Faculty of Education graduate student wins IRA Award for Technology and Reading

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology's (UOIT) Faculty of Education is pleased to announce that Stephanie Thompson, a Research Assistant who is completing her Master of Arts in Education in Digital Technologies degree at UOIT, was selected as overall winner of the International Reading Association’s (IRA) Technology in Reading Award. The award honours Kindergarten to Grade 12 educators who are making an outstanding and innovative contribution to the use of technology in reading education.

Stephanie Thompson, Research Assistant and master's student at UOIT.

Thompson’s areas of interest include digital literacies, critical media literacy and digital storytelling. She has taken part in several research projects exploring social justice, the effects of media on adolescents, and the use of social networking systems and mobile devices in the intermediate classroom.

An elementary school teacher who currently teaches intermediate students in the Durham District School Board, Thompson was presented the award in front of thousands of participants at the IRA convention in San Antonio, Texas in April.

“Stephanie has worked closely with me for the past three years on a research project that explores social justice issues through digital literacies, and I can attest to her dedication and commitment to using digital technologies with young adolescents in innovative and creative ways,” said Dr. Janette Hughes, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education. “As her thesis supervisor, I am very proud of her accomplishments and the role our graduate program has played in helping Stephanie develop and refine her pedagogical approach - one that is student-centred, inquiry-based, tech-infused and media rich - as she moves from the classroom next year to a leadership position at the Durham District School Board (DDSB) as a Facilitator in Staff Development. DDSB teachers will benefit greatly from Stephanie's cutting-edge wisdom working with tablets in her classroom and her understanding of how students learn best in a digital age.”