We live in a world where information is “all around us”. Our boys at Lindfield are growing up being constantly connected to the world around them. Making sense of this information and how we ensure that this connection is positive becomes an important responsibility of ours as teachers and parents. Preparing our boys for the world in which they live and they are about to enter in various capacities places particular demands on us as teachers to adapt the curriculum and teaching methods to facilitate the acquisition of those skills that employers of the 21st century may require.

Our teachers and their classrooms are constantly evolving to meet the changing needs of boys here at Lindfield. To do this, our teachers are continually learning new things. They are regularly receiving professional development about different teaching and learning methods to accommodate the changes in Information and Communications Technology (ICT). As a result, today’s classrooms are significantly different than they were ten years ago. We want our boys here at Lindfield to be able to collaborate, problem solve, think creatively, show flexibility and be able to communicate effectively with one another.

All of our boys now have an iPad in the classroom for their personal use. From a teacher’s perspective, the iPads are simply a tool to enable learning to happen in an authentic and meaningful way for the boys. It remains the case that the quality of the teacher is the most important factor in high quality student learning.

The use of technology in the classroom greatly enhances the fantastic experiences that the boys are involved with in the classroom and ensures a connection with real life issues. The boys are taught to take some control over their own learning and begin to design and create solutions to particular problems.

While the challenges may seem daunting as a parent and as a teacher, I am confident of our ability to respond effectively here at Lindfield. We believe that the 1:1 iPad program here at Newington is developing an approach that best suits the needs of our boys both now and in the future.

Joel Weekes
Teaching & Learning Team Leader