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Delegates from both sides of the border attend trade corridor conference in Estevan
By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca
Changes in the business world were the focus of the Central North American Trade Corridor Association’s (CNATCA) second biennial Trade, Transportation and Technology Conference in Estevan last week. About 50 people gathered at the Southeast College’s Estevan campus on Thursday to hear from speakers who offered their thoughts on how changes in technology are affecting business, transportation, security, education and more. The City of Estevan hosted the session. Dwight Bramble, the economic development coordinator for the city, said he thought the presentations were very effective. “I believe that we covered a wide range of topics that everybody could have related to,” said Bramble. “Hopefully they will be able to take some things back to their individual lives, their businesses, their communi-
ties to help as they move forward.” People in the audience came from a variety of industries, businesses and governments, Bramble said. “I think it was good that they were able to connect to such a wide variety and wide cross-section of people,” said Bramble. Greg Bawden, an instruction designer from the University of Regina, opened the seminar with a talk on distance learning and technology. He offered a look at the technologies available for teaching and learning in schools. Nicole Davis, the owner of local farm Daybreak Mill, shared her experiences with e-commerce as a farmer and food processor, and how technology has allowed her to evolve from traditional ways of doing things. Then Dr. Paul Gunderson, the director emeritus of the Dakota Precision Agriculture Center and Lake Region State College in Devils Lake, N.D., discussed agriculture and technology,
Norbert Beaujot, the founder and president of SeedMaster, discussed the impact of technological changes in farming. with a look at non-traditional products and services. “He talked about the different things that are happening in agriculture to enhance the efficiency of agricultural production,” said Bramble. Marlo Anderson, a talk show host and founder of National Day Calendar in North Dakota, reflected on the impact of social media, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. People can use those platforms without even realizing they are so inundated with social media,
Bramble said. David Blair, the CEO of Network Solutions and Services in Bismarck, N.D., and Justin Glasser, the manager of Tubular Transport and Logistics, wrapped up the morning by looking at the impact that autonomous vehicle technologies will have on business. “They … outlined where we are going with that sort of technology, and pretty much outlined that autonomous vehicles are already here with us,” said Bramble.
After lunch, John Nagel, the CEO and founder of CyberNet Security in North Dakota, discussed cyber security awareness. Nagel used a couple of videos to demonstrate how vulnerable individuals and businesses can be. It was a message that particularly resonated with Bramble. “I was blown away at how vulnerable we are,” said Bramble. “Our identity, and pretty much our whole lives are so open now because of what goes on in cyberspace and how easy it is for cyber theft and cyber crime to affect our lives.” Norbert Beaujot, the founder and president of Saskatchewan agriculture company SeedMaster, talked about robotics and artificial intelligence in farming, and how those are creating changes for people in the agriculture sector. The final speakers were Ed Sargeant and Annette Wills from Agency Marketing & Advertising Business Unlimited in Bismarck. They
talked about augmented reality and how the technology is changing business. They brought a couple of examples of augmented reality that people could view on their phones using an app. All of the speakers had something valuable to contribute, and Bramble said he’ll be able to take a lot back with him as he works to further bolster Estevan’s business community. Ron Hall, who is the chairperson for the CNATCA, said the topics that were discussed play an important role in the challenge of looking into the future, to try to determine what is coming and what the opportunities will be. “That takes true leadership, and leadership exists on many levels across any organization, or community at any level,” said Hall. Hall told the audience that he appreciated all of the speakers who came to the conference and provided lots of information for those in attendance.
Hillcrest School students showcase their writing skills By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca
Students at Hillcrest School showcased their penmanship abilities during the school’s writing showcase on April 25 and 26. Principal David Gillingham said the showcase was the culmination of a six-week writing project, and all students in the school participated. Students from kindergarten to Grade 6 had their writing on display in the school’s computer room in conjunction with student-led conferences that were also held those two days. The walls of the resource room were covered with student writing. The Grades 7 and 8s, meanwhile, shared their writing in a portfolio format in the classroom. Younger students focused primarily on narratives, telling a story through writing, and using the principle of show, don’t tell. “They’re creating a mental image through words, but it’s fictional writing,” said Gillingham.
Some students used cross-curricular writing. They wrote about science experiments they had conducted, or they wrote about something they learned in social studies. Grade 5 and 6 students often ventured into persuasive writing, he said, by sharing arguments and debating. Not all of the writing in the showcase was the finished product, either. But Gillingham said the school wanted to show parents and teach children that there are different stages in writing, and there are different stages pieces go through. He believes the results were “fantastic.” “We’ve seen real engagement with the students and writing, and enthusiasm for getting into pieces of writing, and using different formats of writing,” said Gillingham. “We’ve made some assistive technology available. Read and Write Gold is a computer program, linked to Google Chrome, that the kids can use, along with Office 365. And those are programs
that are engaging for the kids, because they can just get their thoughts out, put them in the computer and they can automatically save.” The school has also benefitted from focused support from the school division, with access to a number of consultants, including early literacy, student services and English as another language. “They have helped us set goals in each classroom, and worked with the teachers to set next steps in learning and development in writing, and so they’ve been working with us to move things forward,” said Gillingham. Parents have also been impressed, he said. Consultants have talked to parents during the showcase about technology and different ways to incorporate writing into day-to-day activities. “They have reported a high level of interest from students and from families,” said Gillingham. “Kids are taking their parents down there (to the resource room) specifically to have a look and to share the writing that they have done. There is
Pheonix Boutin was among the young people who participated in the writing showcase at Hillcrest School last week. a degree of pride in what they’re producing, and that’s great, because they want to do more.” One of those consultants was Kristy Johnson, who was in the resource centre during the conferences. She was excited to see the student engagement and the interest level in writing. “The timing turned out right, with student-led con-
ferences being around the same time that we ended up finishing up a lot of the writing in the classrooms. Now they get to showcase it for their parents.” Johnson was impressed to see the reaction of parents and students alike when they came to the resource area. “In the last couple of nights, there have been students reading other students
writing, and really enjoying it,” said Johnson. “There was one girl in here who has been reading a persuasive essay, and she was laughing out loud.” Students also used Office 365 to really accelerate some of the writing. Johnson said it was particularly beneficial to use the technology for those who aren’t as fond of using pencil and paper.
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