The educational landscape has changed dramatically since most parents attended school themselves. Only 10-15 years ago classrooms were mostly analog with paper books and whiteboards the most commonly used tools. Even if there was access to and students used computers and various technology, it didn’t pervade all aspects of teaching and learning in the same way it does today.
Now over 20 years into the 21st century, most people would agree that technology has become an integral part of our everyday lives. Technological innovations have integrated into every sphere of the society, redefining the way we conduct our daily activities. It changed the way we work, shop, interact and also learn.
So how does Dibber International Schools focus on technology and innovation integrate technology into the classroom?
There is an abundace of IT tools designed for students and teachers to maximize learnign and prepare students for the future. Some of these devices have radically changed they way students learn and teachers teach.
The interactive whiteboard is present in all classrooms and allows teachers and students to project visuals and videos and write notes in an interactive format where students and teachers can overlay their learning directly on the board and save the learning for later or for students who aren’t at school that day.
At DIS schools all classrooms have an interactive whiteboard or Clevertouch that creates this multi-faceted interactive environment.
Another feature of an innovating classrooms is 1-to-1 technology. At DIS all students from grade 1 have their own computer to use. This allows them to co-create documents and share them wiht their teachers, works on apps and even project their learning and thinking directly to the Clevertouch touch screen in the classroom. The 1-to-1 learning opportunities are endless. Together with Google for Education apps students can work indepdently or collaborate on a variety of platforms designed for specifically for learning.
DIS also has subscriptions to digital textbooks & library/research sources to extend learning and guide students to high quality, age-appropriate and relevant learning material. It is true that the internet is filled with information that students can access, but with digital textbooks aligned with the national curriculum and library and research tools designed for a learning environment students are guided through the research process deliberately and assisted in making sense of the overabundance of information available at our finger tips.
DIS schools also have an increase focus on Technology, agile thinking and the design cycle in the techology classroom. All DIS students receive increased instructional time in Technology, which occurs in English at DIS schools. English is the international linguafranca of language and technology so a natural subject to run in English.