IMPROVING STUDENTS’ LITERACY AND LEARNING WITH TEXTHELP ' S READ & WRITE SOFTWARE AT WINCHESTER JEBEL ALI SCHOOL
overseen by Pallavi Mallick, Head of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. An experienced SENCO and trainer, Pallavi specialises in the design of individualised education plans( IEPs) to ensure that the full potential of every student is realised.
Reinforcing the school’ s excellent reputation for supporting students with additional learning support needs, Pallavi recommended implementing Read & Write at Jebel Ali after encountering it at other schools in the GEMS Education network.
Every school has the desire to help each pupil reach their full potential. EdTech has its place to support this ambition by providing the tools to meet the challenges that every classroom faces- the need for differentiated instruction; the support of additional learning needs and the capability to stretch and challenge those high achievers. All whilst promoting digital skills, encouraging independence and building confidence.
All this, whilst ensuring they meet KHDA rankings for attainment, satisfying parents demands for progress and providing support for students’ individual needs to ensure progression, literacy development and language learning. Schools now, more than ever, need the tools and the strategies to meet these challenges.
We can take a look at how a local School tackled some of these demands by incorporating edtech software Read & Write from Texthelp Ltd. Located in the vibrant United Arab Emirates capital, The Winchester School- Jebel Ali is one of Dubai’ s most respected and sought-after private schools.
Established in 2003, it’ s a leading destination for quality education for families in the UAE and beyond. The Winchester School is also part of GEMS Education( Global Education Management Systems) – the world’ s largest operator of K-12 schools with a network of over 70 establishments.
As a Microsoft Showcase School, it’ s part of a global community of schools engaged in digital transformation to improve teaching and learning, creating immersive experiences through technology to inspire lifelong learning and stimulate the development of essential life skills.
Embracing every student’ s needs
Numbering over 3,000, The Winchester School’ s roll includes more than a hundred students identified as having a range of special educational needs. These range from physical disabilities to dyslexia, autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
To help these students with a wide range of everyday literacy challenges, the introduction of Texthelp’ s Read & Write software has been
Read & Write was developed by Texthelp to provide the necessary tools for all students to support their reading, writing, vocabulary, comprehension and language development skills regardless of ability. The software has features such as text to speech, multiple language support, picture dictionary, spell check and prediction to build confidence and fluency in students.
Virtually all the Winchester School’ s primary teachers have already been trained to use Read & Write with their students. Pallavi hopes that this training will soon be extended to benefit all pupils up to the age of 16.
“ Read & Write works really well for our students”, notes Pallavi.“ We’ ve already got it installed on virtually all of our classroom laptops. And our site-wide license also allows our pupils to have it on their own computers, helping them with homework and independent study.”
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May- Jun 2018
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