An out-of-classroom experience
[attach]7788[/attach]Deer Park Public School went to the mall together one day this spring. But shopping for new threads wasn’t on the agenda.
The Grade 7 students from the Ferndale Avenue and St. Clair Avenue East school were at the Microsoft store in Yorkdale Shopping Centre, taking part in the launch of an interactive workshop about understanding digital media and safer ways to use the Internet.
“It was all about different forms of digital media, what does it mean and how they can use it in a project or presentation,” said Michelle Martin, the Canadian director of Field Trip Factory, which facilitated the trip. “They covered things like Internet safety, video game ratings, using Bing as a successful search engine tool and then they did a little physical fitness dance at the Xbox area.”
The program, Microsoft Tech Talks: Understanding Digital Media, is one of two out-of-the-classroom excursions currently offered by Field Trip Factory Canada, a company that organizes hands-on tours in conjunction with school boards.
The company also runs nutrition-focused trips to Loblaws grocery stores, and is working on expanding its offerings to include topics such as financial literacy.
“Our trip to the Microsoft store was really fun,” said Grade 7 student Olivia Beckerman. “We learned how to use the Internet properly and learned how to work with the tablets.”
“I found the visit interesting and useful,” added classmate Niall Cutbush. “It helped me learn more about Bing and how it can help me do research.”
Even though students paid extra attention to sessions on using apps and tablets since Deer Park Public School had recently ordered tablets, teacher Aly Budd said they also took home an important lesson on being safe online.
“Kids at this age are just randomly posting things all the time,” she said. “They have no idea of the whole concept of cyberspace and … how some random person can figure out who you are, where you are, what you’ve posted and know more about you than you would have ever imagined.”
After watching an “eye-opening” video about a man approaching a stranger about what he’d learned about him through social media, she said her students checked their privacy settings and are more cautious about what they’re posting online.
While the Microsoft trip ties into the school curriculum by relating to media literacy studies, the Loblaws program, Nutrition in our Aisles, builds on lessons related to Canada’s food guide. An in-store dietitian leads students through the aisles, as they learn about a new food rating system called Guiding Stars.
“They are blue visual stars that you see in the aisles now when you shop,” Martin explained. “So if you’re in the fruits and vegetables [section] it’s three stars, the highest rating in terms of nutrition. Then if you’re in the sugar cereals there won’t be any ratings.”
The goal is to reinforce healthy eating habits and help students be more informed the next time they go grocery shopping with their family.
The nutrition program, launched in September, saw more than 300 field trips within its first three months. On June 4, students from Blessed John XXIII Catholic School near Overlea Boulevard and Don Mills Road are headed to the Leaside Loblaws on Redway Road to participate in the program.
“Both trips are very different, but the common denominator is the real life experience,” Martin said. “It really hits home more when they are in these different environments.”
