While students were enjoying an extra day off on October 21, 2016, over 700 teachers from all across B.C. were hard at work at Riverside Secondary for the CUEBC technological education conference that is held every year. The success of the day was achieved through the help of Riversides’ student Tech Team. The conference provides workshops to help teachers better use technology in the classroom for educational purposes.
“I learned a lot about how good it can be to expose technology to the rest of the world, and I think a lot of people had fun while doing it,” said Ryan Foster, grade 12 student who works as a tech apprentice to Riverside’s IT technician, Mr. Randie Shen. Foster spoke at the conference alongside grade 11 student Mona Behrouzian about the changes the schools’ 1-1 digital program has brought about, and how interesting it is to actually be a part of it. Behrouzian also commented on being on Riversides’ Tech Team. “It has given me so many opportunities this year, such as presenting in front of nearly 1000 teachers, and co-running the school’s social media,” said Behrouzian. 
During the conference, there were three learning sessions. The keynote speaker, West Vancouver school district Superintendent and former Riverside principal, Chris Kennedy, firmly believes in a technology integrated education, and initiated the process of Riversides’ 1-1 technology program. He inspired teachers with his understanding and beliefs on educational technology.
There were also different sessions throughout the day that teachers could attend and learn about technology implementation, such as 3D animation, modeling, and the new Windows program. “A lot was discussed, you could go downstairs and do a Maker Bot presentation, or you could go to the science wing and there was also a Microsoft presentation. You could listen in on whatever you wanted,” said Foster.
This conference also highlighted Riverside for showing other schools how the 1-1 program is working. “The best benefit was that we got to introduce how our school is completely tech-related, and how well that’s going,” said Foster.
