Media Creation Technology Kits have been introduced into all Native Studies and Native Language classes in the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. The kits include student and teacher laptops, in-focus projectors, digital still cameras, digital video cameras, wireless microphones and wireless internet capabilities as well as many more multi media components used in the creation of movies, slide shows, podcasts and web page creations.
Category: Technology
St. Anne Catholic School Brings 21st Century Technology into Classroom
St. Anne Catholic School in Hanmer has entered into a unique partnership with Science North by piloting an in-class videoconference session. Students from Mr. Thomson’s Grade 6 class utilized Macbook laptop computers and the newly installed Smartboard technology in the classroom to conduct a videoconference with Bruce Doran, a Bluecoat and Staff Scientist from Science North.
The program Science North is presenting is entitled Predators and their Prey. The program is suitable for grades 4 to 6 but has specific curriculum links in grades 4 and 6.
The videoconference lasted approximately 50 minutes in length and allowed staff scientists to dialogue with the students through a question and answer session. St. Anne students examined various biological samples such as skulls, claws, and teeth to learn some of the animals’ physical and behavioural features that allow them to obtain food and survive in their habitat. The material included in the Science North kit contained animal skulls, skeletons, and animal tracks which had been delivered to the school in advance.
This videoconference provided the students with not only a “one of a kind hands on learning experience” but also demonstrated how the use of technology can foster creative and unique partnerships in the Sudbury community.
St. Anne Catholic School Enters into Unique Videoconferencing Partnership with Science North
St. Anne Catholic School has entered into a unique partnership with Science North in piloting an in-class videoconference session. Mr. Thomson’s grade 6 class will participate in piloting the Science North video conferencing school program “Predators and Prey” on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 from 12:35-1:55 p.m.
Grade 6 students will utilize newly installed Smartboard technology in the classroom to conduct a videoconference with a Bluecoat from Science North. The program Science North is presenting is Predators and their Prey. It is a program suitable for grades 4 to 6 but has specific curriculum links in grades 4 and 6. The videoconference will be approximately 50 minutes in duration. The program includes a Science North science kit containing animal skulls, skeletons, tracks, etc.
This videoconference provides the students with not only a “one of a kind hands on learning experience” but also demonstrates how the use of technology can foster creative and unique partnerships in the Sudbury community
Sudbury Catholic Schools Director to Speak at CASA Leadership Conference in Halifax
Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, Catherine McCullough has been invited to speak at the Canadian Association of School Administrators (CASA) Summer Leadership Academy Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia from July 10 to 13, 2008. The theme of this year’s national conference is “Literacy-Lighting the Way.”
Mrs. McCullough’s discussion will focus on the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s extensive commitment to technology with respect to the introduction and rapid expansion of its “One to One” Apple laptop program in its elementary and secondary schools since 2002 and more specifically with the boys’ literacy program.
Sudbury Catholic Schools “Technology has quickly transformed the world around us,” states McCullough. “We know that our students need to develop different skills sets in order to live, learn and work in this digital age. As a school board in Northeastern Ontario, we decided to meet this challenge head on.” By meeting this challenge head on, McCullough is referring to the “One to One” laptop program in all of its Grade 7 and 8 classrooms, a program that was unique in the province of Ontario. Realizing that boys are visual learners and respond more positively to visual images that accelerate learning, the board is using computers and technology to support the success of this program. “We have especially observed success in the area of enhancing and engaging Boys’ Literacy through the introduction of our One to One Laptop Program,” said McCullough. “Boys thrive on the visual language of television, cartoons, and video games. Similarly, boys respond well when presented with the opportunity to present their ideas and written work using charts, flow diagrams, and other visual forms.”
Research also suggests that boys respond positively to images because boys are more oriented to visual/spatial learning. As a result, visual images accelerate boys’ learning.
(Daly, 2002, p. 16) Educators and parents may have been too quick to dismiss boys’ preoccupation with computers as a diversion from their own book-based literacy, not recognizing the computer’s capacity to empower users to gain access to, and control of, information. It is imperative that educators and parents be aware of the impact of the multimedia world, and understand the positive ways in which these new languages and cultures can be harnessed as adjuncts to book-based literacy. (Millard, 1997, p. 46)
Director of Education Invited to Attend Education Leadership Summit
Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, Catherine McCullough has been invited to attend Apple’s Education Leadership Summit in San Francisco, California on April 10 and 11, 2008. According to John Couch, vice-president for Apple’s Educational Division, “The summit will provide opportunities for education executives and global thought leaders to convene and explore a new course of action for creating dynamic 21st century learning environments where today’s students can achieve and thrive.” McCullough will also participate in an “Executive Think Tank Session” which will provide the opportunity to network with peers, explore ideas with other thought leaders and to work directly with those on the front lines of change and innovation.
The Summit will also feature keynote speakers, Sir Ken Robinson, author of Out of Our Minds: Learning To Be Creative and Andreas Schleicher, Head of the Indicators and Analysis Division at the Directorate for Education in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, located in Paris. An invitation has also been extended to Angus King, former Governor of Maine who will speak about his personal story of leadership and the very successful program in Main which has empowered students across the state by placing a mobile computer in their hands for 24/7 learning.
McCullough has been invited as one of the select few Canadian Education Executives (one of ten Canadian Directors and one hundred American Directors) based on the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s extensive commitment to technology with respect to the introduction and rapid expansion of the “One to One” Apple laptop program in its elementary and secondary schools since 2002. “Education and the approach to learning have taken on a whole new dimension in the 21st century,” states McCullough. “Technology has quickly transformed the world around us. As a school board we decided to meet this challenge head on. In September 2006, we implemented a board wide one to one laptop program in all of our
Grade 7 and 8 classrooms, (a program unique to Ontario), as well as introducing the use of the ibooks in our junior grades.”
