- What are the main goals of each Masterplan for ICT in education and why do you think it is important for MOE to develop them?
Masterplan 1: Main goal was to interweave the virtual world into real life learning and application, to fully equip students with sufficient, or even advanced Information Technological skills in apprehending the future needs as the world turns increasingly IT-based.
Masterplan 2: Main goal was wielding ICT as one of the main platforms in teaching & learning, how students were able to manipulate and refine their IT knowledge to cater to their own needs and be in charge of their own learning by exploration in the virtual world. Vice Versa, teachers were able to customize lessons with ICT, either through enhancing their lesson deliverance with IT tools, or even developing softwares for learning to suit students' needs.
Masterplan 3: Main goal is the continuation of the two previous master plans, to refine and polish not only the development of ICT learning in schools, but also teachers' knowledge and usage of the technology itself. The ultimate aim is to extend learning beyond the literal classroom and towards the virtual classroom, accessible from home and any other place.
Singapore's most precious (and only) natural resource is its people, and therefore it is widely acknowledged that we are a knowledge-based economy. Hence, in my opinion, it is definitely crucial for MOE to develop these master plans to reinforce the advance knowledge and improvements in human resources such as Information Technology. This is to ensure that not only the present generation are competent with the rest of the world in the face of improving technologies, that our future generation, namely the students, will be well-equipped in this increasingly significant field of study too. Moreover, as the world becomes increasingly global, without these skills, it is possible for us to be "striked-out" in the technological game.
- Has any of the Masterplans impacted you as a student? Share your experience on how ICT had been used in the classes you attended as a student (if applicable).
The Masterplans have definitely impacted me, or I should say, benefitted me greatly as a student. I can vividly recall sitting on the floor as a Primary 1 student in Ang Mo Kio Primary School (now defunct), during Mathematics lesson and how I was really bored and appalled by the dirty blackboards and chalks my teacher used to explain simple multiplication theories to us. Then, when I had changed school during the mid-year of 1999, primary 2, Woodgrove Primary School was like the "school of the future" with its clean sparkly classrooms with whiteboards (no chalks! YAY!) bulky computers and OHPs (overhead projectors). Transparencies were flashed and I remember teachers being very careful with their markers to avoid making mistakes, or used whiteboard markers in order to "recycle" the transparencies. There were compulsory IT lessons for us, Microsoft Office Tools such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Powerpoint, where the teachers taught us how to manipulate the software. Of course there were group work, to come up with type-written assignments not more than 500 words submitted to my teacher's email, powerpoint presentation of various topics, to be shared in class.. etc etc. School was much more lively and fun to look forward to. Teachers will give us a rare "treat" of five minutes "internet time" during computer lessons for us to play games, where I remembered some game-fascinated classmates introduced me to miniclip.com (the games were fun though).
When I went on to Bukit Panjang Govt. High School, the Microsoft Office applications I had learnt proved to be very useful as we have presentations time to time and assignments that required to be typed out and research upon via the internet. There was no longer OHP usage by the teachers, as they use the visualisers during lessons, which proved to be more convenient as it saved classroom space and was much less of a hassle to operate. Almost every lesson I had attended involved showing a short video/ powerpoint presentation prepared by the teachers, which was really engaging and helped me to understand the context better than the "dry" textbooks. I was able to actually visualise concepts rather than mapping it out through the various lines of explanation in textbooks. Our National Education quizzes were quite entertaining and fun to answer via the Computer Labs, instead of doing it on paper. Moreover, I was able to learn how to use flash to create a mini Flash movie that consisted of a moving fish swimming in a fish tank and being deeply enthralled by it (though sadly, I have forgotten how to use Flash).
Then came the "breakthrough" in Innova Junior College. I am still amazed, from my very first day, that how my teachers had used tablet PCs to literally write on the computers and explain various theories to us during lectures and tutorials. In my CCA, other than the Symphonic Band, New Media Arts, the centre of excellence of my school, had further equipped me with innovative technology such as Macintosh to create podcast or even live Broadcast into iTunes and to be broadcasted all over my school via the PA system. Other friends within different departments of the CCA had learnt how to do enhanced photo editing, create new softwares and edit films after shooting.. etc.
Now, I am able to find anything and everything within the virtual world, just by Google and of course, the internet. I have to thank my teachers for equipping me with sufficient computer skills and of course, MOE for implementing the master plans to produce many other like-minded students.
- How do you think the Masterplan 3 for ICT in Education may affect your role(s) as a beginning teacher?
Personally, I feel that the Masterplan 3 for ICT in Education would affect me in the sense that I may have to come up with new softwares (hopefully) to enhance learning, or simply, infuse multimedia into my lessons to create interesting, engaging and fulfilling experiences for my students, as what my teachers have done for me. In addition, as the generation today are known as "digital natives", they would very much desire for lessons that encapsulates their thirst for audio-visual learning, where ICT plays the vital central role. Thus as a beginning teacher, I must hone and further improve on my ICT knowledge through various courses, in order to cater to my students' needs.
