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Smart Schools

Smart Schools
Smart Schools

A smart school is a physical audio-visual school designed to improve teaching-learning environment of educational institutions, based on computer and network technology or Information & Communication Technology (ICT).

In 1984, David Perkinz and his colleague in Harvard presented the smart schools project as a new educational experience. The plan implemented in several schools, gradually became widespread. Malaysia was the first ICT developed country which applied the idea to train manpower.

In Tehran, the first primary smart school was inaugurated in 2007 and was also implemented in some high schools as a pilot project. Ministries of Education and ICT, based on an agreement, have developed smart school concept for Tehran and other cities. The first fully equipped school was launched in Mash’had, in accordance with international standards set by UNESCO and modern technologies.

Seven key principles of smart schools are as follows:

-  creative knowledge

-  students’ physical, mental and emotional growth

-  school as an educational system

-  increasing individual skills and abilities

-  paying attention to understand the concept of and focus on learning  

-  training technical and mental man power  

-  increasing interaction between parents and school, using equipment and facilities such as personal computers, websites, basic, educational, application and multimedia software.

 Electronic Content

Content of the courses and system of evaluation and monitoring are mainly electronic. Different levels of students’ talent are considered. Students in smart schools play both teaching-learning roles. Teaching method is student-centered. Emphasis is on thinking skills and to prepare an environment where computer replaces the black board and CD replaces the notebook.

Students get information about different topics via the Internet. Both teacher and student provide the CD content.  Training is not individually related to the teacher and students play an important role in the learning process. Memory retention of content is 20 years in this method, it is said, while the term reduces to 6 months maximum in listening methods; also learning process takes place “in an attractive ambiance and a shorter period of time.”

In fact, IT means to utilize human thoughts and to discover the ‘unknowns’ by automated operation of sending known, repeated and uncreative data to the machine. So it is wrong to think that technology replaces human abilities in smart schools. The technology is used just as a tool to reach suitable and sufficient goals of manpower training.

 

Financialtribune.com