According to McCullough, one of the immediate benefits that was realized by the Board’s laptop program was its unique ability to provide teachers with the opportunity to align teaching activities to the interests, learning styles, and needs of all students in allowing them to be successful. The one to one laptop program provides opportunities to fully engage students in reading, writing, and visual literacy.
SCDSB Celebrates Technology
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board will be hosting a Technology Celebration on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 (7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) at St. Charles College. The Technology presentation will allow the Board’s students to showcase some of the Laptop projects that they have been working on during term one. Students will also have the opportunity to talk about their work and share their learning experience with the audience.
In its continued commitment to student success, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board has developed strong expertise in the use of technology as a resource for improving student achievement. Over the last several years the Board has committed itself to the expansion of the wireless laptop program into the Grade 7 and 8 curriculum which has had a dramatic impact on improved student learning and student achievement.
This evening is dedicated to showcasing the creative talents of the Board’s students as they embrace the technology they will be using in their upcoming careers.
SCDSB Celebrates Technology
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board celebrated its first technology session by dedicating an entire evening to showcasing the authentic works of the Board’s Grade 7 and 8 students with respect to its brand new “1 to 1 learning with laptops program” at
St. Charles College recently. Students, parents, teachers, and staff along with SCDSB Trustees and Senior Administration were treated to a host of high tech presentations in the form of movies, podcasts, interpretations of creative poetry, and historical events.
Lisa Samuels, Curriculum Coordinator for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s Laptop program stated in her opening remarks to the audience that even though the Sudbury Catholic District School Board was the first and only board in Ontario to take on such an innovative project and faced numerous challenges, the students responded quite admirably and succeeded beyond the Board’s expectations. “When we started this journey in September, I don’t think any of us knew where this path would take us,” stated Samuels. “We had no road map as no other board in Ontario has implemented a 1 to 1 laptop program system wide. Like the voyageurs who explored what was to become Canada, we set out into unfamiliar territory to learn how to effectively use the technology. Our goals were simple: increase student engagement, increase student achievement, provide every student with access to digital resources, and provide our students with learning experiences that are inquiry based in nature and foster what are called 21st century skills.”
The Board’s laptop program provided its students with an opportunity to explore the Ontario curriculum differently by allowing them to become critical thinkers and problem solvers. The project also afforded the students a great deal of flexibility in demonstrating their creative and innovative talents while working collaboratively as team. To assist and support the project, the Board sought the services and expertise of Apple Canada and its access to skilled educators who have been working with the laptop program for more than 15 years.
The evening showcased the authentic work from 5 schools, 8 teachers, and 200 students who were engaged with the Board’s laptop program over the last year which included, multimedia poetry interpretations, mini documentaries on the opening of the west, a video diary of a science experiment, and public service announcements about the choices facing teenagers today.
Sudbury Catholic District School Board Chair, Paula Peroni is quite proud of the efforts of her students and the initial results of Board’s laptop program. “Laptops have become a tool to learn with and not solely a tool to learn from,” states Peroni. “Over the last several years the Board has committed itself to the expansion of the wireless laptop program into our Grade 7 and 8 curriculum. In June 2006, our Board purchased eleven hundred wireless laptop computers for every grade 7 and 8 student in our system. The wireless laptop program has had a dramatic impact on student learning and student achievement. This evening has been dedicated to showcasing the creative talents of the Board’s students as they embrace the technology they will be using in their upcoming careers.”
A Taste of Highschool
Grade 8 students from St. David, St. James and St. Francis Catholic Schools took part in St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School’s Tech Days recently. Technology Days not only afforded the students insight into the world of a secondary school student but also allowed them the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in the four key areas of Automotive Technology, Construction Technology, Communications Technology as well as Hospitality and Tourism.
No More Pencils, No More Books, But Definitely a Laptop!
Representatives from Apple Canada joined the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s administrative team in presenting all of the Board’s Grade 7 and 8 teachers and vice-principals with a wireless MacBook laptop computer in its ‘Apple For The Teacher Day.’ The Board passed a motion last week to purchase eleven hundred laptop computers in a bold move to bring more technology into the classroom this September.
Zandra Zubac, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board stated in her opening address to the teachers that today marks an historic day not only for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board but for the educational process across the entire province. ‘Our Board is the very first Board in Ontario to give every grade 7 and 8 student a wireless computer,’ stated Zubac. ‘Through our partnership with Apple Canada we are championing new innovative and successful technological ways of delivering education to our students.’
Following the presentation of the wireless computers, consultants from Apple Canada conducted workshop sessions with the teachers, vice-principals and student leaders to help orient them with the new technology. “The teachers will be taking the wireless MacBook Laptop computers home for the summer to familiarize themselves with the new technology using the expertise they acquired in the workshops,” stated Bob Kennedy, Consultant for Apple Canada. “Today the teachers are learning how use the new equipment, but it is very evident that once they are comfortable with the new technology they will continue to be the leaders as they integrate this new technology into the science, literacy, numeracy, religion, french and other programs,” concluded Kennedy.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board first introduced the wireless technology into the classroom in 2003-2004 by piloting the “Learning with Laptops Program” to a wide range of students from kindergarten to grade 6. In 2004-05 the Board decided to expand the wireless laptop technology into all secondary schools with the new Learning With Laptops-One to One Grade 9 Math program using Apple wireless ibooks. The mathematics-based program allows students to conceptualize the abstracts of mathematics and continues to integrate technology into the classroom setting. The 2005-2006 school year saw the Board expand its wireless program again by extending the availability of wireless laptops to Special Education students under a CODE grant in an additional six schools. Today, under Phase 4, eleven hundred wireless laptops will be making their way into the hands of the board’s Grade 7 and 8 teachers and students for the fall of 2006.