by
Joanne Thomas
Virtual
blackboards in the classrooms, electronic bleachers
in the gym, gravity spinners in the playground – is
this a school from a science fiction novel?
It may appear to be at first glance, but ISA
is on the cutting edge of the latest innovations
in educational technology. The three latest
areas of development are: the new gym; the
new classrooms, which house two new lower school
computer labs; and a re-vamped playground.
The
head of the PE department, Rob Boos, is extremely
proud of his new gym, which was opened in August
2001. This opening signified the beginning
of a new era for him, because he no longer
has to deal with the logistical difficulties
of having PE classes off-campus in one of five
hired facilities in and around Amsterdam.
Rob was also given the support of the Board and Administrative
team to create his 'dream' gym in terms
of functionality. He was able to modify and even re-design
the architects' original plans for the interior to suit the
school's needs. This means that the gym has some unique as
well as ultra-
modern features.
With
two outdoor changing rooms (ideal for muddy
soccer boots), a multi-functional floor, gym
mats which clip onto the walls, electro-nic
gym equipment, a basketball hoop which is electronically
stored on the ceiling, electronic bleachers
and other such innovative features, the gym
is admired – and sometimes copied – by
the
international and local community.
Upstairs, when the bleachers are stored against the wall,
the younger students are able to utilise the valuable extra
floor space for 'playing ball' and older students can play
table tennis.
In the main gym, the gymnastics equipment is also particularly
impressive. An electronic climbing wall can be manoeuvred
to create an obstacle bridge with a series of ropes which
hang from the ceiling. The gym rings are also electronically
lowered from the ceiling when a class needs to use them.
Rob
is also pleased that they have been able to
find a device that eliminates any security
concerns. This is a programmable lock for the
main entrance, which, if the need arises, can
regulate entrance at certain times of the day.
Rob admits that designing this sports hall is a highlight
of his career. He says, "This is definitely our gym.”
Construction
of the new cluster of classrooms was completed
at around the same time the new gym was finished.
Here Maggie Hos-McGrane was given Board
support to design two lower school computer labs, in collaboration
with other Infotech teachers. She claims that "most
people who design classrooms are not teachers, so the rooms
may not be the most practical for teaching.” But this
is definitely not the case with these two new computer labs.
Maggie
decided that the children's desks were not
going to be up against the walls as in most
labs but in little islands in the centre of
the room — an arrangement years of experience
had taught her was far more practical. This
way
children could easily turn their heads and watch what the
teacher was doing at the front of the
classroom. To avoid a potential problem with wiring in the
centre of the room, Maggie designed 'wireless labs' that
use ‘airports’. One airport can power twenty
computers, which need only to read its signal.
A visit to a local, well-equipped Dutch school led Maggie
to install ceiling-mounted projectors and Smart Boards. These
'virtual blackboards' are giant computer screens attached
to the wall.
The teacher's finger becomes the mouse and in this way Maggie
has only to press an icon on the board to activate a command.
Another feature of the Smart Board is that teachers can draw
on it with pens of different coloured virtual ink. Maggie's
lab for students up to and including Grade 2 has a large
floor space at the back. This is ideal for the colourful
mats which robots, called Roamers, can operate on. Students
learn basic programming skills by using these Roamers.
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Maggie
claims her 'pride and joy' is the lab for Grade
3,4 and 5 students. This lab is fondly termed
the 'Blue Lab' due to its array of blue iMacs.
It has a dedicated
'planning area' at the back (for
essential 'pen and paper' work) and one long desk with chairs
on either side for the entire class.
Both
computer labs overlook the school's inner courtyard,
which has also taken on a completely new appearance
in recent months as the result of a larger
project, the re-vamping of all the school's
playgrounds, made necessary by rapidly increasing
enrolment. Teacher Evelyn van Ramshorst worked
with consultant Jan Ooms, a play equipment
specialist
reputed to be one of the top
safety experts in the European Union, to coordinate this
change. Evelyn investigated what the
students, staff and parents wanted and matched these desires
to equipment sourced by the
consultant.
Evelyn
discovered that the younger children wanted
to swing, run, bounce and spin while older
students wanted space of their own. In the
inner courtyard — the focus of the first
phase of new playground development — the
original 'international garden' that had proven
not really useful as play space was accordingly
fitted out in part with isolated picnic tables
and benches for use during Upper School breaks
and in part by equipment such as gravity spinners
(which look like tiny spaceships in a circle)
in a space where the younger children to sit
and spin. For the real 'littlelies', the three-year
olds, the inner courtyard now also features
an entirely separated playground area.
Not only this, but the inner
courtyard includes staff's desire for an 'educational and
developmental play area'. There is an 'outdoor learning space'
with a sensory path where students can touch, listen and
look. This path combines nature with play equipment: along
it one can find items such as lava rocks, musical instruments,
sound poles, a light spectrum and a water feature.
The second, third and fourth phases of the playground included
an 'early childhood playground’, a ‘main playground’ and
an
‘adventure forest’. The adventure forest has a 'flying fox' cable
swing and a rope bridge across a marshy area. Evelyn plans to develop it further
by putting a net structure between the trees for the children to climb on.
By creating all these wonderful new play spaces, Evelyn believes,
the school has realized a mature playground that now truly
reflects
“ISA’s vision of learning not only
in a classroom but outside the
classroom as well."
All in all, one can only conclude that the new gym, computer
labs
and playground will be appreciated not only by this generation
of students but also by future generations.
*Director
Steve Bannell will leave ISA after the 2002-2003
academic year, following three years of
service. His previous posts were
in Moscow and, more recently, Bogota. Taking his place will
be
Dr. Edward E. Greene, currently Director of the University
Laboratory School at Louisiana State University in Baton
Rouge, and before that Principal at Chattanooga High School,
in Tennessee.
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A
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