Thursday, March 14, 2013

Hey! Real Kids!!!


We'd planned to visit two schools today, and in the end only got to one. That was very disappointing, but at least when we got to the one that we did get to instead of hearing about what happens there we had a chance to actually see it happening. One of the teachers gave us an overview of the school and its philosophy, and then we toured the school in two groups, each led by two students who not only showed us around, but also told us about their studies, and about the ways that their studies are focused around what should best be described as project based learning. After a few days of listening to explanations, it was a special treat to actually see students in their "natural" setting, and to hear from them how they study.


Perhaps most impressive to us was the fact that although we expressly wanted to focus on ICT, what we learned from the students was how naturally computers and the internet were integrated into their studies, so that ultimately, we didn't feel that we were focusing on ICT. And quite frankly, that's the way it should be. This is also what we learned when we spoke with Ido Argaman, the principal, and with Tali, a teacher at the school.


Today we still speak about "how to integrate" the computers and the internet into education. But we'll know that they've truly been integrated when we won't even have to speak about that any more.

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