No Technology As A Rule - Could I Work in That Environment?

While visiting in Calgary this week, I started picking my cousin Laura's brain about the company she works for. She left Nova Scotia last year to work for an early intervention agency called I'm For Kids in Calgary. Like so many of us here in NS, Laura was less than satisfied with her job options and salary (she was working as an EPA in the Chignecto Board), so she decided to try something new and moved out to Calgary. She was very lucky to have a connection at this company where she could work in the field she was trained in. Laura loves her job and is really pleased about how things are going, so I thought I'd find out a little bit more about it (who knows, maybe a change would be good for me too!).

As she was describing the work she does, I had to ask her about how they were using technology to assist the students. I was completely floored when she said that this company doesn't believe in the use of iPads or any similar technology when their teams are working with children. She explained that they used play based methods, and only concrete materials. Based on everything we've been learning in our assistive tech courses and the amazing things I've seen in the classroom with technology, I find it hard to rationalize the complete elimination of technology from any of the interventions used by this company. I think I'd need to find out a bit more about where they are coming from before I make any harsh judgements, though. Everything else about what they do sounds great, and there appears to be significantly more funding for students with special needs in Alberta. I was left with a lot to think about...

Here's a link to their website:

I'm For Kids