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The official magazine for the College of Alberta School Superintendents
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4 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
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The CASS ConnectionThe official magazine for the College of
Alberta School SuperintendentsFall 2008
Published for:The College of Alberta School
Superintendents#1200, 9925 – 109 Street
Edmonton AB T5K 2J8Phone: (780) 451-7106
Fax: (780) 482-5659Email: lee.lucente@cass.ab.ca
www.cass.ab.ca
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©2008 Matrix Group Inc. All rights reserved. Contents
may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part,
without the prior written permission of the publisher. The
opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily
those of Matrix Group Inc.
Messages: Message from the Minister of Education, Dave Hancock Message from the CASS President, Paulette Hanna
Focus On...The 21st Century Learner: A Conversation About 21st Century Learning Today’s Students: Reconciling Their Technological “Reality” With Their School’s Rules New Technologies in Support of the 21st Century Learner in a Small Regional Education Authority Addressing the Needs of the 21st Century Student in GYRD My smmr hols wr CWOT. Yours?—Educating the Digital Generation
Network Building and the New Literacy
Health and Wellness: Creating a Healthy Work Environment
Looking at Assessment: Finding Our Way: Connecting Assessment and Reporting Accountability Pillar Clearinghouse
Get to Know CASS: About CASS Calendar of Events
Buyer’s Guide
ON THE COVER: This issue The CASS Connection
looks at the 21st Century learner and how schools,
teachers, students and parents are adapting and thriving in this
technological age.
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The College of Alberta School Superintendents 5
The official magazine for the College of Alberta School Superintendents
the Fall 2008
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Challenges and Changes toSupport the
Century21st
CASSCONNECTION
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The College of Alberta School Superintendents 7
A s Minister of Education, I am
pleased to extend my thanks to
all school superintendents for the
smooth, successful start to the 2008/2009
school year.
The highest priority of the education sys-
tem is the success of each student, which
results from the hard work and commitment
of many education stakeholders. The College
of Alberta School Superintendents (CASS) is
essential to ensuring Alberta’s education sys-
tem is flexible and anticipates student needs.
Education continues to develop a cur-
riculum that meets the needs of the 21st
The Honourable Dave Hancock | Minister of Education
century learner. Diversity of student needs
and abilities, new and emerging occupa-
tions and careers, shifts in family struc-
tures, research into how students learn,
and increased use of technology have all
impacted teaching and learning.
By supporting student-centered learn-
ing in and between classrooms, homes,
communities and beyond, we are providing
opportunities for learners to work at their
own pace and customize their learning.
With the continued support of CASS
and other education stakeholder organ-
izations, Education will continue to help
all students find their passion and achieve
their potential.
I appreciate the dedication and leader-
ship of Alberta’s school superintendents in
helping to improve, promote and champion
education by making important decisions at
the local level.
I look forward to continuing to work
with CASS members to improve stu-
dent achievement, share research and
develop strategies based on best practices
to ensure Alberta’s K-12 system remains
highly recognized, nationally and inter-
nationally. n
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The College of Alberta School Superintendents 9
Paulette HannaPresidentCollege of Alberta Superintendents
that identifies four key areas for action.
The first key action area is “Leadership
Development”. The positive leadership
initiative, Moving and Improving: Build-
ing System Leadership Capacity, under
the direction of Rick Morrow, is the key
strategy to achieving this outcome. This
initiative is an opportunity for school sys-
tem leaders to collaborate and to develop
a uniquely Alberta Framework for Success
to improve student learning.
This project has moved from the
design phase into the implementation
phase. Pilot projects will operate in ten
school jurisdictions, to validate and
further develop the Framework for Suc-
cess. Information about the pilots will be
shared with all senior education leaders.
You can look forward to participating
in a Research Symposium led by CASS
in cooperation with the University of
Alberta, the University of Calgary, the
University of Lethbridge, and Campus
Saint Jean in November 2008. CASS
is also planning a Leadership Academy
for June 2009 to share information,
W e are off to a great start of
another school year and I am
honoured to have the oppor-
tunity to serve as President of the College
of Alberta School Superintendents for the
2008/2009 term. I look forward to working
with the executive and the membership to
achieve the CASS vision of “leadership excel-
lence for world-class public education”.
This is an exciting time in education
as we meet the challenges and change
to support the 21st Century learner.
As the professional voice of system
education leaders, CASS is providing
expertise, advocacy and advice that is
improving, promoting and championing
public education. With four years of
collective bargaining peace ahead of
us, we have an opportunity to focus on
enhancing opportunities for each child
to enjoy learning success and to make
daily progress toward achieving his or
his life potential. The stage is set to col-
laborate with our educational partners,
Alberta School Board Association, Asso-
ciation of School Business Officials of
Alberta, Alberta School Councils’ Asso-
ciation, Alberta Teachers Association,
and Alberta Education on a number of
significant joint ventures that will bene-
fit all students.
In June 2008, the CASS Executive
developed a Three Year Strategic Plan
This is an exciting time in education as we meet the challenges and
change to support the 21st century learner. As the professional voice
of system education leaders, CASS is providing expertise, advocacy and
advice that is improving, promoting and championing public education.
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10 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
in CASS as well as the government it
is imperative that CASS build under-
standing and support among the mem-
bership, stakeholders, the Minister of
Education, and the Deputy Minister of
Education.
Even though at the present time
CASS is not legislated as a professional
organization, members will model a
professional learning organization by
implementing the CASS Professional
Standards of Practice once they have
final approval at the Issues Forum in
November 2008.
The third key action area of the
strategic plan is to re-examine the
structure and operation of CASS. The
CASS structure must be aligned with
the organizational priorities. A method
for rapid and complete communication
must be established to relate emergent
issues to the membership. The by-laws
and committee structures need to be
reviewed to determine if they support
CASS in achieving its vision of “leader-
ship excellence for world class public edu-
cation”. All symposia and forums must
reflect CASS priorities.
The fourth key action area is, “Con-
tinue Relationships”. CASS must build
and nurture strong, productive rela-
tionships with stakeholders, and educa-
tional partners. When developing these
relationships CASS priorities must be
identified and applied to the partnership
and provincial, national, and even inter-
national opportunities to work together
should be considered.
CASS needs to build productive
internal relationships. It is necessary to
explore ways to increase CASS member-
ship and engagement. It is through the
Zone structure that CASS is so strong. I
encourage all members to find the time
to attend your Zone meetings as well as
the provincial CASS events offered to
support excellence in school jurisdiction
leadership.
We have an exciting year ahead. I
am looking forward to working with
you and collectively meet the challenges
and change necessary to support the 21st
Century learner. n
combine the research and to affirm
improvement practices.
Leadership development will also be
achieved as CASS continues to exemplify a
learning organization. CASS will continue
to enhance leadership capacity by continu-
ing to host events such as the Issues Forum,
Human Resource Symposium, Spring Con-
ference, Start Right, Leading for Learning,
Curriculum Symposium, Special Education
Symposium and other learning opportun-
ities that are presented for CASS to con-
sider.
10 Winter 2008 • The CASS Connection
The second key action area is “CASS
as a Professional Organization”. The
CASS executive continues to focus its
efforts on gaining professional status,
thereby increasing our accountability to
our Boards and the public. Much work
on this venture has been completed in
the past and great momentum has been
gained. Changes in the government and
the Ministry of Education have caused
the executive to regroup and develop a
new action plan to move this important
initiative forward. With new members
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14 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
R ocky View School Division
(RVSD) is a medium-sized div-
ision with about 16,000 stu-
dents, in Alberta Canada. Over the past
year, we have aggressively embarked upon
a voyage towards 21st Century teaching in
a 21st Century learning environment.
The impetus for this direction comes
from multiple fronts—stakeholder feed-
back, current theory and practice, the
introduction of new technologies in the
schools, and a belief that in order to best
serve our students, this direction is abso-
lutely necessary.
However, upon embarking, we found
that there were, and are, many questions
that need to be answered. For example:
How can an entire school division move •
along the path to 21st Century learning?
What are 21• st Century skills?
How should these skills be taught?•
What teaching approaches and meth-•
odologies are consistent with 21st
Century learning?
What does a 21• st Century classroom
look like?
This article is a “snap-shot” view of
only some aspects of this journey. The
picture is incomplete; it is simply a cur-
rent summary of a complex process, with
the hope that you learn something from
what we have, and are, going through.
The article offers a somewhat unique
perspective by combining the views of
myself, a Senior Executive, and Barry
Allen, our field-based resident expert.
He is one who, through “embedded
coaching”, facilitates classroom teachers’
expansion of their instructional reper-
toire to effectively unleash the power of
technology. We’ll take a “big-picture”
view first, then, in order to communicate
the process of supporting teachers in
their classrooms, we move to a conversa-
tional mode.
The divisional planning processRocky View School Division is man-
dated by the government to produce a
“rolling” three-year Educational Plan.
The norm for these plans is the produc-
tion of a document stating divisional
goals and outcomes, generated from pri-
orities derived from Alberta Education’s
standardized assessment measures. Last
year a decision was made to develop our
three-year Education Plan based upon,
By David Peat, Ph. D. & Barry Allen, B. , B.Sc (HK), B. Ed., (Apple Distinguished Educator)
A Conversation
About
Century Learning
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The College of Alberta School Superintendents 15
professional development. A conversa-
tion between Barry and myself addressing
these issues and recorded as a pod-cast,
is summarized in the next section. The
process of “embedded coaching” used by
Barry and the team is one of the means
used to support teachers as they move
their instruction into the 21st Century.
Describe the 21st Century Learning Model? Why was it developed?
Improved learning for each pupil is the
central point. In the initial planning day
with teachers, a goal is established for the
day, keeping in mind this central focus.
The blue ring (Figure 1) is important,
since it shows the three main educational
approaches for planning: Understanding
by Design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005);
accommodation, Universal Design for
Learning; (Rose & Meyer, 2002, Tom-
linson & McTighe, 2006); and enhan-
cing assessment, Assessment for Learning
(Davies, 2000). These three approaches
interact with one another; Understanding
by Design guides the planning process;
Universal Design for Learning ensures that
accommodations are planned for and put
into place to allow for all learners, and
Assessment for Learning is how teachers
check that understanding is in place and
speaks of a significant positive relation-
ship between district leadership and stu-
dent achievement when there is col-
laborative goal setting with all relevant
stakeholders leading to non-negotiable
goals for achievement and instruction,
and when these goals are then aligned
throughout a district. In line with
this thinking, RVSD’s The Three-Year
Educational Plan will be implemented at
all levels throughout the division, with
strategies to support the implementation
of each goal generated by all divisional
departments, with school staff’s discuss-
ing, then infusing strategies for imple-
menting the three-year plan within their
own School Education Plan, and finally
with teachers aligning their personal pro-
fessional development goals to the plan.
21st Century learners and classroomsIn order to move schools and class-
rooms towards an education system pre-
paring students for the 21st century, more
is needed than just an understanding of
the skills necessary for both students and
teachers. This knowledge needs to be
coupled with an understanding of what
21st Century learners are and a vision of
what 21st Century classrooms should look
coupled with targeted, on-going teacher
in addition to Alberta Education’s assess-
ments, stakeholder and staff perspec-
tives about what they view as the ideal
educational system for the 21st Century.
This decision resulted in a year-long,
extensive process of seeking stakeholder
input through a series of structured focus
groups.
All the stakeholders’ focus groups
clearly identified the need for preparing
students for the 21st Century, and spoke
about the need for students to be techno-
logically literate. This led to the develop-
ment of a Three Year Educational Plan,
2008-2011 (RVSD, 2008) containing
Goals, Outcomes and Outcome Measures
clearly related to this identified need. It
was also decided that if the goals and
outcomes were to be met, it was neces-
sary to include all staff and students as
learners, with the goals applying equally
to everyone. Many of the goals, outcomes
and strategies refer specifically to “21st
Century Learners” (RVSD, 2008).
