Oslo Education Agency
Oslo, Norway
For Oslo schools, iPad is the best choice.
In Oslo, the municipal education authority gives schools the freedom to choose their classroom technology as part of a 20-year Norwegian commitment to digital literacy. The majority of public schools choose iPad.
iPad has increased classroom innovation, helped educators reach different types of learners and elevated education as a whole.
At Bogstad School, for example, creativity is at the core of their approach. Rather than assigning traditional projects, teachers at Bogstad use iPad to amplify their students’ imagination and explore learning in more novel ways. Students create podcasts about maths in GarageBand and use Pages to make playing card decks about mythology. The result is a fun, captivating learning environment that they learn more in.
“With iPad you can reach out to every student and give them exactly what they need. It’s transformed the school and how we teach.”
Head teacher Lene Rønning-Arnesen brought in iPad to Trosterud School to help students with reading, writing and comprehension. The device allows students to use the tools that they feel most comfortable with — and are best suited for their own unique learning styles. They use apps like Keynote and iMovie to present their work and have opportunities to showcase their ideas in different ways. With the introduction of iPad, students quickly became more engaged and teachers say reading improved.
At Teglverket School, teachers like Mathias Nystuen Lie use iPad to assign work at different levels to different learners, allowing the chance for each student to feel a sense of achievement as they grow. Learning about how electromagnets work, for example, is an opportunity for students to use iPad to complete differentiated tasks. Paired with a partner, one student might lead in assembling the magnet while the other films with Camera and records observations in Notes. Ultimately, the students at Teglverket learn from each other — and in this setting, all their contributions feel valued.
Schools in Oslo have the opportunity to switch classroom devices, but it’s the educators who have chosen to keep iPad year after year.
