Crowther partners with students with new learning initiative

Times Reporter

 

Today’s youth pretty much eat, sleep and breathe technology, something that Crowther Memorial Junior High (CMJHS) and Golden Hills School Division (GHSD) recognize and want to encourage. With information literally at students’ fingertips, the days of cracking open a textbook may soon become a thing in the past. 

“In September all of our Grade 7 and 8 students are going to receive their very own brand new school-issued laptop. This is the first of its kind in this district…we are piloting this as a project with Golden Hills School Division and Crowther Memorial Junior High School,” said Linda Tucker, associate principal of Crowther Memorial Junior High.

“This will allow every student to have equal access to technology anywhere, anytime. There have been other school divisions in the province who have worked on these one-to-one initiatives, this is the first time for Golden Hills. 

“The bottom line is these kids that we have today they are digital natives. We’re digital immigrants so we’re learning, so for our brain its different, we have a different capacity for technology,” said Tucker. 

“These students, technology and connectivity is their currency, they’re there. So we in education, we have to build this competence, this capacity in our schools to meet these students where they’re at and that’s why we’re embarking on this. We’re going to try it and see what it brings, but it’s just really about creating opportunities for students to be innovative and creative and to connect to the world globally.”

The pilot project will see the students have their own laptops for a nominal fee. They will carry the laptop with them all throughout their time at CMJHS and Tucker said the details haven’t been worked out yet, but there may be a chance for the students to then purchase the laptop when they graduate, if they choose to do so. 

Students will be encouraged to use their laptops in their classes and at home, and will be able to access information from around the world, under the guidance of their teachers. A big component of the pilot project is to teach digital citizenship, and inform students about being digitally ethical. Staff at Crowther will also be talking to and teaching the students to be safe online, while being critical thinkers when looking to Google for information.  

“We need to meet students where they’re at. I think they’re coming to us so connected to the outside world, and then they come in and it’s sort of shut off. We need to change that,” said Tucker. 

“They need to come into these buildings and we need to be connected globally. We’re really, really excited about this for our students, where it can go and the potential for the learning and imagination that’s out there for these kids.

“Teaching is changing, no longer is it about, ‘I’m the teacher, I know all’ it’s different, we are now partnering with kids, we’re working together.”

Initially Grade 9 students won’t be receiving laptops, but will have full access to the three current labs and the mobile laptop cart. 

Tucker said there will be ongoing research throughout the 2012/2013 school year, and if the project is working as well, as both CMJHS and GHSD believe it will, then in the fall of 2013 the new Grade 7 students will also receive laptops. 

Tucker said the most important piece of this initiative is not the tool itself, “because really this is a tool, kids have access right now 24/7 to knowledge at their fingertips, they already have that access” but it’s about having that information at their fingertips so the school can create thinkers, and doers, and students who can be more passionate about learning and more engaged in their schools.

The possibilities are almost endless from a digital perspective, especially with the right guidance from schools and educators. 

Tucker said the details are still being worked out about the fee and the budget but she predicts it will be about a $60 fee. The entire school is wired for Wi-Fi, and each laptop will come with a charger and carrying case. Students will also be welcome to take the laptop home with them at the end of the day to continue on with their studies.