Queen Rania highlights vital role of technology in schools

Queen Rania with students at the Princess Rahma Bint Al Hassan School Her Majesty Queen Rania on Sunday highlighted the vital role of technology in schools, as an essential tool to better prepare graduates for employment and to empower them with skills needed for success in the workplace.
The Queen made the remarks during a visit to the Princess Rahma Bint Al Hassan Elementary School for Girls in the capital, where she inspected several Jordan Education Initiative (JEI) projects.
The JEI aims to introduce technology in local schools through innovative educational programmes that encourage both students and teachers to take full advantage of their benefits, according to a statement from Her Majesty's office.
Queen Rania was briefed on the JEI’s “leveraging of technology in project-based learning” programme, and a group of ninth grade students from the school demonstrated an interdisciplinary activity that combined science research and ICT.
Her Majesty sat down with a group of students and teachers to watch a video highlighting the projects implemented and the impact of these projects on students learning at the school.
A number of students shared their perspectives with the audience on projects they were involved in, and how these ventures influenced their learning and their personal growth.
Her Majesty stressed the importance of participatory technology that provides the students with a more interactive educational environment, and an enhanced understanding of their studies.
Rana Asfour, the school’s principal, explained the professional development opportunities that were offered by the JEI.
“Working with the JEI, we managed to explore new learning opportunities and avenues with our students, and the response couldn’t have been better,” she said.
"We saw a drastic change in the students’ and teachers’ outlook towards technology - from fear, intimidation and scepticism to total appreciation and embracement," Asfour added.
The JEI works in cooperation with the Ministry of Education to perform need-assessment studies and implement different programmes that introduce technology in public schools.
JEI CEO Haif Banayan yesterday highlighted challenges facing the initiative.
“The main challenge is confronting the fear of breaking our traditional educational mould, but working with many schools across the Kingdom, one can see that there seems to be a general agreement that technology in the classroom is as vital as the blackboard. And that is ultimately our goal,” he noted.
Her Majesty also joined a group of second graders from Qissaria School in Sweileh, who were working on the Math Wizz programme, which is currently being piloted in four public schools as part of the JEI’s use of technology to promote math skills.
The personalised learning with ICT project is piloted in two schools located in Um Abhara in Marj Al Hamam and Balqees School in Jabal Qalaa, the statement said.
Students in both schools received notebook computers with 3G Internet connectivity as part of the project, which aims at creating a radical change in learning and teaching practices through a student-centred approach and an interactive and motivating environment.
Her Majesty remotely visited ninth grade students in the Balqees School via Skype from the Princess Rahma School and heard from them about their experiences and how they have mastered new computer skills in their English lessons.