QR Codes for Singapore Schools?

An interesting development in Korea that has changed the lives of some people. The barcode-looking diagram that were on the posters are called QR codes. I feel that this technology has a lot of potential for student learning within the premise of schools in Singapore. Unfortunately, the popularity of QR codes never really took off in Singapore.

Collaborative Learning and ICT use

Recently, a group of colleagues and myself were discussing on the virtues of collaborative learning and how we could engage students in collaborative learning through the use of ICT and at the same time, be rewarded with meaningful learning.

Below, is the Prezi presentation which we shared with other colleagues who are enrolled in the same course.

Collaborative Learning by TG11 for QED507 on Prezi

Making Connection between my ESE And the Masterplans for ICT in Education

From my observation, it is evident that my school was sufficiently equipped with ICT tools such as PCs and projectors in every classroom and the computer labs have enough computers for every pupil in a class. It was also clear that most of the pupils were competent in completing their ICT-based projects, using word processors or presentation slides. Our teachers were also motivated to integrate ICT into the core curriculum through the use of specialised programmes, videos, or real-time collaboration. It was impressive to note that the school has embarked on e-learning initiatives to allow pupils to try to learn on their own. For pupils without internet access at home, the school have also given them access to the computer labs to complete their e-learning.

It is interesting, however, to note that the school does not have complete Wi-Fi coverage yet. Although I do not feel that Wi-Fi connection is integral to pupils' learning in a primary school setting, it does afford convenience for teachers to coordinate administrative tasks, as well as to use our own ICT equipment to conduct ICT-based lessons promptly.

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?

Enhanced School Experience: Classroom Observations of ICT Use

(I) Specific Observations

School Name: North View Primary School

Class: Primary 5 Joy (Mostly 11-year-olds)

Academic Year 2011 Term 3 Week 3

Primary 5 Joy is a mixed ability class with a balanced ratio of male to female pupils. Pupils from the class are generally adept at word processing on a standard PC, partly due to the Standard ICT Baseline trainings they have received earlier in previous years. The lesson was conducted in a computer lab setting and every pupil had a PC to do their work with. The lesson was designed to allow collaboration within groups to create individual composition over a 4-week period. The lesson duration was one hour.

Subject: English

The lesson observed was on composition writing and pupils were instructed by the teacher to consolidate ideas and information which they have previously amassed on “A Traffic Accident” and then transpose those ideas and information into a coherent storyline on a word document.

With the internet, pupils have access to Gmail where they made use of Google Docs and its word processing capabilities for real-time sharing. Earlier, pupils have already been introduced to the online software, Mindmeister, an online mind-mapping and brainstorming tool that also allows pupils to interact in real-time.

Pupils have previously brainstormed and mind-mapped their ideas onto Mindmeister using various media. Through search engines, the pupils found and recorded descriptions on traffic accidents and even inserted photographs and video clips that were related to the theme onto their online mind-maps.

Then, they proceeded to share and comment on their classmates’ mind-maps within their own groups. With real-time sharing capabilities, Mindmeister allows pupils to read and comment on the shared mind-map documents at the same time without having to “take turns” and save on classroom waiting time, thus allowing pupils to spend more meaningful time on online collaboration. Pupils were also encouraged to continue expanding their mind-maps and discuss on their classmates’ mind-maps outside of curriculum time.

With Mindmeister, pupils have limitless canvas space on which they can map out their ideas and multiple copies of the mind-maps are periodically saved online to make retrieval of past versions possible in case certain important parts on their mind-maps were accidentally deleted.

During the lesson, the English teacher offered guidelines on contents to the class but pupils have the final say on what they would like to include as their content after they have considered the inputs and suggestions typed into their mind-map documents by the classmates whom they shared their mind-maps with. Such online collaboration allowed pupils to share ideas with one another and with these fresh inputs they are then encouraged to think through their ideas and directions for their compositions again. All pupils were also required to share their mind-map documents with the teacher so that the teacher could monitor their progress and add any necessary feedback on their mind-maps.

When pupils have finalised their mind-maps, they would then start to tranpose their ideas into writings on a word document available with Google Docs. These documents also have real-time interaction and sharing capabilities similar to Mindmeister hence pupils can continue the collaboration on their individual essays for their next lessons despite working on different online platforms.

It is the objective of these ICT lessons to encourage pupils to learn from their peers and to learn to make use of efficient sharing, that is made possible by technology, to refine their ideas and to improve on their English essay writing.

(II) General Observations

Teachers within the school generally felt that with the availability of cloud storage and real-time collaboration capabilities through the Internet, pupils can finally learn how to engage in active learning, as opposed to the past when teachers made use of slide presentations like Powerpoint to teach whilst pupils sat through the lessons still in their passive learning modes.

The teachers thought that the current ICT model helped to make group work more efficient thus greater progress could be made during a lesson than in the past. By reducing unnecessary waiting time, pupils could constantly stay engaged and stimulated during lesson time and with the ICT tools available, such as Google search engine and Mindmeister, pupils were then able to learn to search for information which they desire and organise these new data efficiently to facilitate their own learning. Overall, the teachers believed that the use of current ICT for teaching and learning would enable pupils to taste success through peer collaboration which in turn would motivate them towards the goal of self-directed learning.