Making Connections: My ESE and MOE's ICT Masterplans

Describe which achievement(s) of the three Masterplans for ICT in education are evident in the school/classes that you are attached to for your ESE. You may want to refer to your blog post about your ESE.

In Christ Church Secondary, many of the goals from Masterplans 1, 2 and 3 have been achieved through the use of ICT. Online portals such as edumall and Northzone Exchange (NzX) are accessed often, allowing teachers to share resources with other schools, thus enhancing linkages between the schools.

The school does have the capacity and capability in using ICT for school improvement, via its suggestion scheme for teachers makes use of Google Docs, which encourages transparency and gives everyone the opportunity to be involved in innovative processes in school development, and education as a whole. It also makes it more accessible and thus more convenient for teachers to put forth their suggestions to the management, promoting professional growth. This not only enhances creative thinking and social responsibility for the teachers, it also results in an efficient feedback system for the SEC, which is a step towards promoting administrative and management excellence in the education system.

The use of ICT gives students, too, a chance to be more active learners when given research projects. For example, a History teacher, instead of spending a lot of classroom time detailing the lives of Singapore's forefathers, tasked students to do an investigation of Raffles and Farquhar, and present their findings in class. This also trains students in being more discerning, and thus, critical in thinking, for example, when choosing which information is relevant to their topics.

All the classrooms of Christ Church Secondary are fixed with a visualizer and projector, making it a snap for teachers to utilize ICT during their lessons, thus giving them the opportunity to engage the students more and lessen teacher-centredness in the classroom. This shows that the school does have a great infrastructure in place that supports widespread and effective use of ICT.

Apart from using ICT in instruction, teachers are also observed to assess students via ICT tools, for instance, quizzes are held online on the LMS website instead of the usual classroom tests. This encourages efficiency in learning and students are given immediate feedback once they are done, thus allowing them to correct themselves at that very moment instead of waiting for the teacher to be done marking. Teachers, too, get to save time when the computer marks all classes and analyses the results for them. In addition, in Christ Church, English teachers are making use of the Audacity program to train and assess students on their oral reading and picture description skills. Again, students here are able to self-evaluate and correct themselves accordingly when they listen to their own sound clips, thus enhancing active and self-directed learning to take place.

Masterplans for ICT in Education

1. In your opinion, why do you think it is important for MOE to develop the three Masterplans for ICT in education?

As mentioned by Mr Teo Chee Hean in 1997, advancement in technology has caused the shrinking of the world. This is not a new phenomenon - ever since the Industrial Revolution, people have found it increasingly easier and faster to communicate with those from other parts of the globe, whether face-to-face or via mail, telecommunication, or, at present, the Internet. Such an occurrence results in several implications that makes it essential for Singapore's Ministry of Education (MOE) to infuse information and communication technologies (ICT) into the education system.

Because of the Internet, it is no longer a challenge for information to be communicated throughout the world. As such, countries, even one so small it is represented only by a red dot on the world map, is made more visible to the global society. In order to maintain and further develop Singapore's esteemed image as a developed, well-educated nation, it is thus important for students to keep up with whatever advances there are in the world so as . In particular, they must be given the platform to experience and learn new ICT skills at a pace equivalent to the rapid progression of ICT.

Technology has also made it a breeze for Singaporeans to cross borders in education, work, business, and so on. For example, a student may apply for an overseas exchange program within minutes via email, or an online application, after which all other arrangements (e.g. housing, modules, etc) can be made online as well. This puts many of our people in another man's land, which is no doubt, rather daunting for them. To ensure that they are able to prosper in whatever they are doing, these people must be competitively equipped with knowledge in various areas, one of which must be ICT. This is because ICT is the key towards further discoveries, and hence, towards success. In addition, prowess in ICT allows for their support system back home to seem not far away at all, making their being away a less torturous experience.

As mentioned, ICT has produced an incredible convenience of availability of knowledge, whereby so much more information is ready for access by everyone with a connection. This is enhanced even further with the proliferation of smart phones in society. Even so, this is not always a good thing when too much information comes too fast - one is most likely to end up being more confused than before. Therefore, students must be taught at an early age on how to sieve through the vast data and organise them into useful chunks, for example by using mind-mapping software. Only then will they be able to gain understanding and effectively apply their knowledge to relevant situations.

It is necessary for MOE to embark on ICT learning in stages, thus their arrangement for having three, rather than one, Masterplan is ideal. This is so that schools are able to ease into a more technologically advanced system with minimal shock, especially for more experienced teachers who may require a longer adjusting time, compared to students, or younger teachers. With that, there is less possibility for the idea of ICT to be immediately rejected following a rude shock. Hence, the Masterplans will be more likely to achieve a favourable outcome.

