Sunday, 7 August 2011

Pre Session 1 Assignment

1) 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?
The main goals for First Masterplan are;
a) to improve the connection between the school and the world around it, which also allows interaction between students and teachers effectively
b) to allow various creative processes to be implemented among the students thereby flexibility and innovative are widely practised
c) to improve the creativity of the mind, lifelong learning and social responsibility of teachers to improve their curriculum and assessment
d) to enhance excellent and efficient administrative and management work in the education system

The main goals for Second Masterplan are;
a) to ensure that the students, teachers, IT HODs have basic ICT skills thereby all schools would be able to achive the targetted baseline level of the usage of ICT
b) to support schools that are achieving greater heights of ICT usage in education through means of recognition and conducting more research to develop pedagogical models
c) to allow schools to take responsibility of implementing ICT within the framework of autonomy
d) to infuse the integration of ICT in curriculum and assessment in schools

It is important for MOE to develop them because globally, the media and internet are changing rapidly to a more advanced and efficient technologies. The students in this era are from a highly efficient technology world, whereby they might be more technologically advanced than the teachers. Thus, MOE should ensure that the teachers are kept updated with these new technologies to be a more effective teacher to the students in the classroom.
Furthermore, the MOE should try their best to ensure that the students are well equipped with the skills needed before they left school. This is to prepare for the challenges that they could possibly face in the future, in terms of technology. Therefore, students should be technologically aware of the newest and updated ICT programmes so that they would not be left behind in this very fast-paced world. So in order to equip the students with the various ICT skills, ICT lessons have to be implemented in classroom to expose them and increase their level of awareness. Thus, with an improvised curriculum or assessment which include the usage of ICT, the students would be more equipped with ICT skills thereby making them more prepared to face the challenges in this 21st century.

2) 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).
Yes, the Masterplans had impacted me as a student back then. Back in primary school, i was exposed to various programmes during English, Math or MT lessons which made learning more interesting and independent. On the other hand, in secondary, i was taught how to edit a video from Windows Movie Maker and the frequent usage of Microsoft Word, Powerpoint to present the assignments given by the teachers. Lastly, in polytechnic days, numerous e-learning lessons were created which forced me to become a more independent learner. Through these exposures, I became more aware of the various programmes available and how useful and efficient they could be in enhancing the communication from one person to another or how a particular lesson is made more interesting and interactive. The exposure also made me become more technology effective as i am frequently using it for my assignments and projects. Also, interaction between lecturers, peers, friends and families also improved tremendously.

3) How do you think the Masterplan 3 for ICT in Education may affect your role(s) as a beginning teacher?
With Masterplan 3 for ICT, as a beginning teacher, i have to learn the skills of facilitating the students in their assignment and projects instead of teaching them. This is due to the fact that in MP3, the main vision is to ensure that every student develop a sense of independence towards their own learning with the frequent exposure to ICT no matter where they are. Thus, our job would mainly to facilitate such learning and ensure that they would be responsible towards their own learning. Also, as a teacher, i have to constantly keep myself updated with the latest programmes of ICT available in the world to even be able to facilitate the students and equip them with the relevant skills and knowledge. In order to continuously upgrade myself and become a more efficient teacher in class, i would have to attend programmes or workshops related to ICT and apply them into the curriculum, wherever it is possible.