In 2020, Ark Schools launched a ‘Digital Strategy’ in response to what the COVID crisis highlighted about the importance of technology in education. As part of this new Digital Strategy, all students that go to an Ark school are loaned a Google Chromebook from year 3, together with access to the full suite of ‘Office 365’ applications from wherever they are in the world and from whatever device they are using.
Through widespread use of this package, we hope to improve the quality of home learning opportunities that our students receive, develop student digital literacy as an important lifelong skill, and promote student independence when learning outside of the classroom.
Spark
To help our pupil make the most of digital learning, the Ark Network provides a range of resources through SPArk – a place where students can find work relevant to their year group and each subject.
This includes signposting to third party apps such as the Oak National Academy and BBC Bitesize, so that pupils have quick access to useful learning resources. Other software that we highly recommend as a resource for additional independent learning includes Hegarty Maths and Seneca.