In Bukit Batok Secondary School, the infrastructure development for ICT is very evident. All the classrooms have the appropriate equipment for projecting movies, slides, and are wi-fi enabled. Moreover, the principal has tapped on her contacts at A*Star to help in the building of a classroom of the future, which I unfortunately did not have a chance to see. Moreover, every teacher is issued with a laptop to help in the delivery of lessons. The embrace of ICT goes far enough such that the school has a dedicated room set aside for broadcasts and podcasts.
Apart from the infrastructure, there have also been funds set aside for subscription to online databases as well as for the maintenance of online portals. Timetables, organisational charts, meetings, holiday homework, class announcements can be found on these portals. Moreover, the ICT head organises regular ICT lessons whenever there is a need for updates.
Every Friday, the school allows various student groups 15 minutes in the morning to make a presentation during their assembly period. Apart from the great experience the students gain, one notable feature was the use of videos sourced online.
Additionally, ICT plays an interesting role in the way emergency exercises are conducted. After the advent of the H1N1 scare, a system was put in place whereby there would be a relay system to pass urgent messages. Apart from this system, most classes and CCA groups have a Facebook page which acted as a backup to the relay system.
The use of videos in literature has also clearly been a hit with the students. They would get an accompanying movie of Macbeth in addition to the book. The extreme horror and imagery evident in Macbeth was very suited to the vivid depictions in the movie. This allowed the students to situate and place the story in a context that they could feel and understand, not simply read. This translated to greater effectiveness in comprehending the text.
There has also been the use of propaganda videos in history classes to show the importance of certain messages. This helps students understand motives, point out contradictions, and generally understand how intuitive some of the skills necessary to history are.
Thursday, 4 August 2011
ICT Post 2
It is important for MOE to develop the Masterplans for ICT in education for several reasons. Firstly, there is a need to help Singapore find its role in the world economy. The IT revolution is well underway, and ever more platforms for communication and collaboration present themselves. In order to maintain its edge, Singapore needs workers who are IT savvy and can collaborate and work using the opportunities and possibilities these new technologies provide.
The Masterplans are also important in creating variety in the delivery of lessons. No longer will students have to settle for a more or less typical lesson delivery involving the whiteboard and the marker, with the occasional inclusion of the overhead projectors. Teachers now have a variety of aids to engage the students in order to enhance their understanding. Moreover, teachers are trained to incorporate aspects of ICT in their lessons. The creation of teaching staff willing and able to use ICT in their lessons and assessment can only open the eyes of the students to the opportunities ICT provides.
The Masterplans are also useful because they allow the possibility of collaborative learning. One of the biggest advantages is in spreading good lesson outlines and plans. These good practices can be possible experiments for various teachers to adopt and adapt according to their circumstances. This can only raise pedagogical standards as a community of teachers are able to feedback and refine upon lesson plans based on sound pedagogical principles.
When I was a student, Masterplan 1 was in effect. Yet even then, the great infrastructure shift was clearly underway. Most noticeably, the amount of time devoted to IT lessons in secondary school was increased. What had been simple typing lessons in primary school gave way to projects and research during curriculum hours. IT lessons included how to make a powerpoint and how to create flash animations. Physics lessons included learning how to write simple computer codes to allow robots with sensors to move in a maze.
More importantly, I felt, was the increased use of videos in lessons. Movies dealing with history were screened, and I was asked to reflect on the feelings they provoked. Moreover, these lessons would have guiding questions such that my mind was attuned to enquire in a certain manner.
As a beginning teacher, I feel that Masterplan 3 will affect the way I function as an educator. Firstly, the types of lesson preparation will be different. Sourcing for material would not be confined to written work, but would include videos and short clips available on certain databases. Secondly, modes of assessment will be more varied. The use of rubrics in grading will become more widespread as assessments will include more projects, especially collaborative ones. Thirdly, I will have to attend more upgrading courses to keep pace with the changing IT landscape. Cloud computing is a wonderful tool right now, but keeping up with the many opportunities this provides is hard. I also feel that as an educator, there is the responsibility to ensure that students are provided with a safe environment for using ICT. Issues like cyber-bullying may become more widespread, while the dangers and allure of other areas of the internet will pose a less tractable problem. It will be my role as an educator to guide the students while I can on the possibilities and dangers of ICT.
The Masterplans are also important in creating variety in the delivery of lessons. No longer will students have to settle for a more or less typical lesson delivery involving the whiteboard and the marker, with the occasional inclusion of the overhead projectors. Teachers now have a variety of aids to engage the students in order to enhance their understanding. Moreover, teachers are trained to incorporate aspects of ICT in their lessons. The creation of teaching staff willing and able to use ICT in their lessons and assessment can only open the eyes of the students to the opportunities ICT provides.
