Using iPads for personalised learning

iPad in Education: Sacred Heart College

Founded in 1889 in the dust of the gold rush, Sacred Heart College is a school rich in history. In 1979, Sacred Heart College opened its doors to children of all races for the fi rst time and through a generous donations structure, children from disadvantaged areas were given a high quality education. As a result, the school has grown to be an institution that refl ects the diversity of South African society. Sacred Heart College o∂ ers a values based education that aims to produce children who are able to think critically and succeed in a changing world.

Sacred Heart’s core philosophy is to foster a child’s eagerness to explore by creating an environment

where children are dynamic participants in their own learning. Students are encouraged to think critically through an innovative and explorative curriculum and lessons are designed to give students the opportunity to problem solve through creative applications. The school also aims to provide learning programmes that are individualised and cater for the specifi c needs of their students. This type of purposeful learning philosophy requires a forward thinking and innovative approach and resulted in the strong investment in technology at the school. Today, through a well planned implementation strategy and passionate commitment, every teacher and student at Sacred Heart College has access to an iPad.

“When we saw the power of this device, we knew that it was going to play a role in education in the future. Especially in a school that has a great interest in 21st Century learning”Colin Northmore, Head, Sacred Heart College

“The iPad was actually a turning point. You can grasp quite quickly that it actually changes the game dramatically.”

Colin Northmore, Head, Sacred Heart College

Sacred Heart College Snapshot:

iPad in the Classroom

• 932 students across Pre-School, Primary School and High School

• Preschool, Primary School and High School have access to mobile iPad labs

• Every Grade 7 student has their own iPad• Every teacher has an iPad

• Students at Sacred Heart use iPad throughout the day to access subject materials, record notes, create projects, and search online for supplemental information about the topics they’re learning about. Teachers have also discovered creative ways to integrate iPad into their teaching to make lessons fun, interesting and packed with activity.

• The primary school has used iPad to create engaging lessons that reinforce the building blocks of learning. For example, the My Story app and Essential Skeleton apps are used by primary school teachers. The My Story app combines language and visual learning to build vocabulary and facilitate language structure, allowing students to demonstrate their skills in an engaging way. The app also teaches them social skills through teamwork and presentations. The Essential Skeleton is a 3D medical app that teaches students all about anatomy and helps students to actively engage

“You will see all kinds of remarkable things happening around those iPads in our school. Things that we didn’t even think might happen.”

Colin Northmore, Head, Sacred Heart College

in their learning through virtual discovery. It also allows them to choose the aspects that they want to be challenged on and progress at their own rate. The students are having fun while learning about the body that they don’t even realise that they are tackling a di∑ cult concept.

• In the high school, the ZA Books app and mobility of iPad allows for each grade 7 student to have all of their text books on one device. They have instant access to annotate and take notes in class and communicate with teachers and other students on their homework activities after school. Students create Keynote presentations to share in class and use the built-in camera to snap photographs needed for projects. Whether they are brainstorming ideas about literature or watching video playback of a science experiment, learning has been extended far beyond the traditional classroom walls.

Diverse Application

The overall success of the iPad project at Sacred Heart College is due to the versatility of the device. Aside from the integration of iPads in the classroom from the pre-school right up to the high school, iPads have also been used in the following ways:

• The Emmaius Centre caters for students with special needs at Sacred Heart College. iPad is a critical tool for learning here and allows the school to meet the needs of individual students who may have specifi c barriers to learning. In these cases, iPad is used as a remediation and reinforcement tool.

• The Knowledge Cafe is a session that runs once a week and allows teachers to share ideas, successes and their experience with using iPad in their lessons. This allows for knowledge to be shared across all areas of teaching and facilitates collaboration among teachers.

• The 3 to 6 Project is an after school initiative for underprivileged refugee students who do not attend school. The iPads are used regularly to aid in depth learning and understanding of basic numeracy and literacy concepts during this time.

• Some students at Sacred Heart College have special requirements when it comes to writing exams. The iPad is regularly used as an audio tool so that students can listen to their exams.

These students no longer need to have special venues arranged for them.

• The registration of all extra mural activities in the primary school is done on the iPads and attendance is managed through an app by the teachers.

• Sacred Heart College is the fi rst school in South Africa to develop a course on iTunesU which is based on a successful project they ran with their grade 7’s. The course allows students to create their own interactive books utilising an app called “Composer” and teaches them to be creators of content, rather than just users. It has allowed them to develop critical skills such as time management, teamwork, creativity, music composition, marketing, problem solving and technical app development.

“The multiplier e∂ ect of it is remarkable”

Colin Northmore, Head, Sacred Heart College

Individualised and Engaging Learning

Students of the Future:

A strategic move to iPad has allowed Sacred Heart College to cater to the individual needs of their students. Learning on iPad has been designed in such a way that has allowed students who have the ability to move quicker do so, and those who are slower, to move at a pace that enables optimal learning. This has removed barriers to academic achievement and created a more hands on and dynamic learning environment. By creating their own experiences on iPad, students now have more control over their learning and focus more on the end product.

The school has seen benefi ts through the versatility of the iPad, the continual improvement of software and constant access to a vast number

By placing iPad in the hands of teachers and students, the school has discovered innovative ways to connect classrooms with the larger world. With the iPad, routine schoolwork is transformed into interactive explorations that challenge all their students to think beyond educational norms. Sacred Heart College has revolutionised

of educational apps that are designed to develop the skills of students more and more as they progress further in the apps. By re-packaging concepts into fun and interactive lessons students are now more engaged and motivated to tackle issues that they encounter and with access to an unrivaled set of tools, learners have now been able to take their own learning to the next level with their own creative contributions.

learning by using the iPad to enhance the learning experience and to foster critical thinking and creative problem solving skills. With this type of innovative approach, iPad helps ensure that the learners at Sacred Heart College are prepared for tomorrow’s successes, wherever their future paths take them.

“It allows children who are gifted to move a bit further than the class. It allows children who struggle or who have barriers to learning to fi nd a route to the same answer through a di∂ erent app or process.”

Colin Northmore, Head, Sacred Heart College

“Using the iPad as a tool, is going to allow these children to face an uncertain future.”

Flick Hardman, Teacher, High School, Sacred Heart College

“You will simply get better results because the children are engaging with their learning.”

Colin Northmore, Head, Sacred Heart College

The iPad allows us to meet the needs of individual learners, design individual learning programmes, develop those critical thinking skills that are going to take them out into the workplace.”

Heather Blanckensee Principal, High School, Sacred Heart College