Students Teaching the Student Teachers

On September 11, 2012 eight of our grade 8 students walked to Mount Royal University to assist with an Google Apps orientation for new Education students. We were contacted by Dr. Norm Vaughn, who sits on the Calgary Science School board, to come and help his students in using the different applications that our students as so familiar with. Our students not only worked with individual university students, but took to the lectern to share some of their examples from class.

They discussed how these applications "..can used as a catalyst for an inquiry-based approach to learning by getting parents and the wider community involved in their education." (Dr. Norm Vaughan)

Grade 8 student reflections
"Not only was it an amazing experience to actually use the knowledge we have gained over our years with the one-to-one program, it also showed us just how valuable what we are learning is. Technology has become such a fundamental part of our society, and being able to use things like Google Apps is becoming increasingly important."

"I really understood how lucky we are to have a 1:1 program and are able to take our laptops home. Sure, Some schools have a "Computer Room" but really that doesn't compare to our program. So far my distant memories of grade 3 and earlier seem different without a device to work on projects with, but not all that bad. If we didn't have laptops though, I'm sure I'd be wondering how I managed when I went to a different school. So that really changed my view of our school and how lucky we are that we have computers that are relatively new compared to 20-30 kilogram Desktop computers."

We hope to see this relationship blossom through the year with the possibility of our students attending the course again later in the year, and the Education Class may visit our school later in the fall or winter.