It is difficult to design outcomes
and strategies around goals that are ill
defined. It is apparent that a concrete,
explicit conceptualization of the 21st
Century skills needs to be articulated
throughout the division. To guide this
process at this point, we find that the
most comprehensive source of informa-
tion about 21st Century Skills is pro-
vided by the Metiri Group (Lemke et al,
2008), through work commissioned by
the North Central Regional Educational
Laboratory (NCREL). The information
provided is ideal for our purposes; it
provides a common understanding of
what enGauge 21st Century Skills and acts,
“as a platform for the shifts in school
policy and practices necessary to give our
students the education they require in a
knowledge-based, global society (preface,
Lemke et al, 2008)”. Not only are 21st
Century skills clearly articulated based
upon an integration of research, but a
Continua of Progress characterizes what
each skill would look like in practice and
provides teachers with clear criteria by
which to gauge students’ progress.
Waters and Marzano’s paper, School
District Leadership that Works (2006), Figure 1.
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16 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
pivotal, because the project’s focus is on
improving learning for all students. The
embedded coaching team has members
from three central office branches—tech-
nology, support services and instruction;
this models for the schools and teachers
that all the resources of the division are
working jointly towards improving learn-
ing for all students.
Describe the process used in the classroom with teachers to facilitate their becoming adept in the skills required for 21st Century teaching
The first step is establishing key under-
standings about the teacher’s subject area.
The process begins by talking to teachers
about Understanding by Design, the fact
that we need to begin with the end in
mind. I ask them, “what is it that you
really want the students to understand?”
Tied in with this is the notion of clear
targets; in order to help them see what
it means to begin with the end in mind,
they are shown some samples of previous-
ly built units of study that incorporate all
of the features being talked about. Then
we start the planning process by identify-
ing key understandings—“what is it that
students really need to understand from
the Program of Study ? What matters
most?” This does two things. It makes
the teachers think in depth about their
subject matter and it also refers them
back to their Program of Studies that the
school system is mandated to uncover.
I prefer the term “uncover”, referring
to the inquiry stance that this process is
Therefore, in generating the model, it
became really important to show how
the various topics fit together. The outer
ring informs the three key approaches,
with the focus being improved learning
for each student.
This model accounts for the need of
teachers to apply new knowledge on a
long-term basis. It allows the teachers to
continuous use the knowledge learned as
they improve learning for each student. It
is a model for internalizing; if you don’t
use it, you lose it. It is important that
not only teachers but also administrators
internalize new knowledge through its
application; the model should guide the
way administrators work with their staff
in designing professional development at
the school level.
Divisional perspective If schools and teachers are expected
to improve their instructional practice
in order to support 21st Century learn-
ing, they need a clear model of what
this looks like. It is important that the
model be one that can be consistently
implemented throughout the division.
Certain schools can be emphasizing in
their professional development differ-
ing aspects of the outer ring, but the
efforts of all schools is towards improv-
ing learning for each student. Their
individual school emphasis reinforces the
middle blue ring, which is the on-going
work taking place in the classroom. This
year, in RVSD, through the One-on-One
Mobile Computing project, this has been
that learning is enhanced through con-
tinuous feedback.
The outer ring is an informing ring
for the three key approaches of the blue
inner ring. The factors shown are cur-
rent, strong, research-based pedagogical
approaches. All of the informing fac-
tors help to reinforce that what is most
important is the teaching methodol-
ogy; technology is used to support and
enhance the teaching. A good example of
this perspective is Mindtools (Jonassen,
D. 2000)—engaging pupils in critical,
creative and complex thinking while
using technology, rather than technology
being an activity on the side. The same
applies to assessment. When technologies
are used in assessment processes, we want
them to be used to produce a photo-
album for assessment—multiple pieces—
a portfolio, rather than a snapshot. The
depth of knowledge and experience con-
cerning the methodologies of the outer
ring enhances the use of the approaches
of the inner ring.
One of the reasons that this diagram
was developed goes back at least 10 years.
Over that time, teachers have voiced
a concern that every year a new topic
is tackled in professional development;
one year it is multiple intelligences, next
year metacognitive instruction—now
we’re doing collaborative learning, next
cooperative learning, now it is the critical
thinking era. There seems to be neither
rhyme nor reason to the various topics
chosen, nor time for in-depth applica-
tion before the next topic is introduced.
The 21st Century classroom should be a context that is enquiry stacked and project-based—where teams of people are working together, then coming apart to work individually. Teams work collaboratively online and face-to face, the environment is rich in technology, with access on a “24/7” basis.
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The College of Alberta School Superintendents 17
It seems that key understandings should go across multiple curricula. How do you take this into account?
It is not very long that units of inquiry
move across subject areas. Teachers begin
to see that in order for students to arrive
at key understandings, content from
other subject areas needs to be woven
into their units.
Once we’ve mapped out the lists of
questions and understandings, there is a
check concerning whether or not they are
consistent with outcomes in the Program
of Studies. Often we find end up looking
at multiple Programmes of Studies and
map in the outcomes that we are “uncov-
ering” in our unit of study.
The next step is looking at how
we are going to assess students. How
will students show or demonstrate their
knowledge of the key understandings?
Assessment evidence is tied to a learn-
ing plan. The learning plan is an overall
guide to the unit, identifying milestones
along the way. This is when Universal
Design for Learning and Assessment for
Learning practices are explicitly brought
to the forefront of the conversations.
This is where we start taking a look at
multiple ways of learning and multiple
forms of representation. How do we give
every student a fair chance at showing
that they understand? Multiple literacies
are considered; as we build assessment
evidence, multiple forms of representa-
tion are encouraged (e.g., oral literacies,
written literacies, visual literacies). The
perspective emphasized is that every-
one—all students—should be given the
opportunity to display success.
Further triangulation is needed
for assessment—not just products are
taken into account—as well, evidence
of learning is also gathered during mul-
tiple conversations and observations.
Conversations, providing the student
with descriptive feedback, are a major
understandings of the content necessary
in order to discuss these issues? The
essential questions are then mapped out
(e.g. discussed and shown on the wall
with the LCD projector) with the key
understandings. Guiding questions for
the teachers are, “are these essential ques-
tions targeting the key understandings?
Are there essential questions for each of
the key understandings?” This process
guides the teachers to see that the student
investigations or enquiries based around
essential questions lead to the students’
to arriving at key understandings. The
questions are posted on the wall, as well.
They are global, open-ended and are
arguable (e.g., what about this?).
This process of arriving at key under-
standings and essential questions about
the subject matter is a major task and
takes about half a day. At the end of the
process, there is a base set of about three
key understandings and about three or
four essential questions. Remember that
the students will use these essential ques-
tions to drive their classroom enquiry.
They will edit or pose other essential
questions as they work through their own
enquiries. One of the key student goals is
that the students themselves will be able
to develop questions in the classroom.
As you do this, how do you take into account the developmental level of the students?
The understandings are written in
kid friendly language and posted in the
room. It will be a kid friendly version of
the understandings, but in order for the
students to actually develop an under-
standing, it will involve their engaging
in discussions, projects, research and so
on. In other words, the understandings
are pegged at a level above the student’s
current understanding; if not, why would
we engage in this process? At this point,
there isn’t a lot of concern about accom-
modating a range of learners; the empha-
sis is on the subject matter. Later in the
process, working with the students, our
expectations of the students related to the
understandings are tailored to a range of
learners—using Universal Design.
meant to facilitate, rather than “cover”,
which is a more static and content-driven
perspective. This process takes a long
time, at least half a day.
Part of the process involves model-
ing 21st Century learning by setting
up an LCD projector connected to a
laptop, and working with a small team,
no more than six at a time, preferably
four. It must be a collaborative team that
will continue the conversation, with life,
afterwards. The school team members
are ideally teachers who are working on
a common topic (e.g., all grade 4 social
studies teachers and the resource room
teacher). Those from the division also
work as a team and as well as myself from
the technology branch, there is a person
with a strong knowledge base in assistive
technology and students with special
needs from the student support branch
and one curriculum specialist, from the
instruction branch. The role of this div-
isional team is to bring the process to the
table, not impose subject matter.
We project the Program of Studies
on the screen, provide the participants
with a planning framework, explicitly
called, ‘key understandings’ to begin the
discussion. I act as the recorder; I capture
their sayings. It’s like ‘brainstorming’—
nothing is wrong—we put it all down,
then edit together. What is a “key under-
standing” for this subject matter? Most
of the time it is the teachers that are
throwing ideas out; they begin to see the
difference between content information
versus understanding about what matters
in the subject area. Once the key under-
standings are established, we move on
to the second step, generating essential
questions. Throughout this process, the
teachers are honoured—it is their unit of
study, they are the subject experts—the
divisional team acts to support and guide
the process.
Essential questions are those that will
drive the exploration of the subject mat-
ter. Are there questions of debate in
the field that the experts are arguing
about? Are there issues in the news that
are related to the subject matter? In
order to discuss these issues, are there
Websiteswww.elearning papers.eu
www.metiri.com
www.readingmadeeasy.ca/accessibilitysuite.php
www.rockyview.ab.ca
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18 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
component of this inquiry approach.
These conversations, in terms of the
standard of the work, the quality, can
be provided by the teacher, but are also
encouraged to take place peer-to-peer.
Students engaging in these day-by-day,
moment-by-moment conversations leads
to an exponential increase in the feedback
received by them about their understand-
ings (Davies, 2004).
Observations are also crucial to class-
room assessment. It is important that
teachers take the time to observe what
is happening in the classroom, to write
down their anecdotes, to see the evidence
in another light, not just the product
mode. Observations add richness and
depth to information gathered through
conversations and products.
This conversation with the teachers
about acceptable assessment evidence
is also a rather lengthy one. Teachers
begin to see that assessment is a process
of building evidence over a period of
time; it is a process of checkpoints along
the way of the inquiry process. We
want to ensure that they students have
success by providing constant feedback
along the way, not just waiting to the
end for the product submission or the
test result. Assessing their understand-
ings through the development of a ser-
ies of authentic tasks is now discussed.
Critical, creative and complex think-
ing is embedded in these tasks; they
are designed so that they will neces-
sitate the students addressing the key
understandings and essential questions.
Technology provides the tools used in
Classrooms are blended environments where teachers pro-vide lessons on topics, where students explore and gather information through viewing and/or listening to devices, then take the time to reflect and analyze information, fi-nally coming to the stage where they have discussion and debate around their positions.
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The College of Alberta School Superintendents 19
increases conversations, access and shar-
ing. In other words, students are provid-
ed with publishing environments, where
the power of learning is given back to the
students and the students themselves add
to the subject knowledge base.
Foundational to student’s accessing
the curriculum in a 21st Century class-
room is the ability to read. There are
some students, due to either a disability
and/or a lack of opportunity to learn,
who do not read at a level commensur-
ate with their peers, at a level where
have begun to use multiple, yet linked
plone sites which allow the creation of
blogs, wikkis, on-line conversations, the
co-creation of position papers, photo
sharing with discussions, teachers post-
ing images with questions and video clips
that are current, relevant and connected
to topics of curriculum. This allows cur-
ricula to be continuously current. Stu-
dents can go home and reflect on these
images, continue debates or conversa-
tions that began in school, on-line. Pro-
viding these tools enriches classrooms,
this enquiry process.
What would you envision the 21st Century classroom to look like in terms of its organization, the way it operates and current technology in order to support 21st Century learning?
