A PORT Elizabeth school has joined the ranks of an elite group of national schools to be given global recognition for the use of technology in the classroom – the only one from the Eastern Cape to make the list.
St George's Preparatory School and four others in the country have been awarded SMART showcase status for using interactive SMART boards.
As part of the showcaseschool's award, it receives free software, a document camera and a wireless slate to complement the use of the boards.
The slates will allow collaborative learning as teachers can make corrections to pupils' answers on it while the class looks at the board in front.
Each classroom has a SMART board, working like a giant iPad, to enable each pupil to go up to the front and – with a swipe of the finger – select correct answers to questions.
Head of academics Gail Penny said while multiple questions as a way of testing knowledge had limits, it was also important to engage pupils where they were. "This is the wired generation."
The school is using this technology for any learning area – from coaching sports to teaching maths – in an interactive way.
Computer teacher and IT specialist Carol Wilkinson said: "They think they are having fun when they are actually learning."
The school applied for SMART showcase status after securing 16 SMART boards.
