Future Shop gifts 20 high schools with Tech Lab grants

Over $500,000 donated to Canadian high schools through the Future Generation program

Announcement Highlights:

• Future Shop, announced today 20 high schools will have access to the latest technology through more than $500,000 in grants this year, double the amount awarded in 2011.
• Since the program's inception, 36 Canadian high schools have received tech grants totaling more than $1.3 million.
• Selected high schools will receive grants from $10,000 to $50,000.

BURNABY, BC, April 24, 2012 /CNW/ - Future Shop, Canada's largest retailer and etailer of consumer electronics, today announced a record-number of 20 high schools across Canada will be updating their outdated technology thanks to over $500,000 in donations from the company's Future Generation Tech Lab program. More than 160 schools from coast-to-coast submitted applications for funding in three categories: $10,000; $25,000; and $50,000. Winning schools were selected based on the impact new technology would have on improving program offerings and engaging students. Each school will use the funds in a different way to provide students with the tools necessary to excel in their programs and reduce the digital divide within Canadian high schools.

"Access to working technology is a critical element to students' learning and development, but not all schools are able to keep their equipment current. We heard this loud and clear in all the applications we received whether it was for a simple ask to replace 10 year old computers or bring in new technology allowing schools to take programs to the next level," said Andrea Farnell, Community Relations Manager, Future Shop. " Future Shop is excited to see how these schools will use their grants to inspire, motivate and empower students to do more, learn more and achieve more in the classroom."

The following 20 high schools were selected to receive between $10,000 and $50,000 each through the Future Generation Tech Lab program.

British Columbia

• Delview Secondary (Delta) - The days of students having to share computers in their Media Arts program or bring computers from home in order to finish assignments will be no more. Delview will use their $25,000 to buy new computers giving students the confidence to know they can access a computer to work on an assignment at any time during the school day.
• George M. Dawson Secondary (Masset) - A school on the remote archipelago of Haida Gwaii, George M. Dawson Secondary struggled to offer students Haida and French language programs without headphones, microphones or software on the few computers used for oral/aural practice and recording. With their $50,000 Future Generation Tech Lab grant, students will have unrestricted use of state-of-the-art technology allowing them to become accomplished communicators in Haida and French, and assist in preserving their community's native language.

Manitoba

• St. Boniface Diocesan High School (Winnipeg) - Outdated computers are unable to handle the variety of courses like Computer Graphics, Computer Science, Desktop Publishing, Digital Film Creation to Interactive Media, without freezing or needing to be re-started. Thanks to their $40,000 Future Generation Tech Lab grant, technology upgrades in both hardware and software will be possible.

Ontario

• Brantford Collegiate Institute (Brantford) - Students enrolled in classes in the new Technical Arts program at BCI are using pieced together 10 year old computers, previously destined for recycling, to do their graphic design, film and video, and photography assignments. As one of this year's winning schools, BCI receive $25,000 to purchase new computers capable of running the software the school's Technical Arts program is licensed for.
• Canterbury High (Ottawa) - Canterbury High School's music program was missing the link between age-old instruments and the modern digital audio technologies. With their Future Generation Tech Lab grant of $25,000, music program students at Canterbury will be able to bridge the gap and hit the right notes with new tablets and applications to further develop their musical talents.
• Catholic Central High (Windsor) - An inner-city school with out-dated computer equipment, Catholic Central High struggles to provide its students, many of whom are without computers at home, with current technology and computer programs. The $10,000 grant from Future Shop will be used to update the school's computer lab with the latest computers, monitors, printers and software.
• Don Mills Collegiate (North York) - Don Mills Collegiate offers Gifted, Cyber Arts, and Developmentally Disabled programs to serve a high-achieving academic school serving an academically, ethnically, and economically diverse student population. As a selected school, two classes of Developmentally Disabled students will benefit from $15,000 worth of new technology to help them communicate and express themselves better, interact with their peers and educators, improve their academic comprehension and enhance their overall independent daily functioning skills.
• John Polanyi Collegiate Institute (Toronto) - John Polanyi Collegiate's aging computers lab for business classes will receive an upgraded in $25,0000 worth of new computers, a projector and sound system. These upgrades will allow the school to enhance their course offerings by introducing Marketing and Entrepreneurship studies.
• Kipling Collegiate Institute (Etobicoke) - Running a business program for students with computers over seven years old and an eclectic collection of monitors almost twice as old, Kipling Collegiate Institute is unable to operate current and essential software that the school is licensed to use. Thanks to their Future Generation Tech Lab grant of $25,000, students will now be able to develop their keen interest in courses from Computer Animation to Programming using the latest computers and software like Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Simply Accounting.
• Malvern Collegiate Institute (Toronto) -Obsolete computers cause frustration for both staff and students at Malvern CI. The school has a number of IT initiatives but is unable to provide the right tools for instruction and learning. Malvern will take their $25,000 grant and purchase a new set of computers to support innovative programs in media arts, science, communications and technology.
• Mountain Secondary (Hamilton) -Every student enrolled at Mountain Secondary has an individualized educational plan designed to help each one overcome their barriers to learningThe $25,000 Future Generation Tech Lab grant will enable the school to build this lab allowing students to become involved in learning by motivating them through interactive multimedia and engaging software applications to gain fundamental skills other students may take for granted.
• Nimiki Migizi Secondary (Longlac) - A small Aboriginal school filled with students who are passionate about technology, Nimiki Migizi Secondary recently started their first computer image editing course and is excited to expand their popular course offerings. Nimiki Migizi will put their $10,000 grant to great use purchasing the technology needed to offer courses in video editing, web development and computer animation.
• Woodbridge College (Woodbridge) - Broken computers forcing students at Woodbridge College to share with completing assignments encouraged poor quality work and tardiness. Using their $10,000 Tech Lab grant, the school will purchase new computers, a projector and Smart Board to instantly boost productivity and classroom morale.

