Microsoft Identifies Gateway College as a Centre of Excellence
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Dr. Harsha Alles
MahishkaMendis talks to Hasitha Abeywardena, Country Manager, Microsoft Sri Lanka/Maldives and Dr. Harsha Alles, Chairman, Gateway Group of Schools
“At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. As part of that mission, we believe technology can be used as a tool to empower students and teachers to create the world of tomorrow” stated Hasitha Abeywardena, Country Manager, Microsoft Sri Lanka/Maldives
Gateway College, the only Microsoft Showcase School in Sri Lanka, has risen to the challenge of these times and proven that ‘school’ is not merely a building but rather an environment of learning. The school has been at the forefront of technology in education and is now recognised as a Centre of Excellence.
“Gateway had taken steps, and was well equipped to move to a remote learning environment, since they had already made considerable investments with Microsoft. Thus, with the recent situation Gateway moved swiftly and with ease to ensure teaching and learning continued in their schools. Their transition from physical to a virtual classroom environment is an interesting case study for us at Microsoft. They have proved to be a Centre of Excellence!” Mr. Abeywardena explained.
Continuing lessons during the initial weeks of lockdown
“The decision to continue the term was made almost immediately, because Microsoft Teams was something we were already using in all our school. However, the teachers were at different levels of expertise and development. Led by our Team Leader on Change Management who is an MIE Fellow and supported by the Master Trainers and Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts (MIE) – a recognition given by Microsoft Education for exceptional teachers who use technology positively and creatively for teaching and learning, the teachers of all our schools got together to have online training sessions and webinars to upskill those who were in need. They immediately got started with tools such as Forms, PowerPoint, Kahoot to be used through Teams” explained Dr. Harsha Alles, Chairman, Gateway Group.
The teachers of the Foundation and Key Stage 1 (2 ½ to 7+ years) had a new challenge since, they had to move to age appropriate child friendly platforms to engage children to be sustainable. After extensive research,they found suitable platforms whereby even our youngest students have continued their learning uninterrupted.
Getting every teacher and every student on board
“At Gateway we have a policy that all our schools must maintain the same quality standard, be it IT or otherwise. The school has had a high focus on professional development throughout its short history and we believe that as long as teachers are willing to learn, they can get on board; and that is exactly what happened. One of Gateway’s greatest successes is that every member of staff is involved in teaching online; not just a team of experts, so it is only a matter of continuing virtually, where we had left off in school” Dr. Alles said.
Hasitha Abeywardena
Planning and coordinating to conduct exams across all Gateway Colleges
“On the 13th of March, the Ministry of Education announced the immediate closure of schools from the very next day. We had a day to get ourselves organized to conduct the examinations that were scheduled for our IGCSE and A level students. We felt that the Mocks had to be held to prepare them for the upcoming London/Cambridge examinations” Dr. Alles explained.
He explained that it was somewhat challenging to get every aspect of an online exam organised in a short space of time, but being a Microsoft Showcase School, Gateway had the tools as well as the expertise to come up with model that would work for us. Dr.Alles also said that the support of the parents who were responsible for ensuring that children sat for the paper and answered to the best of their ability was given and an essential part of the process. Teachers too were online throughout the exams to answer any queries. “Despite a tough start, towards the end we had a success rate of 98% completion” he said.
“We were aware of a certain amount of plagiarism, which subject teachers were able to identify but students were not penalised. We gave them the benefit of the doubt and a team of teachers, including subject teachers and heads, conducted a VIVA to assess their level of knowledge after which students were awarded their final mark. Overall the outcome was highly satisfactory.
I think we as a school can be proud that we took these decisions and be the pioneers in such action. Today, even the universities consider online exams! For example, the Imperial College London put 280 sixth-year medicine undergraduates through two online exams in the first few weeks of March, in what the university believes is a world first” Dr. Alles said.
Continuously keep going without interruptions
“When we realized that the date for schools to reopen was uncertain, I told the Heads and teachers that we needed to create an environment where all aspects of school are incorporated. Once we had our teaching and learning programme sorted out, we were able to focus more attention to performing arts which we believe is integral to a holistic education” he explained.
