Cedars School of Excellence, Greenock, Scotland

In late September I traveled to Glasgow, Scotland to attend a conference at The Cedars School for Excellence in Greenock, Scotland. The conference, attended by 25 teachers and administrators, was focused on the use of iPads. Since all Exeter teachers now have an iPad through the generosity of the trustees, and we are exploring their use in classroom settings, this seemed more than appropriate. Schools around the world are rapidly adopting the iPad as the tool for both teachers and students to achieve ubiquitous technology in the classroom. The Cedars School for Excellence is a school with 100 students, grades Primary 1 through Secondary 13. Every student and teacher has their own iPad. The teachers and IT people at Cedars have taken great care in researching and selecting appropriate Apps for each grade level and discipline. Perhaps the most impressive use of the iPad was in their art curriculum, led by teacher Jenny Oakley. Ms. Oakley will be visiting Exeter in April and presenting some of her work at an Assembly on April 10^th, 2012. She will also be speaking with our art department. Some of the Apps she demonstrated were: ArtStudio, Brushes, WordFoto, OmniSketch, TypeDrawing, Flowpaper, and ArtRage. Find one you like and let your inner artist emerge!

Click here to see some of Ms. Oakley's work in addition to that of her students.

Entrance to Cedars School of Excellence

 

Jenny Oakley with some of her art

Jenny Oakley with student art

Student art work

Despite the fact that the Cedars School is a tenth of the size of Exeter and was established in 1999, the advances they have made in using technology are impressive. The teachers are dedicated to finding the best ways to teach their respective subjects and have made enormous strides in finding ways to improve education through the meaningful use of technology.