Head of Digital Learning is Apple Distinguished Educator
Head of Digital Learning at the Royal Hospital School, Mr Hamish Mackenzie, has been recognised as an Apple Distinguished Educator for his work looking at the application of mobile learning in outdoor environments.
Over 1500 people applied to join the class of 2017 at the Apple Distinguished Educator Academy but only 6% were accepted on to the programme.
Mr Mackenzie was invited to attend the academy in Windsor during the first week of the summer holidays where he received training, joined workshops and gained advice from industry leaders about the applications of Apple technology within educational environments. In addition, he collaborated on a variety of projects with educators from across the world.
As part of the event, Mr Mackenzie was selected to make a showcase presentation where he was given three minutes to share a story of innovation or successful practice to the assembled audience.
Mr Mackenzie recounts his experiences:
"The event was all about building community, sharing best practice and creating impact within and beyond our own institutions. The Apple Distinguished Educator (ADE) community is made up of practitioners from all areas of education who share the common thread of believing in the transformational power of technology in education. For the showcase presentation, I talked about the impact that real-world data can have on student learning. At the Royal Hospital School we have a rich history of outdoor education and trips beyond the confines of the classroom. It was when we were in Iceland that I noticed the depth of understanding that came from exploring the geography we had learnt about in class, and how our students were capturing all this data through photos, time lapses, videos and audio recordings. My central point was that if students own the data and are responsible for collecting and creating content, the learning associated with it is deeper and it sticks. Of course not all lessons can happen in Icelandic glacial lagoons but data captured on iOS devices can be used in a huge variety of educational contexts to deepen knowledge and understanding. Last year my pupils used GPS tracking from windsurf boards and sailing dinghies to plot progress across our local reservoir, Alton Water. Simple apps such as Strava and Explain Everything can also be used in this way".
As Head of Digital Learning at the Royal Hospital School, Mr Mackenzie aims to strengthen the RHS relationship with Apple and the wider educational technology community for pupil benefit. RHS is recognised as a beacon school for mobile technology and has been re-awarded Apple Regional Training Centre (RTC) status for 2017.
As a RTC the School will run 12 training sessions open to all educators across the region FREE OF CHARGE.
RHS will be hosting a large showcase event for trainee teachers entitled 'Preparing to Teach in a Digital Age' scheduled for 3rd October.
Keep up to date with programme developments and training opportunities via @RHS_Digital.