QED 507 ICT for Meaningful Learning Blog 2

Reflections about Masterplans For ICT in Education in terms of:

A) Why I think it is important for MOE to develop the three Masterplans for ICT in Education

I could still remember ICT tools such as the computer were already around in Singapore during the late eighties. When schools does not have any signs of ICT in their curriculum and students' essays and project work were still hand-written and drawings/ illustrations were hand-painted, and some parents were only sending their children to learn about ICT as an enrichment course.

Two decades down the road, ICT tools have evolved from being accessible to those who are in institutions of higher education or professional fields to being an indispensable item in every household.

With the rapid changes and demands of  use of ICT in our society and workforce in the coming century, MOE has felt that not only there is an urgency to equip our students with the various tools of ICT, our students should also be harnessing these tools to obtain the information they require with the appropriate attitudes.

B)The impacts of the Masterplans have on me as a student( if any)- the experience of how ICT had been used in the classes I attended as a student(if any)

As a student experiencing ESE, I felt the impacts of Masterplan 1 and Masterplan 2 mainly(as since from my blog above) since it was only a brief three-month experience.  

C)How ICT Masterplans 3 may affect my role (s) as a beginning teacher, based on my Enhanced School Experience

With the heightened awareness of the importance of ICT in the realm of Singapore's education field, brought about by the three ICT Masterplans, my role as a beginning teacher would involve:

1) Extending my students' learning beyond their textbooks by showing them( via internet, Youtubes and subject-related sites) what students from other parts of the world are also learning concerning the same academic concepts.

2) Allowing them to experience self-directed learning through the use of ICT tools whenever the opportunity arises.

3) Incorporating opportunities that includes collaborative learning via the use of ICT tools.

4) Making fuller use of the available ICT softwares to portray subject-related concepts instead solely relying on 'chalk and talk'.

5)Making use of online platforms to show students other modes of learning eg the exchange of ideas among students and teachers through discussion forums, the self-assessment of one's learning through online quizzes etc.

6)Introduce and practise the concept of Learning by Doing via ICT tools to cater for students that have various learning styles and motivation needs.

7)Increase efficiency in administrative matters and lesson-planning by employing more ICT tools

As Aldous Huxley had inspired, I will embrace the "Brave New World" ahead of me.