BLOG 2: MASTERPLANS FOR ICT IN EDUCATION

In your opinion, why do you think it is important for MOE to develop the three Masterplans for ICT in education?


IT is becoming increasingly important in the globalized world today (if not already so). Students are increasingly exposed to the use of IT at home and their thinking and behaviour are more often than not shaped by their digital lives. By learning to engage students using ICT, the education system not only prepares students for the globalized world but also engage with the students themselves using technologies that they are familiar with and can relate to.

Has any of the Masterplans impacted you as a student? Share your experience of how ICT had been used in the classes you attended as a student (if applicable).


Yes, certainly! I came from a humble family background and my parents were (and still are) computer illiterate. We didn't have a computer at home before I started Sec 1. My first formal contact with the PC was in the primary school and I remembered that joining the Computer Club was a privilege and select students from top classes were given priority to join. The most memorable moments of my primary school life from P4 to P6 were those of learning to use the computer - my teacher encouraged me to join a Creative Writing Using Computer Competition for two subsequent years and trained my peers and myself for the competition. As I did not have access to a computer at home, I worked especially hard in the computer labs at school and in the staff room. The ICT training strengthened my typing skills and hanyu pinyin (to key in Chinese characters) and subsequently my sustained interest in the subject. Using the computer to write creatively enabled me to express myself quickly and clearly (writing thousands and thousands of words can be laborious).

In my secondary school and Junior College years, ICT played a smaller role as most teachers preferred to teach using traditional methods, though many also used PowerPoint slides in their teaching and required us to use PPT for our class presentations.

Based on your enhanced school experience, how do you think the current Masterplan 3 may affect your role(s) as a beginning teacher ?


I realized that students are highly captivated by the use of choice ICT tools in the teaching of lessons as the tools are usually stimulating and interactive. The use of ICT holds much potential and I am looking forward to explore the possibilities. It is especially so in the teaching of Chinese Language as the subject contents may be presented using a wide variety of media productions and interaction tools.