Making connections between my ESE and MOE Masterplans for ICT in Education

The result of the three Masterplans for ICT is evident in many areas of Evergreen Secondary. Indeed, the use of ICT is not only evident but integral to the curriculum here. Teachers are encouraged to go for regular training so as to update themselves on the latest ICT resources. Congruently, the students themselves are also equally savvy, with every class having its own in-class, specially trained IT representative to assist the class or teacher during lesson time where needed.

In regards to the original vision of the three Masterplans, I would say that the school has managed to achieve the Ministry's four main goals of:

1. Enhancing linkages between the school and the world around it, so as to expand and enrich the learning environment. 
2. Encouraging creative thinking and lifelong learning.
3. Encouraging innovative processes in education.
4. Promoting administrative and management excellence in our education system.

In Evergreen, every class room is equipped with its own internet cable and high definition projector. As such, teachers can bring in their own laptops and connect to the internet during lesson time when needed. This has proven very useful when showcasing videos off the internet or online presentations through web resources such as Youtube or Prezi. Students are also encouraged to share and submit any relevant or interesting findings off with web with their classmates through the school's online portal. The process of innovative teaching and creative thinking and is thus very much evident in the school.

Additionally, there are also four computer labs in the school and as per above, each computer comes with its own internet connection, enabling students to conduct online research during during lesson time and hence, enhance linkages between the school and the world around it.

Admin-wise, the school is also well-equipped to handle any technical difficulties that may arise during school hours. There are three onsite IT officers who are always available to help the teachers should the equipment in the class or staff rooms turn faulty during school hours, thereby fulfilling the last goal of promoting administrative and management excellence in our education system.

My opinion on the MOE Masterplans for ICT in Education

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

The Ministry's Masterplan for the use of ICT in education is a highly comprehensive strategy that seeks to create an IT-based teaching and learning environment in every school. This is important as in order for Singaporeans to continue thriving in the competitive world of the 21st Century, we must be able to learn and think beyond the bounds of our physical environment. The digital age has down upon us and with it comes new challenges and unexpected surprises. It is thus imperative that we equip our future workforce with skills that will be critical for their future careers.

As mentioned by our former Minister of Education, Rear Admiral Teo Chee Hean, these skills include creative thinking, the ability to learn independently and continuously, and effective communication. In his speech during the launch of the first Masterplan in 1997, he also highlighted four main goals for the use of IT in education - first, to enhance linkages between the school and the world around it, so as to expand and enrich the learning environment. Second, to encourage creative thinking and lifelong learning. Third, to encourage innovative processes in education; and fourth, to promote administrative and management excellence in our education system.

This is an ambitious strategy and for it to be successful, a solid foundation has to be in place. Thus, it is encouraging to note that the ministry has chosen to take a slow but steady approach in tackling this issue. Each of the following masterplan has served to enhance and reinforce its predecessor and indeed, we can already see the changes taking place in the classrooms. With the third masterplan in place, I am confident that the program will succeed.

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).

I remember watching videos and clips of musicals or movies during my JC days. I enjoyed those lessons thoroughly and unsurprisingly, those were also the lessons that I remember the most. As the theme for my A level literature was 'The Gothic', my teacher would show us videos of horror movies to help create tension in the classroom and set the tone for the lesson. This greatly helped us in relating to the text better and understanding the various themes that were being taught to us.

When I moved onto NUS, the use of ICT continued to play an important role in my studies. As part of our module requirements, it was common practice to upload questions and answers to an online forum or open up a new 'thread' for discussion. We could also post feedback and engage our fellow peers or professors in debates - all online. This proved to be very useful in generating ideas for my independent essay assignments and it helped me to become more self-reliant and confident in my studies. The feedback and debates I had with my fellow peers also helped to broaden my views and opinions on matters where I would have previously either overlooked or been ignorant about.

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

It is undeniable the importance of incorporating ICT tools in lessons for today's new generation of students. The explosion of online resources and social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter means that today's students are no longer as ignorant or naive as we would imagine (or like) them to be. Their interests have also evolved beyond that of the classroom or school compound. The ability to ensure that they remain engaged in the process of learning during lesson time is thus becoming increasingly difficult for teachers across the board.

As a beginning teacher then, I will have to work hard to ensure that I remain up-to-date on the latest ICT tools that can help me to make my lessons more meaningful, exciting and most importantly, memorable for my future students. All this in line with the underlying philosophy of the Masterplans - that education should continually anticipate the needs of the future and prepare pupils to meet those needs.

Classroom Observations of ICT Use

School Name: Evergreen Secondary School
Class: 1 Respect (Secondary 1)

Class Profile: Express stream. A very lively and enthusiastic class. Most of the students in the class are very vocal and will voice out their views and opinions without prompt. However, this can pose as a problem when trying to get the students to focus on their assignments. Nonetheless, on the whole, the students are quick to learn and eager to please.

ICT tools used in the lesson: Video.

How ICT is used for teaching and learning in the lesson: The subject at hand was Literature. It was the students' second introductory lesson into poetry. The theme for that week was 'The Environment' and the goal was to get students in touch with their emotions. As a trigger activity, the teacher decided to use a music video of Michael Jackson's Earth Song to get the students riled up while drawing their attention to the lyrics and, in particular, the message behind the song and the emotional content of the words. Through the video, the students were able to literally visualize the words and hence, relate to the song better. It also demonstrated how studying poetry can be fun, exciting and meaningful, all at the same time. All this was accompanied by an in-class assignment consisting of a few short-answer questions related to the song. The teacher then round up the lesson by pointing out to them how the lyrics of some popular songs can be seen as poetry in their own right and that the next time they listen to a song, they should pay more attention to its meaning. She also highlighted to them how many musicians are like poets in their own right and that music is just one of the many different means one can use to express poetry and imbue it with emotion.

How teachers in the school feel about the use of ICT for teaching and learning: They feel that ICT can help to make their lessons more interesting but only up to a certain extent. At times, students can get too excited by the visuals and not pay attention the content of the lesson. Thus, it is important to note that when using ICT, teachers need to be able to strike a balance between content and character. Lessons should be memorable but not for the wrong reasons.

The use of ICT can also be a hindrance to the lesson in the event where the facilities in the class room are not in working order. It is thus important for teachers to come up with a backup plan for lessons involving ICT and not become too overly reliant on them.

Additionally, there is a fear that students now-a-days are becoming too over reliant on ICT to the point where they get bored and restless easily where ICT is not used. This is especially pertinent to Language and Humanities where written assignments are the norm. With the current generation growing up in an age that is used to short bursts of information through mediums such as Twitter and Facebook, there is an increasing worry among teachers that this will affect the students ability or willingness to elaborate their answers.

Ultimately, the use of ICT is seen as a boon and a bane to many teachers. Most see it as a boon for teaching but a bane for learning. While it can help to enhance and broaden the education of students, it cannot be relied upon entirely to impart certain essential skills. In addition, there is a fear of becoming overly reliant on their usage in classrooms. For the older generation teachers in particular, many of them still feel very skeptical about using ICT in their lessons and prefer to minimize their usage. Some are also afraid that students might become 'dumbed down' overtime in terms of their creativity and use of imagination in the classroom due to overexposure to ICT. Ensuring that students stay to motivated and hands-on in their assignments outside the classroom remains a challenge for most teachers and many still feel that the use ICT has done little to alleviate the burden of this important aspect of teaching and school-life for the students.