IT @ Amman Academy
Technology is considered a vital component of education at Amman Academy. For this reason, the school has invested heavily in technology over the past few years to ensure excellence in education and to give its students the tools to succeed in a highly competitive world.
Technology is integrated into lessons on a daily basis. The interactive white board (IWB) is used in all classrooms from KG to Grade 8 to enhance interactive learning. Teachers access a wide variety of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) resources that they incorporate into their daily lesson plans. PowerPoint presentations, educational DVDs, videos, e-games and a wide variety of interactive activities are all a part of daily lessons. Data show equipment is also used regularly in Grades 9-12 for presentations.
All circulars are sent to parents via a mass mailing system; SMS is used in urgent situations only.
- Integration of technology into the classroom
Our students begin as early as KG to take computer as an academic subject and to use the computer and Internet as learning and research tools.
- Laptops for Teachers
Every teacher at Amman Academy is provided with a high-specification laptop to use for preparing lessons and to access online resources for students and for the classroom e-boards.
- Local Network
A high-speed wireless network covers almost the entire school building allowing teachers to access additional resources to enrich their lessons. Additionally, every classroom, lab, administrative office and resources room is connected to a high-speed wired network.
- Servers
Over 30 high-specification servers handle the digital services provided by the school. The IBM and HP servers include blades, rack-mounted servers and vast storage capacity.
- Filters
Solid content filters are updated on a daily basis so that students are not exposed to any inappropriate material on the Web and to block spam.
- Internet connections
The school has four internet connections: a high-speed microwave connection from Umniah, ADSL connections from Orange and Zein, and a U-Max connection. These connections provide students and teachers with Internet access and facilitate the school’s web-based services such as the parent portal and other services.
All connections are configured together to provide redundancy and load balancing to achieve a high level of availability for internet services.
- Computers and computer labs
The school has 300 high-spec PCs and 5 computer labs at students’ disposal.
- Student Management System (SMS)
The automated school administration system keeps a record of all activity pertaining to student enrollment, schedules, curricula, activities, certificates, allocation of periods for teachers and other relevant data. The system produces instant reports, which expedites transactions between parents and the school and provides management with accurate information and the tools necessary for decision-making. Student files are maintained from the time of enrollment until graduation. These files include personal, medical and academic information, annual school certificates, activities, prizes and awards. This data is retained by the school and remains at parents’ disposal years after their children graduate.
The data base is also used by our counseling department to monitor the performance of our students, and it provides valuable information on the improvement or deterioration of students’ grades, thus allowing administration and department heads to take the necessary remedial action immediately after marks have been entered.
- Keyboarding
Keyboarding is an essential skill that allows students to use the internet and digital resources in an effective way. This is why we have a well-equipped lab for our students to learn keyboarding in Grade 5, after which they sit for a test at the end of the second semester. Students who pass obtain a certificate which is retained in their academic records.
- E-Exam
We run a highly advanced e-exam engine that creates and corrects students’ exams, worksheets, and quizzes. Our e-exam program is an excellent tool for teachers and administrations to follow up on the academic performance of our students. The system provides convenience, speed and accuracy for our teachers to measure and analyze areas of strength and weakness in the required skills, allowing for early detection and remedial action. In addition, the engine facilitates access to more practice questions for students, thus giving teachers more time to focus on other aspects of lesson plans.
- Portals
Our user-friendly parent/student portal provides an effective means of communication and enhances cooperation between school and home. In addition, it increases parents’ involvement, which in turn has a positive effect on students’ academic achievement. The portal is the main means of communication between the school and parents. Through it parents and students can access students' information, the latest news and events, and it provides a 24/7 source for all worksheets, homework sheets, study sheets, useful links , …etc. All circulars are placed on the portal and sent to parents via a mass mailing system. SMS is used in urgent situations only.
- Library system
Book-lending in the school libraries is monitored electronically with barcode readers, and an advanced indexing and searching software is in place.
- Fingerprint machines
Fingerprint attendance machines have been installed and are used by students in Grades 6-12. This provides a more efficient means of tracking attendance and eliminates class disruptions to take attendance. Fingerprint machines are also used by our staff.
- Firewall, IPS, and antivirus
The Amman Academy network is protected by a powerful firewall and Intrusion Prevention System to secure data and the school network. A solid antivirus system also scans all files, e-mails and accessed websites.
- Tracking System
A satellite-assisted fleet management and monitoring system is installed in all of the school buses. This service enables school administration to provide an even higher level of safety and a wider array of services to school bus parents and students.
Parents receive short text messages a couple of minutes before the bus arrives to pick up their children in the morning. The SMS is sent automatically through the transmitter in each bus via satellite, informing the parent or student of the approaching vehicle.
Among the many impressive features is the monitoring of any infraction on the part of the bus driver, such as not stopping completely at an intersection, moving before the door is fully closed, sudden braking or deviation from the pre-approved route.