Boldwin International School's Annual Magazine 2014-2015 | Page 20

• Can the use of tablet be a distracting device to some students?

If the question was whether it is a distracting device at school, I would strongly disagree.
Our school, like most quality schools, is a controlled environment, and class room management
is a skill that all of our teachers are well trained to exercise. Thus, with proper classroom management, the presence of tablets in the hands of students is a great advantage. Not only teachers
can engage students via the use of technology to learn a specific matter, but also, teachers can
simply promise a 5-minutes of gaming by the end of the session if students show complete attention to subject being taught. It can also help in improving students’ discipline in the same way
without the need to use violence, which is also a hot topic and a big problem at other schools.
At home, it can of course be a distracting device if the home environment is not properly managed. Remember, kids are kids and will always be kids, they prefer, by nature, to be entertained
rather than do their homework or study complicated subjects, if there was no tablet in their
hands, they will find other ways to entertain themselves and thus get themselves distracted.
TV, Play Station, computer, or even starring at the wall..etc, parents need to understand their
responsibilities in managing their child’s behavior and I don’t think prohibiting them from any tool
they love is the solution, its rather proper dialogue between parents and children that yields the
best results.

• To what extent teachers are cooperating with
this tool?

Change by nature puts us out of our comfort zone,
and that is what teachers are experiencing at the moment.
In this regard, there are two types of teachers: A. The
Conservatives, who are usually the older generation and
don’t use technology in their lives, they resist change
whether or not convinced of its benefits, and on the other
hand there is type B. The Early Adopters or Enthusiasts,
who are usually young, tech-savvy and highly motivated.
Those teachers are the advocates of Boldwin School’s
vision, and are doing an amazing job in taking advantage
of the huge opportunities at their disposal through the use of technology. They take initiatives
beyond their scope of work and help this school realize important milestones. Those students
face less discipline problems and are loved by their students. Boldwin School is definitely building
on those individuals for its future.

• How exactly the use of tablets is increasing students performance?

Today, we are living in a great period of time, where tablet computers are available with
great capabilities and an affordable price to all. It is also the age of “apps” that can be installed
on the tablets. So, in addition to converting traditional books into an electronic / interactive books
on the tablet, which also helps in reducing the weight of school bags, Boldwin School’s students
have access to a variety of educational apps that help them a lot in understanding school material
and learning. The use of tablets has also opened up the use of research without the hassle of
going to public libraries and spending long hours searching within irrelevant resources, simply,
connecting their tablet to a WiFi internet connection, students can research any topic related to
their school lessons and have a infinite amount of relevant resources at their finger-tips in the
forms they like most (video, text, pictures, sounds and others).

‫مدرسة بولدوين العالمية‬

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