Grampians Region
Skipton Primary School
Students at Skipton Primary School will soon be able to work virtually alongside their counterparts thousands of kilometres away in Asia, thanks to the new technology they have received through Building the Education Revolution (BER).
The infrastructure is enabling new ways of learning and linking students to the broader community and to the world.
As a participant in the Leading 21st Century Schools: Engage with Asia program, Skipton Primary school has plans to link up with other local schools and make connections to schools in Asia. The idea is for students to compare and contrast life in a small school in Australia with much larger schools in Asian countries, allowing both sets of pupils to learn from each other.
The new multipurpose centre at this small school, located 50 kilometres west of Ballarat, is equipped with the latest information and communication technologies (ICT). For the students at Skipton Primary School, ICT will provide an invaluable link to their important regional neighbours.
Students are undertaking studies on Asia, so to be able to connect with their contemporaries on the continent is an exciting next step.
Principal Corey Pohlner says:
“The space and technologies associated with the BER funding will allow us to collaborate with our global neighbours. I went on a study tour to China last year and visited several schools there, so we have exciting plans to join up with other local schools and link to students across the globe.”
The school is already using the multipurpose space for community events, cooking and sports. The parents group uses the kitchen to cater for their events, and the principal has held cookery classes for year 5 and 6 pupils using the skills he picked up on a course in Thailand.
The technology has even added a new twist to traditional sports lessons, with pupils able to try out ski jumping, golf, ten pin bowling and jet skiing without leaving the classroom, through Wii Fit sessions.
May, 2011