The Masterplans are also useful because they allow the possibility of collaborative learning. One of the biggest advantages is in spreading good lesson outlines and plans. These good practices can be possible experiments for various teachers to adopt and adapt according to their circumstances. This can only raise pedagogical standards as a community of teachers are able to feedback and refine upon lesson plans based on sound pedagogical principles.
When I was a student, Masterplan 1 was in effect. Yet even then, the great infrastructure shift was clearly underway. Most noticeably, the amount of time devoted to IT lessons in secondary school was increased. What had been simple typing lessons in primary school gave way to projects and research during curriculum hours. IT lessons included how to make a powerpoint and how to create flash animations. Physics lessons included learning how to write simple computer codes to allow robots with sensors to move in a maze.
More importantly, I felt, was the increased use of videos in lessons. Movies dealing with history were screened, and I was asked to reflect on the feelings they provoked. Moreover, these lessons would have guiding questions such that my mind was attuned to enquire in a certain manner.
As a beginning teacher, I feel that Masterplan 3 will affect the way I function as an educator. Firstly, the types of lesson preparation will be different. Sourcing for material would not be confined to written work, but would include videos and short clips available on certain databases. Secondly, modes of assessment will be more varied. The use of rubrics in grading will become more widespread as assessments will include more projects, especially collaborative ones. Thirdly, I will have to attend more upgrading courses to keep pace with the changing IT landscape. Cloud computing is a wonderful tool right now, but keeping up with the many opportunities this provides is hard. I also feel that as an educator, there is the responsibility to ensure that students are provided with a safe environment for using ICT. Issues like cyber-bullying may become more widespread, while the dangers and allure of other areas of the internet will pose a less tractable problem. It will be my role as an educator to guide the students while I can on the possibilities and dangers of ICT.
ICT Post 1
ENHANCED SCHOOL EXPERIENCE
PREPARATORY TASK FOR ICT FOR MEANINGFUL LEARNING
Enchanced School Experience: Classroom Observations of ICT Use
(I) Specific Observation
School name: Bukit Batok Secondary School
Class: 1E3
Profile of the class: This is a Secondary 1 Express class. The students are generally well-behaved, with the more disruptive ones exiled to the sides of the classroom. They have only been taking History as a subject since the start of Semester 3, and are still building up the necessary skills. There are a mixture of students. Some are willing, however inappropriately, to share their opinions on all matters under the sun, while others are shy to the point of being terrified to admit that they do not understand what the teacher is talking about.
Subject: History
What ICT tools are used in the lesson? Powerpoint Presentation and Visualiser
Describe how ICT is used for teaching and learning in the lesson.
The lesson covered the reasons why Raffles founded Singapore. The primary tool used was the Powerpoint presentation. Unfortunately, the projector had distorted the colour and made the slides very difficult to read. This led to frequent complaints by the students over their inability to follow the lesson.
Otherwise, the Powerpoint incorporated good illustrations and animations concerning the monsoon winds in Southeast Asia. this allowed the teacher to show the favourable position of the various ports in the Malay World.
Moreover, the visualiser was useful in displaying a palimpsest on a map. This was useful in helping students understand the shifting political allegiances in the Malay World. This method was also useful in showing the location of artefacts and how these locations reflected the change in trading patterns.
(II) General Observation
How do teachers in the school feel about the use of ICT for teaching and learning?
Some of the teachers in the school embrace ICT. The ICT committee, together with the English Department, created an English Oral E-Learning task for the Secondary 1 and 2 students. The English teacher uploaded a passage onto the portal and students were instructed to read and record their voices using their hand phones at home. These audio files were then uploaded onto the school portal. Their classmates were in turn assigned to listen and comment on their classmates’ oral presentation. Rubrics were uploaded online to assist students in the grading of the presentations. The response of the teachers and students to this initiative has been particularly good since it has encouraged the students to collaborate and learn. The success of this programme has led to the projected expansion to the Upper Secondary levels. Other departments, such as the Chinese Language Department, have also taken up this initiative.
Sticking with the Language Departments for now, the Chinese and Tamil Language Departments have also embraced the use of podcasting. These podcasts have been broadcasted over the internet, enabling the students to gain confidence and to enhance their presentation skills. The Chinese Language Department uses podcasting as one of the ways to communicate with their partner school in China.
The Tamil Language Department has led a pilot project on the use of handphones in classrooms. Videos of students and teachers speaking and posing questions are routinely filmed and uploaded through Bluetooth to be replayed immediately. The body language, expression, and tone will then be analysed by the class. Although this requires more lesson preparation, this allows the students to be more aware of the impression they make, while also allowing them to gain confidence in speaking directly to an audience or camera.
