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.
My own experience with the online forum in university is quite interesting. For those that were assessment-based, with marks given for participation as well as the quality of the posts graded, students were basically posting long essays online. Few, if any at all, commented on other's postings. However, for modules which are more interesting, say film modules, there was more spontaneous sharing going on in the online forum. I think this also reflects the tension between assessment and teaching goals, educators will need to negotiate between the two and think of ways for both to complement each other. A challenge indeed!
ReplyDelete-peifang
I personally like online assessment - think about how many trees we are saving!!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the use of ICT helps to promote administrative and management excellence in our education system, as proposed by former Minister of Education, Teo Chee Hean. However, once again, a minority of individuals might be left out from this desired outcome. I know of some senior teachers who are very bad with technology. Using the computer is such a hassle to them. The school which I did contract teaching in recently had a change in attendance taking, where form teachers go online to update students' daily attendance. Many of the older teachers were very upset about this change, and many of them complained that using the computer for admin work is tedious and gives them a headache. Personally, I feel that online attendance is much more convenient than the conventional way. But maybe that's because I am born in an IT savvy environment?
I think the weight is really on the shoulders of the younger generation of teachers to push the use of ICT!
"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."
ReplyDeleteDefinitely true! This is a point that we as BTs have to remember. They are probably quicker to pick up new technologies and ICT tools for their personal use.
As teachers, we have to be aware of these tools, and be able to engage them well. Being aware of social media, having a Facebook account for instance, can create the impression (to the students) that we are current and relevant. But whether or not we can "befriend" them is a debatable issue. I know of some teachers who use Facebook to interact very successfully with their students, and also of teachers who refuse to add any students, keeping their level of privacy. I guess it is a personal choice, and those who choose to add students as friends have to be very careful of what they say, how they interact online, and make sure never to cross the professional boundary.
As teachers, we also have the responsibility to educate students on cyberwellness, on ethical issues, and also on proper language usage online, rather than SMS language. I think this will be a challenge to tackle rather than teaching students how to use specific ICT tools.