In 2015, Sébastien Gagnon took the plunge. He left his job as an educational advisor to embark on a new professional horizon. He will then create Riviera Education and his first product In the footsteps of inference. Discover here the career of another proud member of the Edteq Association!
The big jump
About 10 years ago, Sébastien Gagnon went for a bungee jump in Chelsea, in the Outaouais. It was the most intense experience of his entire existence! Once on the catwalk, part of his brain was screaming, "Are you crazy?" You will die! The other part said to him: "Everything is going to be fine!" In his eyes, leaving his job to go into business is like the leap that often came to his mind before making his big decision. The desire for freedom and to live a different life has surpassed his need for security and his uncertainties about the future. In 2015, he therefore left his post of educational advisor to create Riviera Éducation. With the collaboration of teachers and remedial teachers, he leads the boat alone against all odds.
Interactivity for better learning
While working as a French pedagogical advisor at the Commission scolaire de Laval in 2010, Sébastien was entrusted with the mission of designing a training course on the use of TNI in reading. Although several teachers were familiar with the operation of the board and the main tools of interactive software, most found it difficult to generate educational value from them. In fact, few of them could see how IWT could have a real impact on their students' learning. For example, the use of the screen mask represents incredible advantages, but still too often overlooked in the teaching of comprehension, especially for inference and strategies.
The desire to create solutions
By giving this training to teachers and by noting the glaring lack of digital resources that make a real difference, the desire to create material became unbearable for Sébastien! For three years now, his knowledge of technology as well as his expertise in teaching reading teaching have been the solid foundations of Riviera Éducation. He feels he has no regrets about his choice of life and is happy with the progress he has made. “All the personal sacrifices and the pitfalls encountered are nothing compared to the pride I feel in thinking that teachers use with their students activities from my imagination. "
In the footsteps of inference
Sébastien says today's teachers know they have to guide the learning of understanding in their students. However, getting young people to better understand what they read is not that simple! Understanding involves the creation of inferences by uniting the clues of the text and its knowledge. In the footsteps of inference, this first interactive activity of Riviera Education, was developed to help teachers make their students more active and more flexible when they read.
Now present in hundreds of schools in Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and France, the product is very popular according to the comments received. Several teachers and resource teachers mentioned that the students love the activity and find it fun and engaging. What is even more gratifying for Sébastien is that many students see the direct effects on their reading skills.
A year of novelties
The year 2018 will mark the arrival of a major change at Riviera Education. Interactive activities will no longer be designed with SMART Notebook and ActivInspire software. Teachers will now have access to the material on the web through an online platform.
Also, the activity In the footsteps of inference will be offered for all elementary cycles as well as for the 1er secondary cycle. There will be two volumes for each cycle.
Finally, new products under construction, always linked to the teaching of inference, will be available at the start of the school year.
An ally for the future
Sébastien concludes: “The teachers work so hard and put so much energy into fostering the learning and success of their students. Our activities must help them to be even more effective. As a solution provider, Riviera Education wishes to establish itself for the future as a leader in the field of educational technology. So I invite you to follow our flow to make sure you don't miss a thing! "
To find out more about Riviera Education
Twitter: @RivieraEduc
Facebook : www.facebook.com/rivieraeducation.fr
Website : rivieraeducation.com
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