In my first blog post I shared about one significant memory of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) being used in schools. Ever-progressing, technological advances compel users to keep up with the latest developments, as seen in the Ministry of Education's (MOE) constant promotion of ICT in schools. Masterplan 3 draws on the developments of the first two masterplans as it sets even higher standards for schools to utilize the benefits of ICT, while reinforcing MOE's initial goals for the impact of ICT on students', teachers', and schools' progress.
From familiarising students with technology in class, and encouraging independent learning, MOE's latest masterplan sees students being challenged to work in collaboration with each other as well as continuing their own learning through ICT. Mimicking real-life situations where work is done individually and consolidated through the internet, students are exposed to skills that would serve them well into their working life. Independent learning is accompanied by an exchange of ideas that is made easier through the internet, allowing students to progress from solo learning to one that is enhanced by input from their peers. Awareness of the difference between real-life and cyber interactions is also emphasized in MOE's masterplans, more so now that most students have access to a computer. Both sets of skills, the capacity for self-directed learning, as well as safe online interactions, ensure that the introduction of ICT is without much of the harmful side effects that plague young users of the internet.
Teachers also benefit from the increased use of ICT in lessons as they have more options with which to engage students. More alternatives also make lesson planning more interesting for teachers, allowing them to appeal to more students through the wider variety of teaching options available. Like students, teachers would find it easier to share with other teachers resources and tips through the internet, which could lead to an improvement in the standard of teaching. Furthermore, interactions between teachers and parents could be more efficient as parents can track their child's progress online, rather than through the infrequent physical meetings between teacher and parent. Feedback could be given online, allowing busy parents to access their child's development whenever they can.
Rather than marking a change in the learning environment, ICT usage in schools draws on what is already practiced, improving communications between all parties involved. Implementing ICT also allows schools to deal with unexpected disasters that could hinder a student's learning, such as an epidemic or personal tragedy. Throughout MOE's masterplans for ICT integration in schools, there remains the focal point of improving learning abilities and developing individuals who are able to continue learning after formal education has ended. Future masterplans for learning through ICT will no doubt continue to equip all involved, especially students, to face a constantly changing world.
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
3 Stages of ICT Thus Far
One of the most popular phrases used to describe our current world is 'globalisation'. While the world has certainly not shrunk, an increased level of connectivity and mobilisation has made Mother Earth appear less vast to those equipped with the necessary technologies. Because of our size and geological position, it is to our advantage that we are well-connected internationally, even to countries that may literally be on the other side of the world. Even as current adults are being introduced to various technologies, Singapore has identified the importance of starting young- hence the need for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to be integrated into our education system.
Introducing major changes into the education system involves not just a re-training of teachers, but also the need to convince children (and their parents) of the necessity of ICT know-how. The Ministry of Eduction's 3 Masterplans ensures that ICT is well-integrated into the education system as it evolves with each generation's increased familiarity with technology. Apart from the obvious benefit of equipping Singapore's future with the necessary skills to survive in our connected world, the integration of ICT into our education system also serves to enhance the learning and teaching process.
Right from the start, ICT integration has always been more than mere familiarization with technology. That, to MOE, was just Goal 1. Goals 2, 3, and 4 deal with the accompanying benefits of digital learning- the need for students to take on more responsibility for their learning; teachers' ability to expand their teaching tools; and the stream-lining of school administration processes. While being able to compete in a technological era is an extremely useful tool, the main benefit here, I feel, is students being in charge of their own learning. Unlike a classroom setting, learning from a computer allows a student to move at his own pace, and the connectivity to the World Wide Web speedily satisfies curious minds that are eager to learn more about a subject. Teachers, on the other hand, also benefit from the variety of teaching tools ICT offers them. For example, English can be taught through media-reporting, which involves students working with a video camera while utilising their presentation skills. Such non-conventional lessons are highly popular with students, and these lessons are able to focus their attention on a subject that may initially appear dull to them.
Integrating ICT into lessons also acts as a class leveller as students from all backgrounds are given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the internet and new technologies. Even parents are involved as schools increasingly turn to e-mail to update parents on their child's progress. Through cyber wellness programs, schools ensure that parents are kept informed about their child's foray into the new medium of cyberspace. By involving the student's family, ICT extends its influence to the community, through the student.
Without integrating technological know-how into our education system, our students would lack a basic survival skill of the 21st Century. The qualities of being technologically savvy, of independent learning, and being connected through the internet will serve students well past their school days, making ICT an important aspect of eduction.
Introducing major changes into the education system involves not just a re-training of teachers, but also the need to convince children (and their parents) of the necessity of ICT know-how. The Ministry of Eduction's 3 Masterplans ensures that ICT is well-integrated into the education system as it evolves with each generation's increased familiarity with technology. Apart from the obvious benefit of equipping Singapore's future with the necessary skills to survive in our connected world, the integration of ICT into our education system also serves to enhance the learning and teaching process.
Right from the start, ICT integration has always been more than mere familiarization with technology. That, to MOE, was just Goal 1. Goals 2, 3, and 4 deal with the accompanying benefits of digital learning- the need for students to take on more responsibility for their learning; teachers' ability to expand their teaching tools; and the stream-lining of school administration processes. While being able to compete in a technological era is an extremely useful tool, the main benefit here, I feel, is students being in charge of their own learning. Unlike a classroom setting, learning from a computer allows a student to move at his own pace, and the connectivity to the World Wide Web speedily satisfies curious minds that are eager to learn more about a subject. Teachers, on the other hand, also benefit from the variety of teaching tools ICT offers them. For example, English can be taught through media-reporting, which involves students working with a video camera while utilising their presentation skills. Such non-conventional lessons are highly popular with students, and these lessons are able to focus their attention on a subject that may initially appear dull to them.
