March 19, 2015
During this March Break, Bridges-Canada has been running March Break Assistive Technology camps for approximately 100 Halton District School Board students who use prescribed Assistive Technology such as Chromebooks or iPads.
Students have been attending morning and/or afternoon sessions at one of four locations – Post's Corners, Bruce T. Lindley, P. L. Robertson and Gardiner Public Schools. This week’s theme is the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games, held July 10-26. Learning has been built around this event as a way to inspire students through initiatives like studying the venues and sports athletes will perform. Camp administrators have been able to access a free PanAm initiative called IGNITE, which included vists by athletes and Pachi the mascot.
Students are learning how to use various programs and apps or extensions to brainstorm ideas, conduct research, organize information, and create a product to showcase their work, based on the theme. On Friday, students will create an advertisement for the Games based on what they have learned throughout the week and present to classes. The Board is supplying the technological devices for use this week and Halton Cloud access.
This is the second year Bridges has hosted the camp in collaboration with the Board.
Susie Blackstien-Adler of Bridges said the organization chooses an educational topic that is “engaging and relevant” for students.
“The focus of the camp is to help students feel more comfortable with their technology, which they can use when they are back in school to help support their reading and writing skills,” she said. “We want students to feel more confident in their use of technology. It’s a great partnership.”