Thornhill School of Business and Enterprise College:

School Motto – Learn to live. Our beloved Global Partner School in UK, One of the best School in UK. The Head teacher’s name is Mr J.Hallworth, Deputy Head teacher is Mrs Lesley Etherington. There are about two hundred Bangladeshi students in this School and every Tuesday head teacher meets with the departmental head at 11.15 a.m. to 12.00. They have Bengali, Chinese and Asian pupils and there are links with Young Asian Voices. The sports practiced are swimming, football, cricket, rugby and basketball. They have indoor and outdoor facilities as well as music and dance groups. Thornhill deals carefully with new pupils who come from many other countries, the support unit provides an introduction to teachers and the community, as well as learning about the school and its environment. Pupils get the chance to develop with realistic education and practical knowledge in School, Business and Enterprise College which reflects the education in secondary schools in Sunderland. The school offers an outstanding range of academic and vocational opportunities. At the heart of this exceptional curriculum is a clear focus on matching courses to pupils’ individual needs and expectations. The percentage of pupils from minority ethnic groups is broadly average, although most of these pupils have English as an additional language. Almost a third of pupils have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. I observed a very nice class of Bangla with students learning Bengali as a second language. The Bangla class can help them develop a better understanding of project related activities with the International Partnership. In 2009, the Connecting Classrooms International Partnership between Chittagong Bangladesh was formed. There is a separate rooms and display board for Connecting Classrooms. All classes are decorated by subject wise regular teaching and learning aids and are all equipped with white boards. In the school the children have extensive use of ICT; they can very easily continue with the International Partnership activities using their ICT knowledge. On my scheduled visits I meet with some pupils and teachers. They asked me some questions about our activities and we shared information on each others countries, school system and the International Partnership. Every ones view about the International Partnership was very positive. I presented a PowerPoint slide on Bangladesh, Connecting Classrooms and ISA Awarded Madrasha to show differences in the education systems in Bangladesh and England. The Head Teacher Mr J Hallworth and Assistant Head teacher Mrs Lesley Etherington are very much active in the International Partnership and the Connecting Classrooms activities. There are many benefits seen from the partners visit because other two teachers and two students visited Chittagong using the International Partnership grant. Their project related activities were very simple. There is a clear emphasis for the International Partnership project from the Head teacher and Assistant Head teacher on top of their roles in normal school duties. On reflection if everyone who is involved in the project related activities, the Connecting Classrooms International School Partnership could be much more – not sure about this bit…..

As a Microsoft Expert Educator to make sure all of my Madrasha (Microsoft Mentor School) Teachers, Staffs and Students to be skilled in ICT, New technology and Microsoft Tools. I organize Internal Teacher training in the Madrasha. These Practical training session helps teachers to be prepared for innovative teaching practices using Microsoft Tools , firsthand knowledge on One 2 One, and mentoring other schools, colleges, Madrashas around Chittagong. Everyone enjoys the training session by using amazing Microsoft tools for Education.

Pulblished News on me

The daily News Paper Published on me

The Daily Kaler Kontho Published "DIGITAL TEACHER"

