Educators can help students by pointing them in the direction of innovative programming
Jacqueline Shaver is no slouch when it comes to teaching science to the girls of St. Clement’s School in Toronto, Ontario. A theoretical physicist by training and head of the school’s science department, she knows her stuff.
But even good teachers sometimes must step outside their comfort zones to give their students that extra jolt of inspiration. That’s how Shaver found herself overseeing a team of 20 St. Clement’s girls in a robot-building competition.
“I’m not a robotics specialist by any means,” Shaver says with a laugh. “I know there are three kinds of screwdrivers, but I can’t keep them straight.”
The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition Canadian Regional, held in April 2004, challenged high-school teams to assemble working robots in six weeks, then pit the machines against one another in a series of skills competitions.
The St. Clement’s Grade 9 to Grade 12 students rose to the challenge: Their robot worked, at least most of the time.
“The girls cut out every piece of aluminum themselves and screwed in every screw.” Shaver says. “You could see how
excited and proud they were.”
There is no escaping technology’s encroachment into every facet of our lives. The Internet, instant messaging, games and wired schools mean today’s students are as familiar with computers as they are with microwave ovens or VCRs. Parents expect schools to channel that familiarity in practical ways, just as they expect them to foster leadership.
Happily, teachers can find help on both fronts. Resources are available to sharpen the skills of even the most technophobic teacher, whether by taking some of the mystery out of robot-building or by helping turn ideas into computer-based classroom tools. In some cases, it is a matter of knowing where to look, who to ask, or making the right connection. In others, it is a matter of acting as mentors to students, steering them in the right direction and then letting them explore on their own.
The FIRST Robotics competition that so excited the St. Clement’s students was created by Dean Kamens, inventor of the Segway human transporter, as a way of engaging students in science and technology outside the classroom.
“It’s about so much more than robotics,” says Mark Breadner, director of the FIRST Canadian competition. “The kids really have to commit to the project … beginning in January, when they receive their robot kits and the outline for that year’s contest.”
St. Clement’s students put in hours of work on their entry, and parents and other mentors came in to help out with issues such as pneumatics and electronics. The competition’s website, www.firstcanadianregional.org, also features a lot of how-to information to help novice teams get going.
“Our goal was to finish,” Shaver said. “We were up against teams who had General Motors and NASA for mentors. We had no illusions about winning.”
For Breadner, FIRST allows kids to explore science and technology in a fun and stimulating environment.
“They learn teamwork and leadership. It builds confidence and instills a lot of pride. The kids can step back and say ‘We built that,’” he says. “They are having so much fun that they don’t even realize that they are learning. For a teacher, it doesn’t get better than that.”
Learning curve
The Centre for Learning Through Teaching and Technology (LT3) at the University of Waterloo is another resource for teachers who want to upgrade their technology skills. The Centre also allows students to take an active part in shaping their school’s use of technology. The university regularly hosts small teams of students and teachers from across the country during sessions aimed at developing classroom tools.
“The teachers we work with have a wide range of experience with technology, but a large segment don’t have a lot of technological know-how,” says LT3 instructional project manager Tracy Penny-Light. “We don’t expect them to learn how to program. We want them to focus on teaching.”
A team from the independent Calgary Academy, for example, created an online art gallery featuring the drawings of M.C. Escher. Students and teachers developed the idea together as a way of illustrating the concept of perspective as used in various disciplines.
“Students could click on different frames to move into the pictures. As they moved around, questions would pop up, asking them to reflect on . . . the use of perspective in literature or art,” Penny-Light says.
Another group, from Elmwood School in Ottawa, Ontario, spent a week at Waterloo developing an interactive learning tool used to teach Grade 11 physics. One team, a student and a teacher, focused on learning strategies and content, while another student and teacher zeroed in on the actual technology.
“Kids are pretty computer savvy. They aren’t fooled by technology for technology’s sake,” Penny-Light says. “If the thing doesn’t make sense, or isn’t engaging, they’ll let you know.”
Conference calls
One strategy used at Lower Canada College in Montreal, Quebec to foster student empowerment is the annual Destiny Quebec conference. The two-day, student-organized event allows youth from all over Eastern Canada to debate issues of the day with eminent guest speakers. In April 2004, the conference focused on “The Dot-Com Generation: Leading Edge of Lost in Cyber-Space?” Speakers included Globe and Mail journalist Jan Wong, author Douglas Coupland and Katimavik program chair Justin Trudeau.
Paul Bennett, Lower Canada’s headmaster, planted the seeds for the conference soon after his arrival at the school in 1997.
“I saw the need for more student-driven, student-generated activities at the school. At the time, LCC was still a very top-down school in the way students reacted to teachers,” Bennett said. He wanted to tap into the students’ curiosity, creativity and ambition.
He began a weekly current affairs club and, within 18 months, the students were ready to organize their first Destiny Quebec conference, with a keynote address by Mario Dumont, leader of the provincial Action Démocratique du Quebec party.
“That kind of opportunity doesn’t present itself too often,” says Adam Gross, a student at Lower Canada and chair of Destiny Quebec 2004. “Instead of a classroom discussion, we’re actually talking to the people who shape policy and help pass laws.”
Students take charge, from developing the concept and organizing the program each year, to rounding up guest speakers. The event is self-financing, with registration fees covering the $10,000 to $15,000 in costs. Destiny Quebec participants discussed topics ranging from e-learning to e-commerce to global issues. Many were skeptical of society’s reliance on computers, whether in business or education.
“I don’t know what the world would be like without computers. I know that they are a part of my life and that they will be a big part of whatever career I choose, Gross says.
