Twenty teachers and 35 LSAs who teach students with special needs at Dun Manwel Attard in Wardija attended a week’s induction course at the Microsoft Innovation Centre.

This was the first time teachers from this school have had the opportunity to attend training at the centre. The school in Wardija is undergoing infrastructural works related to an extension. Following the completion of this project, it is envisaged that the centre will be able to host another 50 students.

The programme included a number of sessions on the application of IT teaching aids, the use of laptops and Microsoft applications such as Photosynth. These were conducted by Holistic, a provider of teaching aids to the academic sector.

Other sessions dealt with more social and psychological topics, such as problematic students, ethical behaviour, communication issues and skills, well-being, mindfulness and stress management techniques. These sessions were delivered by a number of independent experts.

The school’s headmaster Nicholas Agius thanked Microsoft and Holistic for their support, saying the initiative was an excellent opportunity for all the teachers.

Edward Portelli from the centre acknowledged the importance of providing opportunities for Maltese teachers to further their training to be able to teach better.

“Microsoft has a long-standing and committed relationship with Maltese educators because we believe we can equip them with the right skills to help them reach out to students more effectively by maximising the value of technology,” he said.