Hosted by , contributed by Kyriaki_Vakkou on 15 September 2023
The school project was addressing the need for more digital resources and competences in the school and the subsequent need for training teachers on how to use the new equipment. The school has purchased or is planning to purchase Chromebooks, Makey Makey and smart boards. The Ville learning system was also introduced to the school. The platform's tasks are game-based, and so opportunities for increasing students’ interest for mathematics can be offered.
To address the aforementioned challenges, the responsibilities with tutor teachers (i.e., helping with the learning platform and the new equipment) were shared (e.g., seven teachers will act as tutors for an academic year). Also, teachers participated in numerous professional development courses. Apart from the participation in the LfE webinars, every teacher in the school was signed up for the Ville training course, which was a compulsory course. The ultimate goal is for every student to use the platform. Courses in programming were also arranged, as well as trainings on how to use the Chromebooks.
Chromebooks were usually used alternately by the 3rd-6th grades. Based on a survey conducted in the school, Chromebooks were used significantly more in the language lessons than in the teaching of mathematics and hence, a goal was set for increasing their usage in the mathematics lessons as well. The school also plans to lent to other schools the equipment and organize events in the library for making the micro controllers available to the community.
The availability of the equipment increased the cooperation among teachers and students. Teachers have shared their tasks with each other and group work between students on the devices was enabled.
The use of the smart board and Chromebooks also facilitated teaching practice and it increased the opportunities for diversified teaching.
Teachers’ participation in the various professional development courses led to an enhancement of their digital and teaching skills at a great extent.
Information about Makey Makey kits: https://makeymakey.com/
LfE webinars on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@learningfromtheextremes3165
The Ville platform: https://en.learninganalytics.fi/ville
Already implemented by the following schools
Kantakaupungin koulu (Kantakaupunki school)
This practice was implemented by our school!