ES A Great Leap Forward

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A Great Leap Forward

IMG_3613When I grew up in the ‘80s, our bar for technology was pretty low – a Nintendo system that you could simply blow into if it stopped working and a game called Pong that could now be designed by a fourth grader for a school assignment. When I was a kid, technology was something that awed us and provoked our imaginations to think of aliens and space travels. The world is very different now from the one I grew up in. The rise of information and communication technologies has changed how society works and global cultures interact, and technology has become an essential part of our lives and work. Before we realize, our children will become adults and will engage in a world very different from the one we know today. They will need to solve problems beyond their current understanding and use skill sets that are yet to be defined or tools that are yet to be created. This is why technology integration has become a core component of educational programs in schools all around the world.

IMG_4216In the past few years, great strides have been made in infusing technology into our instructional programs, but this year especially, SSIS has invested heavily in the infrastructures required at the Elementary School to accommodate technology and 21st century learning. Technology plays a key role in a student’s current learning process and future career path and at the EC/ES we want to make sure that we do everything we can to prepare our students for their future. Much work from school administrators, our ICT team, tech committee and a highly experienced group of technology facilitators was done since last year to identify the key requirements to ensure this vision is met. This has involved reviewing current systems, hardware and infrastructure, and in a fast evolving technological environment, identifying what our students will need to meet the challenges they face in the future.

These are indeed very exciting times at the EC/ES as school is moving over the next three years, from a multi-platform school to a single platform Apple School. Technology will play an ever increasing part in our students’  learning process in the years to come, and it is on this basis that we are allocating resources and technical support for students and staff, and we are undertaking professional development for educators and administrators in this area. Here are some of the new technology initiatives this year:

  • The EC/ES computer laboratory has been transformed into a multimedia editing suite fully equipped with the latest iMac computers.
  • Each primary classroom has been equiped with the latest iMac desktop computer
  • EC/ES teachers have been equipped with a Macbook Pro.
  • After a successful implementation of our Grade 3 iPad program, we have extended the program to Grade 4, following a 1:2 (one-device-per-two students) model.

We firmly believe that these technology initiatives will empower teachers and students to transform the classroom and pave new ways of thinking and sparking ideas, allowing us to together do things we never thought possible.

Alfredo Papaseit

EC/ES Technology Facilitator