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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2014-04-09, Page 44 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, April 9,2014 www.lucknowsentinel.com Tieucknow Sentinel PUBLISHED WEEKLY P.O. Box 400, 619 Campbell Street Lucknow Ontario NOG 2H0 phone: 519-528-2822 fax: 519-528-3529 www.lucknowsentinel.com SUN MEDIA A Quebecor Media Company MARIE DAVID Publisher marie.david@sunnnedia.ca JILLIAN UNDERWOOD Sales representative jillian.underwood@sunmedia.ca MARILYN MILTENBURG office administrator lucknow.sentinel@sunmedia.ca Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064683 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO SENTINEL CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT P.O. Box 400 Lucknow ON NOG 2110 For any non -deliveries or delivery concerns: 519-528-2822 • lucknow.sentinel@sunmedia.ca SUBSCRIPTIONS Regular one year Senior one year Two year regular Senior two year $40.00 + $2.00 $42.00 $35.00 +$1.75 = $36.75 $70.00 + 3.50 = $73.50 $60.00 + $3.00 = $63.00 Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. All advertising and editorial deadlines: Friday 2 p.m. Changes of address, orders for subscriptions, and undeliverable copies (return postage guaranteed) are to be sent to The Lucknow Sentinel at the address indicated here. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid at the applicable rates. The Sentinel is available on microfilm at: GODERICH LIBRARY, (from 1875) 52 Montreal Street Goderich ON N7A 1M3 Goderichlibrary@huroncounty.ca KINCARDINE LIBRARY, (from 1875 to 1900 & 1935 to 1959) 727 Queen Street Kincardine ON N2Z 1Z9 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Canacra. ,431cna Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and the Ontario Community Newspapers Association Schools must know how to use computers Technology is not the future of learning, it's the present. Students are more adept at using tablets, smartphones, and apps than ever before — and schools need to catchup. A recent survey of 1,349 schools by People for Education found digital learning has become "the new normal': According to its report, 99% of Ontario elementary and second- ary schools provide student access to computers. Fifty-eight percent of schools reported students bring their own devices for use at school. Eighty percent of elementary schools reported students use computers during classroom learning as early as kindergarten. The move toward integration of technology in schools is positive, but there's a lack of education ministry -led guidance when it comes to the use and quality of technology and online materials. That's a problem. The education ministry has yet to create a meaningful policy on how technology should be inte- grated into regular classroom learning. Online resources are valuable teaching tools, but with no guid- ance or oversight, their use is often left up to individual schools or teachers. "There needs to be a push at the provincial or board level to ensure there is consistency with how schools use technology and to ensure access to technology for students and teachers," says Annie Kidder, executive direc- tor of People for Education. "The current practice is way ahead of the policy:' Kidder also points out that, even when technology is imple- mented at the board or school level, there is often a lack of training or support for teachers. Essentially, we're assuming all teachers have the ability and time to locate useful tools, figure out how to use them, ensure they meet curriculum standards and find a way to implement them in the classroom. But not all online tools — including ones for education — are created equally. Without guidance or stand- ards in place, it's possible teach- ers and schools will end up using their limited resources on technology that is of little or no educational value. The use of technology in schools has also cre- ated a "digital divide': Schools with access to funds (or, more often, fundraising) are able to provide the most up-to- date tools needed for the integration of technology into everyday learning. This has left some schools, especially rural and lower- income ones, far behind. In response to the People for Education study the education ministry points out that this year alone it has provided $145.3 mil- lion for computers in the class- room and $539.9 million for learning materials including software, internet expenses, CD Sarah Newc omb ROMs, DVDs and other technol- ogy resources. It also plans to do more tech- nology training for teachers. It's a start, but there is still much more that should be done. A digital database of accepta- ble online resources needs to be created by the education minis- try and updated regularly. Board -wide access to the internet and up-to-date techno- logical tools, along with improved support for teachers, needs to be implemented to ensure barriers to access are eliminated. Most important, the education ministry must take the reins in ensuring that policies and proce- dures are established for using technology in the classroom, something that will guide and protect both students and educators. Technology as an educational tool is here to stay. It's time for school boards and the education ministry to do their part in ensuring technology is integrated properly in school classrooms. Healthy Reads focuses on heart disease in women Nancy Payne Kincardine Family Health Team The Kincardine Family Health Team "Healthy Reads Program" feature book for February is "Women Are Not Small Men. Life saving strategies for preventing and healing heart disease in women" by Nieca Goldberg, M.D. Goldberg is Chief of the Women's Heart Program at Lennox Hill Hospital in NewYork City. She is also a member of the American Heart Association National Spokesperson's Panel. Her mission in writing the book is to inform readers that heart disease is not just a "male" problem. According to Goldberg, heart ailments kill more women than all can- cers combined. As a practicing cardiologist, Goldberg has seen first-hand the differences in how men and women experience heart disease. For example, not only are the symptoms of heart disease different in women, women are slower to recognize these symptoms and seek medical treatment. Women's hearts and arteries are smaller and generally, women are 10 years older at the time of dis- ease onset due to some protective effect of estrogen up until menopause. In addition, women face different recovery challenges once they have suffered a heart attack because they typically manage the house- hold, the cooking, cleaning and caregiving. In her book, Goldberg describes the vary- ing symptoms experienced by women, describes the pathology of heart disease and outlines the recommended diagnostic tests and treatments. She also discusses the risk factors for heart disease and provides a questionnaire for readers to perform their own risk assessment. The third section of the book outlines four lifestyle changes that can reduce a woman's risk of heart disease. Goldberg suggests increasing physical activity, following a heart healthy diet, reducing stress and quit smok- ing. Detailed information is available to help readers plan how best to change their habits. Similar advice is provided by Canadian experts. According to Dr. Beth Abramsom, Heart and Stroke Foundation spokesperson and author of Heart Health for Canadians, "We cannot control all the factors that put us at risk for cardiovascular disease, but there are healthy changes people can make to largely prevent them from having a heart attack or stroke in the first place, including eating a healthy diet, being physically active, being smoke-free, managing stress and lim- iting alcohol consumption." Review the entire Healthy Reads collec- tion online through either of the following links; www.library.brucecounty.on.ca and click on the "Resources" page. Scroll down until you see the "Healthy Reads" logo. Click on the icon to view all book suggestions. Your comments, suggestions and feedback are welcome at this email address: HealthE- ducator@KincardineFHT.ca The Kincardine Family Health Team oper- ates out of the Kincardine and Ripley Medi- cal Clinics. WOMEN ARE NOT SMALL .VIE LIFE-SAVING STRATEGIES FOK .PREV ENT LNG ANI.) EAL [NC HEART DISEASE IN I .1 ...11.' IP or °•, i.. I oiiM (SUBMITTED The Kincardine Family Health Team's most recent book is Women Are Not Small Men by Nieca Goldberg M.D.