MOE Master Plans for ICT and my ESE

At my school, each classroom is equipped with interactive white board and this really enables the teachers to engage the pupils better. Aside from the Power Point slides which teachers from most schools would be using for teaching, this allows more interactive media to be used in classroom. For example, during science lesson on human system, the teacher shows an unlabeled diagram with names scattered all over the board. Pupils will be asked to come up to the board and drag the correct names to the different parts. Pupils were also trained to set up the equipment. They were very helpful in my first lesson with them, pupils actually volunteered to set up my equipment for me! I was very impressed as I remember the first time I needed to set up equipment like this was for my presentation in university.

Besides that, all primary 1-3 classrooms are also equipped with laptops locked in a steel cabinet. The computer-student ratio is 1:2 for the primary 1s and 1:1 for the primary 2s and 3s. Pupils were being taught basic computer skills such as using PowerPoint for project work, doing voice recording for English and Mother tongue, sourcing for information online as well as sharing and reflections on class blog or school portal.

For the primary 4s, it was compulsory for the pupils to purchase their Personal Learning Devices (PLDs). They can purchase the laptop models recommended by the school at discounted price or they can choose to purchase on their own. Ever since the first batch of primary 4s purchased their PLDs since the beginning of the year, through various surveys, the school has received positive feedback from the teachers, the pupils as well as the parents. Pupils were seen more independent in their learning and whenever they are faced with a question or doubt, they used their PLD to source for information. Besides that, a school portal was set up and teachers would post quizzes and assignments online. Statistics has shown that pupils have made used of their PLDs effectively by attempting the quizzes they have done in school multiple times at home and each time, there was improvement.

I feel that the vision and mission of the school is aligned well with the MOE Master Plans and it not only benefit the school and pupils, it also allows more interactions for the teachers and parents through class blogs.

My opinions on the MOE Master Plans for ICT

I think the 3 Master Plans for ICT that the MOE has developed are plans with good foresight. As the technology advances, the whole world can be shrunk into a small computer screen. We all need to be equipped with ICT skills to make connections to the rest of the world, be it for communication, entertainment or learning.

Master Plan 1 started as early as 1997. By the end of Master Plan 1 at 2002, the foundations of basic ICT infrastructure were laid in schools. With the implementation of ICT infrastructure, Master Plan 2 from 2003 to 2008 aimed to strengthen the integration of ICT into the curriculum, establish baseline ICT standards for students, and seed innovative use of ICT among schools. These two Master Plans impacted me the most as a student throughout my secondary school and JC years. With the implementation of the entire ICT infrastructure, classroom based lessons were more interesting as teachers move away from the traditional black/white board towards the use of visualizer. Computers were also available in the classrooms with a ratio of about 1 computer to 5 students. As a student, I was always more excited whenever I learned that I get to use the computers for learning or project work.

Master Plan 3 just started 2 years ago, and this is the plan that would impact me a lot as a beginning teacher. With strong support on using ICT tools for teaching and learning, I feel that it would definitely enhance the school experience for both teachers and students. Sourcing for information has become more effective for both parties and teachers can share resources more readily. When assignments and discussions are brought online, the students participate more actively.

There is an urgent need to prepare our students for the challenges in 21^st century. I feel that the goals to be met in the 3 master plans were set out on good pace. Master Plans 1 and 2 allowed enough time for the schools and teachers to adapt and Master Plan 3 has aligned well with Master Plans 1 and 2 to enhance the experience for both our teachers and students.

Enhanced School Experience

Enhanced School Experience: Classroom Observations of ICT Use

(I) Specific Observations

School Name: Beacon Primary School

Class: 4/4

Profile of the class: 4/4 is made up of 32 mixed abilities pupils. There is an ADHD girl but after the school’s AED had spoken with the other girls in the class, they provide great support so it wasn’t too difficult to handle this case. The class is generally outspoken and most of the pupils participate actively in activities. Pupils have been trained to use computers since P1 on various skills such as doing projects on Power Point, research on internet, using specific software for voice recording and etc. Each pupil owns a laptop as his/her personal learning device (PLD). As BCPS is a future school, pupils were heavily trained on ICT skills. It was compulsory for the pupils to purchase a PLD in P4.

Subject: Science

What ICT tools are used in the lesson? - Projector/Interactive White Board - Brain Pop Junior - PLD - Google Search Engine - PowerPoint Presentation - Class Blog

Describe how ICT is used for teaching and learning in the lesson. This was actually a project done over 2-3 weeks in which I observed all the lessons involving this project. Pupils were told that they were going to start a new topic on human system. But this time, they were going to be their own teachers. They were divided into groups of 4 or 5 and each group was to pick a human system, do research on it and then present their findings to the class. They were supposed to set quiz questions to test the class on their understanding at the end of their presentations. Pupils were given specific guidelines such as: - The only search engine allowed is Google (as there are many advertisements and irrelevant links on other sites such as Yahoo!) - Each group was to come out with a 6-slide presentation - Diagram of the human system chosen must be included in the slides - Everyone must speak during the presentation During the group work, I was so surprised that everyone was so proficient in using their PLDs. They were using mainly Google and Wikipedia to get their information. Upon completion of the slides, some of the groups even took the initiative to come out with scripts for the presentation. A female group leader still wrote presentation script for a weaker pupil in her group. Before the presentation, the teacher told the pupils to grab their chairs to sit at the front. They were told that they have to give constructive feedbacks at the end of each presentation. The teacher also gave some examples on what kind of feedbacks are considered ‘constructive’. During the presentation, I was again impressed with their PowerPoint skills. All the slides were interestingly filled with sound/video effects coupled with appropriate animations (they started using PowerPoint since P1). Slides were generally useful and good. There were two groups giving out small tokens for pupils who answered the quiz questions correctly. The whole presentation was smooth, pupils were attentive when it was not their turn and participated actively in the Q&A session. At the end of the presentation, pupils were able to give constructive feedback such as: - Voice too soft - Animations between slides were too long and unnecessary - Unsuitable font colors for words After all the groups have presented, the teacher summed up the project by asking the pupils to do a short reflection post on their experience. There were many positive feedbacks on this project. Pupils enjoyed the learning process a lot. He then played the Brain Pop Junior science video on human system to focus on the important points to note. After which, he did a short quiz with pupils using the interactive white board. Unlabeled diagrams of the different systems were shown pupils were to match the names at the side to the correct organs. Pupils were very engaged in this activity as they get to learn ‘hands-on’ by dragging the names to the correct parts on the white board. At least ¾ pupils from the class raised their hands to volunteer to answer the questions. This was the first time that the teacher was testing out this project idea and it was very successful. Initially he was afraid this project might be too difficult for P4 pupils, but it turned out that the pupils had some really good content and they managed to put the information in a clear and organized manner to present to the class.

(II) General Observation:

How do teachers in the school feel about the use of ICT for teaching and learning? (For this question, you may want to speak to the HOD/ICT and other teachers you know in the school.)

Generally, all the teachers I have spoken to find that it is efficient when teaching is combined with the use of ICT tools.

Some assessment materials would be uploaded onto school portal and marked electronically when the pupils have attempted. This cuts down on marking time which allows the teachers to have more time to plan for more activities to enhance learning experience.

The 21^st century students are more IT savvy and it seems like they enjoy learning more with the ICT tools than the traditional setting.

Where technical difficulties might cause frustration to teachers in other schools, the problem is minimized in BCPS as it is a future school and thus large support is given from the school, MOE as well as IDA.