I’m Robert Martellacci, Co-founder and CEO of C21 Canada, and I’m delighted to highlight one of the most compelling and community-grounded AI innovations in Canadian education. Today, we are joined by two leaders from the Rainy River District School Board, a district that has been nationally recognized for its work in land-based learning, Indigenous partnerships, and now AI-enabled capacity building. First, Heather Campbell, Director of Education, C21 Canada CEO Academy Member, who has championed this initiative from a strategic and cultural perspective. And second, Shannon Westover, the board’s Technology Enabled Learning and Teaching Contact and Secondary Curriculum Coordinator — and the technical and instructional lead behind the AI deployment. Together, they launched their AI use case last year as part of the C21 Canada × Dell Technologies project. Today, we explore how it has evolved, what surprised them, and how educators and students are responding. Heather and Shannon, welcome to the podcast.
