Students win big in NU Helping U contest

The students at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys CS school are the big winners in Nipissing University’s NU Helping U contest.Nipissing graduate Nadia Reich, a teacher at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys CS in Agincourt, Ontario, won the contest on the strength of her submission, including a written statement and photograph discussing the importance of technology in education.
Reich’s school will receive a MacBook Pro, 30 iPad minis and the Bretford PowerSync Cart. The school will also receive a professional development seminar conducted by Nipissing University’s Apple Distinguished Educators, Dr. Tina Benevides and Ken Waller. The prize is valued at more than $15,000.
“In judging the entries, we were struck by Nadia’s creativity and the overall quality of her entry,” said Benevides, who was one of the judges. “Her written statement was well thought-out and especially memorable for its uniqueness. She really displayed an ability to think differently and we liked how she incorporated the ideas of building connectivity and playfulness in the classroom.”
“I am incredibly grateful that my school will receive this fantastic equipment to enhance teaching and learning,” said Reich. “This will mean so much for our students, as well as our teaching staff, who are such amazing teachers. I can’t wait to meet with Nipissing’s Apple Distinguished Educators and see how my colleagues and I will be integrating this new technology into our classrooms. Thank you to Nipissing, to my world-class teachers in the i-Teach program who helped to prepare me for teaching in the 21st century and to everyone who helped to make this contest possible.”
Reich’s photo, shot in black and white, depicted a student incorporating an iPhone into a classroom set outside, where all students are interconnected via a physical web. Here is her written statement:Until that time,
When human beings realize the vast and limitless potential already inherent within themselves,
Let us be reminded but not subdued by the technological influence.
Let us utilize these machines near children with the upmost thought, as to how they will serve to connect children to each other, as opposed to disconnecting children from themselves.
Let us consciously expand time and space for the child enclosed by either, and create clarity where waters have been muddied by mistrust or deception.
Let us seek to make technology a servant for building communities, that are aware of the strengths in their differences.
Let us seek to create order in artistic, scientific and mathematical endeavour.
Let us seek to understand how, through technological integration, we might mirror for them, unity within their thoughts, traced to a single point or painted across a wide canvas.
Let technology transform the classroom into a playground for learning,
Where children of all diversity and need may discover and explore,
The seamless interlacing strands,
They are bound by,
And let us be shown, by their wonder, the measure of our success.
The NU Helping U contest is funded by the Nipissing University Alumni Advisory Board. It was open to Nipissing University graduates who are Ontario residents and working in a publicly funded elementary or secondary school in Ontario.?
Apple Distinguished Educators advise Apple on integrating technology into learning environments — and share their expertise with other educators and policy makers. They author original content about their work. They advocate the use of Apple products that help engage students in new ways. And they are ambassadors of innovation, participating in and presenting at education events around the world. Being part of the ADE community is much more than an honour — it’s an opportunity to make a difference.