First, there was Generation X and then came Generation Y - and now comes something else entirely.

Labelled "Generation iPod" by some, today's youth are the first generation raised with computers and internet from birth.

As such, the way the children of today interact with and access information is completely different than those of yesteryear, which is forcing teachers in Surrey to change the way they approach teaching.

At Hillcrest Elementary School in Cloverdale, teachers Anne-Marie Middleton and Ryan Hong are part of a handful of instructors making the most of using technology as a teaching aid.

Using MacBooks and iPads supplied by the Surrey School District, Middleton and Hong are able to interact with students and teach them skills in ways that were previously impossible.

"I've been teaching for 22 years and so the shift in the classroom, especially in the last two years has been a complete change," said Middleton.

"We've really moved with the technology and it's allowed us as educators to move from being at the centre, to having the children be at the centre."

According to Hong, with technology playing such an integral part of a children's upbringing outside of the classroom, it was only natural to extend that relationship to their education.

"It's just another form for us to help students learn," he said. "It's more efficient."

Having started out as a grant project by the district two years ago, teachers and schools interested in making use of the technology first had to apply and make their case, as supplies were limited.

The result, said Hillcrest principal Yrsa Jensen, was a way to interact with students that comes natural for them.

"The iPads and computers help their learning, so we wanted to make this a learning project, not a technology project," said Jensen. "This is about learning being helped by and supported by technology, which is their world, not ours."

In the time since adopting the technology, Middleton, Hong and Jensen have all seen students flourish, with some now able to actively demonstrate their learning in ways that may have been previously hard for them.

"Some of these kids have difficulties with learning to read, so what some of the kid are doing is using iPads to follow along with the audio so they can read that way," said Jensen.

"So they are hearing it as they read it and instead of being part a group that can't read, they can now participate in the book club and so the technology is giving these kids who would normally struggle a new opportunity to learn."

In addition to the technological tools, students are also able to learn valuable life skills that go beyond basic academia.

"One of the things that we've been very careful about is teaching kids to be critical thinkers and to be careful about everything they read online," said Jensen.

Not only does the integration of technology in the classroom allow for students to express themselves in new ways, but it also allows them to continue their education at home, in a way that doesn't seem like traditional homework.

At Hillcrest, Grade 6 and 7 students are charged with creating their own blogs, where they create an online portfolio of their work. They're also asked to participate in class discussions on teacher-run blogs and posts, which they do with enthusiasm at all hours of the day.

"It shows that they are reflective learners," said Middleton.

"They're learning about meta-cognition, thinking about their thinking. It gives them this voice of pride, this is what they are thinking and they are able to share it."

That pride, said Middleton, also comes from students' ability to make their work public to the world for the first time ever.

"Traditionally, the teacher was the only one who got to read what students were writing," she said.

"But don't people write because they want an audience? That's why we write. So now the kids, being able to get online, they can post their work for everyone to see and connect with others."

cpoon@thenownewspaper.com