The Mathematics Department relies heavily on the use of ACE Learning System. This has been an established practice for some time and the teachers seem happy with it.
The Science Department uses Datalogger in their experiments, while more dangerous experiments filmed on video are also used to impart lessons in class.
Away from the Departments,, the ICT head also explained the ICT-specific activities the school has been promoting heavily. Firstly, the school has funds set aside for subscription to services such as customised Channel News Asia broadcasts meant for teaching and Hansvision programmes. The emphasis, for him, is on the infusion of ICT into lessons, not the explicit, knock over the head type of teaching.
He also explained the general shift toward collaborative teaching and learning, best-exemplified by the use of Google Docs. In order to promote a more ICT-savvy culture, he routinely organises training and update workshops for school staff. There is also an ICT Mentor Programme within to school to help those new to ICT integrate into the school’s ICT culture. These programmes, he hopes, will help improve the school’s BYiTEScore.
PREPARATORY TASK FOR ICT FOR MEANINGFUL LEARNING
Enchanced School Experience: Classroom Observations of ICT Use
(I) Specific Observation
School name: Bukit Batok Secondary School
Class: 1E3
Profile of the class: This is a Secondary 1 Express class. The students are generally well-behaved, with the more disruptive ones exiled to the sides of the classroom. They have only been taking History as a subject since the start of Semester 3, and are still building up the necessary skills. There are a mixture of students. Some are willing, however inappropriately, to share their opinions on all matters under the sun, while others are shy to the point of being terrified to admit that they do not understand what the teacher is talking about.
Subject: History
What ICT tools are used in the lesson? Powerpoint Presentation and Visualiser
Describe how ICT is used for teaching and learning in the lesson.
The lesson covered the reasons why Raffles founded Singapore. The primary tool used was the Powerpoint presentation. Unfortunately, the projector had distorted the colour and made the slides very difficult to read. This led to frequent complaints by the students over their inability to follow the lesson.
Otherwise, the Powerpoint incorporated good illustrations and animations concerning the monsoon winds in Southeast Asia. this allowed the teacher to show the favourable position of the various ports in the Malay World.
Moreover, the visualiser was useful in displaying a palimpsest on a map. This was useful in helping students understand the shifting political allegiances in the Malay World. This method was also useful in showing the location of artefacts and how these locations reflected the change in trading patterns.
(II) General Observation
How do teachers in the school feel about the use of ICT for teaching and learning?
Some of the teachers in the school embrace ICT. The ICT committee, together with the English Department, created an English Oral E-Learning task for the Secondary 1 and 2 students. The English teacher uploaded a passage onto the portal and students were instructed to read and record their voices using their hand phones at home. These audio files were then uploaded onto the school portal. Their classmates were in turn assigned to listen and comment on their classmates’ oral presentation. Rubrics were uploaded online to assist students in the grading of the presentations. The response of the teachers and students to this initiative has been particularly good since it has encouraged the students to collaborate and learn. The success of this programme has led to the projected expansion to the Upper Secondary levels. Other departments, such as the Chinese Language Department, have also taken up this initiative.
Sticking with the Language Departments for now, the Chinese and Tamil Language Departments have also embraced the use of podcasting. These podcasts have been broadcasted over the internet, enabling the students to gain confidence and to enhance their presentation skills. The Chinese Language Department uses podcasting as one of the ways to communicate with their partner school in China.
The Tamil Language Department has led a pilot project on the use of handphones in classrooms. Videos of students and teachers speaking and posing questions are routinely filmed and uploaded through Bluetooth to be replayed immediately. The body language, expression, and tone will then be analysed by the class. Although this requires more lesson preparation, this allows the students to be more aware of the impression they make, while also allowing them to gain confidence in speaking directly to an audience or camera.
The Mathematics Department relies heavily on the use of ACE Learning System. This has been an established practice for some time and the teachers seem happy with it.
The Science Department uses Datalogger in their experiments, while more dangerous experiments filmed on video are also used to impart lessons in class.
Away from the Departments,, the ICT head also explained the ICT-specific activities the school has been promoting heavily. Firstly, the school has funds set aside for subscription to services such as customised Channel News Asia broadcasts meant for teaching and Hansvision programmes. The emphasis, for him, is on the infusion of ICT into lessons, not the explicit, knock over the head type of teaching.
He also explained the general shift toward collaborative teaching and learning, best-exemplified by the use of Google Docs. In order to promote a more ICT-savvy culture, he routinely organises training and update workshops for school staff. There is also an ICT Mentor Programme within to school to help those new to ICT integrate into the school’s ICT culture. These programmes, he hopes, will help improve the school’s BYiTEScore.
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