Madrasa Principal is first Bangladeshi Educator at Global Forum

Microsoft Citizenship Asia Pacific 21 Jul 2014 7:34 PM Located in the largest industrial area of Chittagong, Bangladesh, the school Naziria Naymia Mahmudia Madrasa is a beacon of hope for the low-income workers who are unable to afford education for their children. Currently, over 1,000 students are enrolled at the madrasa (the Arabic word for ‘educational institution’) that provides free education for the underprivileged. Anthony Salcito, Vice-President of Education at Microsoft, presents the second runner-up award (Poverty category) to Mohiul In recent years, under the watch of Principal Hafez Allama Mohammad Mohiul Hoque, the madrasa has transformed dramatically. With the assistance of the Government of Bangladesh and the British Council, he launched a digital literacy programme ‘Connecting Classrooms’. To promote the rights of girls and women to pursue education and work, Hafez created a women’s-only ICT course. In 2012, the school won the British Council’s International School Award. In 2014, Hafez and two colleagues were recognised as top educators, and were invited to the Microsoft in Education Global Forum in Barcelona, Spain, making them the first from their country to attend. Hafez shares his thoughts about attending the global forum from his office in Chittagong. This was the first year that the Learn-a-thon activity was held during the forum. You had to team up with other educators to design an education programme in response to a pressing issue related to one of the Millennium Development Goals: Poverty, Sustainability or Gender Equality. Your team was awarded second runner-up in the Poverty category. My team was made up of five nationalities; we had members from Lebanon, Poland, Panama and Ecuador, plus me. For three countries at least—Bangladesh, Panama and Lebanon—we face the same problem of students having to drop out to support their family livelihoods. This happens to 13-15 percent of the students at my school. Our project “GO BANGO” focused on how we could alleviate the problem by getting students in other countries to work on Bangladesh’s challenge. The idea is to get students from other countries to think about poverty in general, and extrapolating solutions to their own context further down the road.  Can you comment on a few best practices you learnt during the forum which could benefit your work in Bangladesh? The forum showed what the future of work, education and living would be like. I learnt new teaching methods, including 21CLD (21st Century Learning Design) to help students develop critical skills needed in the modern workforce. I don’t think I will ever forget this memorable week!  Three things I learnt: Collaboration across institutions and borders is becoming increasingly important Using the right technology and pedagogy helps students improve learning outcomes Teaching and learning can be fun as well; it could be project- or game-based learning You were selected because of your school’s unique curriculum, including having more IT training than what the national curriculum calls for. Can you tell us more about it? The students at this madrasa have never used computers before. We first started introducing IT into the curriculum through Connecting Classrooms, a programme by the British Council, which got students in our school and schools in the United Kingdom to learn how to use Microsoft tools. The students were then able to share ideas and culture via Skype. The government provided us with some computers to set up an IT lab. For students from 6th to 12th Grades (11-22 years old), we teach them the standard IT curriculum implemented by the Ministry of Education. On top of that, we provide extra IT training for teachers. We’re also running a women’s empowerment project where we have a women’s-only IT course that is open to students from other schools, colleges, madrasas, polytechnics and universities in Chittagong. Through this programme, we have trained over 200 women. In addition, we are conducting trainings for educators and principals from the rest of the country; they get to learn 21CLD, Windows and other new technologies. Mohiul is among the first Bangladeshi educators to attend the forum How else are the students using their IT skills? We’ve partnered schools in other countries, so our students are now using Skype to communicate with each other. Most of the students, especially ours, have limited abilities to travel, let alone capacity for social mobility. Such interactions allow them to gain deeper understanding of alternative social and cultural realities, and improve their critical thinking and communication skills. What are your future plans for the school? We are trying to expand our outreach to include more students and provide more support to students from lower-income households. I’m also working with Microsoft on providing peer coaching on IT skills for fellow educators. Naziria Naymia Mahmudia Madrasa, Microsoft in education, bangladesh, Windows, citizenship, 21CLD, education Leave a Comment Post Comments A. K. Azad 22 Jul 2014 7:38 AM I met Principal Hafez Allama Mohammad Mohiul Hoque in several occasions. Most probably I had discussion with him at the best teacher (in terms of digital content development) award program in Cox's Bazar. I found him very enthusiastic in using ICT as teaching learning tools. I am pleased for his prestigious position. If with the help/esteem of his team we can aware selected madrasas(even schoosl) across the 64 districts would be a great reform in modernizing madrasha education. MOHAMMAD MOHIUL HOQUE 23 Jul 2014 10:20 PM Many Thanks to Microsoft for giving me this unique opportunity and for this writings. I am trying hard to do better for the deprived People, I think ICT & New Technology can help them to make a successful story against Poverty and to continue their education. I am highly inspired by this steps and also the following comments, Many thanks sir for your valuable comments and encouraging me. Ann Smith 24 Jul 2014 7:24 PM I very much enjoyed reading about what you learned and experienced at the Global Forum. I am impressed by the team's learn-a-thon activity and your plans to further expand students' technology skills! Mohammed Khurshed Alam 24 Jul 2014 10:00 PM Thanks to Microsoft for its all out effort to support our Madrasha. Our Madrasha is a great example how integrating technology in Education make a difference. Congratulation to Principal Mohiul Hoq for this outstanding recognition. We also thank to Microsoft Bangladesh for its support.

