, Student Work Study Teacher
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Sarah Pyzer, Applied Behavioral Analysis Lead
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Shelly Tom, Aboriginal Resource Teacher
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Susan Devlin, Mental Health Lead
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Teresa Stevenson, Digital Innovative Learning Lead and Technology Enabled Teaching/Learning Contact