Tablet implementation at Áslandsskóli

Since around last New Year, work has been systematically underway to prepare for the introduction of tablet computers at Ásland School. This morning, the first devices were handed out when pupils in the school's Year 5 class received their devices. The children were excited to get their hands on the devices, and so were the teachers, who have been preparing their teaching since the New Year.

„This is a significant step towards increasing diversity and promoting development in the educational landscape of Hafnarfjörður. Rapid technological changes offer endless possibilities in teaching methods and learning, and the introduction of tablets is part of modernising the town's schools and investing in the future of Hafnarfjörður's schoolchildren. We know that the experience of other schools using tablets is positive, not least in offering individualised learning.  The plan is for tablets to be introduced in other schools in the town in the coming terms and years,“ says Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, Chair of the Education Committee in Hafnarfjörður.

In the coming weeks, around 300 pupils from the school's 5th to 10th grades will receive devices for use. With this, the school aims to be a leader. 
í to utilise the latest information technology in learning and teaching.

Leifur S. Garðarsson, head teacher of Ásland School, says that teachers have received training from external specialists at the school, as well as several courses where the implementation manager and teachers teach and share their experience. „We have visited other schools that have adopted the iPad for teaching, attended training abroad, and Áslandskóli is in good collaboration with other schools and municipalities that are considering similar initiatives. This is pioneering work; the pace is fast, our consumption of information is high and it is easy to access information. All of this calls for a change in teaching methods, a slightly different mindset, which we at Áslandsskóli are ready to tackle.  Good preparation and a purposeful approach are key, and everyone here realises that this is a process that takes time. We are going to take part in the future, and it is certain that some of today's primary school children will go on to do jobs that perhaps do not even exist yet,„ says Leifur.

The delivery of the tablets at Áslandskóli this morning is the first step towards increased use of tablets in the primary schools of the City of Hafnarfjörður, and in the coming terms, other schools will follow suit.