This latest article for the GEMS Family Magazine (Issue 10) highlights some great steps forward in the apporoach to teaching, learning and digital normalisation in GEMS schools. Great to see this taking hold, with the new ecosystem proving to be the catalyst we hoped it would be!
There is no doubt that we now
live in an era of unprecedented opportunity when it comes to learning. With
ubiquitous devices, literally millions of apps available to download, easy
access to online learning through MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and other
online learning services, such as Khan Academy and YouTube, it is an exciting
time to be a learner, whether we are students, teachers or parents! Indeed,
many of us fall into two or even three of these categories! For adults gaining
further qualifications today, it is clear that online options now dominate the
world of learning. So what about our children, the adults of tomorrow? How are
we preparing them for a world of digital learning?
For the first time, more than
50% of standardized tests in US elementary schools are now digitised.
Universities are also rapidly expanding their digital offerings, as they become
more confident in the validity of online qualifications. Leading US
institutions such as Harvard, MIT and Stanford, along with the IIT in India
have long been pioneers of the MOOC and, despite criticism over course completion
rates, the online learning phenomenon continues to gain momentum, as education
providers embrace the disruptive potential of the Internet. Leeds University in the UK recently announced
that it was partnering with Futurelearn, set up by The Open University, to
reduce the time needed, and cost, of gaining a Russell Group degree. Students
taking Futurelearn courses will gain credits towards their degrees, indicating
further acceptance of online learning by leading institutions.
And yet, the UK Commons
Science and Technology Committee reports that 12 million British adults lack
‘basic digital knowhow’ and this is costing the UK economy an estimated £63
billion a year. Similar statistics are to be found around the world and schools
simply cannot ignore this skills gap.
It is essential that schools
equip their students with the digital learning skills they will need to
flourish when they move on to higher education and into the world of work. This
is why all GEMS schools have been provided with the opportunity to access a
cutting edge Personalised Online Learning Ecosystem (POLE). Built around the ‘My
Learning’ virtual learning environment, this evolving ecosystem is already
transforming the way in which our teachers are organizing the learning
experience for their students.
We are delighted to share the
following case studies, demonstrating how the new GEMS Personalised Online
Learning Ecosystem (POLE) is transforming the learning experience for our
students and preparing them for lifelong learning in a digital world. Congratulations
to all the teachers, students and parents involved in this exciting work! We can all look forward to more fantastic
online learning in GEMS schools this year and I know the students and teachers
can’t wait to get going!
Phil Redhead
Senior Manager – Digital
Strategy
GEMS Innovation, Research and
Development
History
Courses ‘Flow’ through My Learning at GEMS Wellington Academy – Silicon Oasis
By Helen Loxston-Baker
Assistant Director of Arts,
Humanities, Sports and Leisure
GEMS Wellington Academy –
Silicon Oasis
My Learning is a fantastic
tool for creating independent and personalised learning for students, which is
why I decided to create an online course for Year 8 History. The students were used to using devices for
home learning, but I wanted to incorporate the use of digital technology
further into lessons. The key topic for
the unit was the Tudors, with a focus on the use of propaganda through
portraits.
The course function within
My Learning allows for a personalised approach to learning for the students as
they can work at their own pace, while still having to stick to deadlines. This enables the students to manage their
time and become independent in their learning.
The use of instructional videos is essential to teach students key
information or to explain historical concepts and skills. This adds a personal touch for students who
still have contact with their teacher, and who they can pause, rewind or stop
as many times as needed until they master the learning required. The course flow function within My Learning
is fantastic for giving the students a clear route to take through the course
as each activity is presented to them as a step by step guide. The multi-media forum also enables the
students to discuss their thoughts and ideas across the whole of Year 8, which
is made up of 240 students. By using the
forum, students can connect with their peers in ways they would not ordinarily
be able to. This innovative approach to
teaching has empowered students to think critically and creatively, while
taking genuine ownership of their learning.
The response from the
students has been overwhelmingly positive.
Engagement in lessons is high and some students are so engrossed that
they have completed the work for the lesson at home, before they have even
arrived at the lesson! A fantastic
problem for a teacher to have. This
provides the opportunity to stretch and challenge the students in lessons,
further broadening and deepening their understanding and thinking about the
topic.
Student quotes
What have you enjoyed
about the challenge outcome and why?
“I’ve enjoyed the challenge
outcome as we’ve done something new. It’s not like the other challenge
outcomes. It’s different as we get to present our work to others and people
that we know.” - Lewis – Year 8
“I’ve enjoyed most getting to
communicate with other people and learning what they know about Tudor
portraits. It doesn’t feel like I’m studying, I’m having fun. I get to
draw my portrait and explain what I’m good at through my portrait.” -
Juliana – Year 8
“The thing that I enjoyed the
most is creating my portrait and making the video. It was fun as I could
get all my ideas together, go with the flow and just create what I like.”
- Jordi – Year 8
What did you enjoy most
about learning using the course in My Learning?
“I like the course on My
Learning. It was well structured and was really informative. It was
easy to use and imaginative. It was quite a new way of learning. I
haven’t used anything like My Learning before. To be able to access courses though
My Learning and different resources really helped me understand the topic. The
main strength of the course was to use our own devices throughout.
