The acquisition of Information & Communication Technology skills here at the Singapore International School (Hong Kong) is a meaningful and engaging endeavour. The ICT Department is set to empower a community of students with the fundamental 21st-century digital skills that would aid them in performing tasks in a broad range of contexts and occupations.
Tools such as the internet, emails, spreadsheets, databases, presentations and word processing applications are paramount to the success of all modern companies. We therefore strive to ensure our students are IT literate and ready to utilise Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to succeed. The modern world also poses new and varied threats to our children and we believe that teaching our students how to identify them and stay safe online is of utmost importance. We strive to develop students’ social awareness of the impacts of technology in their daily lives, and their ability to problem-solve through the use of computational thinking and application softwares.
The coursework in the Secondary-IBDP section at SISHK offers students an opportunity to express themselves through their technology-based lessons in units of learning such as website authoring, phone applications creation and video creation. Students get to experiment with computer softwares using both the Java and Python programming languages where they can combine their creativity with logical thinking to construct digital and physical artefacts.
These projects often allow students to develop their leadership, teamwork, management and organisational abilities. We encourage and guide our students to work with their peers to manage and plan their own projects from inception to successful completion using a design-thinking framework – a process which starts with students researching and exploring existing products, and learning from industry standards. Students then proceed to create their own designs and gain valuable feedback before building their product. The concluding stage in the process requires students to conduct testing to ensure their work is suitable for its purpose, then making final amendments after reflection and evaluation.
In addition to in-class academics, we also offer a range of extra-curricular clubs and co-curricular activities such as Robotics and Computing. In these sessions, students are able to explore, create and use emerging technologies such as robots and 3D printers, as well as create their own smart systems using Arduino microcontrollers and electronics.