Innovativeprogrammes such as Virtual Avurudu and Vesak
“Once we realized that this situation was possibly long term, we decided that it was necessary to adjust to the new normal. Avurudu and Vesak are two key cultural activities, which are important to celebrate. During a regular school year, these two events would have had the school buzzing with activity so we wanted to go ahead with them especially as a way to keep the children’s minds away from all the unpleasant things around them” Dr. Alles said.
He explained that it was certainly a lot of work to develop the lineup of events and set the wheels in motion, but looking back all the effort was worth it. Students were fully engaged, teachers became much more confident with using technology and parents too were happy. Using Flipgrid as the platform for these events was certainly helpful in making it a stress-free experience for all involved.
One very important aspect about these two events was that they paved the way to reach other students as well. After a hugely successful Phase one, the newly appointed Presidential Task Force for Education made a request from us to facilitate the Ministry of Education to carry on with the same task in order to reach a wider audience. Virtual Avurudu was picked up by ITN who took the programme into every home, and Virtual Vesak was aired on Buddhist TV.
“With over a million views, I believe Virtual Avurudu was a great success.We are very grateful to Sri Lanka Telecom, Mobitel and Dialog for their role in supporting these initiatives” he said with a smile.
Virtual sports programmes
In an innovative move, for the first time in Sri Lanka, Gateway is also proud to present virtual sports programmes. “Our time table covers all other areas of education and so a decision was taken to have a sports programme using Flipgrid. We are working at the highest level of Microsoft, which is A5, where we can broadcast to a large audience using Live Events, so we can reach the entire Gateway community. The programme launched with discussions with renowned sports personalities such as Aravinda de Silva, Priyantha Ekanayake, Malik Ahamadeen and ThilakaJinadasa. After the initial sessions, the sports programme is now carried forward by the coaches who are able to demonstrate various skills which students can practice through Microsoft Teams and the students in turn upload videos of practicing these skills back for feedback. These sessions take place at two levels, beginner and advanced” Dr. Alles explained.
Safety precautions and additional supprt
“The safety of our students and staff was of utmost importance at all times. Many were tempted to return to school in order to prepare for the changes but this was strictly not allowed. We have addressed the connectivity issue, through the support of Dialog Axiata who offered a very attractive package for both our teachers and students. We have just started to address the need for devices. Here again, Hewlett Packard has offered an attractive scheme for our teachers and students to purchase their own devices – Laptops and Printers. The school has chipped in with a substantial investment to support both initiatives – for both data and devices, to support our teachers and students in these initiatives” he said.
The way forward
“We were able to conduct parents meetings via broadcasts, where parents were informed about subject choices and combinations for the new academic year; they were also able to clarify doubts and have their questions answered almost immediately” he said.
Dr. Alles further explained that the Primary School has started work for the 3rd term and the Secondary School too has advanced the start of their new academic year.Everything will take place online including the orientation for Advanced Level students – VSAK Online- which was conducted through broadcasts. Secondary School students will begin the semester with all the usual activities conducted at the beginning of an academic year including forming clubs and societies, electing committees and starting on planned projects. Academic activities for the seniors will begin next week.
VSAK Online
A special programme was conducted from the 18th to 20th May for students joining the new classes in Years 11, 12 and 13 via TEAMS broadcast sessions. Approximately 700 students of these grades from all four Gateway campuses joined these sessions, which were delivered by experts in varied fields who connected from Sri Lanka and Overseas.
The 3 day programme, named ‘VSAK Online’ was aimed at providing students with Values, Skills, right Attitudes and Knowledge, to help them succeed in life and the workplace.
The new normal
“To be honest I feel really happy and relaxed in the knowledge that, as much as we all want to get back to school, students are not missing out on anything. In many ways this was an opportunity for things which were long postponed to get done. When we get back there will be more use of IT and virtual activities which is the future that awaits us all.
I must thank Microsoft for supporting us throughout the years and very especially over the last few months as we enhanced our virtual operations. A sincere thank you to Dialog for connectivity and special packages for teachers and students, as well as HP International for the special offer on laptops for members of staff” Dr. Alles said in conclusion.