Bangladeshi Madrasa teacher shows ‘How it’s done’ !

Living in an era which is somewhat blind without technology, we are all aware of Microsoft’s relentless efforts to harness it. Once more Microsoft took a noticeable stance when they partnered with education communities around the world to deliver relevant, effective, and scalable technologies, services and programs that focus the contributions of many on improved learning outcomes for all. In order to celebrate the outstanding achievements of the world’s most innovative school leaders and educators who are leveraging technology to help students realize their potential, Microsoft holds an event known as “Microsoft in Education Global Forum”. But that is not the big news. In this years Microsoft in Education Global Forum in Barcelona, Spain, something remarkable happened. Something the people of our nation can take pride of. Among the 1,100 top education leaders, school leaders, educators, press, government officials, partners, and sponsors from 97 countries Mohammad Mohiul Hoque became the 1st runner-up in Learn-a-thon in “poverty” category. The Learn-a-thon is a 24 hour activity, where Experts Educators ‘walk the talk’ of 21st century skills. Experts were divided into groups with peers from different parts of the world in order to design a learning activity that displays innovative use of technology for the three Millennium Development Goals: Poverty, Sustainability, and Gender Equality.  Mohammad Mohiul Hoque became the 1st runner-up in Learn-a-thon in “poverty” category.  Mohammad Mohiul Hoque the principal of Naziria Naymia Mahmudia Madrasa made an praiseworthy mark for our nation and also showed it is possible to reach the pinnacle if you have proper guidance. So how did a simple Madrasa Principal, scramble with the world leaders? A sound staggering doesn’t it? Well, to clear your mind a bit here is brief background of this outstanding persona. The Back story Only a few years back in 2009 In 2009 Naziria Naymia Mahmudia Madrasa was a remote secondary level institution in Chittagong. Then, Principal, Hafez Allama Mohammad Mohiul Hoque took charge and under his guidance, the institution got involved with the ‘Connecting Classrooms’ project. ‘Connecting Classrooms’ is British Council’s global education programme for schools. In 2012, the madrasa became one of the best secondary level educational institutions in the country, winning the British Council’s prestigious International School Award. Immediately, the Madrasa started gaining the attention of different National and International Organization. They reached out to the Madrasa providing their assistance and in 2013 software giant Microsoft selected Mr Mohiul Hoque as one of the outstanding mentors the world. Three teachers from his madrasa got the opportunity to participate at Microsoft Education Global Forum in Barcelona, in March 2014. Maolana Mohiul’s Madrasa now caters ICT education to thousand students Mr Mohiul Hoque expressed his deep gratitude towards British Council for creating a platform through the ‘Connecting Classrooms’ project.  He mentioned how this project helped them to accelerate their expertise to act as mentors with 21st century skills ‘Connecting Classrooms’ aims at helping young people learn about global issues and become responsible global citizens, as well as giving them skills and understanding to work in a global economy in the 21st century. ‘Connecting Classrooms’ aims at helping young people learn about global issues and become responsible global citizens, as well as giving them skills and understanding to work in a global economy in the 21st century. It offers school partnerships, professional development courses for teachers, leadership courses for head teachers and students, promotion of inclusive physical education and climate for classroom, awards and accreditation and the scope to share best practices with international counterparts. Well, with the outstanding achievements in the forum it looks like for Mr Hoque and his Madrasa this is just the beginning. The rise of a new dawn, and the promise of a better day. With his success he proved to the world that it is possible to attain the impossible with your skills and hard work. Asif Neaz On April 3, 2014

