Students from The International School @ ParkCity (ISP) live and work in a technology-rich environment, so they are used to having 24/7 access to an array of extremely advanced digital tools. This provides them with countless opportunities to experience truly personalised learning. It's not surprising therefore that ISP students quickly develop a wide range of independent learning skills, and it is amazing to see some of the learning that takes place in their own time.
This is what stimulated the formation of the Orchard Project. Jointly organized by Apple Distinguished Educators based in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, the Orchard Project set out to build a network of students who will become advocates of digital learning - showcasing, modelling and speaking out with a credible voice - to help schools create and articulate a vision for connected, personalized learning.
A group of students from ISP – who had successfully experienced the power of technology in their independent learning – gathered to share their own interests, curiosity, creativity and passions. Projects were designed to connect the digital fluencies being informally developed outside of school to the more formal learning happening within the school curriculum. The learning projects focused on areas such as visual note making, digital textbooks, info-graphics and game-based learning.
The students were extremely fortunate to be assigned mentors who were able to offer guidance and advice on the delivery of their knowledge. The mentors, who were in Asia to attend regional conferences, included US author and educational technology consultant Jim Lengel, and Sue Rankin from UK, creator and publisher of digital learning content.
This helped to prepare the group for presenting their projects at a Leadership Conference in Penang, organized by the Federation of British Schools in Asia. Here they presented their ideas to school leaders from across Asia at a special Learning Live event. There was an incredible buzz in the room as the students shared their cutting-edge ideas, research and skills with so many experienced, high-ranking educators.
Feedback from the delegates included statements such as: "I learned more from the students in that hour than I learned in the rest of the day", “They were informative and passionate” and "They certainly inspired me".
Following this success, the Orchard group went on to present to the teachers in ISP and also to teachers from other international schools at the TeachMeet KL event. Their work continues this term as they share their expertise with other groups of educators, and collaborate with the regional Orchard groups, preparing their projects for publication on the iTunes bookstore.
For more information on ISP, please visit www.ISP.edu.my
