Kang Chiao Spotlight Issue 31 (小學部)

　　Today's children who are called "digital natives" grow up in an environment surrounded by digital technology and perceive the world through different eyes from the previous generation. They do not find it complex to integrate technology, but on the contrary, often use it with ease. At KCIS, besides employing a variety of technology tools within the curriculum, we aim to promote our students'technological literacy which is the ability to understand what technology is, how it works, and even further, to design and build things to solve practical problems. You will learn more about how we integrate technology within the English program from Mr. Warmke's article.

　　Let's celebrate this cheerful New Year with a smile. We wish you and your family happiness in 2021.

　　這一代的孩子被稱為「數位原生代」，科技讓他們幾乎生長於與上一代截然不同的環境。不斷改良的技術，讓我們幾乎不用擔心孩子不會使用科技，然而，身為教育者，我們思考著更重要的使命，除了動手實作，還想涵養學生更高層次的思考，引導他們善用科技。這些年來教師團隊一直將科技融入列為課程發展重點，透過「與生活連結」的方式，自然的將科技工具導入，例如：以往的專題研究成果常常利用海報呈現，現在可以透過Google 簡報或網頁的製作，甚至影片拍攝等多元方式展現，如此一來，不只提升作品分享的效率，也提高學生創作的動機，讓學生感受到科技對他們的幫助，同時也激勵他們投入更多心力學習與專題相關的知識。

　　本學期新推出的Hooked On Books課程，便是一個將數位學習融入閱讀課程的例子，透過閱讀平台和學校圖書館的藏書，孩子們的選擇變多了，每個人都能依自己的程度和興趣選書，一年級外師引導孩子運用文學要素，撰寫並分享書評，過程中，孩子不只學會閱讀和賞析，也變得更熱愛文學、更能享受閱讀的樂趣。

　　2020年終於結束，希望新的一年帶來新的氣象，祝福大家事事順利，闔家幸福安康。

　　Every year since our school was founded, we have updated our curriculum to keep pace with evolving technology. Preparing students for the modern world has always been our goal, and expertise with technology is a crucial step towards reaching it. We employ a variety of high-tech tools to streamline our English language arts curriculum and to make learning more engaging.

Technology’s Presence in Society and our School

　　Modern life is dominated by technology. The Internet is such a part of daily life that most people can’t imagine living and working without it. At KCIS, we focus on teaching students to use technology safely and responsibly by limiting their level of control while building basic skills. For instance, our youngest students practice spelling on Word Circus, which is colorful and simple. Older students instead use Quizlet, which is more complex, but provides more resources. In this way, students build their English and technology skills together.

　　We eventually guide students from these simple programs to ones used by adults in the modern workplace, like Word and PowerPoint. The technology and language skills build on one another, meaning students learn more and more each year.

　　KCIS teachers continuously revise projects to determine if new technology can help. Our projects benefit from recent developments. Fifth graders now create websites as part of their final project. Doing so requires multiple technology skills. The project allows them to express their creativity in ways that would be impossible by traditional means.

　　The biggest implementation of technology is the Hooked On Books program. Students read books and then take quizzes online. The system helps them track books they’ve read and suggests others they might be interested in. It encourages students to read more books and to think more deeply about them.

　　Technology also helps students indirectly. Our first graders recently wrote book reviews. After they finished, we displayed the book reviews on new digital screens in the library. Students were proud to have their work displayed, and they will be excited to talk to their friends about their favorite books in the future.

　　Overall, technology gives both teachers and students more tools for practicing and learning English. Our teachers use technology to help younger students develop basic skills. When they graduate to higher grades, students learn to use technology themselves in order to take their learning to new levels. The skills they learn assist in schoolwork, and they will also transfer into their future lives when they will need them to succeed in university or a career.

　　Finally, Taiwan has been mostly unaffected by the pandemic. However, in case of emergency, our staff are ready to transition to online learning. We have detailed plans for teaching our entire curriculum online. We can start remote classrooms in less than 24 hours if necessary.

　　Our approach to technology has been quite successful. We continue to update our tools and procedures while keeping our strong core curriculum. Our students are well-rounded citizens whose skills serve them whether they are using the newest technology or not. As we proceed into the future, we will continue to explore more ways to keep pace with evolving technology.