Going without educational technologies is often the case in small-town communities, but luckily for the students in Carlyle, that is not the situation. Carlyle Elementary School, along with its SCC (School Community Council) have been working hard to ensure that their students have the same learning opportunities as those in major centres would have.
SMART board technology is a relatively new concept to the educational system. The board not only acts as an interactive whiteboard, but also a projector, and provides teachers with a number of options for teaching in their classrooms. Carlyle Elementary School already has five boards up and running, with an additional four on order with hopes of having them up and running by the end of the school year. That will leave the school with only two classrooms without the SMART board technology.
Shelley Sargent, principal of CES, said that the new educational tools have been beneficial to both the students and the staff in her school. "The kids love them and it provides the teachers with more opportunities in terms of what they can do in the classroom. Students need that visual stimulation and they need the hands-on experience. All of the SMART boards are dual touch which means you can have two students up at the board working, versus only one student interacting with the board. Furthermore, the technology is new, and when students can find something more hands-on that they can interact with, then they are more engaged and they are more interested. And that expands their learning opportunities."
She went on to state that the ability of the school to provide these opportunities to their students has been a direct result of the hard work by the school's SCC and the support of the local community. "A school on its own, would never be able to do this. Our success has been the result of support from the community. It is the community pulling together to help with the Jail and Bail, the people that put the Mom's Pantry orders in and the people that are buying the school cookbooks. It is the people on that end, that are helping us do things like this. And my school community council is a big key behind our school fundraising efforts. They have taken it on and spear-headed that for us, which has enabled us to focus on education and teaching."
Tammie Riddell, of the Elementary School Community Council, felt it was important to get involved in the initiative. The SCC's mission is to "act as a positive supportive bridge between our school and community; effectively communicating, embracing diversity and working together to promote an inclusive and respectful learning environment, empowering students to be the best they can be."
"The SCC felt it was an important tool because every child learns in a different way, and the more tools a teacher or school has to help a child learn, the better. These SMART boards incorporated technology and are very hands on, so it is a great tool for kids who are tactile learners." When "the schools were beginning to look at investing in smart boards and determining ways in which to come up with the necessary funds, the SCCs decided it was something they could help out with and support, so they headed the fundraising efforts."
And these fundraising efforts have been substantial, with support from the community showing their recognition of the usefulness of these tools. SMART boards cost approximately $3,000 plus the wiring, so the cost to schools is often something that extends beyond the scope of their budget. The support of the community during these times is instrumental in the acquisition of these tools for the schools.
Tammie said that their fundraising efforts have raised close to $20,000 through a number of fundraisers held throughout the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 school years. The most recent fundraisers have been the Jail and Bail, selling of CES cookbooks, Carnation and Water Sales during Dance Zone's recital and Mom's Pantry. The group is looking to fundraise an additional $12,000 to ensure that all of the classrooms in the school are outfitted with the technology.
The support generated by the Jail and Bail was substantial as those individuals 'arrested' during the event stepped up in support of the initiative. One of the individuals arrested during the event was Judy Riddell, one of the directors of Homespun. "I was put in jail and I thought it was a worthy cause, so why just give the 100 or 200 dollars they were requiring? Why not make a full-blown donation? So I talked to the [Homespun] committee and they said, sure, go for it!" Homespun felt it was a worthy cause. We had donated computers before to both of the schools and we just decided that this was something that would be good for the students, aid the teachers, and be good for the community." The committee donated $2,500 to the cause. "It helps keep our students up to speed. We don't need to think that in the rural communities, we're not having the amenities that other schools have."
Wayne Wilson, from the Lions club, said that they came across the fundraising efforts in the newspaper and decided to make a donation of $2,500. "We raised our money through our Annual Supper and Auction and the money that we raise from that goes directly to the community. All of it. And we felt that this was a very worth-while donation to the school because the kids will benefit." After seeing the SMART boards for the first time, Wilson said "I think they are fabulous. What the kids can use them for is fantastic. And just to raise the funds that they raised in one year to buy them. It speaks well for the community to raise that kind of money to get the boards in the schools and get our kids using them."
Not only have community organizations been instrumental in donating funds, but community members as well. Ron and Lois Paul donated $2,500 to contribute to the installation of a SMART board in the Grade 4 classroom. Additionally, a number of community members donated during the Jail and Bail fundraising event.
The teachers at Carlyle Elementary School are quick to point out the benefits the boards have had in their classrooms. Grade 1 teacher, Lise Bechard Fuller, said "It's so quick and easy. One of our outcomes for our ELA strand is viewing. Because our world is so image and media based, we use it to display a picture and I ask them to give me information about what they know when they look at the picture. So they will tell me what they know and what they see, and I'll ask of them for connections. So does that mean anything to you? Have you experienced that before? It just brings the oral language [writing and reading] back into it."
"We use it a lot when we do math or word work stations. That is one of the stations where they write their words on it. They practice their words and they use fun colors of pens. It is fun, it gets them in a fun way. And it is instant, so it is very helpful. Even the program that came with it, you can engage the kids because the kids can click on it and they can move things."
Grade 2 teacher, Joan Bue, uses the SMART board daily. "I use it to start our day. So it's up in the morning with a morning message. When they [the kids] come in, there's a good morning [blank], and they get to fill it in. So it's really interactive. I use it in math every day."
When asked how the students have responded to the technology, Bue said, "Oh they love it. They absolutely love it! If we have a movie or something like that, we use it for that as well. When we went to the Pow Wow, I took pictures and some video of one of the little guys in our class that danced that day. So then, we came right back and we could watch it on the big screen. It's right there front and center and they love it. I hear lots of Wow! That's amazing! There are just so many applications. As a tool, it has added a lot to my teaching technique, most definitely."
With nine classrooms expected to be up-and-running by the start of next year, the school has two classrooms left to outfit. Tammie Riddell said "we need to fundraise at least $12,000, if not more. Every child that attends the school benefits from the SMART boards, therefore it is important that everybody helps with the fundraising. Watch for the 2nd Annual Jail and Bail in the fall of 2011. Thank you to everyone who has supported the fundraising effort, whether that is volunteering time, money or knowledge, it has and will greatly impact the student at Carlyle Elementary School."
