BLOG 2 - MASTERPLANS FOR ICT IN EDUCATION

In my opinion, it is crucial for MOE Singapore to implement the three masterplans for ICT in education as it further enhances the process of guiding our students to be a better person in the future. I believe the existence of the three masterplans prepares students as well as educators with the abilities to be able to blend into modern societies in which efficiency as well as self-independence are important. We as a teacher have been trying hard to make our students aware of the importance of being self-directed in their learning journeys. Through the implementation of ICT masterplans, we are able to heighten their technology literacy. They can then be more resourceful when they find themselves to have the urge of discovering knowledge. In addition, ICT usage allows the educators to be more creative when it comes to lesson planning. In modern societies we hope to do things efficiently. Different approaches may be used on a certain academic topic to cater for different students with various characteristics in order to achieve best outcomes. In the long run, students are expected to go deeper in their field of interest. Therefore early exposure to an environment that would spark their interest of learning is critical. Lastly, with the help of technology, we have easy access to knowledge pool which is the internet anytime, anywhere. Therefore we can be confident to say that ICT encourages our students to learn anywhere.

During my time as a student ICT usage was not popular. As a result, we spent a lot of time doing hand-written notes during lessons. It was time consuming. The lessons were a little bit dull as well. Once in a while we got the chance to watch some educational videos however the exposure was minimal due to time constraint. Nevertheless when I was doing my contract teaching in the past few months, I noticed the difference in the classroom atmosphere. With the help of PowerPoint slides, lessons are conducted in a more relaxed and yet informative way. Teachers have got more chances to interact with the kids. The students now are able to spend time understanding the content instead of copying notes throughout the entire lesson. In addition, as what I observed from my paired teaching class, useful video clips that are available online come in handy when complicated scientific concepts can be made easier to understand and visualize.

As mentioned, as a beginning teacher, concepts can be more clearly delivered to students with the help of audio & visual materials as they tend to pick up things better if they can visualize it. By using ICT, we can have more options on how we want the lessons to be. I believe the learning culture is different in every school. By modifying the way we conduct lesson, the needs of the students can be well addressed. After gaining understanding in MP3, I am now aware that it is important to trigger the desire to learn among our students as it is this desire that will drive them to go deeper and further.