QED 507 ICT for Meaningful Learning: Blog 3

Making A Connection Between My ESE and the Masterplans for ICT in Education

Determining Where My School Is At

Like most of the schools we beginning teachers are in, the school that I worked in have also implemented ICT Masterplan 1. How did I know? In terms of basic infrastructure (although we do not have a laptop or desktop in every classroom), all teachers are assigned with a laptop and a computer account to work with. In every homeroom, there is a projector screen, a projector, a visualiser and a control panel for teachers to interswitch their presentations between computers and visualisers. Internet access is possible in every classroom via a wire whereas the teacher's access to the internet in the staff room is via wireless service within the staff room limits. There are computers in the Maths, Science, Arts and Music special rooms. Three computer labs are also available for teachers to book and conduct lessons when the teaching content involves ICT interactional activities. Our elevators, computer labs, subject special rooms and staff room can only be accessed via the individual teacher's unique thumbprint.Needless to say,existence of the above already signifies the sustaining presence of the outcomes of ICT Masterplan 1.

So what about ICT Masterplan 2? Pamethean Boards are gradually introduced ( to Primary 1 classrooms first and progress to Primary 2 classrooms and so on) into this school, since the beginning of this year, to actualise the ideology of the Masterplan 2 , ie to shift the learning from a teacher-centred one to a student-centred one. Most of the teachers in my school are definitely capable of planning and conducting their lessons using basic Microsoft Office tools and resources from the internet. But I am yet to understudy more lessons in this school to determine whether ICT was used in a more student-centred manner. From my observations, lessons content were mainly transmitted by teachers (using their ICT tools and skills) in a teacher- to- student directionality. The overall evidence that I have is not strong regarding students using ICT to empower their learning. However , I did observe an instance whereby a group of Primary 4 students( only a single group of four) were using their computer skills to produce a report that described their group project because they participated in an external competition. There was a group of teachers who mainly served as facilitators but the whole group of students were left on their own to come up with the final product using ICT. At a teacher's level, most of the teachers in the school are very efficient in harnassing ICT to conduct administrative matters.

I think ICT Masterplans 3 will be considered as a "higher ground" to reach for this school, while awaiting for the thorough and complete implementation of all the elements that described ICT Masterplan 2.