Quebec

• Centre éducatif St-Aubin (Baie-St-Paul) - Students and teachers at Centre éducatif St-Aubinare eager to expand their arts, cultural and community curriculum programs by updating their dated technology. The school will use their Future Generation Tech Lab grant of $25,000 to purchase new computers fast enough to run programs needed for media arts projects, new math programs, humanitarian projects and digital science experiments
• Ulluriaq School (Kangiqsualujjuaq) - Many of the students in this northern Quebec school have learning challenges including trouble with vision, hearing, memorization and learning new languages. Thanks to a Future Generation Tech Lab grant of $10,000, the school's largest room will be renovated and become a technology lab for students with special needs. The new Tech Lab will foster a more constructive learning environment for students, equipping them with valuable life skills to apply in their lives outside the village.

New Brunswick

• Fredericton High (Fredericton) - Offering an incredibly diverse music program for students from Grade 9 to Grade 12, Fredericton High School strives to provide students with the opportunity to develop a higher level of musicianship,. The Future Generation Tech Lab grant of $10,000 will allow the school to add technology to classes bringing music education to the next level.
• Oromocto High (Oromocto) - Oromocto High School offers a unique Tech Support program for students interested in learning skills to become computer technicians and gain employment in IT Support roles, which was being taught on out-of-date computers, hampering students' learning potential. The funds from their $50,000 Future Generation Tech Lab Grant will enable Oromocto HS to build a proper Tech Lab for these students allowing them to also gain co-op skills as they offer IT support for their fellow classmates and teachers.

Newfoundland

• Holy Heart High (St. John's) - With a third of the student body enrolled in a language classes, Holy Heart High School was desperate to update the technology in their language laboratory from a 30-position audiocassette lab based on 1980s technology. The school will use its $50,000 grant to turn the dated language classroom into a modern digital language laboratory.
• Menihek High (Laborador) - Menihek High students have flourished provincially and nationally with their Fine Arts programs despite having sub-standard equipment such as refurbished computers, inexpensive video and still cameras, and plenty of computer crashes. The Future Generation Tech Lab grant of $25,000 will provide students with the newest, fastest computers and instil confidence their projects will be safe until completed.

Prince Edward Island

• Queen Charlotte (Charlottetown) - Working with outdated, second-hand technology, Queen Charlotte students faced the challenges of maintaining their enthusiasm when it came to the Technology Arts program. Thanks to their Future Generation Tech Lab Grant of $25,000, they will be able to purchase new computers, tablets and cameras y that will create an exciting environment for students taking  courses in video editing, web page design, graphic design, computer programming and animation.

For more information, visit www.futureshop.ca/techlab.

About Future Shop
With 149 stores across the country and the nation's premier web store (www.futureshop.ca), Burnaby, BC-based Future Shop is Canada's largest retailer and e-tailer of consumer electronics. The company employs more than 10,000 technology enthusiasts, has enabled its website, Futureshop.ca, to deliver unparalleled content about the products it sells. Futureshop.ca also hosts an online community forum and tech blog called Tech Yeah for technology beginners and tech-savvy experts to exchange ideas, reviews, tips and other consumer electronics information (www.futureshop.ca/techyeah). As a proud corporate citizen, Future Shop has developed solutions to recycle used electronics and is committed to employee volunteerism and supporting non-profit organizations dedicated to transforming local youth into Future Leaders (see www.futureshop.ca/futuregeneration).

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