Integrating ICT into lessons also acts as a class leveller as students from all backgrounds are given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the internet and new technologies. Even parents are involved as schools increasingly turn to e-mail to update parents on their child's progress. Through cyber wellness programs, schools ensure that parents are kept informed about their child's foray into the new medium of cyberspace. By involving the student's family, ICT extends its influence to the community, through the student.
Without integrating technological know-how into our education system, our students would lack a basic survival skill of the 21st Century. The qualities of being technologically savvy, of independent learning, and being connected through the internet will serve students well past their school days, making ICT an important aspect of eduction.
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
My ICT Experience In School
To the restless kid that I was, spending all day in the classroom with only one break in the middle of the day for recess was utterly boring. I looked forward to PE lessons, assemblies, any hour that would take us out of the classroom. That's not to say I didn't enjoy my lessons- I really did, it was just the monotony of sitting at the same desk in the stifling heat that I disliked.
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) lessons (of course, back then it was just known as 'computer lessons') were always eagerly anticipated by my classmates and me, not least because it meant that we could have a respite from the heat and our usual chalk-and-blackboard lessons. Coming from a middle-class background, I was comfortable with computers and dismissed these lessons as nothing more than a chance to fool around and check my e-mail.
Amidst the various ICT lessons throughout primary and secondary school, my favourite was the annual National Education quiz that all students had to take to graduate from primary or secondary school. In one hour, my knowledge of Singapore was severely tested as I was asked to recall iconic buildings, persons, and facts about the country I grew up in and supposedly knew thoroughly. I preferred these quizzes to social study lessons as the Multiple Choice Questions always seemed much more fun when I could get the answers straight away. The interaction that students get from working with computers as opposed to pen and paper was a bonus that I enjoyed, along with the enhanced graphics that digital quizzes were always accompanied by. As usual, even at Secondary Four my classmates and I were surreptitiously checking our e-mails and social networking sites while doing the quizzes, and using Wikipedia to fill the gaps in our knowledge of our nation.
Given more control over how I learned was the biggest benefit of these computer lab quizzes. While ostensibly to test our knowledge of Singapore, my frequent scouring of Wikipedia and Google to embellish my answers highlighted my shallow understanding of my country. However, I also found myself more eager to learn through these websites than through the textbooks. Any uncertainty over the credibility of the information gleamed online was always checked with my teacher, whom I thought was more than pleased that her girls were taking their learning into their own hands.
Essentially, these computer lessons placed the responsibility of learning in my own hands, acting only as aids to let me discover the information I needed, and wanted, to know. Sadly, such freedom was mainly confined to Social Studies lessons. I suppose subjects like Mathematics and Mother Tongue are better learned in a traditional classroom setting, as theories and pronounciation can be more tedious learned from a computer. I am glad, therefore, that I experienced independent learning in my secondary school days as my later studies required this sense of eagerness on my part for me to succeed. Hopefully, as a teacher, I would be able to nurture students mature enough to understand that computer lessons are more than just e-mail checking time, but rather, one of the few initial encounters students would have that placed their own learning in their hands.
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) lessons (of course, back then it was just known as 'computer lessons') were always eagerly anticipated by my classmates and me, not least because it meant that we could have a respite from the heat and our usual chalk-and-blackboard lessons. Coming from a middle-class background, I was comfortable with computers and dismissed these lessons as nothing more than a chance to fool around and check my e-mail.
Amidst the various ICT lessons throughout primary and secondary school, my favourite was the annual National Education quiz that all students had to take to graduate from primary or secondary school. In one hour, my knowledge of Singapore was severely tested as I was asked to recall iconic buildings, persons, and facts about the country I grew up in and supposedly knew thoroughly. I preferred these quizzes to social study lessons as the Multiple Choice Questions always seemed much more fun when I could get the answers straight away. The interaction that students get from working with computers as opposed to pen and paper was a bonus that I enjoyed, along with the enhanced graphics that digital quizzes were always accompanied by. As usual, even at Secondary Four my classmates and I were surreptitiously checking our e-mails and social networking sites while doing the quizzes, and using Wikipedia to fill the gaps in our knowledge of our nation.
Given more control over how I learned was the biggest benefit of these computer lab quizzes. While ostensibly to test our knowledge of Singapore, my frequent scouring of Wikipedia and Google to embellish my answers highlighted my shallow understanding of my country. However, I also found myself more eager to learn through these websites than through the textbooks. Any uncertainty over the credibility of the information gleamed online was always checked with my teacher, whom I thought was more than pleased that her girls were taking their learning into their own hands.
Essentially, these computer lessons placed the responsibility of learning in my own hands, acting only as aids to let me discover the information I needed, and wanted, to know. Sadly, such freedom was mainly confined to Social Studies lessons. I suppose subjects like Mathematics and Mother Tongue are better learned in a traditional classroom setting, as theories and pronounciation can be more tedious learned from a computer. I am glad, therefore, that I experienced independent learning in my secondary school days as my later studies required this sense of eagerness on my part for me to succeed. Hopefully, as a teacher, I would be able to nurture students mature enough to understand that computer lessons are more than just e-mail checking time, but rather, one of the few initial encounters students would have that placed their own learning in their hands.
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