There is a major issue emerging—
students are more and more experiencing
a disconnect between what they are learn-
ing informally outside the classroom as
compared to the formal learning taking
place in school. “For younger people,
there is a danger that they will increas-
ingly see school as a turn-off, irrelevant
to their identities and to their lives (Att-
well, 2007).”
We need to move our schools away
from a teacher-centric model to a learner-
centric model, where students are con-
tributors to a process that guides their
learning within the context of the Pro-
gram of Studies. This process can be
facilitated through some of the strategies
detailed by Anne Davies (2004; Davies,
A. & Busick, K, 2007), for example,
teachers’ observations, records, inter-
actions and reflections, the co-creation
of rubrics¹ and standards, the use of peer
assessment and multiple ways of pre-
senting learning artifacts.
The 21st Century classroom should
be a context that is enquiry stacked and
project-based—where teams of people
are working together, then coming apart
to work individually. Teams work col-
laboratively online and face-to face, the
environment is rich in technology, with
access on a “24/7” basis. The classroom
on-line workspace mirrors the tools of
social networks out in the world, yet
is secure. There is the provision of on-
going opportunities for students to have
conversations and debates, with intense
access to multiple sources of information.
There are tools to support sharing images
and posting presentations on-line; the
audiences to whom these products are
shared is broad. In short, students are
engaged in meaningful conversations that
add knowledge to their fields of enquiry.
In Rocky View School Division we
CASB Fall 08.indd 19 10/16/08 9:15:21 PM
20 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
oral, written or in visual format.
Summary Moving school divisions, schools and
classrooms towards policies and practices
that support 21st Century learning and
skills is no small feat; it is a challenge
for educators likely to last most of this
century! It is hoped that some of the
information and perspectives from this
article will be beneficial as we all journey
together, striving to prepare our students
for an uncertain and complex future. n
Note1 Rubric: A set of criteria or stan-
dards that the students have a conversation
around, with the teacher showing “what is
excellence”; a description of what it looks
like when it is done well; a standard to reach;
placed in web-site for self-evaluation.
move in or out of these spaces, listening
to documents, or downloading audio or
video versions to be loaded onto their
ipods or other media devices for continu-
ous access.
Classrooms are structured with major
tasks that students are working through;
these tasks include knowledge gathering
through the internet, knowledge building
under the guidance of a teacher, for example
through a “mini-lesson” about a particularly
difficult concept that the student needs to
learn. Classrooms are blended environ-
ments where teachers provide lessons on
topics, where students explore and gather
information through viewing and/or listen-
ing to devices, then take the time to reflect
and analyze information, finally coming to
the stage where they have discussion and
debate around their positions. There are
multiple means to access information and
multiple ways to present it back, such as
they are able to access grade-level textual
material.
Describe how a 21st Century learning environment allows a wider range of involvement for those students who have learning difficulties
Through classroom accessing of plone,
spaces on-line allow the placement of
Podcasts for students’ listening. As well,
tools are in the hands of teachers so that
they can easily transform written docu-
ments to oral versions. Both of these
approaches make it easy for students with
literacy difficulties to access information.
As well, tools are placed in the hands of
students that allow them to easily listen
to and manipulate digital text (Access-
ibility Suite, 2008). Classrooms that we
are gradually developing have technology
infused into them with students having
access to laptops or studio spaces. They
Investment in technology increased In spring 2008 the Alberta government invested over $55 million to broaden technology
initiatives in schools across the province. “Today’s students live in an interconnected world.
They are digitally literate and technology is part of their daily life,” said Education Minister
Dave Hancock. “Through these investments in innovative technologies, Alberta’s teachers are
empowering today’s learners and improving student success in high school.”
Budget 2008 included $18.5 million in new funding in each of the next three years to
support the further integration of technology in Alberta classrooms. This funding is on top
of the $36 million in ongoing funding included in the budget for enhancing and supporting
videoconferencing and online resources.
An additional government grant of $700,000 was allocated to the 2Learn.Ca Education
Society for the Video Conferencing Regional Leads Network (VC RLN) to support the edu-
cational system by developing the skills and human capacity required for the successful implementation of videoconferencing and associated
SuperNet applications.
“The Network provides Alberta’s teachers with the opportunity to take exceptional ideas about using technology for learning, and convert
those ideas into effective practice,” said John Hogarth, Executive Director for the 2Learn.ca Education Society. “We have seen exciting transfor-
mations in curriculum delivery and truly enhanced learning opportunities for students.”
The VC RLN is also a sponsor of the Video Conference for Hope, a student fundraising activity that was held during Education Week 2008,
involving 15 schools across Alberta. Students used videoconferencing technology to raise funds to build a school for street children in Nicaragua,
while learning the values of global citizenship.
The 21st Century classroom should be a context that is enquiry stacked and project based—where teams of people are working together, then coming apart to work individually.
CASB Fall 08.indd 20 10/16/08 9:15:21 PM
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 21
ReferencesAccessibility Suite (2008). Premier Assistive Technology. Retrieved Feb-
ruary 23, 2008 from www.readingmadeeasy.ca/AccessibilitySuite.php
Attwell, G. (2007). Personal Learning Environments – the future of
eLearning? eLearning Papers, 2, no.1. 9 pages. Retrieved February 12, 2008
from www.elearning papers.eu
Davies, A. (2004). Making Classroom Assessment Work. Courtney, BC:
Connections Publishing.
Davies, A. (2004). Finding Proof of Learning in a One-to-One Computing
Classroom. Courtney, BC: Connections Publishing.
Davies, A. & Busick, K. (2007). Classroom Assessment -What’s Working
in High Schools: Book Two. Courtney, BC: Connections Publishing.
Jonassen, D.H. (2000). Computers as Mindtools for Schools: Engaging
Critical Thinking. Columbus, OH: Prentice-Hall.
Lemke, C., Coughlin, E., Thadan, V. & Maratin, C. (2008). EnGauge
21st. Century Skills: Literacy in the Digital Age. Lost Angeles, CA: Metiri
Group. Retrieved January, 2008 from www.metiri.com.
Rocky View School Division (2008). Three-Year Educational Plan
(2008-2011). http://rockyview.ab.ca.
Rose, D. & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age,
Universal Design for Learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision
and Curriculum Development.
Tomlinson, C. & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating Differentiated Instruc-
tion + Understanding by Design: Connecting Content and Kids. Alexandria,
VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Waters, J. & Marzano, R. (2006). School District Leadership that Works:
The Effect of Superintendent Leadership on Student Achievement – A Working
Paper. Denver, CO. Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning
(McREL).
Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd ed.).
Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2007). Schooling by design: Mission, actions
and achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Cur-
riculum Development.
CASB Fall 08.indd 21 10/16/08 9:15:22 PM
22 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
A great deal has been said and
written about the “21st Century
learner” over the past 18 months.
One of the common themes emerging
from this discourse is that students today
are different from students 15, 10 or even
5 years ago. Much of this difference lies in
the area of technology, and more specific-
ally, communication technology. It is not
uncommon to see students as young as ten
years old with cell phones, or sitting in the
library or gathering area with their own
laptop computer or some other handheld
electronic device.
In 2001, Marc Prensky used the terms
“digital natives” and “digital immigrants”
when describing the differences between the
students of today, those who have grown
up in the digital world, and those of us
who have found ourselves surrounded by
an astounding amount of technology that
seemingly changes daily. The 21st Century
learner is a digital native, and there is no
debating they are different.
Students today have grown up with
24/7 access to broadband Internet, and this
access is not just from home and school, but
from the coffee shops they visit as well as
the phones they carry with
them wherever they go. Stu-
dents today text each other
constantly, “poke” each
other on Facebook, and
post videos on YouTube
with the greatest of ease.
Students today study online,
usually with several friends,
located great distances apart.
They share files, collaborate
on projects, and they do
this while listening to music
they have downloaded from
the Internet. Increasingly,
students today can
also do all of
t h i s
while watching each other through their
web-camera enabled laptop computers.
Students today routinely register for events
and/or classes online, they take online
courses, and they can access their personal
folders and files from almost any computer
in the world. They shop online, they bank
online, they apply for jobs online, and they
even keep up with their favourite television
shows with a combination PVR at home
and downloading commercial-free episodes
from CBC, CTV or iTunes, among others.
This does not even begin to touch the
multitude of podcasts available to download
to their MP3 players automatically each
evening.
In 2005 a research report entitled,
“Young Canadians in a Wired World –
Phase II” was published, which was the most
comprehensive and wide-ranging study of
its kind in Canada. The study looked at
the online behaviours and attitudes of more
than 5,200 students from Grades 4 to 11,
in French- and English-language schools,
in every province and territory. In that
study we learned that of the 5,200 students
surveyed:
44.1 per cent have their own MP3 •
players;
42.3 per cent have their own cell phones;•
42.2 per cent have web cams on their •
computers; and
These statistics do not include access to •
technology shared with other members
of the family.
What does all of this tell us? Students
today are different, they truly are digital
natives, and the natives are having an
increasingly more difficult time reconciling
their “reality” with their schools. While
students are connected in a multitude of
By Ron Eberts, Assistant Superintendent, Information Technology Services, Red Deer Public Schools
Today’s Students: Reconciling Their Technological “Reality” With Their School’s Rules
CASB Fall 08.indd 22 10/16/08 9:15:23 PM
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 23
to access web sites such as Facebook, You-
Tube, and Second Life, based on group
membership. For example teachers, or stu-
dents at the high schools, have greater access
to particular web sites than would middle
school or elementary school students.
Through the development of this
learning environment the opportunity
to move towards a 1:1 student-to-com-
puting device ratio is enabled within Red
Deer Public. The financial limitations
preventing the jurisdiction from provid-
ing computers to all students is circum-
vented by allowing them to bring their
own. Students that do not have their own
computing devices still have access to
those available at the schools. A network
for the 21st Century learner is enabled!
The research strongly indicates that
through the effective use of technology
for instruction, student engagement in
learning increases. It stands to reason that
an interested and more engaged student
is more likely to learn and achieve suc-
cess. Furthermore, a learning environ-
ment that is both authentic and relevant
to the student is also more likely to lead
to greater student learning and achieve-
ment. Red Deer Public Schools is just
beginning our journey towards a new
learning environment and there are many
challenges and opportunities ahead as we
move forward with this initiative. While
we, the digital immigrants, may never
truly understand the digital natives, the
fact that we have acknowledged that our
students are different, and we have taken
the first steps in trying to create a learn-
ing environment that they find relevant
and meaningful, means that we are head-
ing in the right direction. n
devices on the network in a safe and secure
manner, while still allowing those devices to
access the necessary resources for learning.
After an exhaustive evaluation process
Red Deer Public Schools partnered with
Bell Canada (www.bell.ca) and Enterasys
Secure Networks (www.enterasys.com) to
implement such a network. Over the course
of the 2007-2008 school year I.T. staff was
trained on the technical specifications and
configuration of the equipment; eighteen
schools and the Central Services building
had its network equipment replaced (wired
and wireless); and several weeks of creating,
testing, and deploying policies to the new
equipment took place. Countless hours
of planning, testing, and implementing
complex networking configurations have
resulted in seamless access to information
and resources for technology-users.
Students, staff or guest presenters/lec-
turers can bring their personally-owned
Wi-Fi or Ethernet-enabled devices and
connect to the district network with
“guest” access. This allows users access to
the World Wide Web without any poten-
tial negative consequences to district-
owned technology resources. Through
the Red Deer Public Schools Learning
Portal (Portal.rdpsd.ab.ca) students or
staff can access district-specific resources,
such as files located on local servers, or
internal applications or resources, such
as our learning management software.
Any teacher-created resources, such as
podcasts or video clips, can be accessed
through a remote desktop session, or
through direct access to shared folders
made available by the teachers.