It was nice to be able to use your own initiative and to work at your own
speed.” – Lewis – Year 8
“I found myself more
independent using My Learning. I don’t need to rely on a teacher that much, I
can rely on myself and my laptop. I could work quicker too.” ” - Juliana – Year
8
“I enjoyed having the forums.
You got to ask any question you want and it would be answered in twenty four
hours. If I didn’t know something I’d ask a question on there and
someone, a friend or a teacher, would answer.” -Jordi – Year 8
Parents’ quotes
“My
daughter has particularly enjoyed herself preparing for her Challenge outcomes.
She enjoyed her history lessons this year.”
“I
found the presentation really emotional, as my son had put his heart and soul
into the work.”
GEMS Modern Academy Flipped Days
By Ritesh Dhanak
Supervisor – Digital Learning
GEMS Modern Academy
Educators
have been talking about the flipped class for a while now, and the benefits of
students learning in advance and more actively at home are proven beyond doubt.
At Dubai Modern Academy, we decided to stretch this idea and conceptualized the
‘flip day’ – yes, flip a whole day of learning! The educational outcomes have
been very interesting.
On
17th May 2016, students of grades 3 and 4 stayed at home and were
engaged through tasks provided by their teachers. These tasks were a
combination of various subjects, with fusion as the flavour. The young
learners worked to achieve the tasks and upload/submit an outcome document at
the end of the day. Students marked their attendance and completed their work
through the fantastic My Learning system.
Students
who were unable to stay at home came to school as normal, but were provided
with a very different experience, mirroring the freedom, independence and
ownership of their learning being enjoyed by their peers at home. These
children were engaged in the same learning through the school’s IT
infrastructure, using their own tablets and other devices, monitored and
mentored by their teachers. The statistics for grade 3 and 4 flipped day speak
for themselves:
Grade
3
Total
Students
|
378
|
Logins
from Home
|
318
|
Percentage
logins from home
|
84%
|
Grade
4
Total
Students
|
318
|
Total
logins from home
|
280
|
Percentage
logins from home
|
88%
|
Our
teachers planned meticulously for the fusion of STEAM (Science, Technology,
Engineering, Arts and Mathematics), along with Minecraft options and audio
links, all created in-house. It was an incredible learning experience,
according to the children. Of course there was some anxiety among the parents,
which the teachers and senior leadership team handled with alacrity.
After
the success of the Flip Day for grades 3 and 4, it was now time for our middle
and senior school students to follow suit. On 17th May 2016, of 2072
students in grades 5-12, only 27 students of parents who had a challenge
keeping them at home, showed up in school.
The
tasks for grades 5-12 were designed for students to use their research skills
to learn and produce work combining their knowledge and understanding of
multiple subjects. The students were free to define their ways of working as
long as they completed the tasks by end of the day and uploaded their work
through the My Learning system.
Student
Reflections/comments:
Om
Jivandas - 9A
‘It
didn’t even register that I was not at school, I was so engrossed. All the
questions were applied to real life which made them difficult, but very
interesting too!’
Vaanchit
Srikumar – 10D
‘It
was a great experience to do things at my own pace and yet complete all that
was set for me.’
Ananya
Dangra – 6F
‘Flip
day was an altogether new experience for me. The activities were well thought
out and meticulously planned. The work I did on this day was fun. A memorable
day that left me with a happy heart and enriched mind.’
Ananya
Sharma – 6C
‘Flip
day was a good experience and I am looking forward to more such days.’
Pritika
Vij – Grade 8
‘I
really like the connection of topics to real life application. Flip day helped
us think out of the box and learn independently.’
According
to Nargish Khambatta – Principal, GEMS Modern Academy, the real heroes of this
entire initiative were our teachers, who planned the day so well that students
were gainfully engaged at home. We also would like to acknowledge the support
of parents and students who took on the challenge and made it a success.
Special
mention goes out to our IT Team and the GEMS IRD Digital Learning Team led by
Phil Redhead, Andrew Nolan and Asha Sanjay, on the technical and strategic
support that made this transformational learning experience possible.
Democratic Electronic Voting @GEMS New Millennium
School, through My Learning
By
Anita Pradan
Digital
Learning Leader
In a brand new initiative, the GEMS
New Millennium School Investiture Ceremony saw the student council leaders
selected through online voting, which was a swift, interactive and fun event
for the students of Grade 4 to 9. A
voting form (using the My Learning Form tool) was created in their individual
grade specific learning spaces, with the photographs of 46 candidates who stood
for 10 positions and sub councils.
Students just logged onto to My
Learning and with one click on the drop down menus they could smoothly vote for
the most eligible candidate of their choice for the various student leader
categories. Results were attained right after the voting with the ‘Export’ option
and we could easily filter the results to pick up the winners (maximum votes)
by category.
The students from Grades 4 to 9 were
very excited on Thursday, 14th April, 2016 early morning and they were allowed
to login using their own devices in the homeroom time from 7.30 to 7.50 a.m. to
complete the online voting. By 9.00 a.m., the results were announced on the PA
system to the entire school.
A thrilled Eishitha Dermal and Anannya
Jain of Grade 6B said, “It was easy to vote this time compared to last year as
there were drop down choices and we just clicked the option. Each of us
completed it in a 30 second record time.”
Innovation through the use of
technology is a way of life at GEMS New Millennium School, and it was fantastic
to see important areas of the curriculum such as citizenship and leadership
combine seamlessly with modern technology to provide a wonderfully engaging
experience for all our students.
