Students in grade one of primary school, first year of high school and in vocational schools received educational packages comprising educational software, informative films and scientific magazines for free, in addition to textbooks this academic year, said Education Minister Ali Asghar Fani.
The Education Ministry’s policy is to gradually replace textbooks with educational packages comprising a combination of books, teacher guides, educational software and videos that can help students learn in a more effective manner. In other words, the aim is to gradually integrate technology in the learning process.
“The tools also can help improve students’ long-term interest in academic institutions and reduce school dropouts,” Fani said.
Separate training packages for parents of first-grade primary students will be prepared by the beginning of the next school year (Sept. 2016).
“Some parents may not know how to convey educational concepts of specific academic textbooks to their children; therefore they are not able to help their children with homework,” he was quoted by the Persian language newspaper ‘Iran’ as saying.
Later, such packages will be also designed for parents of students in other grades, Fani said on the sidelines of the closing ceremony of the 45th Roshd International Film Festival held recently at Palestine Cinema hall.
A global education expert and former CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education, Don Knezek, stresses improving technology proficiency among educators and increasing use of technology in classrooms. Student achievement should be the primary focus and ways in which technology supports this process is important, including school management, school leadership, data management, and the actual learning process.
Digital Concepts
“Education experts believe that an audio and visual combination accounts for about 88% of all perception, and therefore educational software and videos which convey visual concepts play an important role in the learning process,” the minister said.
Also, digital simulations and models can help teachers explain specific concepts in an effective way rather than a physical demonstration in the classroom.
For example, while a tuning fork is a perfectly acceptable way to demonstrate how vibrations make sound, it’s difficult to demonstrate the evolution process to students or how molecules behave in different situations, or exactly why mixing two particular chemicals is dangerous, he added.
The Roshd Film Festival should be one of the means for promoting the educational packages since its objective is to identify and select the best educational and pedagogical films and introduce them to the academic system, he said.
In recent years, the ministry has considered various measures to promote e-learning practices in schools. The festival is staged every year by the Educational Resources Media Center, affiliated to the ministry.
In response to a question whether the content of some textbooks are difficult for some sections of the student population, Fani said “We believe that certain textbooks are complex and so we will start reviewing the curriculum. Guides for teachers have already been developed.”
