Masterplans for ICT in Education

Our economy is constantly demanding for growth and efficiency thus reliance on technology becomes one of the ways to meet those demands. Unfortunately, developments in technology is rapid and one may not want to wait until the day when his job requires him to perform tasks that require ICT knowledge in order for him to want to start picking up ICT skills.

I feel that MOE's desire for pupils to be exposed to ICT since a young age will put them in a very advantageous position by the time they graduate into the workforce as ICT skill sets are commonly required in various occupations these days. However, ICT skills, like any other skill sets, require bedding time and most importantly, proper infrastructure needs to be put in place before related skills can be taught. In that respect, it seems to me that MOE has recognised that and rushed to roll out Masterplan 1 to try to install relevant infrastructure in schools for teachers to integrate ICT into their teaching.

I also feel that Masterplans 2 and 3 implemented by MOE is commendable because they have allowed time for teachers and pupils to learn to use ICT skills effectively. Then after that, they have continued to encourage synergistic collaboration in teacher/teacher, teacher/student and student/student partnerships. The step-approach over the past 15 years seems to be the most natural thing to do.

I can still remember back in my secondary school days, around the time that Masterplan 2 was implemented, when my teachers were actively imparting ICT skills to my class. We were constantly encouraged to use the internet to add depth to our projects, as well as to make use of softwares such as MS Powerpoint to present our ideas on multiple disciplines and issues in class. The range of interactive and fun activities made possible by ICT really enhanced my experience in learning, as well as interests towards ICT developments.

My experience in school for the past 10 months have made me realised that ICT skills can be taught at an even younger age as the interface for technology has become more intuitive than in the past. As pupils become more familiar with various ICT formats, I would like to think that I as a teacher would have to be even more savvy than my pupils in order to keep them motivated towards learning with ICT. I feel that I have to keep myself up to date with popular ICT medium and to use them in creative ways to incite curiosity in my students and passion in learning. At the same time, I also learn how to become more effective as a teacher and administrator by employing ICT myself so why not?