IN W.VAN DISTRICT

Computers go to school

By OLGA RUSKIN

A CENTRALIZED com-
puter software bank has been
set up recently for the West
Van School District and is
how in operation for West
Van schools.

Ann Busay, co-ordinator
for the Instructional
Matenals Centre, says IMC
now has 69 catalogued soft-
ware programs and 20 un-
catalogued which West Van
schools can borrow.

IMC provides West Van
classroom teachers” with
materials beyond the tex-
tbook, and these now have
come to include software of
programs for computers.

Since the New Year cach
West Van elementary school
has received a computer as a
result of the $2500 allotted
each school by the Board as
“*seed moncy"’ for acquiring
a computer Some. schools
have more than one com
puter as a result of ther own
fund-raising

The software bank cnablics
the various schools to have
access lo a vaniety of com
puter programs which would
otherwise be financially dif
ficult for a school to obtain
Because there oa lot of
“yunk’> software oon the

market, IMC helps shoots

pee

Apple

Valley palleras

out in the selection process,
explains Busay. Before ac-
quiring a program, IMC
relies heavily on software
reviews because ‘‘dollars are
hard to come by.’’

To obtain valid software
reviews of educational pro-
grams the Provincial Educa-
tion media centre has been
training teachers in school
districts as evaluators. These
reviews appear in PEMC’S
monthly publication Evalua-
vons Microware. As_ well
IMC hists recent software ac-
quisinons in its own new
monthly pubhcation Muicro-
Monitor.

Computer software, says
Busay, can be better and
more efficient than books or
other media in a number of
arcas such as graphing, con-
tour mapping and = word
processing.

A software program can be
used for drill and practice in
math, with speed and content
easily varied lo meet the stu
dent's needs

To assist teachers in how to
use the newly acquired com
puters and software Peter
Minshull, Dastract Cur-
troulum Assistant, has been
mpvolved in giving teachers in
scrvkee | training Minshull
teports that in testing a soft
ware math drill program at
Charntwetl he found the
average student inproved 20

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Busay sees computers in
the schools helping students
expand their education
beyond the chalkboard, as
well as providing them with
another language of com-
munication. She also points
out that teachers will be able
to keep better records of stu-
dent performance and pro-
gress and so better tailor
assignments (O meet student
needs.

Computers can be used for
innovative programs = Sen.
tinel Secondary recently
received a grant from the Ap.
ple Foundanon to enable

their students in the senior
computing program course to
work on programs for
students in Special
Education.

Busay, who says she is no
computer expert, says of her
own involvement with com-
puters so far, ‘‘lt’s a grand
and glonous adventure.”’

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C3 - Sunday, June 3, 1984 - North Shore News

Adventure

playground

RAIN didn’t damp-
en the spirits of
parents, staff, stu-
dents and civic rep-
resentatives who all
turned out for the
dedication of the
Lynn Valley School
playground. The
exceptional play area
was designed and
built by parents,
Students and staff
with the support of
‘School District 448,
the Municipality of
North Vancouver.

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