STEM

Empathy—the ability to recognize and understand another person’s feelings—is an extremely important life skill.

When I reflect on my years working in classrooms with students, I think about how much time it took to access and use essential technology B.G. (before Google). I compare it with what it must have been like for people before electricity and after electricity. B.G.

My journey began in Vancouver 30 years ago, as an aid with Trainable Mentally Handicapped students. Designated as ‘uneducable,’ these students were relegated to gaining work experience. Noticing they easily recounted movie plots and the artists and lyrics Top 40 songs, it occurred to me that the real handicap might be a teaching methodology that was incompatible with their learning styles.

It's nice to think of the Internet as a wonderful invention that has made our lives both richer and more efficient. It's a nice notion and it's an accurate one—the Internet has changed our lives for the better. We can now communicate with people from all four corners of the globe. We can share, swap, and gain as much knowledge as we could ever want or need. There are no negatives associated with instant knowledge—or are there?

As the school bell rings, thirty grade six students settle into their desks for a history class. After a brief overview of last night’s homework, the teacher lets them know they have 30 minutes to work on their group project. Instead of pulling out lined paper and textbooks, they bring out their personal iPads, Netbooks, Tablets, and Chromebooks. A few take out iPods or Galaxy phones.

Part of creating a great outdoor space is about tailoring curriculum, and part is about landscape design.

Under the umbrella of Digital Citizenship (DC) are some complex concepts. Netiquette, Internet safety, information usage and cyber bullying are just a few of the topics that teachers explore as they help students unpack what it means to use technology responsibly. Our school went wireless this past January.

As the assistant head of special education at Vaughan Secondary School in the Toronto area, Tim Wesson describes his professional learning journey as one driven by the desire to improve the standard of living for autistic students and to seek ways to build partnerships in the school community.