Brian Aspinall's focus on innovation in the classroom has landed him a Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence.
The awards recognize teachers for exemplary teaching practices and for preparing students for an increasingly innovative world.
Aspinall, who teaches grade 7/8 at Indian Creek Public School in Chatham is a big believer in teaching coding and app development to elementary students.
"It's certainly a wonderful tool that anybody can jump in and get started with," says Aspinall, adding he thinks it will end up being a very valuable skill in the coming years. "In the near future we are going to have more jobs in the tech sector than qualified people to support it... By 2020, we'll have more objects connected to the internet than people."
Aspinall is also an innovator outside the classroom.
His most recent project called "Edmettle" allows teachers to give students feedback throughout the year and recognize them for special accomplishments.
"So if I had a student in my classroom who is doing something really cool like leading a group through a process and it was a really impactful moment, I can go ahead and endorse them for that skill and their parents would receive an email notification," says Aspinall, adding it's becoming a popular resource across the globe. "Currently there are about five thousand users -- the majority of the users are Canadian, but there are some American users and it's surfacing overseas as well."
Aspinall is one of 15 teachers in Ontario to receive a Prime Minister's Award this year.
