Robert Gordon’s College Junior School has been awarded a prestigious Digital Schools Awards, recognising excellence in the use of digital technologies by staff and pupils both within and beyond the class.
Launched in September 2016, the Digital Schools Award Scotland is a national certification programme, supported by Education Scotland, which aims to encourage and recognise a whole-school approach to the integration of digital technologies.
Digital education co-ordinator at the College, Jess Power said: “This is a fantastic achievement and highlights the excellent efforts of both staff and pupils in using technologies in lessons to improve engagement, foster creativity and support the development of digital skills for today and into the future. Our goal is to create digital citizens who are able to confidently use technology for independent learning, research, creativity, problem-solving and critical thinking. This allows improved communication and collaborative learning between pupils and teachers.”
Sarah Webb, head of Robert Gordon’s College Junior School said: “I am delighted that the innovative work in our Junior School has been recognised. We take pride in keeping up to date with changes in teaching and educational technology to improve learning outcomes, ensuring our pupils and staff feel safe and secure in a technologically advancing environment.”
Since 2018 there has been a comprehensive digital skills curriculum in place at Robert Gordon’s College, encouraging the development of vital digital skills in all pupils from P1 - S6. Part of this involves the pupils exploring the environmental and social impacts of technology, e-commerce, cybersecurity, digital scholarship, content creation, coding, eSafety, Digital Resilience and how to use devices, such as iPads in their learning. There is also peer support in the role of the pupil digital mentors, who regularly hold ‘genius bars’ where their classmates can seek help in using technology. Furthermore, following the Junior School refurbishment in 2010, primary classes are equipped with interactive whiteboards, projectors and other audio visual technologies to further enhance pupil learning.
The Digital Schools Awards process is two-fold with schools initially completing a self-evaluation on five key award criteria: leadership and vision, digital technology integration in the curriculum, school digital technology culture, continuing professional development, and resources and infrastructure. The second step is the hosting of a comprehensive verification visit by award co-ordinators who speak to staff and pupils at the school and evaluate policy and practice.
Mrs Power, digital education co-ordinator with Primary 6 and 7 digital leaders celebrating their Digital Schools Award