Flying drones around the dinner hall, programming a robot to dance and filming a nativity show in front of a green screen all helped Mary Russell School secure a prestigious Digital School award.
The Paisley school had started the process before lockdown hit in March 2020.
Stuart Halliday, project leader on digital literacy, said homeschooling accelerated everything they’d already started.
He said: “We had started working on this prior to lockdown in March 2020 but everything got shelved.
“Home learning definitely accelerated it. We had pupils who didn’t have access to an iPad at home, some were using mobile phones.
“We were doing online videos and putting up teaching material. We sent home Chrome books or iPads, even dongles so that they could access the internet. We made sure everyone had access.
“Staff were trained as well because all their lessons went online.
“We came back after lockdown and staff were more familiar with using technology and made sure we were still using it in classrooms.”
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Programming Marty the Robot to learn about coding and flying drones were two highlights according to Lynn Methven, the school’s deputy head.
“We showed the children how Balfour Beatty used their iPads to control the drones,” she said. “It was really successful, the children loved it.
“It helped show them how the things we’re learning about technology can be used in the real world.”
The school, which looks after boys and girls from P1 through to S6 who need additional support, has invested heavily in digital technology buying iPads and Chrome books, more smart boards and laptops for teachers.
Stuart added: “We’re aware there are still gaps in people’s knowledge. Almost every class has a classroom assistant and we’ve held training on in-service days.
“We want to make sure we don’t lose momentum. We’ve made sure staff have access to and have been issued with laptops. It’s great for planning lessons and doing research which we didn’t have before.”
The school was assessed virtually by Digital Skills Scotland and received a glowing report.
It read: “Mary Russell is a school that wants the best for its pupils and recognises the impact digital learning can have on their current and future learning.
“They have travelled far and are on a very positive trajectory. They have plans for continuous improvement, and I feel sure they will build on their successes.”
“I recommend that the school has achieved the Digital Schools Award (Scotland). I also recommend they become a mentor school as they have the capacity to share and develop their skills with others.”
Lynne said: “You had to grade yourself and every single category was upgraded by them because of how well we’d done.
“Our young people were fantastic on the day. They weren’t primed or anything but they did so well talking about it all.
“It was a really glowing report and they asked if we can be a mentor school for others. We’re absolutely over the moon with it.”
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