2. Has any of the Masterplans impacted you as a student? Share your experience of how ICT had been used in the classes you attended as a student (if applicable).

Masterplan 1 was well under way when I was in secondary school. There was one particular project that our English teacher had us embark on as a group, and that was to create a presentation on Racial Harmony. We were encouraged to find our own content via Internet research, and make use of video making software, Microsoft Office, or any other computer applications that were available at that time.

This experience was the first of many, but I remember how novel and exciting it was to be in the computer lab with my group mates, being our own educators rather than being spoon fed knowledge by the teacher. Because we were the ones who found the relevant information, read through it, chose portions pertinent to our task, and then shared our findings with the class, I found myself being able to remember everything more vividly as compared to when I was learning in a teacher-centered classroom. Since then, I had always looked forward to lessons that involved ICT in any way.

3. Based on your enhanced school experience, how do you think the current Masterplan 3 may affect your role(s) as a beginning teacher?

As a beginning teacher in the ICT Masterplan 3 phase, it is vital that I have the necessary competence in relevant software that can be used in my lessons such that students can undergo self-directed and collaborative learning. I must also get used to the idea of students being independent learners, and not as reliant on the teacher as was the case when I was still in school. This will no doubt be a great challenge, especially when there are pressing demands to complete the syllabus before the tests or exams begin, and I cannot give students as much time as they need to discover the knowledge themselves, even with my guidance. My ESE corroborates this statement, as I find the extent to which most teachers engage ICT in daily teaching is limited to using Powerpoint slides, which, in itself, do not really encourage much self-directed or collaborative learning by the students.

Time management skills will have to be honed, as ICT-based and group work lessons are usually a bit more time consuming than what we are used to, especially if students have to be herded from class to the labs. However, I believe that with the support of the school (perhaps by giving 5-10 more minutes per period, placing less emphasis on final exams alone), and when a system has been put into place, transiting into fully ICT-based learning should not be as painful as it seems to be.

In addition, I hope that as a beginning teacher, all assessments will be carried out with the help of ICT, particularly when they are MCQ or short-answer tests. This not only saves paper, but also makes it less cumbersome for the teacher, as marking is computerised and students are given immediate feedback. Time saved here may even make up for the extra taken in conducting the ICT-based lessons.

Enhanced School Experience: Classroom Observations

School & Class: Christ Church Secondary School, Secondary 3 Normal (Technical)

Profile of the class: Relatively large group of 37 students, with more boys than girls. By virtue of being the normal (technical) stream, students are generally less academically oriented and lean more towards being kinesthetic and visual learners.

Subject: Science

ICT tools used: New Generation Interactive Textbook (NGIT) - laptops and projector

Describe how ICT is used for teaching and learning in this lesson:

Each student is issued his or her own laptop to be used during the lesson, which is held in the classroom itself. The teacher (Mdm Annur), too, uses a laptop, with his display being screened to the whole class. The lesson is conducted as how a typical one would be - teacher imparts knowledge via screen projection and students listen, except this time, the students are a lot more engaged. Instead of ordinary text and pictures, students now are able to enjoy animations, videos, etc. right from their laptop instead of having to look at the big screen. At numerous points of the topic being taught, the teacher will have his students stop at checkpoints to assess their level of understanding. This is done via each individual's laptop, where the students answer MCQ questions, after which the teacher can check whether everyone has completed, and monitor whether they are following with the lesson or not. The teacher thus has constant feedback from each student, with less problems such as a non-responsive class. Such a practice gives the opportunity for greater hands-on and self-directed learning for the students, and very likely increases their attention and interest level in the topic being taught.

How do teachers in the school feel about the use of ICT for teaching and learning?

Teachers in Christ Church are generally very open and receptive to the use of ICT in their lessons, but particularly so for the Maths and Science rather than Humanities or languages. Feedback received indicate that there may be less software or programs available that are relevant to the teaching of the latter subjects, as opposed to the myriad of programs created for Maths and Sciences. It is suggested that perhaps if there were more ICT-based lessons conducted for Humanities, students' interests will be piqued and their performance may likely improve. Currently, the school's national exams results for Humanities do not meet the national average.

There is also mention of how there are time constraints to conduct ICT-based lessons so regularly, especially when there is much to cover to finish the syllabus on time. However, this was not an issue for the teacher who conducted the NGIT lesson. It appears that programs such as the NGIT do not pose too much of a problem with regards to time - in fact, it will instead allow the teacher to be more efficient in relaying information to the students and getting feedback on their understanding. It is hoped that the rest of the NGIT pilot program goes smoothly so that it can be incorporated into other subjects and classes as well.