Relating the ICT observation in a VJC classroom to the MOE ICT masterplan

VJC has many instances of application of ICT applications. I will relate the one I have reviewed on the tablet device to the ICT goals that MOE has set out to achieve in its masterplans

The tablet device is obviously one where collaborative learning is enabled through the use of this ICT project. Usually in tutorial lessons, rarely are students given the chance to present their work or comment visually on the teacher’s presentation. Physics is a science but solving its problems is likened to an art because there is almost always more than one way to solve a problem. The use of this ICT device facilitates sharing among students and teachers by allowing students to discuss in real time as the problem is being worked out in front of the class on the projector. And instead of vocalizing their comments, both teachers and students can visually comment on the working by just tapping into the same power point slide. This is less intrusive than say coming up to the board to correct the mistake. This works to preserve the pride of the student being corrected while at the same time enabling the class to learn something. The device through enabling more reflection on personal reasoning by visually representing it to the class allows metacognition to be improved which fulfils the goal of self-directed learning.

With regards to the enabler goals of the masterplan, the tablet device is one that can be used for any physics lesson and would probably be useful for math, chemistry, biology and economics lessons as well as they all have the same nature of the need to mathematically express reasoning for the purpose of self-directed learning as well as collaborative learning. However I feel that the device is more limited for heavily linguistic subjects like GP, history, geography and lit. The device is also easy to use aka plug and play so teachers require little prior knowledge to apply this ICT device for use in class.

Overall if the costs of such a device can be reduced I believe that the pervasive use of tablet products like this one will further the MOE masterplan goals. VJC has proven to be a suitable and promising test bed for this ICT device.

A report on ICT usage in VJC physics lessons

School Name: Victoria Junior College

Class: PCME combination class of 12 physics students

Profile of class: Coming from VJC most of the students are of strong academic quialities. In this class about a third is made up of IP students who having received victoria’s IP program for two years are well adapted to seminar style classes and willing to speak up and challenge assumptions. The rest of the class is made up of a few strong students and mostly average physics students by VJC standards

What ICT tools were used in the class: A tablet type device that utilizes a blue tooth dongle to allow a primary laptop, in this case the tutor’s fujitsu tablet computer to be connected to multiple devices. Each device comes with a stylus which can be used to write on the surface of the tablet. The device will send information of the written or drawn media to the primary laptop. The data that is received can be used by a host of programs, in this case Microsoft powerpoint was used. When a student writes or draws on the tablet surface, the information is immediately transferred to the projector via the primary laptop via powerpoint.

Describe how ICT is used for teaching and learning in the lesson: In traditional tutorials, when the tutor wants the student to present his work on the white board, perhaps to facilitate the student and the class to think about his reasons and thoughts when solving a problem, the student has to walk up to the front of the whole class and spend time using a marker to write out his steps then turn around to the class to explain what he has done. When using the tablet device, a student merely has to scribble what he wants the class to see, and since it is in real time, he is able to describe his thought process even as he is writing down his equations. This way, students are able to overcome their fear of facing the entire class, losing track of their thought process while writing equations on the white board. Futhermore, other students can use their own tablet device to modify or challenge the first student’s working or even provide and alternative viewpoint or argument. Thus in this class it was used as a tool to facilitate sharing of ideas and to encourage students to speak more freely than they would otherwise using traditional whiteboard-marker approaches.

General Observations:

1.       I felt that this device though useful, is too costly to expand into large scale use. Each one costs $500 or more, which in today’s standard is equivalent to a lower capacity ipad which could in principle achieve the same goals and even more. For a class of only 12, having two students to one device is appropriate but not in a 26 student class.

2.       However if each student were to be given one device, it would tremendously assist in their ability to respond in class swiftly in a clear manner. It also helps their metacognition because not only they but others can see and criticize and comment on their thinking.

3.       The other teachers too felt that if the cost of the device was reduced it would be an invaluable too. Given the current refinement in screen technology perhaps even ipads or ipad lookalikes with the proper software could be reconditioned to serve this ICT purpose.

Reflections on the ICT masterplan by MOE

Firstly I would like to say that I was puzzled when as a teacher I had to learn about ICT. Being of the Generation Y (or am I from X?), I grew up in an IT environment, my parents (who were also teachers) bought me educational software to facilitate my learning as a child and student. My classrooms in Anglican High were equip with some computers and we had regular lessons in the computer labs which everyone enjoyed compared to boring classroom lessons. What I did learn after reading up on the masterplans was that the implementation of the use of technology into classrooms was not just a haphazard introduction but a systematic, top-down intoduction. This is probably why I felt it was so natural to progress from school to school and level to level with the use of ICT in my education. Now I have come full circle, it is time I learn how to assist the next generation's use of ICT.

Having experienced first hand the use of ICT thoughtout my life in schools, I can safely say that the ICT masterplans are fruitfull. Compared to other countries who do not have a baseline ICT standard for all schools, the use of ICT in such places would be very one-offish. The benefits of having a homogeneous implementation of ICT needs no further explanation. Having a homogeneous masterplan for all schools also ensures that economic factors do not become much of an issue among households for the purpose of education as education in singapore is for all, regardless of family wealth. But I do need to comment that while the success of the pervasiveness of ICT in schools have been commendable, the homogeniety itself is a weakness. In my schooling days I loved certain areas of physics not inline with syllabus but would eventually kindle my interest in studying theoretical physics. Because my family was not poor, i was able to afford my own choice of software to use at home. However, the choices of ICT in schools would not be custom made or chosen by the pupil according to his interest but rather top-down decision for everyone. This in my opinion is the weakness of the three masterplans in that they are not user centric.

In my days as a student, i hated math classes, in fact i hated math altogether because of its non-visual nature. I needed to be eased into thinking in the abstract and the school Amath textbook rarely helped me achieve that. Luckily for me Mr Chan, my A math teacher had a whole lineup of ICT based lessons to help us visualize what it is we were learning. The most striking thing was the program graphamatica that allowed us to input a function and see how it becomes a sketched curve. The value of those lessons are priceless to me as we all know that theoretical physics is very largely mathematical in nature. I believe ICT had come a long way to groom this math-hating boy in secondary school to a physicist completely capable of understanding differentiable manifolds and doing push-up and pull-backs on abstract mappings in mathematical methods for physics III. From a boy who failed Amath at sec 3 to someone who appreciates math in physics, ICT had brought me a long way.