iPad in Education: Harare International School

Harare International School (HIS) is an independent non-profi t institution based in Harare, to serve the diplomatic, non-governmental organisation (NGO) and expatriate community, as well as children of Zimbabwean diplomats returning from assignments abroad. It has students from more than 50 nationalities, and strives for personal values and academic excellence through relevant, challenging and engaging educational programmes.

The school is committed to educating the whole child – intellectually, physically and aesthetically,and to develop critical problem-solving skills through a culturally diverse curriculum.

The focus at HIS is to not only have a positive impact on the personal development of its students but to cultivate a learning environment

that prepares students for an increasingly digital world. Technology for education has always been a critical tool at HIS and they’ve successfully incorporated MacBooks and iPads into their everyday curriculum.

HIS introduced iPads and MacBooks into the school in 2011, knowing that they would be the most e∂ ective learning solutions, with the least potential network problems, and need for support and training.

As a result, routine schoolwork has been transformed into interactive explorations that challenge students at HIS to enhance each learning opportunity with their own creative contributions.

Routine schoolwork was transformed into an interactive learning ground with iPads and MacBooks at Harare International School.

“The iPad is the complete device for content creation and collaborative learning in education.”

Je∂ Klancke, IT director, Harare International School

School Snapshot

Diverse Application

• Founded in 1992• Elementary, middle and high schools• Approximately 528 students representing 58

nationalities • Each classroom has wifi , a projector and Apple

TV• 2 iMac labs with 22 iMacs each, and an

additional 5 iMacs in the media centre• Elementary school: Each teacher has an

iPad,and 70 mobile iPads are available for students

• Middle school: Each student and teacher has an iPad

• High school: Grade 9 and 10 students each have a MacBook. In four years’ time each student will have a Macbook.

“Our students now have a whole arsenal of ways to present their ideas.”

Troy Gordon, tech integration specialist, Harare International School

“I knew that because its a useful, easy, portable tool that it was going to be a good thing.”

Amanda Lebreton, grade 4 teacher

Elementary school:For the grade 5 students at HIS, project work has come alive with iPads. Each year, the grade 5s do a project where they investigate a real-world problem, and propose solutions. iPads play a signifi cant role in their research, data collection, and recording of information processes. Their research is then creatively presented through videos, an app called Puppet Pals, stop-frame animation and more. HIS has also used the Notability app to create a digital profi le for each student. It enables them to easily capture assessments of their students and share regular and up-to-date reports with their parents.

Middle school:In the middle school, iPads and video apps such as ScreenChomp, ShowMe and Explain Everything give teachers and students the ability to video record what they write on their screen. Students and teachers have enriched the learning process

by being able to record learnings and then share them with the class. Nearpod is used regularly by students and teachers to run gameshow-style competitions on educational topics, which encourages engagement on a large scale as many are involved in the answering process.

High school:HIS design students used iPad to interview teachers on which applications they most needed help with. They then used Screen Chomp and other capturing software to create video tutorials for students and teachers to better understand these apps. On another occasion, the iPad was used with an MTV night where the students used the camera and microphone tool and fed this directly into a projector. The iPad was used to interview those arriving, and project these live on the screen inside. It was a great way to display the ingenuity of students and how to use the right tool for the job.

Gold Star Results

Creativity and innovationHIS encourages its students to expand their creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking skills. iPad has allowed teachers and students alike to deliver content in new and interesting ways. Teachers are now converting content into interactive iBooks with their own illustrations. Student creativity has also fl ourished with the wide range of apps available for them to demonstrate concepts in ways they never could before.

Deeper thought-based learningBy giving their students wide access to information, HIS has encouraged inquiry-based learning and deeper thinking. In addition, with the use of apps to encourage step-by-step thinking, students are displaying a higher level of understanding. Instead, students now have a wide range of research and creation tools at their fi ngertips, and can demonstrate their understandings with videos, books made in iBooks Author or Book Creator, using jingles created in GarageBand and animations generated from Toontastic and Puppet Pals.

Improved fl exibility and individualised learningWith the diverse range of resources available on the iPad, teachers at HIS are better equipped to adapt their teaching to create and deliver content that meets the specifi c needs and unique abilities of their students. In addition to consuming content that is more interesting and engaging, students are also able to create content and communicate it back in ways that suit their individual learning style, allowing for better understanding.

Presentation SkillsBefore iPads it was di∑ cult for teachers and students to access the two computer labs as they weren’t always open, and were shared by the whole school. iPads have allowed HIS to expose their students to a variety of presentation tools in a more accessible and easy-to-use way. Thanks to its mobility, the iPad has also allowed for these projects to happen in the classroom rather than the computer lab.

Extending learning beyond classroom boundariesBy allowing students to access the internet at any time from their iPads, learning is no longer confi ned to the traditional classroom walls.The iPad’s versatility and the variety of apps available have equipped classrooms with the necessary tools and resources to access new information, and engage in new ways.

“The iPad allows us to buy one piece of technology to which we can add apps, minimising the need for costly hardware. An interactive whiteboard app for $6.99 can replace a $1500 interactive whiteboard and a built-in camera can be leveraged with another app to turn it into a document camera, saving around $500.”

Je∂ Klancke, IT director, Harare International School

“Students are now able to be so much more creative.” Claire Ingram, grade 2 teacher

“In terms of the students and their learning, the primary benefi t of using the iPad is the instant enthusiasm and interest. So before you’ve even started a subject you know you are going to have that engagement.”

Amanda Lebreton, grade 4 teacher

Enhanced engagement and productivityWith the extensive resources available, easy-to-use collaborative apps and the ever-increasing iPad to student ratio, productivity and engagement are continually increasing at HIS. Learning in a fun way has a bigger impact on the students, and teachers are also seeing a better level of engagement as a result.

Easy device managementThanks to Apple’s ease of use, the school’s IT maintenance and support network has evolved

With the iPad and the extensive resources available to teachers and students, the learning environment at HIS has been transformed into a dynamic and creative space that allows students to become independent and self-su∑ cient. All expectations for the iPad implementation at HIS have been exceeded. Students and teachers are now approaching their work with new eyes and teachers who could not turn on a computer just a few months ago, are now presenting Keynotes in classes, making videos and blogging newsletters to parents. Teachers are creating dynamic digital lessons and expect students to come in with homework and projects that are varied and dynamic as well.

HIS is also sharing their knowledge and expertise with other Zimbabwean schools, freely guiding them on their successes and learnings and empowering them on their journeys in Apple education.

from a large, overwhelmed team of technicians to a specialist and a technician, both of whom easily manage the entire system. Less time is spent on specifi c device problems, and more time goes to developing the school’s infrastructure for future iPad implementation. With no threat of computer viruses, students are also able to collaborate and communicate across devices with no associated risk.

Creating new possibilities