Objective: To equip summer and day camp educators in order to help them introduce youth to the natural sciences.

Issue: Today, young people no longer participate in natural science activities in summer and day camps, even though they are often in the wilderness, because the young counselors do not have sufficient knowledge to be able to lead such educational activities. The project therefore aims to address this issue. 

The activity: An application integrating an interactive identification key. Campers learn to identify trees. A large number of quiz questions reveal a lot of interesting information related to the identified species. 

Impact: 873 users (summer camp counselors who reach 24 to 100 youth per summer). A rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars in the Apple store. https://camps.qc.ca/fr/gestionnaires-de-camps/ressources-aux-membres/kali-au-camp/

Testimonial: “I liked it overall. The interface. It appeals to both young and old,” says one of the testers. 

Our partners: The project is co-produced by iScola, the Clubs 4H du Québec, CREO and the Association des camps du Québec, with the financial contribution of the Guy Chevrette Foundation, Telus and the Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur (MEES).

Objective: To discover the importance of wetlands for wildlife and to bring young people closer to nature. 

Issue: Today, young people have less and less access to nature. This situation is so widespread that it has been given a name: the nature deficit. Connecting young people to nature will help them discover its benefits. 

The activity: Kali’s digital notebooks prepare or complement a nature visit. Young people explore life in wetlands in a fun way: “classification of living things”, “reproduction”, “diet” are some of the topics covered. After completing the workbook, students can email their results to their teacher, who keeps track of what the students have learned. 

Impact: Thanks to this tool, young people learn that : 

• Wetland aquatic areas are calm and have many hiding places. They are ideal for fish to lay their eggs and for fry to hide in and protect themselves from predators.
• Wetlands are prime areas for providing shelter and food for many wildlife species. They are often staging areas for migratory birds.

To discover the interactive educational guide: http://www.scienceenjeu.com/peka/stlaurent/guideinteractif/#/cover

The booklet is complementary to the SCIENCE IN PLAY experience on PEKA Island: http://www.scienceenjeu.com/peka/stlaurent/

Partners: This project, produced by iScola, was supported by the Fondation de la faune du Québec and CREO.

Objective: Electrika is an initiative of a Secondary 4 teacher, Nancy Berger-Thibault, who was looking for a fun learning tool to help her students intuitively understand complex concepts related to electricity. 

Problem: Invisible to the naked eye, electrical phenomena are difficult to master. Traditional teaching is very theoretical and schematic, making electrical physics a complex subject for students in Secondary 4. 

The activity: By using a game mechanic that facilitates the visualization of the real-time movement of electrons in circuits, Electrika will make the learning experience more intuitive, dynamic and engaging for students, who will be better able to learn on their own, at their own pace. Through an electrical puzzle game, students will build different circuits of varying levels of difficulty.  They will learn the difference between a series circuit and a parallel circuit and they will get a qualitative idea of Ohm’s and Kirchhoff’s laws. 

The prototype version of the game includes the first 8 levels of the game. Students learn about series circuits. http://www.scienceenjeu.com/electrika/

Partners: Co-produced with SOFAD, CREO, Groupe de recherche EREST, NSERC, MEI and several Quebec school boards.

Objective: To help teachers differentiate their teaching by using the educational game “Delivered by Ship”, which also helps students discover the shipping industry while having fun! 

Issue: Some sectors are not well known by young people. To give students a taste for learning and to help them understand how school subjects will serve them throughout their lives, it is effective to contextualize notions in real-life situations, while helping them discover trades and professions.

The activity: The animation tour leads students to review the learning of mathematical concepts (angles, fractions and the Cartesian plane), in fun and concrete situations (e.g., docking ships, locating obstacles with satellites, etc.). 

Impact: The tour reached young people in several regions of Quebec all along the St. Lawrence River, as far as the upper North Shore. The magazine l’École Branchée presents this initiative: https://ecolebranchee.com/2018/06/28/gagnants-du-concours-livre-par-navire-decouvrir-lunivers-maritime-du-fleuve-saint-laurent/.

Partners: The tour is hosted by iScola with the financial participation of the Société de développement du St-Laurent (SODES).

Objective: To promote the educational success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds in Montreal.  

Issue: Montreal youth drop out of school more than youth in the province as a whole. 

• Dropout rate in Montreal (2018): 16.3%
• Dropout rate in Quebec (2018): 13.6%

So while the graduation rate has been improving in recent years, the situation in Montreal remains worrisome. This is why iScola is looking to partner with donors and organizations to leverage digital technology in education and engage students in their educational success. 

The Activity: In these lively workshops, students were asked to discover wildlife by exploring the PEKA Island of SCIENCE IN PLAY. The mission: To create interpretive panels on an animal species of their choice. 

Impact: The students’ panels were displayed at the Biodôme during the summer, and then in the school’s corridors. They are now posted on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/157749694@N05/albums This outreach has generated a lot of pride in the students, which contributes to school motivation. 

Partners: The workshops led by iScola are made possible with the financial support of the organization “Une École montréalaise pour tous”, the PEKA Animation Workshops.