The Daily Prothom Alo Publishing Date 29.03.2014

CONNECTING Classrooms By Sareka Jahan

In 2009 Naziria Naymia Mahmudia Madrasa was a remote secondary level institution in Chittagong. Then, under the guidance of its Principal, Hafez Allama Mohammad Mohiul Hoque, the institution got involved with the 'Connecting Classrooms' project. 'Connecting Classrooms' is British Council's global education programme for schools. In 2012, the madrasa became one of the best secondary level educational institutions in the country, winning the British Council's prestigious International School Award. This year, software giant Microsoft has selected British Council's 'Connecting Classroom' Ambassador, Mohiul Hoque as one of the outstanding mentors in the world. Three teachers from his madrasa will participate at Microsoft Education Global Forum in Barcelona, scheduled to be held in March 2014. Microsoft has selected Mohiul Hoque -- from over 23,000 educators in over 150 countries -- to be a part of the group, 'Expert Educators'. Mohiul Hoque and his madrsa will receive different types of benefits, including publicity and promotion of his success via social media and other Microsoft channels, professional and career development opportunities with Microsoft representatives in Bangladesh and Washington, and opportunities to share expertise with world-renowned educators and innovators. The project has achieved action and legacy outcomes through individual achievements, and enhanced the reputation of Hoque and his madrasa in Chittagong. “British Council has created a platform for us through the 'Connecting Classrooms' project and accelerated our expertise to act as mentors with 21st century skills,” said Mohiul Hoque. “Being involved with this project has turned the impossible into possible,” he added. 'Connecting Classrooms' aims at helping young people learn about global issues and become responsible global citizens, as well as giving them skills and understanding to work in a global economy in the 21st century. It offers school partnerships, professional development courses for teachers, leadership courses for head teachers and students, promotion of inclusive physical education and climate for classroom, awards and accreditation and the scope to share best practices with international counterparts. In 2012-13, around 25,000 students from across Bangladesh got involved in 'Connecting Classrooms' activities. More than 1300 schools from different parts of Bangladesh are now registered on the British Council Schools Online website. Over 300 schools have run social action projects and 150 schools have worked on international projects with schools in the UK and other countries. Sareka Jahan is the project coordinator.

The Daily Star Publishing Date: 30.03.2014

The Daily SUN Published 03th APRIL 2014

http//www. dailyeducation.net.htm মাদ্রাসা শিক্ষকের বিশ্বজয় নিউজ ডেস্ক | 15-04-2014 Tweet More Sharing Services1