Technology has been implemented
that allows Windows-based computers
ways, they are continually being asked
to “unplug” from each other when they
come to school. They are often denied
access to collaborative websites such as
Facebook or YouTube; they are often
denied access to communication devices,
such as personally-owned computers or
cellular phones, in class; and they are often
denied opportunities to share and collabor-
ate in virtual environments like Second Life.
Fortunately, for the students of today,
education is changing. The rise of many 1:1
student-to-computer initiatives in Alberta,
and elsewhere, is one example of how
education is beginning to catch up with
today’s students. The problem, however,
with 1:1 laptop initiatives is the great cost to
implement them. Even with a moderately
priced laptop computer, at $900, it could
potentially cost over $600,000 for a school
jurisdiction like Red Deer Public Schools to
equip each grade 9 student in the district. If
consideration was given to equip every high
school student in Red Deer Public, that cost
would jump to over $2.8 million!
Given the reality that such a very large
number of students already own comput-
ing devices of some sort, Red Deer Public
Schools decided to move in a slightly dif-
ferent direction. Rather than attempt to
provide a district-owned computing device
to every student, creating an environment
in which students could bring in their
personally-owned devices was proposed. In
June, 2007, the district issued a Request
for Proposal to see if it might be possible
to partner with a networking vendor to
implement a network infrastructure that
would both allow the high level of stability,
reliability and access that students and staff
enjoyed already, but also allow “foreign”
While students are connected in a multitude of ways, they are continually being asked to “unplug” from each other when they come to school. They are often denied access to collaborative websites such as Facebook or YouTube; they are often denied access to communication devices, such as personally-owned computers or cellular phones, in class; and they are often denied opportunities to share and collaborate in virtual environments like Second Life.
CASB Fall 08.indd 23 10/16/08 9:15:23 PM
CASB Fall 08.indd 24 10/16/08 9:15:24 PM
CASB Fall 08.indd 25 10/16/08 9:15:25 PM
26 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
For the Conseil scolaire catholique et franco-
phone du Sud de l’Alberta (CSCFSA), it is really
important to provide all the necessary tools to its
students, including new communication tech-
nologies, so as to help them become independent
learners, attain their full potential, and thus be
counted among Alberta’s and Canada’s future
leaders.
Pour le Conseil scolaire catholique et franco-
phone du Sud de l’Alberta (CSCFSA), il est très
important de fournir tous les outils nécessaires, y
inclus les nouvelles technologies, à ses étudiants
afin que ceux-ci puissent devenir des appren-
ants autonomes, développer leur plein potentiel
et s’inscrire parmi les futurs leaders de l’Alberta
comme du Canada.
T he adventure started in 2007-2008,
when CSCFSA received funding
from Alberta Education for the 1:1
mobile computing project. CSCFSA was the
only Francophone school district selected to
participate in this project sponsored by Alberta
Education. The 1:1 mobile computing project
promotes a teaching and learning environment
in which every teacher and student is provided
with a wireless laptop for continuous use in
school and at home. All Grade 6 students will
participate in the three year Emerge 1:1 Wire-
less Learning Project as well as their teachers.
The theme of CSCFSA’s initiative is
“Equity of Opportunity to Attain 21st Cen-
tury Skills in Francophone Learning Com-
munities”. Sixty-seven students, four teach-
ers, four schools and three administrators are
involved in this project. An expected result of
initiating the Grade 6 students to mobile com-
puting is the improvement of French language
competencies in the classroom, at home and
in the community. Students are given 24/7
access to technology and parent involvement
and support plays a key role. The 1:1 mobile
computing project aims to meet three main
objectives of the school board: develop in
students a sense of pride and identity to the
French language and Francophone culture,
improve their reading ability in French and
support the acquisition of 21st century skills.
It also compliments the district’s Cycle 3 AISI
project on using assessment for learning.
Alberta Education issued a Call for Propos-
als from Alberta school jurisdictions interested
in research-based one-to-one wireless learning
initiatives that supported specific educational
in a Small Regional Education Authority
LEFT: Initially, the students got acquainted with their new learning tool on an individual basis.
ABOVE: Within weeks, students moved towards working with a partner.
LEFT: By the end of the school year, students were engaged in collaborative learning.
New Technologies in Support of the21st Century Learner
CASB Fall 08.indd 26 10/16/08 9:15:26 PM
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 27
CSCFSA received funding from Skills Canada
Alberta in partnership with the Government
of Alberta, to enhance the CTS program at the
senior high level. The funds received are being
used to develop a CTS graphic art option
and a robotics program option. By provid-
ing new and exciting CTS courses at École
Sainte-Marguerite-Bourgeoys, it is anticipated
that a greater number of students will choose
to remain at the school after the completion
of their Grade 9 education and thus assisting
CSCFSA in attaining its goal of moving
towards equivalency in CTS for Francophone
Learning Communities.
The Conseil scolaire catholique et franco-
phone du Sud de l’Alberta sees the introduc-
tion of new technologies in the classroom
as a key component in meeting the challen-
ges of offering a well rounded education to
Francophone students who strive to master the
French language, contribute to the develop-
ment of their Francophone culture, while at
the same time acquiring an excellent know-
ledge of English language and preparing not
only to be proud and productive citizens of
Alberta, but also to be prepared for the 21st
Century workforce. n
In 2009-2010, 1:1 learning will involve •
students in Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8,
Grade 10 and Grade 11.
By 2010-2011, 1:1 learning will be pro-•
vided to all students from Grade 6 to
Grade 12.
CSCFSA opted for a dual grade per year •
implementation approach to ensure that
the Grade 12 students will have access to
1:1 wireless learning by the fall of 2010.
With Alberta Education’s Emerge Wireless
Learning Project, CSCFSA has access to a wide
variety of training and support for the teachers
involved in the project as well their school
administrators and the district’s Technology in
Education Consultant. With the experience of
the first year and the various workshops, par-
ticipants are now able to share their knowledge
with colleagues. Two Grade six teachers and
our Technology in Education Consultant will
present at the A.T.A.’s annual conference of
the Conseil français, in November 2008.
In keeping with the initiative of imple-
menting of the use of new communication
technologies in the classroom, CSCFSA
will broaden its CTS (Career and Technol-
ogy Studies) options at the secondary level.
goals within Grades 4 to 12. As a result, 20
school jurisdictions are part of the Emerge
1:1 Wireless Learning project, involving over
2,000 students using laptops as part of a
research project. The project also involves 200
teachers at 49 schools across the province.
Alberta’s 1:1 Wireless Learning Project was
initiated in response to a growing trend toward
one-to-one mobile computing. In addition, a
Community of Practice was formed in which
CSCFSA is an active member. The purpose
of the Community of Practice is to share
knowledge and practices, find solutions, build
innovations and build and share their collect-
ive intelligence through the process of initiat-
ing, implementing and researching mobile
computing over the next three years. The goals
of the Community of Practice are to:
Support a research-based, one-to-one •
mobile computing community of practice;
Further investigate the potential educa-•
tional benefits of one-to-one mobile com-
puting;
Identify technical merits and innovative •
practices in one-to-one mobile comput-
ing;
Share expertise, experience and lessons •
learned related to one-to-one mobile com-
puting; and
Inform and support one-to-one mobile •
computing implementations within
Alberta’s learning system.
As CSCFSA is a small school district, all
of the schools and the grade six students are
involved in this project. This facilitates the
sharing of a common vision throughout the
school district.
After twelve months of participation in the
project, students appear more confident and
comfortable in using computers as a learning
tool all the while developing critical thinking
skills, a main focus of the new provincial social
studies program of studies.
During the course of the first year of the 1:1
wireless learning project, CSCFSA studied the
option of implementing 1:1 wireless learning
at the secondary level. In May 2008, the Board
authorized a three year project starting in the fall
of 2008 which will lead to a full implementa-
tion of 1:1 wireless learning environment for the
grades 6 to 12 students by the fall of 2010:
In 2008-2009, 1:1 learning will involve stu-•
dents in Grade 6, Grade 7 and Grade 10.
CASB Fall 08.indd 27 10/16/08 9:15:27 PM
CASB Fall 08.indd 28 10/16/08 9:15:30 PM
CASB Fall 08.indd 29 10/16/08 9:15:32 PM
30 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
A s contemporary educators we are
all aware of the challenges that
teachers and administrators face
in addressing the diverse learning needs
of today’s student. Mainstream educators
are often frustrated with the dichotomy of
the need to respond to learners within the
confines of a world of logistical and assess-
ment realities. So how does a pragmatic
school division move towards excellence
and equity for all students?
To answer this question, we must first
acknowledge that students and parents hold
the expectation that the school system will
address the diverse learning needs of the stu-
dent, and will enable the student to explore
and develop a wide array of knowledge,
skills and attributes during their kindergart-
en to Grade 12 education. If we, as school
systems are to meet and exceed these expect-
ations, it takes significant innovation on
the part of teachers. In Grande Yellowhead
Regional Division (GYRD) success in meet-
ing these student needs is achieved through
the creation of innovative support positions
and a somewhat unique partnership.
Innovation in student program develop-
ment and implementation began a number
of years ago when GYRD embarked on a
journey to move the system from good to
great. Key to this journey was recognizing
that improvement needed to go beyond aca-
demic success. The division needed to offer
students a broad program of studies where
success was measured by student enrolment
and student satisfaction in addition to the
Alberta Education Accountability Pillars.
Offering a broad program of studies,
that is deemed to be effective and successful,
required an understanding of the 21st Cen-
tury student learner’s interests, and also the
knowledge and skills these students would
require for the future. Being a rural and
sparsely populated school division in excess
of 350 km across also meant developing
programs that enabled all GYRD students
to access these courses to enable afford-
ability.
Today, GYRD students actively partici-
pate in a wide array of courses, programs
and curriculum enhancement opportun-
ities through video-conference. During the
2007-2008 school year, GYRD offered
32 course offerings in a semester or full
year timetable; 168 curriculum/program
enhancement activities with connections to
groups such as the Royal Tyrell Museum
in Drumheller, the Puppetry Art Centre in
Atlanta, Georgia, the Royal Botanical Gar-
dens in Hamilton, Ontario, the Alaska Sea
Life Centre, Rock N Roll Hall of Fame in
Cleveland, Ohio, the St. Louis Zoo and to
many other educational partners; and, addi-
tional collaborative projects with partners
across North America.
Expanded student program options
include video-conference courses such as
second language offerings in Cree, German,
Japanese, French and Spanish. Various CTS
modules are provided with courses focusing
on global issues which include visits to the
Mustard Seed organization and Habitat for
Humanity in Edmonton. An example of a
high interest and innovative course offered
within GYRD is Species at Risk. This new
three credit course offered in the spring of
2008 by videoconference involved research-
ers and wildlife management experts from
across Canada and Alaska speaking about
the work they do related to a specific spe-
cies at risk. For the 2008-2009 school year,
the wildlife sessions will be expanding into
a more international perspective with pro-
grams on gorillas in the Congo and lemurs
in Madagascar.
Enabling this innovative and unique
program is the GYRD funded video-con-
ference coordinator position. Dr Gordon
Booth, in this role, supports GYRD teach-
ers across the division in engaging students
in innovative learning opportunities. Since
its earliest beginnings in the 2000-2001
Addressing the Needs
Students at Grande Yellowhead Regional Division participate in innovate learning programs that promote the 21st Century learner.
