Madrasah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah
Singapore — Education Technology
iPad helps an all-girls
Islamic school turn students into leaders.
for School Leaders
At Madrasah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah, one of the oldest Islamic schools in Singapore, Principal Syed Mustafa blends modern technologies and traditional values to create a path for students to become vocal leaders. He encourages a culture of creativity, compassion and collaboration — and believes technology is an avenue for developing and sharing critical thinking skills. So for the last 10 years, he’s equipped every student with an iPad, every school leader with a Mac and every classroom with an Apple TV.
“Students should be given the opportunity to be creative”, says Mustafa. “They need to be critical in their thinking and brave enough to share it. Apple technology helps because sometimes when you ask students to voice their opinion, they may not feel capable of doing it. But with these tools, even the quietest students can be heard.”
Students use iPad and Apple Pencil to write in Arabic about Islamic values, culture and experiences, and share their reflections in digital storybooks. Every student also learns and practises public speaking by telling their personal stories in Keynote and sharing them with classmates via Apple TV. And they regularly use iPad for activities involving design, including a recent competition to create new school uniforms.
In their final year at Madrasah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah, students participate in a global leadership programme that has a real impact on a community of their choice. One group of students proposed building a library at a school in Kampong Cham, Cambodia. A presentation in Keynote clearly articulated their plan, which included a budget to kick off fundraising efforts and make it a reality. Today, the library serves over 180 students.
“Apple isn’t just making our school a ‘technology school’. It’s giving students the skills and confidence they’ll need to be successful leaders in our community and the world.”