তথ্য প্রযুক্তি ছাড়া এই যুগে বসবাস করা বৃন্দাবনে বসবাসের মতই। আর এই তথ্য প্রযুক্তির পিছনে মাইক্রোসফটের অবদান অনস্বীকার্য। কার্যকর সম্ভব্য আগামি তথ্য প্রযুক্তির ব্যবহার ছড়িয়ে দেওয়ার জন্য মাইক্রোসফট আবারও শিক্ষা সমাজকে সাথে নিয়ে আয়োজন করল ‘Microsoft in Education Global Forum’। এ ধরনের প্রোগ্রাম মাইক্রোসফট প্রায়ই আয়োজন করে থাকে। এবারের আয়োজনটা হয়েছিল মেসির শহর স্পেনের বার্সেলোনাতে। আর অবাক করা ব্যাপার হচ্ছে, ৯৭টি দেশ থেকে ১১০০ জন প্রতিযোগীর মধ্যে প্রথম রানার আপ হয়েছেন বাংলাদেশের একজন মাদ্রাসা শিক্ষক। দেশের শিক্ষাব্যবস্থার সাথে তাল মেলানোর অনুপযোগী বলে মাদ্রাসা শিক্ষাকে একরকম তুচ্ছ-তাচ্ছিল্য করা হলেও মোহাম্মদ মহিউল হক তা মিথ্যা প্রমাণিত করেছেন।   মাদ্রাসা শিক্ষক মোহাম্মদ মহিউল হক ‘Microsoft in Education Global Forum’-এ ‘Poverty’ (দারিদ্র বিমোচন ) ক্যাটাগরিতে প্রথম রানার আপ হয়েছেন। মোহাম্মদ মহিউল হক চট্টগ্রামের অজপাড়া গাঁয়ের নাজিমিয়া নায়িমিয়া মাহমুদিয়া মাদ্রাসার প্রিন্সিপাল। তিনি দেখিয়ে দিয়েছেন, কারও যদি সঠিক লক্ষ্য ও দিক-নির্দেশনা থাকে তাহলে সে যে কোন চূড়ায় উঠতে সক্ষম।   পিছনের গল্প :   এই তো কয়েক বছর আগে অর্থাৎ ২০০৯ সালেও নাজিমিয়া নায়িমিয়া মাহমুদিয়া মাদ্রাসা ছিল অজপাড়া গাঁয়ের দ্বিতীয় শ্রেণির একটি মাদ্রাসা। এমতাবস্থায় মোহাম্মদ মহিউল হক মাদ্রাসার দায়িত্ব নিলেন। পরে নিজ উদ্যোগেই তার মাদরাসাকে কানেক্টিং ক্লাস রুম প্রজেক্ট নামের একটি প্রোগ্রামে অন্তর্ভুক্ত করালেন। এটা ছিল ব্রিটিশ কাউন্সিলের আন্তর্জাতিক একটি প্রোগ্রাম। যা শুধু মাত্র স্কুল লেভেলের জন্য পরিচালিত হয়।   ২০১২ তে মহিউল হকের মাদরাসা মাধ্যমিক পর্যায়ে দেশের মধ্যে সবচেয়ে ভালো ফলাফল করার মধ্য দিয়ে ইন্টারন্যাশনাল স্কুল এ্যাওয়ার্ড লাভ করে ব্রিটিশ কাউন্সিল থেকে। এর পরপরই বিভিন্ন জাতীয় ও আন্তর্জাতিক প্রোগ্রামে অংশগ্রহন করতে শুরু করে নাজিমিয়া নায়িমিয়া মাহমুদিয়া মাদ্রাসা। এক পর্যায়ে মাদরাসাটি মাইক্রোসফট কর্তৃপক্ষের চোখে পড়ে। এর ধারাবাহিকতায় নাজিমিয়া নায়িমিয়া মাহমুদিয়া মাদরাসার ৩ জন শিক্ষক বার্সেলোনাতে মাইক্রোসফটের ‘Microsoft in Education Global Forum’ প্রোগ্রামে অংশগ্রহণের সুযোগ পায়।   ব্রিটিশ কাউন্সিলের এই বিশেষ প্রোগ্রামের লক্ষ্য হচ্ছে, তরুণ প্রজন্মকে আন্তর্জাতিক নাগরিক হিসাবে গড়ে তোলা এবং বর্তমান বৈশ্বিক সমস্যা ও এর সমাধানের ব্যাপারে অবগত করা। সাথে সাথে একুশ শতকের আন্তর্জাতিক অর্থনীতিতে কীভাবে নিজেকে দক্ষ এবং সুযোগ্য করে তোলা যায় সেই ব্যাপারে সার্বিক দিক নির্দেশনা দেওয়া।   স্কুলে এই বিশেষ প্রোগ্রামের কার্যক্রম হল অংশীদারিত্ত এবং পেশাদারিত্তের ভিত্তিতে শিক্ষক এবং ছাত্রদের মাঝে নেতৃত্ব, শারীরিক শিক্ষা, ক্লাসরুমের পরিবেশ আন্তর্জাতিক পরিমণ্ডলে কীভাবে কাজ করতে হয় সেই ব্যাপারে ধারণা দেওয়া।   মাইক্রোসফট কর্তৃপক্ষ মহিউল হক ও তাঁর মাদরাসার সাফল্যকে নতুন দিনের সূচনা বলেই মনে করছেন। 

British Council NEWS LETTER 16/12/2013 Worldwide Recognition for Connecting Classrooms, Bangladesh

Microsoft has selected British Council's 'Connecting Classrooms' Ambassador Hafez Allama Mohammad Mohiul Hoque as one of the world's most outstanding Mentors this year. Mr Hoque is the principal of Naziria Naymia Mahmudia Madrasha, Higher secondary level institution in Chittagong. 3 teachers from his Madrasha will participate at the Microsoft Education Global Forum in Barcelona next March. Microsoft has selected Mr Hoque from over 23,000 educators in over 150 countries to join the very first class of 'Expert Educators'. Mr Hoque and his Madrasha will achieve get lasting benefits from the publicity and promotion of his success via social media and other Microsoft channels. He will also get professional and career development opportunities working with Microsoft representatives in Bangladesh and Washington, and opportunities to share expertise with world-renowned educators and innovators. - Hafez Allama Mohammad Mohiul Hoque" The British Council has created the platform for us through the 'Connecting Classrooms' project and accelerated our expertise to act as a mentor of 21st century skills. Being involved with Connecting Classrooms has turned the impossible to the possible. Our journey with British Council is an example for the nation.

Microsoft Expert Educator, 22nd November 2013 The Daily Prothom ALO