By James Bartram, Dr. Gordon Booth and Dr. Dean Lindquist
of the 21st Century Student in GYRD
CASB Fall 08.indd 30 10/16/08 9:15:34 PM
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 31
have built capacity in key areas such
as curriculum development, information
technology, relationship building and
collaboration. This enables our system
to meet the diverse learning needs of
students. Students are learning within
an environment that supports a healthy
dichotomy of traditional classroom and
hands-on experiential learning. Innova-
tive programs and partnerships will con-
tinue to grow and evolve as our school
system strives to meet the diverse learn-
ing needs of the 21st Century learner. n
Key to building these successful pro-
grams for the 21st Century learner, teach-
ers are encouraged to take on leader-
ship roles in addressing student needs,
being innovative and entrepreneurial
in program development. Our division
has invested in positions to support the
teacher in the classroom, and placed
great confidence in the professional judg-
ment of those involved. Many of these
innovative programs have been estab-
lished through the hard work of staff over
an extended period of time. Teachers
school year with 2 courses, the program has
increased exponentially through the col-
laborative work between the coordinator,
principals and teachers.
Complementing the wide variety of
programs and curriculum enhancement
opportunities is a formal partnership
with Jasper National Park that provides
a number of high interest, high skill pro-
grams for students. James Bartram is the
GYRD teacher seconded by Parks Can-
ada to lead the development and imple-
mentation of a wide range of innovative
high school programs. From GIS and
GPS to backcountry travel, avalanche
safety and water navigation the programs
are grounded in the integrated delivery
of the Parks Canada mandate, to pro-
mote protection, experience and educa-
tion. The collaboration between Jasper
National Park and GYRD is highly bene-
ficial to all. Youth gain access to a wide
range of authentic expertise and facilities,
while Parks Canada has an opportunity
to assist students on their journey from
recreation, through personal develop-
ment towards active ambassadorship.
The programs facilitated by both Gor-
don Booth and James Bartram offer
whole class experience and curriculum
linked enhancement. A blending of not
only technologically mediated and face-
to-face instruction, but also a blending of
learning models and a blending of activ-
ities which cater to the different learning
styles, create programs which set students
up for success.
The answer for Grande Yellowhead
Regional Division successfully meeting
the needs of the 21st Century student
learner lies in a form of conceptual
pluralism. Core subjects are delivered in
GYRD schools in time-honoured fashion
and with a good deal of success. They
effectively prepare students for their
examinations and life beyond graduation.
At the same time, a broad range of virtual
and out of classroom programs supple-
ments this core. By reflecting the divers-
ity of the region, interests of students
and developing programs that validate
students individual skill sets, students are
empowered.
CASB Fall 08.indd 31 10/16/08 9:15:36 PM
32 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
CASB Fall 08.indd 32 10/16/08 9:15:37 PM
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 33
CASB Fall 08.indd 33 10/16/08 9:15:38 PM
T oday’s kids are dramatically differ-
ent from the way we were when we
were kids. I’m not talking about their
clothing, hairstyles, the body parts that they
pierce, tattoo, and expose, or even their music.
What makes today’s kids different is that they
are part of Instant Messenger generation.
For example, recently a 13 year-old girl
submitted an essay, which began: “My smmr
hols wr CWOT. B4, we ud 2go2 NY 2C my
bro, his GF & thr 3 :- kds FTF. ILNY, it’s a
gr8plc.”
Translation: “My summer holidays were a
complete waste of time. Before, we used to go
to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend
and their three screaming kids face-to-face. I
love New York, it’s a great place.”
Today’s students have grown up with video
games, cell phones, pagers, computers, the
Internet, and other digital wonders that define
their world. For them there has never been a
time when these technologies haven’t existed.
They are what Marc Prensky, a designer of
software games, calls “digital natives.”
Digital natives process and interact with
information, and communicate in fundamen-
tally different ways than previous generations
before them. Take Instant Messaging (IM), a
former of live conversation via computer that
can resemble the telephone party line of yester-
day. More than 19 billion instant messages are
sent everyday in the U.S. alone, a significant
portion of them by teenagers. As a result,
we’re seeing the emergence of rapidly evolving
hybrid write-speak language based on words
and pictures. Using just a few key strokes,
complex messages are rapidly composed, sent,
and instantly responded to from wherever:
bus, movie theatre, bedroom, classroom or
even the exam hall.
Meanwhile, many of us who
grew up in a relatively low-tech
world can’t comprehend this gen-
eration’s fascination with game
playing, instant messaging, blog-
ging and surfing the Web. That’s
because we’re DSL: We speak Digital
as a Second Language.
But there’s far more to this story that
meets the eye. Current research suggests that
the brains of the digital generation are different
physically and chemically. And they continue
to change.
Conventional thinking has been that each
of us, by age three, develop a fixed number
of brain cells, which then die off, one by one.
People have also believe that, regardless of race,
culture, and experience, we used our brains to
think in basically in the same way, using the
same neural pathways to process information.
However, over the past five years, neuro-
biological research shows that the brain con-
stantly reorganizes itself structurally through-
out life based on input and intensity. This
reorganization is called neuroplasticity—the
brain literally and continuously restructures
neural pathways.
But brains just don’t change by themselves.
They require sustained stimulation and focus
over long periods of time: several hours a
day, seven days a week. Learning to read and
write required just that: several hours a day,
seven days a week. Similarly, watching TV for
extended periods of time repro-
grammed our brains.
What does
several hours
Digital natives process and interact with information, and communicate in funda-mentally different ways than previous generations before them. Take Instant Messaging (IM), a former of live conver-sation via computer that can resemble the telephone party line of yesterday. More than 19 billion instant messages are sent everyday in the U.S. alone, a significant portion of them by teenagers.
My smmr hols wr CWOT. Yours?
—Educating the Digital GenerationBy Ian Jukes
CASB Fall 08.indd 34 10/16/08 9:15:39 PM
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 35
a day, seven days a week remind you of?
This is increasingly what’s been happening to
digital kids’ brains since the arrival of Pong
in 1974. Today, video games, computers,
cell phone, and a multitude of other digital
devices facilitate hypertext, interactivity, net-
working, random access, and multi-tasking.
These experiences are literally rewiring kids’
brains so they probably process information
differently that we do.
A new field of study known as neuro-
biology has emerged in the past few years.
This is the digital analysis of brain processes
using imaging scanners to digitally analyze the
brain’s thinking patterns at the molecular level.
If we were to take an electronic scan of our
brains and compare them to those of our kids’
brains, we would find that they use fundamen-
tally different neural pathways to process the
same information that we do.
This may explain why digital kids process
information differently from us digital immi-
grants, and it helps explain why they act the
way they do. It may also help to explain the
fundamental difference between our genera-
tion and theirs. Yet sadly, almost none of what
we have learned about how the brain functions
is being applied to learning or instruction.
The reality today is that increasingly high-
stakes testing and accountability are driving
education. We simply cannot pretend this
isn’t the case. How can we deal with the gap
between the issues of accountability, and what
the research tells us, while at the same time
addressing the growing dissonance between
digital kids learning and our DSL instructional
styles?
This isn’t about creating some far out
vision for learning in the future. Conversely
it’s not about continuing to fixate on the
past, on the back-to-basics mentality that
reflects yesterday’s world. As profession-
als we must continue to address the issues
of accountability on one hand, and the
abilities and preferences of digital learners
on the other. Therefore we must be fully
cognizant of the implications of not only
what is being taught, but also how it should
be taught. n
For a much lengthier examination of this
issue download The New Digital Landscape from
http://ianjukes.com.
CASB Fall 08.indd 35 10/16/08 9:15:40 PM
36 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
A recent article in The Wall Street
Journal paints an amazing picture
of a new world of technology that
is already upon us. It seems that IBM, still
one of the largest and most respected com-
panies in the world, has embraced a whole
slew of new social Web applications in a big,
big way. The company hosts over 26,000
weblogs that are published by employees,
has created over 20,000 wiki spaces for
internal collaboration, and has programmed
its own social bookmarking system (a la
delicious.com) to collect and share all of
the relevant and interesting resources that
people in the company find. And if that’s
not enough, the article notes that over
400,000 full and part-time employees at
IBM participate in “Blue Pages”, an internal
social networking site akin to MySpace, on
a regular basis.
In short, Big Blue is now IBM 2.0. Con-
trast that to most educational institutions
in North America, and the differences are
stark. In most schools, blogs are banned,
wikis are scorned and social networks are
taboo. And while some classrooms and
teachers have begun to dabble in the uses
of Web 2.0 (or Read/Write Web) tools, it’s
almost impossible to find systemic imple-
mentations for students and their teachers
that compares to the portrait above.
For that reason, and a variety of others,
I believe this is an incredibly challenging
moment to be an educator. As it stands,
most of us are locked in a system that
prepares students for a world that has long
since passed instead of a future that is
already here. And while the world continues
to change rapidly around us, our ability to
react to those changes is stymied by age
old beliefs about what education should
be, increasingly irrelevant expectations and
mandatory assessments, and our own lack
of understanding as to how these tools and
these technologies fundamentally change
the way we learn.
In this world, we can learn in spaces and
places that look, feel and act nothing like
our traditional classrooms—places where
we interact with people who are as passion-
ate as we are (if not more) about whatever
it is we want to learn; places where learning
is the focus, not tasks, not assignments, not
grades; places where we form communities
and relationships in deeply meaningful
ways, even though we may never meet other
members face to face. And the tools that we
use, the blogs and wikis and RSS feeds, are
not only ways to make our thoughts and
ideas transparent to the world and to collab-
orate freely with others. They are the tools
of network building, which for all intents
and purposes, is the learning literacy of the
21st Century.
The connections that this “new” Web
provides can be powerful on many differ-
ent levels, and—besides business—many of
our traditional institutions are feeling the
transformative effects. Take journalism and
media as one example.
Anyone with a cell phone camera can
now begin to report on the events of the
world well before the traditional journalist
even knows what has occurred. And the
music industry is going through a huge per-
iod of disruption as the file sharing capabil-
ities of the Internet render once lucrative
production and distribution practices irrel-
evant. Or, look at politics, where in the US
the “YouTube Campaign” is underway.
And if that’s not enough to convince you,
By Will Richardson
Network Building and the New Literacy
CASB Fall 08.indd 36 10/16/08 9:15:41 PM
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 37
questions like, “who can I trust?” “what
defines expertise?” “where can I find teach-
ers?” “how do I build a learning network?”
“who can I collaborate with?” And “what
does community mean?” The ways in which
they are able to answer these and other
crucial questions related to building learn-
ing environments online represent a new,
important literacy.
While there is no question that our
students will need to be able to read skill-
fully and write clearly, they must now also
become self-editors in terms of how they
consume the information around them.
While we used to be able to hand a student
a text and have a fair amount of confidence
in the information it held, more and more
of what we and our children read has
not been edited in the traditional sense.
Wikipedia, the encyclopedia that anyone
can contribute to and “edit”, is a great
example of how the information landscape
is changing. And when we read blogs and
other self-published sites, we are in fact
the editors who, in many cases, are able to
comment back to the authors with our own
corrections and additions. So we must help
our students become skeptical readers and
efficient editors, ones who can draw upon
and skills they will need to succeed? Those
who are more adept at quickly re-tooling,
at unlearning and learning anew, will be
the ones who flourish and adapt. And even
more, they will need to be able to constantly
find and learn to use the newest tools and
technologies to support their personal learn-
ing practice.
And in that environment, our students
need to be selfstarters, people who seize the
initiative and put their ideas into action.
Thomas Friedman, author of the best-
selling
The World is Flat, which chronicles
many of the changes that are occurring
around the globe due to these technological
shifts, says, “This is a world where if you
are not doing it, someone else will.” When
the competition for ideas is global, we need
to help students learn how to initiate and
lead projects of their own design, and to
take control of their own learning in the
process.
We also need to help our students
become self-selectors in terms of build-
ing their own personal, learning networks
and preparing them for a much more col-
laborative, open world. We need to give
them guidance and experience in answering
take a look at some of the “sermon sharing”
sites coming online. Religion 2.0?
