St Stithians Prep Schools Excel in Think Ahead iTeacher Awards
It was the obvious choice for our iPad environment “with homework hand-in, an integrated grade book, and private discussions, it (was) a seamless way to organize (our) classroom(s). Bring your class together on iPad.
Prior to the rollout, the Grade 5 teachers had extensive training on iTunes U with the Girls’ Prep EdTech Coach and set about creating interactive courses for the girls that would incorporate the use of several applications.
Upon their return to school, after the half term in 2016, the Grade 5 students underwent training of their own on how to use the various apps, enrol into their iTunes U courses, set up their email, use OverDrive (our online e-library) and access the school server from their devices. These barazzas continue to form part of the iPad rollout in Grade 5 along with social media awareness and parent-daughter security evening workshops.
The Grade 5 teachers successfully redesigned the learning and teaching that was happening in their classrooms using iTunes U and other applications. Michelle Decker, Kirsty Sidwell and Zahraa Nakooda went on to enter the 2017 Excellence in Education Awards held by Think Ahead. Their submission, in the form of a multi-touch book they put together using iBooks Author, was based on their journey and included coursework, examples of the girls' work, presentations and a link to their article in the ISASA magazine.
The Excellence in Education awards is a national competition with hundreds of entries from all over the country. The Grade 5 team was selected as one of three finalists for the iTeacher award and were invited to attend the event that was held on Thursday, 26 October. The Girls’ Prep placed 2nd in the iTeacher category with Boys’ Prep taking first place for their submission entitled “Inquiry Based Learning – What Makes a Leader?”
Congratulations to the two St Stithians Prep schools on their phenomenal achievements.
Below is a video of the Grade 5 teachers giving feedback to Girls’ Prep staff a year into their journey.
ISASA article link.
More blog posts about their journey can be viewed here:
