First Impressions of ECOO

By Jeff Weir (New ECOO Treasurer)

I joined the ECOO Board of Directors as Treasurer in 2016.  Having only been involved for a short period of time, I thought I would share some initial impressions.  In my own career, I am in finance and accounting, so the area of education is very different for me.  My wife, however, is a high school educator with a passion for learning, teaching, and technology integration, so I do have some familiarity with the world of education and technology.   I am also a proponent of keeping up with technology and continuous learning, and I look forward to the learning experience that I know this role will provide.

Before joining, I often heard the terms “ECOO” and “BIT” around the house, and knew there was an annual conference that my wife attended.  At the time, I didn’t know what these terms meant or what was involved, thinking only that she enjoyed getting out of the house for a few days in the fall to learn and network with colleagues.

Since joining, I have learned the primary tasks of the organization include hosting the annual Bring-IT Together conference, partnering with other educational organizations, and liaising with the Ministry of Education, all with the goal of enhancing the learning experience for students, and enabling knowledge sharing amongst educators.  I’ve discovered that the BIT conference itself, is a year-long planning process with a significant amount of behind-the-scenes work, and is very well attended by educators and administrators from all across Ontario. Through ECOO, I can see that there is a strong commitment to ensuring the conference is a successful and rewarding experience for attendees.

Although I have only been involved on the Board for a handful of meetings to this point, I can see a group of volunteers who dedicate their time to planning, to collaborating with others, to sharing diverse learning experiences, and to helping foster the integration of technology in education.   As a parent to two young children, it’s great to see so many people working together on their own time to share ideas, and to ultimately better the classroom experience for students.  As the technological world around us continues to rapidly change, the classroom, and how we educate our children, cannot be left behind.  It is uplifting to see the kind of collaboration that an organization such as ECOO brings to education in Ontario. I hope that ECOO continues to grow and can make a positive impact on educators, administrators and students.

Thanks for welcoming me to the organization, and I look forward to working with everyone involved.