Blog 3

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.

Based on my enhanced experience with SGSS, the school has achieved most of the points mentioned in the Masterplans for ICT in education. For a start, the school has equipped the teachers and the students with the necessary facilities and resources. IT Trainers will hold workshops for teachers to attend courses on various multimedia softwares. Students have the necessary facilities equipped in the computer labs and with curriculum designed for them to study IT related subjects. For example, the Technical classes will learn to use Microsoft Word, Excel, Spreadsheets, Coreldraw, Lectora etc that will help equipped them with skills that are useful for current school projects as well as for the future in the working world.

Modular course like Digital Media Art are also incorporated into the lower secondary express classes. They will learn about cyberwellness, phototaking with camera; learning advanced techniques to achieve interesting effects, learning softwares like Photoshop and creating their own video clips based on themes given using Microsoft Movie Maker and Audacity. The students are allowed to explore out of the classrooms to create the movement needed for their videoclips. Their videoclips are also sent for competitions so that the students are will have the sense of ownership and pride in such participation.

Most of the teachers will use their laptops to do presentations or to show video/movie clips that are related to the subjects that they are teaching in the classrooms. Teachers too often post notes/assignments online so that students will learn to be responsible and discipline for their own learning. Students also participate on online forums created by the teachers so that they will share, comment and evaluate each other’s works. The school has also set specifically aside an E-learning day where the students will learn and study online in their own environment. They will complete the necessary assignments and hand up the next day. Thus the students are steered to be self-directed as well as collaborative learners.

Using the art class example that I have observed for my enhanced school experience mentioned in blog 1, the art teacher created a lesson where ICT has been carefully crafted into the lesson plan. The students will not only learn about the topic through various platforms, the process of using gadgets to capture and loading the images online to participating and interacting with each other on Facebook. Thus, the teacher will have the opportunity to access the student’s learning progress as well the students having fun through learning with ICT.

Therefore, the school/classes that I am attached to has definitely achieved some of the key areas that the Masterplans for ICT in Education has planned and that the different departments in this school  will keep on churning innovative ideas and methods to incorporate ICT baseline standards into their curriculum to improve effective learning for the students.

Blog 2

My opinions on MOE Masterplans for ICT in Education

The Masterplans for ICT in Education is a good far-sighted plan to realise that technology is constantly evolving and that the use of ICT incorporated into syllabus will definitely be more effective for students to absorb and learn in the long run.

There is a good flow of process in how the ICT is introduced. A school cannot operate basically without firstly; the infrastructure; which is Masterplan 1. Teachers are trained; money invested in buying computers and multimedia softwares etc so that ultimately, ICT is used as a pedagogical tool in curriculum to ensure that students will be able to learn more effectively as well as being equipped with skills that introduce students with various methods to do their work with a different approach.

With ICT incorporated into lessons, students’ interest in learning will be heightened. Attractive visuals, interesting audio and hands-on interactive work will definitely create more interest in engaging attention from the students. For example, the robot competition; the students will learn the process of creating one, gaining satisfaction and ownership as a result. Students will get the joy of achieving results on their own as shown in the science experiment in the video clip and learn more through teamwork as well. Therefore, emphasis is not only placed on technology, but also on the out of classroom experience. Even an online assignment/forum will inculcate a form of discipline and responsibility for the students where they take pride and ownership for the work they have done and to provide constructive comments in their peer evaluation, where they learn from each other. As a result, they learn be to self-directed and collaborative learners. Thus, students are able to learn information, process and achieve results by using technology safely and independently.

As a student, the only forms of ICT that the teachers used in those days were; the OHP where answers were written on transparencies and were flashed on the white screens for students to take down the answers. The other was to watch videos related to our topics in the AVA rooms. These are straight-forward temporary solutions, however, a student cannot really learn from his/her mistakes just by blind copying and not realising where he/she has done wrong. The experience of watching video is only enhanced when students are asked relevant questions or discussion where is there some kind of thought-process or reflection being done.

