Hillcrest International Schools new Principal / CEO Mr. Chris Wheeler wants to turn the school into a center of innovation in a move to stimulate the development of ICT at Hillcrest and several other schools in the country.
Mr. Wheeler said, ” We want kids to be innovative, learn to use ICT and be ready for the dynamic world. We will be running website development competitions among them and we also want them to create a mobile app to allow them to download resources directly to their phones.”
“The site will act as a resources center for all of our own pupils with subscription services available to other CIE schools to benefit from the excellent teaching at Hillcrest. This is in addition to making it easier for staff to upload resources, so using our website as a truly supportive teaching tool,” Wheeler added.
The online resource centre will also be used by teachers to easily upload resources, share with their students and access them for editing.
Wheeler said he is discussing a partnership with global giant Google to help Hillcrest lead the region in the use of cutting edge mobile technology and webware as well as create a design for a new resource centre with full wi-fi access for pupils to work on their own research and become truly independent learners.
Mr. Wheeler is not new to ICT use among schools. He was among a team that introduced the Chromebooks for all pupils in Years 7 and 8 giving 1:1 access and created four virtual computer rooms that travel around with the pupils and available when needed and had saw teachers use webcam to tap into other countries revision classes and also conduct their own lessons online.
Wheeler also created online resource banks, updated by teachers to allow them upload board-notes, worksheets, podcasts and short video slots.
Educated at Winchester College, and the Universities of Durham and Bristol in the UK, Mr. Wheeler has held significant posts in educational leadership in well respected schools in the UK and Kenya. He was Head of English at St John’s Leatherhead, a Housemaster at Brighton College and a Deputy Head and a Headmaster at St Christopher’s School in Hove.
Mr. Wheeler has earned a name for innovative educational thinking and has a particular flair for development of ICT in schools.
