  Photos courtesy 3M Canada Toronto's Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts (CCAA) is taking an unusual approach to teaching computer science (CS) by bringing portable technology to its students. Many of the students commute more than an hour to attend the only Catholic all-arts school in the city and their mandatory credit requirements leave little opportunity for elective classes like CS. So, two CCAA teachers have developed course modules with the convenience of portable technology in mind. Lorenzo Rossi (pictured) and Catherine Kong format their educational content with Microsoft PowerPoint, store it on Zune MP3 players and project it with a pocket-sized MPro120 device from 3M Canada. The students also receive donated Zune players loaded with class materials, so they can learn at home or on the go. "They're much more familiar with MP3 players than chalkboards," Rossi explains. "It only makes sense they learn well with the devices. I can project images anywhere, even on the ceiling, and hold an impromptu tutorial to meet students' specific needs." In March 2010, Rossi and Kong will present their project at a conference in Singapore as finalists for the Microsoft Innovative Teaching Award. |
