About Me

About Me & Presentation Archive

Welcome to Mrs. Geek Chic.com! I’m Larissa Aradj, a Technology and Design teacher at a Toronto Independent school. I am also a Technology Integration Specialist, Google Certified Educator, Trainer, Innovator #TOR16, GEG Ontario Leader/Mentor, as well as an Apple Distinguished Educator (2019).
My past experience includes serving as a Digital Lead Learner Mentor (2018-2024), and a recipient of the Toronto District School Board Excellence Award (2018).

I’m not new to blogging, however, I’ve changed my audience this time. I’ve been running and maintaining school-wide and classroom blogs since 2007, still in education, yes, but this teacher blog is a new adventure for me.

I love creating and sharing teaching resources!! As an FSL/French Immersion Teacher I often struggle to find good, quality resources in French. I hope to help make life easier for teachers who aren’t so tech savvy and to motivate them to try new EdTech (and other!) teaching ideas. Getting started with technology is the hardest part, in hopes my “EdTech du jour” tips, tricks, ideas & resources will inspire you and bring out your own inner geek.

@MrsGeekChic

Check out #LLPSLLC for my teacher-librarian adventures, ideas, and Fab Lab/Makerspace fun on Twitter /”X” & Instagram.

 

Presentation Archive

I enjoy sharing my love for Ed Tech with my fellow teacher colleagues and have had the pleasure of presenting at several educational technology TDSB district events, province, and nation-wide conferences.

PODCAST/BLOG/WEBINAR APPEARANCES & MENTIONS:

PRIOR PRESENTATIONS:
(I am no longer keeping this list updated)

  • April – June 2020 – TDSB Remote Learning Webinars & Office Hours
  • March 19th, 2020 – Micro:bit Webinar for Educators, Toronto, Ontario
  • March 7th, 2020 – Hosted and Presented at ADE in TO Showcase, Apple – Transform your Classroom with iPad Conference
  • August 29th, 2019 – ADE in TO Showcase, Apple – Trasnform your Classroom with iPad Conference
  • August 7th-9th, 2019 – ETFO Summer Academy 3-day course – Toronto, Ontario, Getting Googley – Preparing for September with G-Suite for Education tools.
  • August 21, 2019 – FrEd Matters FSL Conference, Toronto, Ontario.
  • April 25, 2019 – Unleashing Learning Conference, TDSB.
  • April 7th & 8th, 2019 – EdTechTeam Summit Kitchener, Waterloo.
  • August 22, 2018 – FrEd Matters FSL Conference, Toronto, Ontario.
  • September 2018 –  Present
    Hosting TO-Teach Meetups with GEG Ontario. Google Toronto Office – Events happen quarterly. Check bit.ly/TO-TEACH for more information.
  • April 7, 2017 -ETFO ICT Conference, Toronto, Digital Breakouts.
  • April 8, 2017 -OISE/UT ETFO ICT Conference, Toronto, The New Google Sites.
  • April 21, 2017 -Unleashing Learning Conference TDSB – Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Pic Forward Global Green Screen Challenge
  • April 26, 2017 – CONNECT Conference, Niagara Falls, Innovation and Collaboration through Entrepreneurial Thinking and G Suite – co-presenting with Arianna Lambert.
  • May 15th, 2017 – TLC Ninja Podcast – online, live. See the video here.
  • May 27th & 28th, 2017 – EdTechTeam Summit, London, Ontario.
  • June 25th, 2017 – 7:00-8:00PM EST- Shop Talk for FSL Teachers Guest hosted by Etienne Steven Langlois
  • August 22, 2017 – FrEd Matters Conference, Toronto, Ontario.
  • August 23rd-25th, 2017 – ETFO Summer Academy 3-day course – Toronto, Ontario, Getting Googley – Preparing for September with G-Suite for Education tools.
  • October 27, 2017 – FrEd Matters Conference, Grand Prairie, Alberta.
  • October 16, 2017 – TDSB Google Camp, Toronto, Ontario.
  • November 10, 2017 – Bring IT Together Conference, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Here are links to a selection of my past presentations for some self-directed PD or refresher if you’ve already attended a session. I hope they can help you get a head start on getting geeky! Scroll to the very bottom for TDSB-specific presentations.

Digital Breakout – Online Escape-Style Games for Students (2019)
Blog Post HERE

Digital Tools and Creativity in FSL –
FrEd Matters Conference 2019

Google à go-go !  G Suite Tools for the FSL Classroom –
FrEd Matters FSL Conference 2018

Super Slides: Going Beyond Presentations with Google Slides! (2017)

Storage War$ Google Slides Template Walk-Through & Super Slides (2017)

See this blog post for more details.

The Ultimate Blank Canvas: Creating with Google Drawings 101 (2017)


Check out my Google Drawings 101 blog post here.

Demo Slam Video from TDSB Google Camp 4.0 (I WON!!!)
Flippin’ Awesome How-to
Blog post HERE
Toronto – March 4, 2017 

Demo Slam Video from Bring IT Together ECOO Conference
Niagara Falls 2016

Some fun with Google Slides: Stop Motion Animation

Digital Lead Learner Marketplace Slidedeck (2016)


See this blog post for more details.

Digital Lead Learner Workshop:
Getting Started with G Suite Part 1 & 2 

Pt. 1 no longer available
Part 2:

Digital Lead Learner After School Workshop:
Getting Started with Google Apps for Education (2016)

TDSB Google Camp 2016: A Beginner’s Guide to Google Drawings    

TDSB Google Camp 2014: Getting Started with Blogger
No longer available


For my TDSB Colleagues:

How to Login to G Suite & Brightspace from Home TDSB

How to Log Into Adobe Spark for TDSB Students:

How to Turn Off/Manage Email Notifications for Google Classroom

No longer available

Gmail 101

 

AW (Google) Calendar Lunch & Learn

   No longer available