Use of Technology

Use of Technology

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Through thoughtful and balanced use of technology, our goal is to help foster the transferable skills and technological literacy necessary to take on the challenges of the future.  We are in a constant process of evolving our infrastructure, teaching approach and curricula to allow students to explore the meaningful application of technology to their work and their lives.

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Technology is fundamentally changing the way in which people work and live.  Critically, this has transformed the needs of our students.  Amnuay Silpa remains committed to exploring the growing research available on the role of technology in the classroom and we seek to meaningfully integrate technology in ways that enhance learning and our students' skill sets.

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Digital Citizenship

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The school has defined Digital Citizenship as:
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• Digital Citizenship refers to the responsible use of technology by anyone who uses computers, the Internet, and digital devices to engage with society on any level.

• Digital Citizenship refers to the ability to engage positively, critically and competently in the digital environment, drawing on the skills of effective communication and creation, to practice forms of social participation that are respectful of human rights and dignity through the responsible use of technology.

• A competent digital citizen is one who knows what is right and wrong, exhibits intelligent technology behaviour, and makes good choices when using technology.

• Teaching digital citizenship is essential to helping students achieve digital literacy, as well as ensuring students are safe online including cyberbullying prevention, digital responsibility and digital health and wellness.
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This definition is then shared and developed with the students in an age-appropriate form through a Digital Citizenship programme of learning across all phases of the school and based on the Common Sense UK framework.
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ICT Curriculum Leaders oversee the promotion of Digital Citizenship in the community. Staff Meetings and INSET time is used to update staff on expectations and new developments in the realm of Digital Citizenship and the use of technology in education. Regular Parents Workshops on topics such as cyberbullying, the Google Domain, use of devices and keeping children safe online ensure that parents are also kept abreast and supported in encouraging digital citizenship at home.

Google Workspace for Education
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Amnuay Silpa staff and students make use of the Google Workspace for Education Suite and a range of Google-based applications to facilitate the development of ANS Learner Dispositions, Values and Digital Citizenship.
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All staff and students are trained in and use Google Workspace for Education suite as our primary way of online working. This includes Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Calendar, and the Google Classroom Virtual Learning Environment.

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)
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All students at ANS from year 4 and above are required to bring their own learning device to school. Our device of choice is a laptop with the required specifications including SSD hard drive, chrome, windows or Mac-based, an integrated keyboard, front-facing camera and speakers.
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A device allows students to effectively access an enhanced curriculum as a complementary tool. Ready access to a device will ensure the students are afforded the opportunities that technology presents to learners and their learning. We believe BYOD supports essential skill areas; complex communication, new media literacy, creativity, and self-directed, or independent learning.  
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The need for BYOD has been further enhanced with the advent of cloud technology and Virtual Learning Environment such as google classroom.

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Devices
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Amnuay Silpa strives to be a forward-thinking school that effectively utilises technology as a means of enhancing curriculum delivery and the skills of students. The school has embraced a number of different technologies; from interactive whiteboards and high-speed WIFI, to iPads, BYOD and the use of Google Workspace for Education to allow a blended program that enables students to learn and apply necessary digital skills for the modern world. As our students have access to the digital world, it is vital that they are taught how to manage their place within it. 

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To ensure all students can safely access the internet in school, the ANS IT department has installed Firewalls and safety filters to ensure inappropriate and harmful content is not accessible by students. Social media is also blocked.

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Digital Innovation
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At ANS, we have a strong interest in digital innovation and ensuring we are on the cutting edge of how technology can enhance learning.
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We continue to explore the potential of Google Workspace for Education and look into emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to enliven and enrich learning, but also equip young people with the skills they need for the future.