On Tuesday, February 21, 2017, at Karlovac Grammar School, a classroom of the future was presented. This initiative made Karlovac the fifth Croatian city to receive technology from the Croatian Academic and Research Network – CARNet, Microsoft Croatia, and Storm Computers, with the support of the Ministry of Science and Education. The implemented technology is designed to equip students with skills for the future labor market while simultaneously facilitating knowledge transfer for teachers.
The classroom of the future in Karlovac Grammar School is equipped with 30 tablets with keyboards (HP Pro Tablet 10 EE Z3735F 10 2GB/32 PC), one interactive whiteboard (eBoard and Digital signageplayerViewSonic 69.5), wireless network equipment, and a cart for storing and recharging the tablets.
“I thank both Microsoft and CARNet for recognizing our school as a place open to new teaching technologies and new knowledge. In addition to this cooperation, Microsoft and CARNet provided our students and teachers with free and secure access to wireless internet, ensuring the entire infrastructure, so that all students and teachers with their electronic identity, owned by CARNet, have access at school to wireless internet and the possibility to do schoolwork and follow classes on their tablets and smartphones. Of course, the special value of this entire project lies in the tools and software solutions used to organize and conduct teaching classes. I am convinced that this cooperation will encourage us to undertake new projects, but also confirm that Karlovac Grammar School is one of the highest-quality grammar school institutions in the Republic of Croatia,” said Mr. Damir Mandić, acting principal of Karlovac Grammar School.
At the opening of the classroom of the future, Ms. Snježana Fištrović, a German language teacher, held a demonstration class for the 3rd-grade students. The students used a tablet, an interactive board, and Microsoft Office 365 tools, such as the Yammer social network, the Sway presentation tool, and the Padlet online wall, to participate in a workshop on the topic of school uniforms in their own context. During the class, the students expanded their German vocabulary, and the exercise encouraged them to think, develop argumentation skills, and take stands through written and verbal communication.
“I am extremely glad that the number of classrooms of the future grows each year and that, as of today, the teachers and students of the Karlovac Grammar School, with the aid of the state-of-the-art computer equipment, will have an opportunity to make the teaching content more interesting and the classes more interactive, as well as use the advantages provided by IT technology. In the future, a majority of jobs will require a specific level of digital skills, and in order to prepare our children to be competitive on the labor market, it is necessary to invest in education, and this project is one step toward that. CARNet uses numerous projects and continually works on education quality improvement through the implementation of digital technology in schools, and the opening of the fifth classroom of the future is a continuation of our good cooperation with Microsoft, said Mr. Zvonimir Stanić, CARNet CEO.
“This project reflects our desire to improve educational processes and facilitate communication between teachers and students. In the current digital age, it is extremely important to stimulate the development of essential skills such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving by encouraging learning and creativity through work and research. Technology can never replace a top-quality educator, but it is important to provide young people with the opportunity to use modern tools and devices. For example, Office 365 is available free of charge throughout the educational system in Croatia, and the possibilities of using the tools for learning improvement are unlimited, as was demonstrated in today's class. I would like to thank the partners who made the realization of this project possible in order to better prepare younger generations for the challenges of the future labor market,” said Mr. Ivan Vidaković, Director for Digital Transformation at Microsoft CEE Multi-Country Europe.