Trustees had a Glimpse into the 21st Century Classroom at the Board Meeting on June 19th. Steph Sweeney, Technology Enabled Learning Teacher provided a presentation about how Kenora Catholic is preparing students to excel in a world that is changing faster than it ever has before.
"We have to prepare our students to thrive in a future that is technology-driven and rapidly changing," said Sweeney. "We are going to do that by supporting our students to develop specific skills, like critical thinking, collaboration and creativity. These skills align nicely with the Catholic Graduate Expectations."
Sweeney showcased images of how school libraries, across the district, are being taken to the next level, evolving into collaborative Learning Commons environments. "We're no longer valuing conformity and rows of desks. We need to see the individual capacity of each of our students and we're seeing how much the learning environment impacts their capacity and individuality. By allowing students to have flexibility and options we're breaking barriers that set the stage for deeper, self-driven, passion-based learning to take place."
Kenora Catholic's Learning Commons Initiative aims to change all school libraries into Learning Commons within 2019. The Board is well on its way at École Ste-Marguerite Bourgeoys and St. Louis School. "School library spaces are no longer just focusing on literacy in the traditional sense," explained Sweeney. "These spaces are pushing boundaries into digital, cultural and financial literacy."
Sweeney talked about how classes are participating in a series of lessons about what it means to be a positive digital citizen. Students explore topics about privacy, safety, netiquiette and how to build a positive, digital footprint. Students also joined in conversations about being mindful of how much time should be spent off screen to ensure a healthy lifestyle. These sessions were valuable in promoting positive, digital citizenship.
Basic concepts in computer programming are being introduced as early as Kindergarten at Kenora Catholic. Introduced as fun games, students make the connection that coding is simply following instructions. "The days of knowing more than our students are disappearing," said Sweeney. "Our students are coming to school with so many different skill sets, especially in the area of comprehending new technologies, and as educators we need to help prepare our students for this new world that they are living in."
Sweeney wrapped up her presentation with a story about a class of elementary students from École Ste-Marguerite Bourgeoys that designed and 3D printed a more efficient finger-brace for their teacher after she broke her finger.