Branksome Hall Asia Shortlisted for Digital Technology in Learning International Award

 

By Dr. Terry McAdams
Director of Technology, Research, and Innovation

An ISC International School Award is a very prestigious honor within the International School education community. Branksome Hall Asia has a history of being recognized for our exceptional initiatives. In 2020, we won the Future Innovators Award, the International School of the Year Award and the Community initiative Award in 2021. We are, once again, identified as leading the way in educational technology by being shortlisted for the 2022 Digital Technology in Learning category. Specifically, we have been shortlisted for student projects that use artificial intelligence (AI) to support our community.

You may recall that last year, the MBC broadcasting network featured Branksome Hall Asia’s use of AI in a segment on their Live TV show. We are one of the leading schools in building an AI curriculum, so they included us in their look at the impact of disruptive technologies in the education sector (YouTube LINK between 31:37 - 31:56 and 38:23 - 40:22).

We have moved on quite considerably since that documentary and students are applying machine learning in new and interesting ways. One student has created a program to detect whether masks are being worn or not, a second developed a pathfinding algorithm to find the shortest route between any two locations in our 24-acre campus, and a third has built a recommender system to suggest the most suitable DP subjects for Grade 10 students based on a collaboration filtering approach.

Additionally, a group of Grade 11 and 10 students are creating a supervised learning model to identify chronically stressed students through associated factors like sleep, exercise, and diet. You may recall from a previous article, that the two leaders of AI Teen presented their research at the National Coalition of Girls Schools symposium. Later this month, they will be presenting this project at the Outstanding Schools Asia conference. 

While we are delighted to be globally recognized as having an exceptional curriculum, this honor really highlights the breadth of opportunities available at Branksome Hall Asia and how remarkable our students are.