SENSE

(The following information is provided by the school.)

Background

Hong Chi Morninghill School, Tuen Mun is an aided special school. The school has implemented e-learning since 2010 and started the “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) scheme.  Up till now, every student has their own devices in lessons and we can make good use of their devices to construct their knowledge in different subjects.

With great flexibility, all the teachers use mobile computer devices in teaching in order to take good care of the learning diversity together with different pedagogies. The school received the honour of Chief Executive’s Award for Teaching Excellence in General Studies.

The school is willing to share its successful experience.  It had organised different e-learning sharing sessions, offered lesson observations for teachers, as well as arranged students to serve as teaching assistants, to display their works and achievements and to demonstrate how they use IT to facilitate their learning.  More than 20 teachers and therapists of the school have been invited to share their experiences of how to make good use of e-learning tools to enhance the learning experiences of students with special educational needs, including the use of different Apps in the classroom, experiences in implementing the school-based BYOD scheme in special schools and game-based learning, etc..  The school also shared its experience in fusing STEM education with other subjects in the Learning and Teaching Expos.  These sharing were positively recognised by the public.  Besides, the school was also invited to participate in the IT in Education Centre of Excellence scheme of the Education Bureau for many years.

 

Highlights

The school believes students with intellectual disability or those with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) can construct their own knowledge just like ordinary students.  Therefore, it provides different learning modes, materials and tools, according to each individual’s situation, to fascinate their learning.  The school is convinced that students’ learning outcomes are the key to judging whether the teaching is effective or not.

In order to cater for the students’ learning diversities, the school reorganises the grouping of students and students with similar abilities are grouped together.  This kind of grouping is of great benefit to teaching as teachers can adjust lesson content according to students’ learning characteristics.  For taking care of students with ASD who need a structural learning process and visualised learning, the school organises a small class and uses “subject-structured” mode in their lessons.  The school designs learning materials containing detailed steps with pictures, to let the students learn by their habits, and thus increasing their interest in learning and enhancing their learning outcomes.

The school encourages the use of technology in learning.  Its self-designed e-textbooks are rich in content and interactive, with functions of read aloud, website connection, recommended learning Apps etc..  Students can overcome their barriers and learn by themselves by using the e-textbook.  Moreover, students can construct their knowledge by using tablets and different Apps.  They search information from the Internet and use Mindmapper or Book Creator Apps to organise their information.  These Apps help them learn independently and show their works during discussion with classmates in the lessons.  That is when the self-directed learning routine occurs in the lessons.  Students can also select the Applications that they are familiar with, to learn on their interests. One example is, students can draw many pictures of foods and restaurants from different places in an e-book to show what they learn in the topic of “Knowing the World” in General Studies lesson.  Matching with students’ interest, students are more willing and more motivated to learn.  The school can also evaluate their learning outcomes by studying their works.