Nenasa Smart School Awards 2019 Preliminary Rounds
The Dialog Foundation together with Dialog Axiata PLC subsidiary Headstart (Pvt.) Ltd., organized the Nenasa Smart School Awards 2019, inviting all teachers from the 153 Nenasa Smart Schools to participate. The prime objective of the Nenasa Smart School awards was to recognize the teachers who are driving change within their respective schools and track the Digital Transformation progress within the Nenasa Smart Schools initiative.
Nenasa Smart Schools are those from three provinces of the country (Western, Southern and Central) that have submitted proposals showcasing their readiness for a complete digital school transformation. The Nenasa Smart Schools programme, which runs under the Dialog Foundation, is unique in that it focuses on all the schools’ stakeholders, in a teacher-led transformation, rather than limiting itself to donating physical items for a few classrooms. Ambassador Teachers are trained in “Teaching with Technology” and using varied digital and traditional resources to make their lessons engaging and fun. The Ambassador Teachers in turn work with not only their colleagues and principals to share these new techniques, but also with students, parents, and local education officials to make the transformation complete.
The preliminary rounds of the competition were held at three prominent locations in Kandy, Kegalle and Colombo, where teachers and schools showcased their achievements under the following four categories:
- Smart Ambassador
- Smart Teacher
- Smart School
- Smart Content
The preliminary rounds commenced on 17th December 2019 in Gurudeniya (Kandy district) with the participation of 40 teachers. There were 6 applications for the category “Smart School”, 7 applications for the category “Smart Ambassador”, 14 applications for the category “Smart Teacher” and 13 applications for the category of “Smart Content”.
The next segment of the preliminary rounds was conducted in Kegalle on 19th December 2019, where 31 teachers took part. 5 schools competed under the category “Smart School”, 9 teachers competed under the category “Smart Ambassador”, 11 teachers under the category “Smart Teacher” and 6 teachers under the category “Smart Teacher”.
The final segment of the preliminary rounds was held at the Dialog Training Centre in Colombo. In this round 5 schools competed for the “Smart School” title, 4 teachers for the “Smart Ambassador” title, 5 teachers for the “Smart Teacher” title, and 11 teachers for the “Smart Content” title.
Overall, more than 80 teachers participated in the Nenasa Smart School Awards 2019 showcasing their growth as individuals, as well as their overall achievements as a Nenasa Smart School entity. The presentations by teachers and the achievements they have gained reflect the interest and the efforts taken by teachers in the transformation process, thus further solidifying Dialog Foundation’s commitment to uplift Sri Lanka’s education landscape.
The Grand Finale of the competition is scheduled to be held on 1st February 2020 at the Dialog Auditorium in Colombo.