School models are not changing, how-
ever. Whereas learning can now occur
24/7/365, our children attend school at
scheduled times and days. Whereas content
can be found everywhere, our students still
study from traditional texts and resources.
While our students can now do meaning-
ful work with real purposes for real audi-
ences, too often their work simply hangs
on classroom or hallway walls. And while
there’s no doubt they will need to be skilled
at global collaboration, the classrooms in
which they work are still defined by four
physical walls.
The reality is, however, that our students
are beginning to learn in new ways without
us. If they have a connection, they know
they can begin to build their own networks
around whatever they are passionate about.
Just look at MySpace or FanFiction.net.
They know that answers to their questions
are at their fingertips. Learning doesn’t stop
at the end of the school day or school year.
It continues, on demand. And they know
that there are many potential teachers out
there just waiting to be found.
Our challenge as educators right now is
to begin to reenvision our classrooms and
our practice in order to help our students
leverage these new connections and net-
works and, to put it bluntly, to stay relevant
in their learning lives.
And this requires thinking deeply about
the types of skills and literacies that 21st
century learners will need in order to be as
successful as they can be. Certainly, basic
skills like reading and writing will continue
to be important, though even those liter-
acies change when considering hypertext
environments. But more and more, the
skills that our students need to take with
them are those that will provide a strong
foundation for their own lifelong learn-
ing, ones that help them navigate a much
more complex and changing landscape of
information.
In a world where estimates are that our
current students will have changed jobs over
a dozen times by the time they reach the age
of 38, is there any doubt that they will have
to be self-learners in terms of the knowledge
As it stands, most of us are locked in a sys-tem that prepares students for a world that has long since passed instead of a future that is already here. And while the world continues to change rapidly around us, our ability to react to those changes is stymied by age old beliefs about what education should be, increasingly irrelevant expecta-tions and mandatory assessments, and our own lack of understanding as to how these tools and these technologies fundamentally change the way we learn.
CASB Fall 08.indd 37 10/16/08 9:15:41 PM
38 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
creating our own, personalized toolboxes
that can best support our efforts.
In addition, our students will need
to be self-publishers as they begin to use
the content they create to grow their own
personal learning networks. By sharing
their ideas in blogs, their bookmarks
in Del.icio.us, and the other content
they create on wiki or multimedia sites,
the Web allows them to build powerful
online portfolios of work. And more
importantly, that published work makes
them “findable” by other potential teach-
ers or collaborators. So our students must
understand the basic tools of publishing
and the ethics that go along with them,
and they must learn the basic skills of
communicating clearly. At the same time,
they must become self-protectors in order
to keep themselves safe from the perils of
the Internet.
Unfortunately, there are predators
“out there”, and, ultimately, some of our
students will put themselves at risk.
So we must make sure that they
are aware of those dangers, and that
they have the skills to deal with those
dangers should they appear. To simply
block “problem” sites like MySpace and
Wikipedia, for example, does nothing to
prepare them for the realities they will
face when they leave us.
Finally, we have to assist our students
to be self-regulators and to seek balance
in their uses of technology. We will soon
live in a world that is ubiquitously con-
nected, and the pressures to stay online
will only grow. It’s important that we
help our students understand the bene-
fits of powering down their connections
as well.
Navigating this very different learning
landscape requires us to rethink much of
what we currently ask of our students.
And, it requires that we rethink our cur-
riculum in systemic ways. Incorporating
these ideas and literacies must begin from
the earliest grades. It must simply become
a part of the way we do business in our
schools. And, it requires that we, as edu-
cators, be able to model effective learning
and network building for our students
at every turn. Our children must see us
must develop our own “folksonomies”
which we use to keep track of the content
we find. Folksonomies are characterized
by tags or keywords that we assign to
each photo or article or website as we save
it. And when we do save it, we save it to
various online content repositories like
Flickr for photos or YouTube for video
so that other people who are interested or
passionate about that topic might be able
to find it for themselves. And with the
wide variety of technologies available to
support that process, we must be adept at
information from a variety of sources, vet
those sources for accuracy, and synthesize
the information they find for relevance and,
ultimately, learning.
In this “new” world, when they do find
relevant and trustworthy information, our
students must be self-organizers who are able
to effectively sort and archive it for future
use. The problem is that the traditional
taxonomies that have helped organize our
information (namely the Dewey Decimal
System) aren’t nearly as effective in a digital
environment. So, instead of taxonomies, we
CASB Fall 08.indd 38 10/16/08 9:15:42 PM
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 39
continually learning, editing, organizing,
publishing and understanding the value
of all of that in our own practice. If we
don’t appreciate these changes and these
possibilities in our own learning, it will
be difficult for us to understand the shift-
ing pedagogies that are required to lever-
age their potentials for our students.
The list of reasons that we can cite for
not making these changes is long, and
many of the reasons are legitimate.
Many of our schools still do not have
the infrastructure to provide regular Web
access to our students, and many of our
children still don’t have access from
home. Ultimately, we must answer to
the measures of standardized tests, and
therefore we choose to stick to a cur-
riculum that is itself already tested. It’s
not uncommon for principals and super-
intendents to have little or no experience
with these technologies and therefore
be hesitant to support a teacher’s use of
them in the classroom. In many cases,
parents have been led to fear social
technologies instead of embrace them.
Finally, our own time to learn is limited.
But at the end of the day, I think
it’s incumbent upon us to make the
time, however possible, to rethink our
own learning practice as it relates to the
future of our students. There is little
doubt at this point that the work they
do will be in digital formats and require
an understanding of hypertext, that they
will be required to collaborate in deeply
meaningful ways, that they will have to
be able to find relevant information from
personally vetted resources, and that they
will depend on sophisticated networks of
learners and teachers to inform much of
what they do. And we need to understand
that for ourselves as well. n
Will Richardson blogs at Weblogg-
ed.com and is the author of Blogs,
Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful
Web Tools for Classrooms from Corwin
Press. For 21 years, he was an educator
in a New Jersey high school, 18 years as
a classroom English teacher and three
years as a technology supervisor. He can
be reached at weblogged@gmail.com.
We will soon live in a world that is ubiquitously connected, and the pressures to stay online will only grow. It’s important that we help our students understand the benefits of powering down their connections as well.
CASB Fall 08.indd 39 10/16/08 9:15:43 PM
40 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
Computers for Schools (CFS) is a
national, federal government-led initia-
tive that operates in cooperation with all
provinces and territories, the private and
volunteer sectors. CFS collects, repairs
and refurbishes donated surplus comput-
ers from government and private sector
sources and distributes them to schools,
public libraries and not-for-profit learning
organizations throughout Canada.
CFS was co-founded in 1993 by In-
dustry Canada and the TelecomPioneers,
the largest industry-related volunteer
organization in the world. The “delivery
agencies” for the CFS program in each
province are independent non-profit or-
ganizations. In Alberta that organization
is the Alberta Computers for Schools
Association. The Association’s Board of
Directors comprises representatives of
Alberta Energy, the Association of Pro-
fessional Engineers, Geologists and Geo-
physicists of Alberta (APEGGA), the
Alberta School Boards Association, the
College of Alberta School Superinten-
dents (CASS), Dell Canada, Microsoft
Canada, the Northern Alberta Institute
of Technology (NAIT), Stantec Corpora-
tion, TELUS Corporation, TELUS Com-
munity Ambassadors, Service Alberta,
and the Treaty Seven Tribal Council. The
Chair of the Alberta CFS Board is Ross
Plecash, P.Eng. (representing APEGGA),
and the Executive Director is Lucien Vil-
leneuve.
There are five computer refurbishing/dis-
tribution centres in Alberta:
In Calgary
Ernest Manning High School: a full-time
operation supervisd by Ron McWhinnie and
Harvey Northfield.
E-mail: cfsclg2@telusplanet.net
Elbow Park TELUS exchange: a part-time
operation of Calgary’s Telus Community
Ambassadors Volunteers
E-mail: cpsclg1@telusplanet.net
In Edmonton
CFS Edmonton: a full-time operation su-
pervised by Rodger Stayer and Hal Martin
E-mail: cfsedm@telus.net
In Lethbridge
Lethbridge Community Network: super-
vised by Jim Campbell
E-mail: lcn@shaw.ca
In Brocket
Piikani Nation Secondary School: a pilot
project supervised by Ula Shirt
E-mail: ushirt@miikyaapii.net
Alberta Computers for Schools dis-
tributes approximately 14,000 computers
annually. As of October 2008 they have
distributed over 111,000 computers since
the Alberta program began in 1994. All
equipment is provided free of charge with
two exceptions: schools are requested to
make transportation arrangements; and
“others” are charged $10 per Windows
operating system.
For more information go to www.cfsal-
berta.ca.
Computers for Schools available in Alberta
CASB Fall 08.indd 40 10/16/08 9:15:43 PM
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 41
Your Industry is Our SpecIaltY
to find out how Matrix can help your association create
an eye-catching magazine like this
one, call (866) 999-1299.
Facebook factsWhether you’re a user or not, there’s no
escaping the popularity of online networking
site, Facebook. But, did you know:
• The original founder of Facebook and CEO
is 24 year old Mark Zuckerburg. Mark and
3 of his roommates created Facebook while
attending Harvard University and launched
the site on February 4, 2004 from their college
dorm room. Forbes Magazine named Mark
“the world’s youngest self-made billionaire”
being worth an estimated $1.5 billion due to
his creation of the popular website.
• Facebook signs up around 100,000 new
members per day.
• FacebookwasstartedinFebruary2004.
• In the beginning, the membership was
restricted to students of Harvard Univer-
sity. It was subsequently expanded to other
Boston area schools, Stanford, and all Ivy
League schools within two months.
• Thewebsitehas31Millionactiveusers.
• Thecompanyalreadyrejecteda$975mil-
lion offer for the site.
• PeterThiel,aboardmemberofFacebook,
indicated that Facebook’s internal valuation
is around $8 billion based on their pro-
jected revenues of $1 billion by 2015.
• Facebook has faced some controversy over
the past few years. It has been blocked
intermittently in several countries including
Syria and Iran. It has also been banned at
many places of work to increase productiv-
ity. Privacy has also been an issue, and it has
been compromised several times. It is also
facing several lawsuits from a number of
Zuckerberg’s former classmates, who claim
that Facebook had stolen their source code
and other intellectual property.
CASB Fall 08.indd 41 10/16/08 9:15:45 PM
42 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
CASB Fall 08.indd 42 10/16/08 9:15:46 PM
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 43
ASEBP is committed to working in part-
nership with the education sector in developing
and promoting resources that support indi-
viduals, groups and leaders in creating and
sustaining healthy people, healthy workplaces.
Working with the education sector has provid-
ed many learning’s that we are pleased to share
in our regular column of CASS Connection.
Taking the lead towards healthier livingA fundamental concept of Organiza-
tional Health is the reciprocal relationship
between the health of individuals and the
health of the work environment. The health
of an organization is dynamic and complex,
influenced by the integration of a number
of interconnected and complex variables
that either support or detract from health
as a whole. However, it is the individuals
within each school system that make an
organization unique and share the respon-
sibility for health.
Leaders are instrumental to the success
of any organization and exert a powerful
influence on the health and culture of the
workplace. Diverse and demanding expecta-
tions are typically placed on leaders to “make
things right” and create the best environ-
ment for everyone; leaders typically place
extremely high standards on themselves to
be their best and meet those expectations.
Given the ever changing, exciting and often
challenging day-to-day world of a leader,
health and well-being often takes a back
seat, sending ripples into other aspects of
their work and personal life. One senior
administrator describes this as, “as goes the
leader, so goes the school.”
Taking the time to pay attention to one’s
own health is challenging enough, yet lead-
ers are also responsible to help staff mem-
bers with their health issues. Three ASEBP
Apple-a-Day provides:
The latest health news and research, dir-•
ectly from the medical experts at the Mayo
Clinic, and links to Alberta and Canadian
health information customized by ASEBP
staff.
