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Features

TECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE students to transition to online learning and teaching in their readiness to learn, the school still needs to
platforms at very short notice, has become an
equip teachers with a pre-requisite level of audio-
important consideration for parents. At its most basic visual technology to ensure the student at home does
OF EDUCATION definition, virtual learning is a learning experience not miss out of any aspect of the lesson that the
students in class are receiving.
that is enhanced through utilising computers and
the internet both outside and inside the facilities of
the educational organisation. The teaching activities 4) The Value of Assessments
most commonly take place in an online environment & Project Work
whereby the teacher and learners are physically With the shift to online instruction, schools have
separated (in terms of place, time, or both). had to come up with different methods to assess
academic learning. This has also meant having to
Martin Van Rijswijk, One of the key challenges in facilitating this type shift our mindset from exam oriented results to that
of learning environment is the need to ensure all
of learning outcomes.
Principal at HELP students are fully engaged and have the opportunity
International School, to interact both with their teacher and other learners Ongoing formative assessments will offer a
consistent checkpoint, allowing teachers to give
during the course of the online lesson.
provides pertinent critical feedback to students along the way. Based
insights into the role As teachers are now increasingly having to adopt on learning needs and objectives, a variety of
technology plays new methods of teaching and delivery, it is important online tools such as Google Forms (MCQ, Tests
and Quizzes), Zoom Breakout Room Evaluations,
to ask a school just how they are supporting their
in the future of teachers with continuous professional development. Wizer Online Worksheets, and Flipgrid can be used.
education. Are teachers exposed to regular training and sharing Dynamic learning tests and quizzes, continuous
of best practices amongst the team? Are they
assessments, project assignments and peer
encouraged to seek external certifications on specific reviews in addition to test papers set on Word/PDF
areas of career development, i.e., Apple Distinguished documents with students on camera via Google
ince March 2020, with the onset of the quickly with little disruption to learning. More forward Educators? All of these will speak to how prepared Meet, also work. To help students and parents
COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia, students have focused schools had already been using applications the school is to embrace virtual learning or learning understand the expectations, Learning Achievement
Sbeen sequestered at home as the country went such as Google Classroom, Seesaw and Padlet, as with technology. Rubrics should be shared at the start of the academic
into intermittent lockdowns of various forms. Some part of their daily learning approach, particularly in year. These expectations should remain the same
children have remained wholly at home for almost the link between home and school. The use of Green 3) Hybrid Learning in the New Norm regardless of the teaching delivery.
a year, learning online – with varying degrees of Screen, Book Creator, or design software such as As schools slowly begin to reopen, parents are
success and satisfaction, while others have been able Blender and TinkerCAD, and quizzes using Kahoot faced with the difficult choice of whether to send 5) A Culture of Innovation
to return to a new school environment with tight SOPs and Doddle had regularly featured in face-to-face their child to school, even though the COVID-19 – Using Tech for Good
and little opportunity for social interaction. classroom settings, and so their use in an online pandemic has not yet been fully resolved; or to keep It is important to inculcate a culture of innovation – to
environment was already second nature. their child at home, but run the risk of them missing challenge students to be creators of content instead
Throughout the past year, the only thing that appears out on essential learning experiences that the of merely consumers. Task them with purposeful
certain is that the future of education has undergone Similarly, these schools had likely already been utilising children in school may be enjoying. More forward- screen time – produce a mini movie, create a musical
a substantial technological shift in schools. tools such as augmented reality and zoom sessions, focused schools have been sensitive to this dilemma opus, develop a gaming app or design a social media
International schools find themselves at the forefront, by linking their students with peers in other schools or that parents potentially face, and in turn have campaign for a community service project. That is
some better prepared than others to embrace the experts in organisations across the globe to bring a developed well-crafted hybrid learning approaches to what tech for good looks like.
new change. wider range of authentic learning experiences into the accommodate the needs of families who choose to
classroom. This allowed for a seamless transition to remain home. Look for a school culture of responsible use and
Five key areas have emerged, through which parents the virtual classroom that resulted from the lockdowns digital citizenship. How are they helping students
are now evaluating schools: and movement control orders. Hybrid learning is an educational model where some self-regulate and make wise decisions about their
learners attend class in-person, while others join the technological use and consumption? Does the school
1) The Forward Focused Use of Nowadays, parents will also need to consider how class virtually from home. Teachers teach both virtual address the hard issues of cyber-bullying and cyber-
Technology in School their child’s school extends the use of technology to (online) and face-to-face learners at the same time. safety? Technology is here to stay. It will continue to
How quickly a school adapted to change in this parents so that they are kept informed; i.e. a regularly evolve the way schools deliver teaching and the way
recent pandemic has depended upon how much it updated parent portal for communications, online The best models consider the long term goals students learn. Schools and parents have to embrace
had invested, implemented and integrated the use attendance and report cards, virtual parent-teacher and learning journey of students. This may look the use of technology in teaching and learning, walk
of technology into everyday lessons. If a school had meetings, parenting webinars. different for the different sections of a school. hand-in-hand on this quest to find the best aspects
already successfully embraced the use of technology Younger learners may fare better when the school that work to maximise learning for the students.
in their curriculum, then both students and teachers 2) Successful Implementation of elects to regroup students who remain at home
were better equipped for the move to an online Virtual Learning with a dedicated online teacher for lessons. While For more information, please visit www.his.edu.my
learning environment; they adapted to this change How prepared is a school, its teachers, and its secondary students tend to be more independent

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