Featured School
" Having worked in Outstanding British schools in the region , I was well aware of how to create an effective digital strategy , however previously , this was on a much larger budget . The vision was based around Keeping IT Simple ". Neal Oates
The school makes sure that the teachers have simple tools , and that the technology works the first time with minimal effort . IT ensures that teachers use technology not to replace what they could do before , but as a tool to enhance what they are already doing . This may sound simple , but it certainly is not easy to do .
The school began by reviewing its position in the market as an affordable British curriculum school and the existing infrastructure in place in the school . Thereafter the decision was made to move to G-Suite and become a Google school , which involved moving the outdated physical drives to the cloud . The school invested heavily in classroom access points and bandwidth expansion . To many , this might be the boring part of technology integration strategies , but it is possibly the most important , as you need the infrastructure in place or everything else will fall apart .
Star International school Mirdif also identified that the devices being used by teachers were simply not fit for purpose . Rather than trying to devise the strategy alone , the school , working in collaboration with the leading Google reseller LearnIT , invested in the Acer Chromebook Spin 512 . The Chromebooks were significantly more affordable than the alternatives , and had many desirable features such as stylus pens and flip screens to allow for a tablet experience . The school also rolled out its bring your own designated device ( BYODD ) programme with the assistance of LearnIT .
The rolling out of the BYODD programme , helped to specify the device ( s ) students would use , and
parents invested in the stipulated device . As a result , both students and teachers use the same devices in the classroom .
The school continued its IT refresh by migrating towards panels and away from outdated projectors . These panels have better connectivity to the chrome books , which are being used by both the staff and the students . This move coincided with significant training for the staff and students to ensure that they could get the best out of the technology .
The school also made a significant investment in its Science , Technology , Engineering , Arts and Mathematics ( STEAM ) curriculum . To show how much progress has been made , the school had students build AIpowered golf bots to compete in a regional competition and various other maker-based projects using Microbits and SamLabs . These opportunities allowed students to experience hands-on making as well as coding .
The school ' s investment in its digital infrastructure has also led to the purchase of subscriptions to several educational platforms to help enhance the curriculum and wider systems at school . These include SIMS and Epraise , CenturyTech , Times Table Rock Stars , Wevideo , Screencastify and many others , which have helped to give the teachers and students the tools they need to enhance their classroom experiences .
Class Time Term 3 Apr - Jun 2021 23