Brittany Shiller, a Lower Canada student and conference organizer, is not convinced technology is the answer to every problem.
“Schools have become so focused on computers, I’m not sure it’s an entirely good thing,” she says. Her previous school adopted an e-learning policy, outfitting each student with a notebook computer for the year.
“In the end, it was more of a distraction than anything,” she says.
That very much corresponded with the outlook of keynote speaker Justin Trudeau. A former independent school teacher now studying mechanical engineering at Montreal’s École Polytechnique.
“Fast computers and technology at our fingertips bring the world closer, but do they really improve our understanding?” Trudeau asked delegates. “All the information in the world won’t make you intelligent. Process the information you receive critically. Look at the totality of every single fact. Engage critically.”
Lower Canada’s headmaster was moved by the rapport shared by Trudeau and the delegates.
“He had a very strong connection to the audience, because he took them seriously,” Bennett said. “He didn’t prejudge their ideas, but listened to them.”
Summer camp for the mind
At times, the best thing a teacher can do is point the way and let students go where their curiosity and initiative take them. At Shad Valley, an award-winning summer program for gifted senior high school students based in Waterloo, Ontario, participants are plunged into an enriched learning environment, asked to examine technology critically and then re-imagine it.
“Our program is geared to kids who love a challenge and have been identified, often by their teachers or schools, as having great potential,” says Mary Dever, Shad’s national director of development. “We help them realize that potential.”
She stresses the important role teachers can play in steering students to Shad.
“With declining school resources, it may become increasingly difficult for (schools) to provide the highest quality enrichment opportunities to their talented students — not due to lack of desire, but due to lack of money and staff. Shad Valley helps to fill that void,” Dever says.
The program is a combination of camp and summer school, though neither quite sums up the intensive quality of the Shad experience.
“Shad is to summer school what Outward Bound is to camping,” Dever jokes. “Instead of rocks, trees and the outdoors, we have science, technology and entrepreneurship.”
Every July, 525 students gather on 10 university campuses for classroom lectures, workshops and field visits to cutting-edge businesses. Each session is capped by the RBC/Entrepreneurship Cup, during which teams across the country compete to develop a new product, beginning with market research, developing a business plan and then producing a prototype. In 2003, the theme was children’s safety and the winner, created by the Shad team at the University of Waterloo, was Snake Eyes, a beeper and wristband system that warns parents if a child strays beyond an established distance.
“We keep the theme secret until the participants arrive, otherwise a lot of them would start working on their ideas before they get here,” Dever says.
One Shad alumna is using the skills she sharpened there to make a difference with youth from all over the world. Jennifer Corriero dreamed of harnessing the Internet’s huge potential to connect globally. In 1999, she founded TakingITGlobal (TIG), an online community and resource that attracts more than 1.2 million visitors daily.
She perceived a real hunger among young people to connect and have their say in the world.
“The mainstream media doesn’t touch on all the positive things youth are doing. It is great to be in touch with that pulse. It’s inspiring and energizing,” Corriero says.
TIG is a content-rich resource that allows its 50,000 members, generally aged between 15 and 30, to engage with the broader world, offering a platform for online discussions, art, poetry, essays and commentary.
“I’m a big believer in using technology to tap into one’s own creativity and imagination,” she says. “The human element of TakingITGlobal is by far the most important thing about it.”
That human element includes input from teachers in the classroom. “The teacher’s role, to engage with students, remains essential. Technology won’t ever replace that.”
Wanting to improve TIG’s usefulness to teachers, while preserving its peer-to-peer integrity, a new site created specifically for educators, www.tiged.org, was launched in the summer of 2004.
Focused on making effective use of technology in the classroom, TIGed allows students to learn about social issues and express themselves in an online setting controlled by teachers. Using TIGed, teachers can create virtual classrooms in which they can post assignments (or choose from assignments designed by TIG staff or other teachers), start and track student discussions, and even maintain an online art gallery. Teachers can also discuss and collaborate within their schools, or with teachers from around the world through TIGed.
A pilot project involving Toronto-area Macklin Public School was one of TIGed’s early successes. Grade 8 students at Macklin used TIG to research issues related to globalization and then produced 10 documentary films on topics such as human rights, the environment, health, education, poverty and peace. The films premiered during Globalize This!, a student-organized film festival on May 20, 2004.
“The project was a success because it demonstrated that through the meaningful use of information communications technology, global connections can be fostered,” says Sue Roliff, Macklin’s information and communications technology teacher.
Corriero hopes that Globalize This! is the first of many projects combining students, teachers, TIG’s youthful and energetic outreach team, and the boundless power of technology.
“We’ve only just begun to tap into its potential. Youth are so eager to explore and make a difference. They need guidance and help, but their instincts are there. Our job is to maximize that potential.”
For more information
University of Waterloo: The Centre for Learning Through Teaching and Technology.
Shad Valley: Learn about the program, participants, alumni and the annual Shad/RBC Entrepreneurship Cup (www.shad.ca).
TakingITGlobal: Connect with youth and teachers around the world (www.takingITglobal.org or www.tiged.org).
The Centre for Children and Technology: Investigates the role of technology in teaching and learning. Featured research papers explore issues of interest to educators (http://www2.edc.org/CCT).
The Global Schoolhouse: A clearinghouse of more than 900 online projects for students, organized by topic, grade and project date. Hosts the International Schools Cyber Fair, which allows youth to submit and judge one another’s projects on the web (www.globalschoolhouse.org).
About Mary Lamey
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