Innovation, Trade and Rural Development
Education
March 11, 2011
Sparking Innovation Among Grand Falls-Windsor Students
Millcrest Academy in Grand Falls-Windsor, with a $20,000 investment from the Provincial Government, is building on innovative efforts to increase the usage of digital technology among students. Over the last couple of years the school has incorporated SMARTBoard technology into its classrooms and with this investment will add the necessary technology to enable students to film, edit, and create movies, as well as other productions.
The announcement was made today at Millcrest Academy by the Honourable Susan Sullivan, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.
“Encouraging children to think creatively using modern learning tools starts at a young age,” said Minister Sullivan. “The addition of multimedia technologies in the classrooms at Millcrest Academy is an excellent example of how our government is creating such experiences. These interactive experiences hold considerable potential as they open the minds of today’s youth to the excitement and future career possibilities that innovation invites.”
The investment was made possible under a call for proposals seeking innovative learning experiences for young people in fall 2010. The call for proposals was issued through the Provincial Government’s innovation strategy, Innovation Newfoundland and Labrador: A Blueprint for Prosperity, which identified support for youth as an essential element in creating a culture of innovation in the province.
“We live in a world where even the youngest children are computer literate, Internet savvy, and technologically adept,” said the Honourable Joan Burke, Minister of Education. “But it is important that our students learn to use new technologies in an environment which inspires imagination, ingenuity, and allows them to discover and develop their individual talents. This particular project will enable them to do just that, and provide them with new skills which will help them take advantage of a full range of post-secondary opportunities and become leaders in a new, media-driven era.”
Millcrest Academy is among the close to 30 proponents that have received support totalling more than $400,000 through the Provincial Government’s call for proposals. Those eligible for support are not-for-profit organizations, schools in the Kindergarten to Grade 12 system, post-secondary educational institutions, youth organizations, industry organizations, and regional economic development boards.
“Today’s classroom is a playing field that invites all styles of creativity,” said Darrell Stacey, technology education teacher, Millcrest Academy. “This partnership with the Provincial Government has provided our student community with a diversified means to communicate and share information. Daily we strive to instill new ideas into our student’s learning, keep their thinking creative, youthful and strengthened with innovation to reach new levels of collaborative learning and problem solving strategies. These types of initiatives allow us to lead our youth into learning with endless possibilities and wonderful things ahead.”
Launched in 2006, Innovation Newfoundland and Labrador: A Blueprint for Prosperity has served as the Provincial Government’s framework to stimulate a culture of innovation across traditional and knowledge-driven industries. In addition to a focus on youth, the strategy has also served as the foundation for a broad range of initiatives geared towards increasing the province’s telecommunications capacity, developing Oceans of Opportunity – a five-year strategy focused on accelerating the growth of the ocean technology sector, and creating a human genetics research facility at Memorial University.
- 30 -
Media contacts:
| Scott Barfoot Director of Communications Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development 709-729-4570, 690-6290 scottbarfoot@gov.nl.ca |
Heather May Director of Communications Department of Education 709-729-0048, 697-5061 heathermay@gov.nl.ca |
| Darrell Stacey Technology Education Teacher Millcrest Academy 709-489-3805 |
2011 03 11 10:15 a.m.