Based on my enhanced school experience, the current Masterplan 3 may affect my role as a beginning teacher in such areas; this is a learning journey for teachers to explore and use different ICT incorporated methods/ environments/ assignments to ensure students will learn more effectively. As a result, students will use ICT not only in schools but in any kinds of environment with a strong awareness of Cyberwellness so that they will use ICT in a responsible and safe manner. Students will thus learn to be self-directed and collaborative learners.

    

ESE BLOG 1

ENHANCED SCHOOL EXPERIENCE:

PREPARATORY TASK FOR ICT FOR MEANINGFUL LEARNING

Enhanced School Experience: Classroom Observations of ICT Use
School Name: St Gabriel's Secondary School
Class: 1N2, 70mins

Profile of the class: (For e.g., the students’ academic abilities,  stream and other characteristics)
- Secondary 1 Normal Academic Class
- Various learning abilities
- Short attention span (Consistently has to be engaged with activities)

Subject: ART

What ICT tools are used in the lesson?

- Powerpoint
- Youtube
- Visualizer
- Handphones
- Facebook

Describe how ICT is used for teaching and learning in the lesson.

Powerpoint
Teaching: The art teacher started the lesson introduction by using Powerpoint. She has included images from various artists and their techniques to explain to students of how these textures are achieved and the advantages of applying textures in their artworks.
Learning: Through these visually colourful images, students are exposed to artworks done by the great masters to contemporary artists.

Youtube video clip
Teaching: A 3 minutes short video clip is incorporated into the powerpoint to engage the students with visuals and audio to demonstrate how to create textures using paint.
Learning: Students' attention are captured by this short clip as it was visually interesting with accompanying audio.

Visualizer
Teaching: The teacher displays hands-on techniques so that students have a better grasp of how to achieve another form of texture-making. For example, the teacher uses a 2B pencil and demonstrates the 'transferring' technique by placing an object underneath a piece of paper and starts to shade on top of the paper.
Learning: Students are more interested to learn through live demonstration and will practice on the spot with this technique.

Handphone Cameras
Teaching: Their classroom activity was to form themselves into groups and move around the school environment to captures images related to their theme, which is Textures. Each student will have a role to play in this group, i.e.; One will be appointed as the leader to ensure that everyone does their role efficiently. Another student will use his handphone camera to capture these images. The 3rd student will upload the chosen image online and lastly, one will comment on images uploaded by other groups.
Learning: Most of the students will learn the process of capturing images through capturing data through handphones'cameras, uploading these images online and as well as teamwork.

Online assignment: Facebook
Teaching: The captured images will be uploaded onto Facebook group page that was created by the teacher for this class. After uploading, students will do peer evaluations. Finally the teacher will access the images and the groups’ efforts to grade them. The teacher will show the class the images taken by all the groups in their next lesson to explain to them how these images can be improved.
Learning: Students will explore and use Facebook as their online assignment. Facebook is such a popular social media platform and this will enhance the students’ exposure to this platform.

General Observation:How do teachers in the school feel about the use of ICT for teaching and learning? (For this question, you may want to speak to the HOD/ICT and other teachers you know in the school)
The HOD/ ICT feels that ICT is very important to be incorporated into syllabus as it is very beneficial for students' learning and therefore, makes it a point to ensure that all departments incorporate ICT in their syllabus so that students will have more effective learning.  In my own department meeting, we are always asked to share or comment on fellow colleagues’ ideas and methods of using ICT in their lesson plans. In this way, we will learn new innovative ways and methods to include ICT in our lessons as well.  

Most of other teachers that I spoke to are very welcoming to the idea of using ICT in their lessons. They know that the use of ICT will engage students and as a result, the students are able to learn and absorb more effectively. This is so much more effective for students to learn rather than listening to the teacher standing in front talking or screaming throughout the whole lesson.