Reliable information, videos and slide •
shows about a variety of disease conditions,
treatment strategies and medications.
Opportunities to enrol in online health •
programs.
Tips on improving your health.•
Access to the Mayo Clinic Health Assess-•
ment.
Apple-a-Day log-on process
Log onto the ASEBP website (www.asebp.1.
ab.ca)
Click on the Apple-a-Day icon2.
Enter in your ASEBP ID number and 3.
personal password and click enter.
Apple-a-Day is just one program offered by ASEBP that helps keep educators healthy
resources designed to help both leaders and
employees maintain good health are:
• Apple-a-Day, a comprehensive online
health information resource.
• HealthAssessment,anonlinehealthques-
tionnaire that provides a snapshot of
health strengths and risks along with
ideas for action.
• Health Information Line, a tele-
phone and email resource for
individuals to discuss their specif-
ic health topics and questions.
Apple-a-DayApple-a-Day is a valuable
resource to support leaders with
their own health goals. It also pro-
vides a wide range of tools and resour-
ces to improve overall workplace health
and the health of individuals. The Apple-a-
Day website is a secure site hosted by the Mayo
Clinic that is exclusively available to Alberta
School Employee Benefit Plan (ASEBP) Cov-
ered Members and can be accessed 24/7 from
any computer with internet access.
Creating a Healthy Work Environment
Given the ever changing,
exciting and often challenging
day-to-day world of a leader,
health and well-being often
takes a back seat, sending
ripples into other aspects of
their work and personal life.
One senior administrator
describes this as, “as goes the
leader, so goes the school.”
CASB Fall 08.indd 43 10/16/08 9:15:47 PM
44 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
Knowing your biometric numbers is very
important to overall health. If left untreated or
improperly managed, imbalanced blood sugar
levels may lead to diabetes which can result in
a variety of complications such as heart, kidney
and eye diseases, and nerve damage. The first
step in preventing or delaying the onset of these
complications is recognizing the risk factors, as
well as signs and symptoms of diabetes. From a
heart health perspective, high blood pressure can
damage blood vessel walls causing scarring that
promotes the build-up of fatty plaque, which
can narrow and eventually block arteries. It also
strains the heart and eventually weakens it. Very
high blood pressure can cause blood vessels in
the brain to burst resulting in a stroke.
ASEBP health information lineASEBP’s health information line is
a confidential source of health informa-
tion that is available via phone or email
contact to all ASEBP Covered Members.
Its purpose is to assist Covered Members
with responding to health questions,
provide assistance with the completion of
the Health Assessment and any follow-up
questions related to this tool and help
Covered Members access health services
available in their communities. n
You can contact For Your Health: The
Health Information Line at (888) 431-5875 or
by email foryourhealth@asebp.ab.ca.
Your Health Summary Report, which is gen-
erated following the completion of the Health
Assessment, provides strategies and helpful links
to Mayo Clinic and ASEBP programs and tools
that you can use to make healthier choices. You
will receive messages to your personal email
account that will prompt you to return to your
health report for further review and planning on
how to reduce identified health risks. Follow-
ing the completion of the Health Assessment,
consider bringing your health report to your
primary healthcare provider for review and
discussion.
Depending on your Health Assessment
results, you may also qualify for the personal
lifestyle coaching service. Lifestyle coaching is
a confidential, voluntary telephone-based pro-
gram designed to provide you with support
and encouragement to help you make lifestyle
changes to reduce your identified health risks.
Working with your coach over the phone, you
will review your Health Summary Report, cre-
ate an action plan to address the health risks you
would like to focus on, and establish measurable
goals. Your coach will provide a variety of cop-
ing strategies to keep you motivated and will
contact you at mutually agreed upon intervals.
Rest assured that all personal health infor-
mation that you disclose on the Apple-a-Day
site, including information you provide when
completing the Health Assessment, is held by
the Mayo Clinic and not shared with your
employer.
First time users will need to complete
ASEBP’s simple registration process to
receive a temporary password which will be
mailed from ASEBP’s office. Following the
completion of this registration process, you
will have access to the Apple-a-Day web-
site, general benefit information and your
Health Spending Account.
Health assessmentThe Mayo Clinic Health Assessment is
an online, interactive and comprehensive self-
assessment tool. The goal of the Health Assess-
ment is to increase awareness of your current
health status and provide access to tools to help
you improve your overall health. The Health
Assessment takes about 20 minutes to complete
and assesses overall health status, medication
usage, personal and family health histories,
nutrition and exercise, immunizations, smok-
ing, and readiness to change behaviours. Your
health strengths and risk factors will be clearly
identified and explained, and your readiness for
change will be explored.
The Health Assessment requests certain
biometric measurements such as height, weight,
blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and
triglyceride levels, but if you do not have
access to these values, you can still complete
the Health Assessment and receive meaningful
results. Alternatively, if you do not have this
information you can request it at your next visit
to your healthcare provider.
BiometricsBlood Pressure: The pressure applied
to the body’s circulating volume of blood
on the walls of arteries, veins and chambers
of the heart.
Blood Sugar: Is the concentration of
glucose (sugar) in your blood; tests measure
how well your body is processing sugar
Cholesterol: Is a waxy, fat-like substance
made by the liver or found in meat, dairy prod-
ucts and eggs. Cholesterol is used to help build
cells and certain hormones, although too much
in the body can be dangerous.
Triglycerides: Are a type of fat found
in your blood that provides your body
energy. Your body converts unused calories
into triglycerides and are stored in your fat
cells until hormones release them for energy
between meals.
CASB Fall 08.indd 44 10/16/08 9:15:48 PM
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 45
The Spring 2008 edition of The CASS
Connection featured a wide-array of articles
on assessment. Here we’ll delve into this
always-important topic once more with this
feature article from the St. Thomas Aquinas
Catholic School Division. If you’d like to read
more on assessment, go to www.cass.ab.ca
to download the Spring 2008 edition of the
magazine.
the current statues quo of our reporting.
Assessment is acknowledged to have many
different purposes and audiences. It assesses
what we teach and what we value. Forma-
tive assessment has the power to produce
improvements in both teaching and student
achievement but teachers need substantial
support and guidance to not only integrate
formative assessment into their practice but
also to report on student achievement.
We looked a questions such as: “how do
we show all this varied and thick assessment
products as one symbol without losing the
richness of our work?” “how do we use
report cards and interviews to keep the cycle
of learning ongoing?” “what do we do with
district reporting policies that are obviously
outdated but still in place?” “how can we
be our students’ coach, advisor, advocate
and judge?”
At Sacred Heart School in Wetaski-
win and Notre Dame and St. Benedict’s
School in Leduc the staff decided to try
student involved conferences at parent-
teacher nights using a portfolio approach.
Each school has added their own stamp to
the final process which continues to evolve.
The teachers along with the students collect
assessment pieces that demonstrate the rich-
ness of the students learning in their class.
The students practice their presentation of
the portfolios with each other thereby help-
ing them understand their own progress as
shown in their work. When assessment is
aligned with instruction, both students and
teachers benefit. Classroom based assess-
ment is closest to actual learning and to stu-
dents, therefore it is more likely to influence
instructional decisions and to engage stu-
dents in evaluation of their own work. Both
teachers and students become learners.
By Pius MacLean, Marilyn Kunitz, Linda Ellefson and Michael Marien, St. Thomas Aquinas Catho-lic School Division - Central Office Learning Team (COLT)
Finding Our Way: Connecting Assessment and Reporting
In much of Alberta, the focus on assess-
ment for learning (AFL) practices has led
to a mismatch between these practices
and traditional reporting systems. Teachers
are struggling with report cards and parent-
teacher interviews that do not easily mesh
with their AFL principles. This has made for
some interesting dilemmas and prompted
much debate on the subject.
Assessment used to be viewed as formal
tests, usually multiple choice given to stu-
dents several times a year. The purpose was
to obtain information on achievement that
could easily be reported to parents. How-
ever, such assessment had limited potential
to influence teaching and learning in a
positive way. It was something separate and
different from normal classroom life and it
often tested lower-level skills and concepts
rather than more complex enduring under-
standings. In addition, the information from
these traditional assessments was most often
reported as a number which was not useful
for determining what students knew or what
teachers needed to do to help them learn.
Other information gathered by teachers was
not considered valid assessment.
At St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Cath-
olic Separate School Division, we have
been using our Alberta Initiative for School
Improvement (AISI) projects to help focus
on this issue. We cover a vast area of central
Alberta that includes eight schools in Dray-
ton Valley, Leduc, Wetaskiwin, Ponoka and
Lacombe. In cycle three of AISI we have
used assessment for learning practices as one
of our key strategies to aid implementation
of our four projects.
As our teachers began to grow in their
knowledge and practice of AFL, schools
began to notice particular challenges with
CASB Fall 08.indd 45 10/16/08 9:15:49 PM
46 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
help produce goals for the students which
are developed cooperatively and outlined
actions for parents, students and teachers to
help the learner achieve them. The learning
team is focused on the future improvement
of student learning. Again, in the traditional
model the report card is a historical docu-
ment. As Guskey and Bailey (2001) point
out, “students generally view the grade as
the teachers summary judgment of their
work and accomplishments over a portion
of the school year.” (Page 18)
Again, from Thomas Guskey (2003),
“marks, scores and letter grades alone do
not provide students with the information
they need to improve their work nor does
it help teachers improve their instruc-
tion to respond to individual student
differences.” Report cards still exist and
efforts are ongoing to improve them. As
a teacher at student involved conferences,
it became apparent that less and less time
was being focused on the report card and
more emphasis was given to the portfolio.
Parents now have a better understanding
of their child’s performance and how to
This is a stark contrast to the traditional
report card which was often looked upon
by students and parents as a gift they
eagerly unwrapped, to find either joy or
despair, while having little understanding
of how the symbols they received got there
and less understanding of how to improve
them. The paradigm shift from teacher
centered interviews to student centered
interviews can be very worrisome for all par-
ties involved but the rewards for the change
are great. Assessment is not something that
teachers do to students; it is a collaborative
process involving students, teachers and
parents. “Everyone has a role to play if the
quality of students’ learning is to improve.”
(Page 9, Talk About Assessment, Thomp-
son, Nelson)
At Sacred Heart the percentage of par-
ents attending the conferences increased
from 20 per cent to over 80 per cent in a
year and a half. Many teachers reported
the pressure they felt to justify marks was
replaced with a focus on the students’
learning and a teamwork approach to help-
ing the learner improve. The conferences
The paradigm shift from teacher centered interviews to student centered interviews can be very worrisome for all parties involved but the rewards for the change are great. Assessment is not something that teachers do to students; it is a collaborative process involving students, teachers and parents.
CASB Fall 08.indd 46 10/16/08 9:15:49 PM
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 47
help in the learning. Previously many
parents wanted to help and be involved
but lacked the knowledge of how to do
that. As Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler,
(1997) reported, “parents are uncertain
of teacher’s specific expectations and
precisely what they can do at home to
help.”
Typically in the traditional inter-
views parents were shown spreadsheets
of marks with the emphasis being on
the finality of the report. Work samples
as basic as tests were often not present.
This process gave parents little awareness
of how to help their children other than
generic comments such as, “they should
study harder, work harder, listen more,
or keep up the good work.” It’s no won-
der that some parents stopped attending
the interviews or treated then like a trip
to the dentist.
