HKIS goes online for hybrid teaching

When the Hong Kong International School (HKIS) was faced with the challenge of operating as a 'virtual' school, it did so with relative ease as teachers and students were already used to working collaboratively online.

'Appropriately used technology enables learners to access and process information in ways never before possible. [The late Apple co-founder and CEO] Steve Jobs elegantly called the personal computer the mental bicycle in that it allows people to think faster and further than would otherwise be the case,' says Justin Hardman, director of technology at HKIS.

The school is moving towards a hybrid, or blended, learning model that combines classroom and online instruction. This process is ongoing and continually expanding as paper-based resources go increasingly digital.

At HKIS, all teachers have laptops that they use throughout the school on a wireless network. They are able to communicate to students and parents via a variety of server-based tools, including online grading and reporting, as well as a learning management system.

In Grades 5 to 12, students have their own MacBook Pro laptop, while students in Grades 3 to 5 have access to laptops during class time. For younger students up to Grade 2, iPads are provided during class time.

The school's library database services provide access to a wide range of information via facilities such as EBSCO, which provides access to hundreds of archives, as well as up-to-date news sources that are not usually available online.