The College Magazine Summer 2022

Education and Technology
Education and Technology
Sustaining Educational Innovation in a Changing World
By Yosef Karasik
Director of Educational Technology and Innovation
It is no secret that educational practices have seen many
changes in the past years. Teachers use self-reflective practices
to engage with the new ways students learn. Students, in turn,
adapt their self-regulatory skills to keep up with the changing
world around them. How often do we hear the phrase “We
need to prepare our students for jobs that have not yet been
created.”? This need for change, a drive for constant innovation
in teaching and learning, can be attributed to two main factors:
the new industrial revolution and COVID-19.
We are in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution that
fundamentally transforms every aspect of our lives. The
continuing developments in educational technology and
devices provide students with more flexibility in access,
curation and creation of knowledge. This alignment of
educational approaches with the fourth industrial revolution
is known as Education 4.0. As a college, we adopted an
enterprise mindset to lead by example. We develop new
curriculums, adapt cutting-edge educational technology,
and put support systems for staff and students to practise
innovation sustainably.
The use of technology in education is not a new concept;
digital technologies have been transforming education long
before COVID-19. The pandemic, however, has accelerated the
integration of technology in education, starting with the forced
transition to online and hybrid learning. Educators, students,
companies, and policymakers are working actively to transform
the educational technology sector. The need to provide
teachers and students with a platform that facilitates teaching
and learning online has been a driving force for change in the
past three years.
As part of the Dulwich Digital Difference (D3) initiative by
Dulwich College International, Dulwich College Beijing has
implemented a whole-college team focusing on educational
technology and innovation. This team works across the three
schools to drive the integration of technology and digital
citizenship into the curriculum, align the student journey
throughout the college, and support students and teachers
with innovation in teaching and learning. Their ultimate aim
is to make student learning real through technology-rich
projects with real-life applications, thereby strengthening the
connection between school, academia and the industry.
With this in mind, the College invests substantial resources
into technology provisions. Students develop technological
and computational literacy through iPads and various STEM
kits starting from Early Years. We then elaborate upon it as
they progress to Junior School, where they develop their
computational thinking, and finally in Senior School, where
these skills are put into the Design Thinking framework.
The team supports our teachers to plan with technology in
mind and embed the skills our students will need when they
graduate from DCB.
In addition to the integration of EdTech, the team builds,
supports and sustains a culture of innovation in the College.
Pioneering Spirit is one of our pillars. As a leading
international school, we want to ensure that innovation
is put into practice and embedded in our curriculum.
Since the team was formed, we have been developing
relationships to collaborate on exciting, innovative ideas.
One of our focuses is enriching our curriculum with
Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The introduction of AI is a two-fold project. On the one hand,
we want to expose our students to AI, and develop their AI
literacy from a young age, along with their understanding
of complex concepts. This is achieved through hands-on AI
experiences in Early Years and Junior School and working
with AI in Senior School. On the other hand, we are designing
curriculum material to integrate AI projects across the College.
In addition to teaching AI, we are investigating AI-powered
EdTech tools and platforms that can enhance the teaching and
learning at the college.
Working with AI was once limited to university or high school
students equipped with advanced mathematical knowledge.
This is now accessible to all. As part of our new Computer
Science curriculum, students get hands-on experience with AI
and Machine Learning (ML) as early as Junior School. To make
learning meaningful and real, we’ve developed units of study
integrated with the United Nations Global Goals. For example,
our Year 3 students learn the principles of Computer Vision and
ML and apply them to call for action and reduce food waste.
Students trained AI models with pictures of lunch plates left
at the school cafeteria. These models were then deployed on
iPads and placed by the food bins to indicate whether a plate
was returned “clean” or “dirty”. We believe in teaching through
empathy and empowering students to make real change.
A year ago, we formed a strategic partnership with AWS
China to embed AI technologies across the College. In the
past year alone, we founded a DeepRacer club, embedded
Alexa skills in our Computer Science curriculum and enriched
musical learning with DeepComposer. Velocity, our studentled
DeepRacer club, is one of the 13 founding members of
the China DeepRacer League. Students train Reinforcement
Learning models and deploy them on real autonomous cars to
compete against other schools. Since its creation, Velocity has
participated in many national and international competitions
and ultimately won China’s first national championship,
earning a place in AWS Global Championship. Not only does
participation in these competitions help students develop
technical skills in emerging technologies, but it teaches them to
think on their feet and make real-time critical decisions to win
their races.
Pioneering spirit is not limited to our curriculum. Students
and educators receive annual grants to fund initiatives that
enhance the learning experience at DCB. This year alone, we
supported projects in Esports, student voice publications, a
group-wide gameathon and many others. Additionally, we
ensure that these projects are realised to their full potential
with a mentoring approach. Our efforts to cultivate innovation
did not go unnoticed. We were thrilled to be recognised by
the British Council and receive the Innovation in Science and
Technology award at the inaugural British Schools Awards
ceremony.
Our practice of innovation in teaching and learning has neither
final goals nor due dates. Instead, we use a reflective approach
framework to sustain innovation across the college. We
constantly challenge ourselves and encourage our students
to challenge us to ensure that their academic journey across
the college will equip them with the skills they need to live
worldwise.
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The College Magazine (Beijing)
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