St. Augustine School in Ponoka and
Father Lacombe School in Lacombe as
well as St. Anthony School in Drayton
Valley tackled the issue of report cards
head on. They developed their own out-
come based report cards using the Alberta
program of studies. The teachers were
feeling handcuffed by report cards that
did not reflect the big ideas of their cur-
riculums. Items such as handwriting and
spelling were being interpreted by parents
as having the same value as categories
CASB Fall 08.indd 47 10/16/08 9:15:49 PM
48 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
schools and reviewing assessment policies
of various school authorities, a draft was
created. St. Thomas Aquinas is in the
process of approving this policy which
will help solidify assessment for learning
practices in our district. The next step
for the committee will be the creation of
a uniform report card that will reflect the
current AFL practices used by our teach-
ers. It is our hope that by building the
expertise of our teachers in AFL practices
the implementation of the new report
card will be smoother and meet with
more success.
Parent education is also extremely
important in bringing about successful
systemic change. St. Thomas Aquinas has
utilized school newsletters, parent advis-
ory council meetings, meet the teacher
nights, and ward meetings to help foster
incorporating assessment for learning
practices into report cards by separat-
ing behaviour reporting from academic
performance reporting. Factors such as
attendance, courtesy, neatness, cooper-
ation, attitude, and punctuality are still
important but are reported on separately
from the performance mark in a subject.
The teachers also decided that homework
would no longer formally count towards
report card marks since it was difficult to
know whose work was being evaluated
and what advantages each student had at
their disposal.
At district level, an assessment com-
mittee was formed to look at rewriting
the assessment policy and the creation
of a district wide report card. The assess-
ment policy became the center of focus
by the committee and after input from all
such as reading or writing. Reading and
writing themselves were huge generic
categories that teachers could not report
on accurately with a single symbol and
still give meaning to parents or students.
Their answer was to break these categor-
ies down using the learner outcomes
from the program of studies and report
on these essential understandings. This
assessment is authentic because it aims
to assess and align the actual learner
outcomes with the knowledge, skills and
strategies demonstrated by the student.
Assessment for learning strategies enhan-
ces student learning as teachers share
achievement targets with students, using
student-friendly language accompanied
by examples of exemplary student work.
The staff at Christ the King School
in Leduc addressed the need for
CASB Fall 08.indd 48 10/16/08 9:15:50 PM
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 49
both cooks and guests as we find our way
connecting assessment and reporting. n
St. Thomas Aquinas Roman (STAR)
Catholic Schools serve over 2,470 students
across west central Alberta in the commun-
ities of Beaumont, Drayton Valley, Lacombe,
Leduc, Ponoka and Wetaskiwin
assessment is not an end in itself, but the
beginning of a better learning relation-
ship for the teacher, the student and the
parent. The Latin root of the word assess-
ment—assidere—means “to sit beside.”
As partners in the assessment journey,
teacher and student with parents need
to sit beside one another unpacking and
understating the language of assessment
that informs learning.
Assessment for learning can contrib-
ute to the development of exemplary
teaching and effective schools. If assess-
ment of learning provides evidence of
achievement for public reporting, then
assessment for learning serves to help
students learn more. The critical distinc-
tion is between assessment to determine
the statues of learning and assessment to
promote greater learning.
“When the cook tastes the soup, that’s
formative; when the guest tastes the soup
that’s summative.” (R. Stake) We need
understanding of why our schools are
making changes. More still needs to
be done and the need for a thoughtful
parent education is undeniable. When
parents are informed and communicated
to frequently as part of the assessment
learning, they may well provide an addi-
tional source of support.
What we have to learn to do, we learn
by doing. The achievement gains associ-
ated with formative assessments have
been described as “among the largest ever
reported for educational institutions.”
The greatest value in formative assess-
ment lies in teachers and students mak-
ing use of results to improve real-time
teaching and learning every day. As we
continue to struggle with the dilemma
of assessment and reporting, our evolv-
ing work with AFL compels us to look
at assessment that builds the confidence,
motivation and learning potential that
resides within every student. Formative
ReferencesCooper, Damien (2007). Talk About
Assessment (Strategies and Tools to Improve
Learning). Thompson, Nelson.
Guskey, Thomas R, and Bailey, Jane M.
(2001). Developing Grading and Reporting Sys-
tems For Student Learning. Corwin Press, Inc.
Hoover-Dempsey, K.V. *& Sandler,
H.M. (1997). Why do parents become
involved in their child’s education? Review
Of Educational Research, 67(1), 3-42.
Stiggins R.J. 2002, Assessment Crisis: The
Absence of Assessment for Learning in Phi
Delta Kappa, Vol. 83, No. 10 pp. 758-765.
Parent education is also extremely important in bringing about successful systemic change. St. Thomas Aquinas has utilized school newsletters, parent advisory council meetings, meet the teacher nights, and ward meetings to help foster understanding of why our schools are making changes. More still needs to be done and the need for a thoughtful parent education is undeniable. When parents are informed and communicated to frequently as part of the assessment learning, they may well provide an additional source of support.
CASB Fall 08.indd 49 10/16/08 9:15:50 PM
50 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
CASB Fall 08.indd 50 10/16/08 9:15:51 PM
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 51
In 2006, Alberta Education imple-
mented an assessment tool called the
Accountability Pillar as an innova-
tive way of measuring performance. The
Accountability Pillar allows jurisdictions
and the province to assess successes and
identify opportunities for improvement,
while also providing students with the
best possible learning experiences.
In order to support school authorities
in their continuous improvement initia-
tives, the Accountability Pillar Clear-
inghouse (APCH) has been designed to
support school authorities to improve
results in these areas. The APCH is part
of a broader department effort to foster
continuous improvement in the Kinder-
garten to Grade 12 education system and
provide success for all students.
The APCH is an extranet site designed
and developed by Alberta Education in
consultation with school authorities. The
APCH provides school authorities with
an informative and credible database of
documents and links which will help
Alberta’s education system continue to
excel and build on its reputation as
among the best in the world. By housing
this information in one location, the site
serves as a communications vehicle to
further conversations among educators
(central office staff, school principals,
and Alberta Education staff) on leading
systemic and systematic changes that will
result in improved opportunities for stu-
dents and performance of students.
Support for continuous improvementThe main criterion for posting a
document or link on the site, in any of
the four categories, is its potential to
positively affect results in the Account-
ability Pillar.
The APCH site provides links to
documents or other websites in the fol-
lowing categories:
Selected synopses from the Alberta 1.
Initiative for School Improvement
(AISI) Jurisdictions have affirmed the
outstanding value of AISI in regards
to school and system improvement.
From the APCH, the user will be able
to link to certain synopses of AISI
projects selected for their potential to
positively impact AP results. Once the
user is in the AISI website, the user
can continue to navigate through it,
or return to the APCH.
Literature and research reviews2.
Alberta Education’s System Improve-
ment Group reviews and selects docu-
ments or links related to the AP meas-
ures and to system leadership which
will be uploaded to the APCH. Any
recommendations of documents or links
can be sent to an APCH Manager.
Handbooks and support resources3.
This category is populated with
resources to support central office
staff and school administrators in
their work. These resources can take
different forms, such as handbooks,
checklists, and links to related Alberta
Education resources.
Successful practices from Alberta 4.
School Authorities
This category is the one in which the
department’s Education and Program
Managers will be directly involved.
The goal of this category is to provide
a general overview of practices occur-
ring in Alberta school authorities.
These documents are not meant to
provide an in-depth report, but to
provide enough information to allow
school authorities to network with
each other in areas of interest. It is a
venue to facilitate the sharing of infor-
mation and possible collaboration. To
be a successful practice in Alberta, a
practice or integrated practices must
have evidence showing a positive and
significant impact in an Accountabil-
ity Pillar result.
Identifying successful practices in Alberta
At this time, there are three ways to
identify potential successful practices in
Alberta for inclusion in the APCH.
Through the Accountability Pillar 1.
measures summary reports: This pro-
cess is initiated by the APCH Man-
ager who will look at Alberta school
authorities’ Accountability Pillar
measures which have shown improve-
ment and/or significant improvement
over two years.
By Alberta Education staff initiat-2.
ing the process: In their day to day
work, Education and Program Man-
agers come across valuable work being
done by school authorities. After a
discussion with the APCH Manager,
the Program or Education Manager
would contact the school authority to
determine if the school authority can
provide evidence to support a strong
correlation between a strategically
implemented practice, and improved
Accountability Pillar results.
By a school authority initiating 3.
the process: In this case, a school
APCH contactsCarmen Somers, Education Manager,
Zone 5 Field Services Branch, by email at
carmen.somers@gov.ab.ca or by telephone
at (780) 415-2838
Lori Price-Wagner, Education Manager,
Zone 5 Field Services Branch, by email at
lori.price-wagner@gov.ab.ca or by telephone
at (780) 415-6571
David Woloshyn, Director, Zone 5 Field
Services Branch, by email at david.wolos-
hyn@gov.ab.ca or by telephone at (780)
415-9312
Dial 310-0000 for toll-free access.
Accountability Pillar Clearinghouse
CASB Fall 08.indd 51 10/16/08 9:15:51 PM
52 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
authority would contact their liaison
Education Manager, or appropriate
Program Manager, for a preliminary
discussion about potential inclusion
on the APCH.
To ensure quality and consistency, all
Successful Practices in Alberta submis-
sions will be reviewed prior to uploading
to the website.
FeedbackThis initiative is still in its early stages
and your feedback will be of great value
as we continue to develop and populate
this website. As well as providing for-
malized feedback through the Annual
Education Results Reports (AERR) visits
and a Post Implementation Review which
will be done early in 2009, feedback can
be directed to the APCH contacts noted
below. Your feedback will be used to
refine and improve our efforts to enhance
student success. n
Please support our advertisers who help make this publication possible.
Go to www.cass.ab.ca for the latest:
Information on upcoming events.•CASS membership information.•CASS online directory.•CASS alumni directory.•A message board and chat room.•Career opportunities.•Committee information.•And much more!•
Check out the CASS Website!
www.cass.ab.ca is your link to the association and superintendents from across the province. Check it out today!
CASB Fall 08.indd 52 10/16/08 9:15:52 PM
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 53
CASS/ASBOA New Members OrientationDates: November 23 - 25, 2008Location: Delta City Centre Hotel, Edmonton, Alberta
CASS/AE Curriculum SymposiumDates: March 9-10, 2009Location: Capri Hotel, Red Deer, Alberta
CASS Pre-conference SeminarDates: April 22, 2009Location: Mayfield Inn and Suites Conference Centre, Edmonton, Alberta
CASS/AE Annual Conference and General MeetingDates: April 23-25, 2009Location: Mayfield Hotel and Suites Conference Centre, Edmonton, Alberta
CASS/AE Special Education SymposiumDates: May 7-8, 2009Location: Capri Hotel, Red Deer, Alberta
2009 Start Right ProgramDates: July 6-10, 2009Location: Olds College, Olds Alberta 2009 Leading for Learning ProgramDates: July 1-4, 2009Location: Olds College, Olds, Alberta
Calendar of Events!
CASB Fall 08.indd 53 10/16/08 9:15:53 PM
54 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
Unknown (Ad Copy not yet In)Optoma Technologies Inc. ................28-29
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AttorneyBrownlee LLP ........................................ 50
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beneFItsAlberta School Employee Benefit Plan ........................................ 41
bUs sAlesWestern Canada IC Bus ......................... 40
CleAnIng sUpplIes And eqUIpmentRoyal Caretaking Supplers Inc. .............. 48
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edUCAtIonAl AssessmentEducational Testing Service Canada Inc. ........................................ 32
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presentAtIon teChnologIesSanyo Canada Inc. ................................. 25
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stAFF deVelopment And lIterACy ImproVementPearson Education Canada ..................... 33
teACher Assesment resoUrCesAlberta Assessment Consortium ............. 48
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Buyer’s Guide
54 Fall 2008 • The CASS Connection
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