Rose Elsom, ICT Manager at Westbourne Grammar School
We see technology as the mechanism that expands the walls of the classroom and empowers our students to take an active role within their learning. We are no longer confining or limiting students to the classroom space but enabling them to ask questions and develop solutions, to learn and work from anywhere.
As we find ourselves well and truly submerged in the new digital world, at Westbourne Grammar, we devised a plan to teach our students as the 21st century learners they are.
Learning is about more than using an app or a program, more than an individual software skill or technical ability. It is about an overarching growth mindset that recognises a need for information and answers. Then progresses through a natural problem solving approach that sees the learner gather what they need, work with others and seek answers that will help them come up with a solution. A key component of this learning approach is a truly versatile and functional device that can bend and adapt to many different uses, which we found in the form of the Microsoft Surface Pro 3.
“At Westbourne Grammar, we devised a plan to teach our students as the 21st century learners they are.”
The start of 2015 saw a perfect storm of technologies that clicked together to support the collaborative and student centred approach to learning that we are aiming to provide. For students and teachers at Westbourne Grammar School, the Surface Pro 3 really did hit the nail on the head. The screen is the same size as an A4 piece of paper, combined with touch capabilities and a digital pen, provided all the functionality and flexibility they need, to deliver and participate in effectivity learning activities.
Our learning environments provide a range of display options for both students and teachers, including projectors and TVs, multi-screen classrooms for small group collaboration, as well as touch TVs and interactive whiteboards. The Surface Pro 3 has proved to be a powerful classroom tool to support this environment.
“The sensitivity of the stylus makes handwriting feel like it should – natural.”
Since using Surface Pro 3 from the beginning of the year, the feedback from students has been extremely positive. The sensitivity of the stylus makes handwriting feel like what it should – natural. Our students and staff are annotating in English, writing Japanese characters or completing maths problems with both ease and confidence.
Having students embrace this technology means they can do more than simply write. What was previously a solitary task has now become a collaborative one, with students being able to share work easily with their peers and teachers through tools such as OneNote.
“2015 has seen some serious leaps and bounds in our school. In fact, it’s been awesome.”
2015 has seen some serious leaps and bounds in our school. In fact, it’s been awesome. Students and teachers alike have a device that they can use the way they want to use it, saving time, allowing teachers to teach more effectively, and helping students to learn better.
With the Surface Pro 3 successfully rolled out across our school, I look forward to seeing how this will continue to support powerful learning experience we are aiming to achieve for our students, providing them with high quality education that each and every one of them deserves.
