The Primary NET Scheme: 15th Anniversary Conference (2017)

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Primary NET Scheme, the NET Section held a conference on 18 March 2017 at CCC Heep Woh Primary School (Cheung Sha Wan).

The conference was attended by over 300 participants, including primary school principals, local English teachers, NETs, EDB officers, honoured guests and presenters. A total of 152 schools were represented. In addition to showcasing the achievements made and the good practices developed under the Primary NET Scheme, with the theme of “Scaling New Heights”, the conference provided a platform for participants to share their insights into how the achievements made can be sustained and built on in the future to bring about more effective collaboration among stakeholders and better pedagogical innovation.

The conference commenced with a forum in which honoured guests shared their views on the Scheme and explored ways to scale new heights with and through the Scheme. One such guest, Prof. Mary Shepard Wong, the principal investigator of the evaluation team, shared her observations about the Scheme in a videoed interview, and Dr Peter Storey, a co-investigator of the evaluation team, provided an account of the team’s observations, recommendations and expectations of the Scheme. Other speakers included:

• Dr Cheri Chan, Associate Professor at The University of Hong Kong, who discussed the need to promote new literacies, in addition to traditional literacy;
• Mr Ross Parker, Director of Technology, Pedagogy and Assessment at International College Hong Kong, who shared his experience in addressing 21st-century learners’ needs with the use of technology;
• Mrs Sanker, a teacher at Renaissance College, who shared her experience in promoting debating to foster her students’ language and whole-person development and explored ways to build a partnership between local and international schools;
• Mr Jeremy Gillman, the NET at Hoi Ping Chamber of Commerce Primary School, and Ms Edith Tse, Principal of Kwun Tong Government Primary School, who shared their experiences in sustaining a professional partnership at school that enables the NET Scheme to make a significant contribution;
• Jason Leung, a P3 student from SKH St Peter’s Primary School, who shared his experience of learning with the NET and the Scheme; and
• Chloe Yu and Grace Ho, P6 students of Baptist Lui Ming Choi Primary School, who shared their experience of learning with their NET and the Scheme in a video.

Following the forum, a number of parallel sessions were held, providing presenters with a platform to share their experiences on a range of topics including: Storytelling, Coding to Learn, Enlivening the Classroom with Puppetry, and Digital Storytelling, to name but a few. The tea and refreshments break provided an ideal opportunity for participants to catch up with old colleagues and friends, as well as to make new ones. Pictures of this event can be found in NET Scheme News, Issue 32.