Yennadon Elementary is once again being recognized for its use of one-to-one technology in the classroom.
The Maple Ridge school recently received the Apple Distinguished Schools designation for another five years, making it one of only three schools in British Columbia to have the recognition.
“Each one off our Grade 6/7 students has an iPad that they will use throughout the whole school year and that is what we do most of our teaching off of,” said Megan Kossaber-Graham, a teacher at Yennadon. “It really does help build a stronger classroom community and that’s all through the use of Apple products.”
Students and teachers gathered before winter break in the gym to celebrate and said the use of technology and the one-to-one program at Yennadon changed the way they approach learning.
“We have access to websites and apps that will help us learn how to code,” said one student during a presentation at the event.
“I used this iPad to type this very presentation,” added another.
An Apple Distinguished School designation puts Yennadon in some elite company. Only 19 schools in Canada and 689 around the world have received the recognition, which is given out over a five-year term.
To qualify, a school must have an established one-to-one program with innovative use of the Apple platform. Faculty must be proficient with the iPad and Mac learning environments and have documented results of success.
“It’s something very special,” said Sheila Dillon-Leitch, an education development executive with Apple’s Leadership and Learning Team. “It means you are a part of a type of learning that can be focused on the things that you connect to, the things you care about, and will hopefully help you be a lifelong learner in whatever it is that you find passion in.”