Digital Learning
Caterham School has established a best practise programme to integrate the use of iPads by all students alongside traditional teaching methods. Since the full roll-out of the programme in September 2015, pupils have used iPads in a range of innovative ways, including creating their own content to demonstrate new learning and receiving instructive and interactive marking and feedback on homework via their iPads.
Teachers have also seen the benefits of being able to spotlight their students’ best work in the classroom through the use of airplay streamed to classroom whiteboards, and in being able to support pupils whether they are physically in the classroom or not.
The world has been steadily evolving and progressing for thousands of years. For today’s children however, the world seems to change more rapidly than it has ever done before. Their lives are conducted on and offline, sometimes, indeed often, simultaneously.
The internet is a vast resource and we recognise that in addition to it being an outstanding educational tool, it also presents challenges. Caterham School has always aimed to prepare its pupils for life after school, and so we are doing the same with technology.
When they are with us, all pupils are given access to the latest technologies and shown how to use them to enhance their learning. Pupils are able to become 24/7 learners, and the boundaries between school and home are becoming blurred in a way that means our pupils understand that learning is something that happens in ‘real life’ as well as within the four walls of the classroom. They are also able to learn from and create materials that would have been the preserve of high-end, hard-to-access computers just a few years ago. Our pupils work with text, audio and film as a matter of course; they learn to evaluate the Internet and to be critical of what they find, using analytical skills to decide what information is accurate and right for them.
Our thoughtful use of technology means that our pupils and teachers are all empowered to decide when it is right for them to use a device because it will enhance or extend their studies and when more traditional, or alternative methods would be better suited to the job in hand.
The digital world is vast; there is no final frontier, and at Caterham School we are committed to evolving and adapting as change happens, so that our students receive the best education with the tools and opportunities that will help them develop into intelligent, thoughtful and well-rounded individuals. The iPad is our next step on this journey, and we are excited to see where it will lead us to next.
APPLE DISITNGUISHED SCHOOL
Caterham is one of a select few schools in the UK to be designated both and Apple Distinguished School and a Regional Training Centre. These accolades recognise our outstanding use of Apple technology to deliver innovative and engaging teaching and learning, and to offer training to other centres on how to manage this effectively in other settings.
DIGITAL CREATIVITY CURRICULUM
Every pupil in the First and Second Year is given a thorough introduction to a great variety of digital skills which allow them to both learn and demonstrate their skills. As they move through the school, there or ongoing opportunities to get involved with a wide variety of hands-on creative, technical challenges ranging from Film Club to the inter-disciplinary Da Vinci Society and a Games-Designer Club.
