Local teachers recognized for putting tecnology in the classroom

Ken Johnston

Riverview School’s teachers Anne Caradice and Debbie Wagner were recently honoured by the Rainy River District Board of Education for putting technology in the classroom.
Caradice said Technology in the Classroom has been a concept they have been working on for about two years. “It was part of the board’s vision to introduce technology into a broad spectrum of classrooms.”
Previously computers were used to teach computer skills and very little else. Now through the efforts of these teachers they have integrated computer time into just about every program in the school.
In math the student can create a graph on the computer, although Caradice said they are still having to learn by hand as well. Computers are not meant to replace traditional learning methods, but are considered “another tool,” said Caradice.
Wagner said that with the computers, “The students get to work one on one with the computer at different levels.” This creates less, “leaving behind” as students work to their respective skill levels until they are ready to move up.
Adding a brand new computer lab at Riverview last year, the board of education allowed enough computers for every student in every class to have access to a computer. Wagner says her grade 1 and 2 class gets about 3 hours per week of computer time. Caradice’s grade 3 and 4 class also get about 3 hrs. per week.
While the pair did not expect to be honoured, they were very happy to be recognized by the board. “It was just part of our everyday job,” said Wagner, referring to the efforts they put into the program.
Caradice said, “The kids love it and parents are quite impressed with how much the kids know.”