Making Connection Between Your Enhanced School Experience and the Masterplans for Education

For your third post, 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 the school that I was attached to, Da Qiao Primary School(DQPS), I could see clearly that the school has achieved what was required in Master Plan 1 which was to provide the basic infrastructure for ICT. There were 2 computer labs with 40 computers each which was used for the teaching of subjects. There was also a Mac computer lab which was used for the video editing club and a robotics lab for the robotics club. On top of that, all the classrooms in Da Qiao Primary School are fitted with a personal computer and visualizer for the teacher's use. As such, ICT is an integral part of every student's life in DQPS.

Beside just having the basic structure, the HOD for IT ensure that the facilities are fully utilized and every class has an opportunity to use the computer labs by rostering every class to use the computer lab at least once every week. The subject matter however was left to the discretion of the teacher in charge of each class.

During my Enhanced School Experience (ESE), I also learnt that every student had learnt basic skills of Microsoft Word by the time they reach Primary 3. An example was when I saw students printing their essays written in Microsoft Word. Beside that, teachers also taught students how to use the Microsoft Excel - in one case to create graphs when teaching the topic of Graphs in Primary 4. As such, I could see that students were being equipped with basic computer skills as they learnt new English or Maths topics.

E-learning was also evident in DQPS. During my Maths lessons, my co-teacher used a program called "LEAD" developed by Marshall Cavendish to teach angles, shapes. The students were very engaged as there was animation and there were quizzes which allowed children to review the topics they were taught. Also, students each had a account with the software and could access it from home. During the school holidays, teachers would set English and Maths homework through the "LEAD" online software so that E-learning continued even at home and during the holidays.

In another class, I saw children encouraged to explore and experiment with a cartoon creating software, COMIC Life, a Mac software program. They had to present a comic strip of themselves during the process of a Community Involvement Project that they did. I thought it was a very interesting way of students reflecting on the CIP as compared to the tradition pen and paper reflection and it was much more engaging for the students. 

In DQPS, the students are not only taught the basic computer skills or the experimentation of new technology, they are also taught cyber wellness as well. A talk on Cyber wellness was conducted during assembly that taught the student to be careful when they use facebook or blogs. One key thing they are taught was about not revealing about their personal information to strangers and also to not meet up with people they barely knew through the internet.

In all, I could see that there are many evidences that suggest that the 3 Masterplans are in place in my school.

However, I do see that the use of ICT falls back to the prerogative of the teachers. While each department requires each teacher to use the lab at least once a month, the implementation and accountability is not easily enforced as each teacher has different capacity to use ICT to teach. So if a teacher is not well informed about how to use ICT for her subject, he or she may not want to use ICT at all. Secondly, it is also about addressing the fears of teachers.

One fear that teachers have is using ICT in a computer lab with a large class size. The teacher not only have to contend with possible hiccups faced in using ICT but also have to face the many challenges in terms of class management and ensuring that every student is learning up to pace with the teacher.

While pairing up with a student who is competent with computers may work, but if the teacher is using newer softwares or program, it may require teachers to slow down in their teaching so as to ensure learning is taking place. However teachers may not have the luxury as there are limited time to complete the syllabus.

As such, planning for ICT use in classes or labs need to be well planned ahead. Teachers who put in the extra effort, often enjoy greater student participation and students are able to learnt better when they conduct their lessons.

So all in all, ICT is still very much welcomed as it helps students learn better and sometimes faster.