Challenge

Deira International School in Dubai are an English curriculum school with over 1,800 students enrolled from 81 countries. Founded in 2005, they educate students from Foundation stage, all the way through to secondary and IB. Deira are a diverse school that provides an inclusive and holistic education focusing on academic progress and achievement.

We spoke with Vanessa Evangelista, the Year 3 lead at the school who has recently been using EducationCity with her students and teachers. They wanted to use the platform to support and tailor work for their SEND and ELL students and have been exploring what EducationCity can do for them. We recently sat down with Vanessa to talk a little more about their time partnering with us.

Our challenge has been finding additional resources to support our SEND children and ELL children. EducationCity has given them a platform and opportunity for them to access the curriculum and fill in any gaps that they might have.

Solution

We have been taking advantage of the personalised Revision Journal, as well as all phases of phonics. We have also been using EducationCity for reading comprehension by accessing content from all year groups and setting appropriate work for each student.

We love that the platform provides rich visuals and that the videos are read aloud to the students. Also, because of the collection of phonics activities and videos, students can hear the sounds and build their knowledge at their own pace. I loved the phonics assessment specifically and tracking the results.

Results

Our teachers love it, particularly in Years 1-3. The content is used in various settings, during non-Islamic time for example, as well for consolidation in lessons and for differentiation. From a student’s perspective, EducationCity has been great for those who have been absent and have needed to catch up. They enjoy watching the videos and completing activities either as a class or independently, while the certificates allow them to see their progress which has kept them motivated.

Rosie has been available at all times even for the smallest questions. On multiple times she has given her time to train various members of staff. She has provided free training for the teachers so they can use it effectively in class increasing teacher engagement. She has been very flexible to ensure that we get the best out of the product and has allowed us to trial the product fully in order for teachers to see the benefits of it without feeling like “it’s another app”.

They have resources that they can use that link directly with our objectives for assessment. Resources can also be used for parental engagement if they want to know how to support their child.

In the UAE, we have some time where children will need to consolidate lessons and EducationCity is a tool that allows teachers to assign work to students and let the students practice the activity without teacher input. It has saved time on planning and marking as the students get the instant feedback as they can see how well they are doing while the teachers get even more detail automatically so that they can plan next steps for remediation.

Yes definitely. Teaching and learning has evolved. The way students learn has changed massively and technology has played a big part. EducationCity is a tool to enhance our practice, not replace it. It gives teachers an opportunity to cater for all of the needs of the class and really personalize their learning.