Nicholas Donaldson
Cisco Canada and TakingITGlobal have announced that McCrosson-Tovell and Fort Frances High School have become part of their “Connected North” program.
They will be the second and third schools in the district to join the video-conferencing program following Mine Centre School, which joined in May 2016.
The official announcement was made at Fort Frances High School on Friday during an event for the Grade 7/8 Ojibwe class as they connected with students at the Toronto District School Board’s First Nations School of Toronto.
Together the two classes showed off some their school projects and played an animal guessing game in Ojibwe.
Jennifer Corriero, the co-founder and executive director of TakingITGlobal, was on hand at the school to explain the program and lead the event on the Fort Frances side.
The program uses Cisco TelePresence video-conferencing, giving students access to educators and experiences across the world in the form of “virtual field trips.”
Currently, 20 different schools across Canada are using the two-way, high-definition video technology.
“We are a resource for teachers to open the walls of their classroom,” explained Corriero.
She mentioned that a focus of the program is the revitalization of language and culture, and praised Ojibwe teacher Shirley Andy for her work.
“One of the reasons Fort Frances was chosen for the Connected North Program is because she is such a strong language teacher,” said Corriero.
Classes will be able to connect, collaborate and learn in real time from other students, educators, and experts to participate in unique learning experiences.
Corriero noted that these experiences will be like virtual field trips and take students to places that would otherwise be too expensive, especially for more remote schools.
“Right now we do the scheduling, but I would love to see school boards scheduling their own speakers and setting things up,” she noted.
Corriero mentioned that teachers are hesitant to use technology because it is sometimes a distraction in the classroom, but the aim of Connected North is to engage students and improve learning.
“We are focusing on the positive aspects of technology in the classroom,” said Corriero.
“Teachers have noticed a higher attendance when students know that a session is scheduled,” she added.
“The goal is to create engagement in the classroom.”
Some of the examples that Corriero gave as possible sessions included visiting museums, talking to professionals, and collaborating with other classes.
The technology can also be used by teachers for professional development and training that otherwise may be difficult to acquire in remote locations.
