Smart Technology

Posted on: jamacsadmin

Shannon LeClair – Times Reporter

Sacred Heart Academy, SHA, received a donation which will enhance the learning methods of children for years to come. Two Smart Table Interactive Learning Centres were donated to the school by Cattleland Feedyards owners Greg and Candace Appleyard. Both of the Appleyards had been students at the school when it was Samuel Crowther, and their twins now go to SHA.

The tables are made by Smart Technologies and are designed for use in primary classrooms. They are an interactive way for students to learn through different activities, and they can all be manipulated at the touch of a finger. SHA currently has 13 smart boards, which are similar to the tables, but are projected onto a screen.

“A lot of classrooms now are using smart boards, and it’s the same thing, the teacher can upload things, they are like an interactive board,” said Lauren Zulyniak, a teacher at SHA.

 

Cattleland Feedyards had been looking for a way to help the school, so the Appleyards phoned to ask how they could contribute. “We have been very impressed with the school and so it’s a way to contribute something back to the continued growth of the school,”” said Greg. The school had already been looking into purchasing a smart table and so Cattleland Feedyards donated the $1,600 needed.

There is only one other school in Alberta right now also using the tables, and it is in Calgary.

The school and the Appleyards had discussed ordering them in February and the tables arrived in April. The tables can be used by as few as one person at a time and up to four. When there are four, all of the kids must agree to exit a certain program before it will move on.

“They are also portable which is very nice, you can just roll them into another room,” said Zulyniak.  Because the tables are still so new, both the students and teachers are learning more about them on a daily basis. All of the activity programs are on a jump drive. To download new activities, teachers only need to go to the smart website where it doesn’t cost anything for the new programs. The jump drives are also interchangeable between the smart boards and tables.