2007/05/05
By : SUZIEANA UDA NAGU
Hishammuddin trying the Notebook feature which translates his jottings on paper onto the screen of the Intel-powered classmate PC |
The newly launched 1:1 e-learning model envisions students developing crucial learning skills such as technology media literacy, effective communication, critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration, through access and use of laptops in the classroom.
The slate-shaped mobile personal computers with touch screens which allow users to operate them with a stylus or digital pen have become constant learning companions to students since their introduction at the school some three years ago.
The students refer to their tablet PCs constantly throughout their lessons; interacting with on-screen multimedia learning applications that complement their teacher’s instructions.
This will soon be a familiar scene in local schools, thanks to the recently-launched ICT (information and communications technology) for Education initiative between Malaysia’s Education Ministry and Intel Malaysia.
Under the 1:1 e-learning model, students will develop essential learning skills — such as technology media literacy, effective communication, critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration — through access to and use of Classmate PCs in the classroom.
Starting in the second quarter of the year, Intel Malaysia will donate Classmate PCs — sleek, budget notebooks light enough for school students to lug around — to 10 classrooms in pilot schools in 10 states, namely, Terengganu, Pahang, Penang, Johor, Negri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur, Kelantan, Malacca, Kedah and Perak.
Two thousand units of the Classmate PCs, equipped with Microsoft XP Professional Edition, Microsoft Office 2003 and Learning Essentials, will be donated to these schools over the next three years.
Intel country manager (sales and marketing) Debjani Ghosh says "in collaboration with the Education Ministry, we are helping to develop some of today’s most exciting e-learning solutions with the objective of nurturing essential 21st-century digital skills for Malaysia’s workforce of tomorrow".
"We begin by conducting a classroom-setting pilot in 10 selected schools to evaluate the benefits of 1:1 computing for student learning," she adds.
Studies have shown that an environment that incorporates ICT supports the acquisition of "21st-century learning skills", such as technology and media literacy, effective communication, critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration.
Educationists too agree that a 1:1 e-learning environment which integrates laptops, connectivity, professional development, improved methods and digital curriculum, is the optimum learning situation.
By offering educational digital resources, the 1:1 e-learning initiative engages and encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning.
"This sparks a sense of enthusiasm and ownership among students in their learning, subsequently changing how instruction in class is delivered. Classrooms will then be student-centric rather than instructor-centric," says Intel Malaysia education programme manager Dr Siek Kah Hee in an e-mail interview.
In addition, learning with Classmate PCs allows students and teachers the freedom to access information and resources "anytime, anywhere". Teachers and students will have the choice to explore beyond their textbooks and classroom walls.
Learning, in turn, becomes a collaborative and connected process.
One to one e-learning models implemented in American schools have borne positive results. One notable example is MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas, United States.
Providing laptops and wireless access for all students and extensive professional development for teachers at MacArthur High School has resulted in an exceptionally high graduation rate at 99 per cent and standardised test scores that show between 50 and 100 point gains.
Success is possible despite challenges such as students’ economic disadvantages and teachers’ unfamiliarity with new resources.
Gosh is optimistic that the 1:1 e-learning will revolutionise the teaching and learning process in Malaysian schools.
"Intel expects to see a positive impact in the critical thinking, communication and digital literacy skills of students involved in the pilot," she adds.
Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, at the launch of the ICT for Education initiative, says that the introduction of the e-learning model marks a "new chapter in the Malaysian education curriculum".
"The donation of Classmates laptops will enable the Government to reduce the ratio of students sharing computers by half; from 1:40 to 1:20, increasing each child’s exposure to ICT learning."
Siek says Intel looks forward to further collaboration with the Education Ministry to promote 1:1 e-learning method in more schools in 2008, subject to a positive evaluation of the pilot programme.
Untethered access to resources
PHYSICS teacher NorSaidah Che Hassan remembers vividly life as a teacher before the advent of the Internet.
"The library was the only place we could go to for materials to help us prepare our lesson plans. If we were lucky, we would be able to find the books we were searching for.
" Otherwise, tough luck," NorSaidah says, as she recalls the "hardship" she had to go through as a young teacher some 16 years ago.
These days, NorSaidah — who is the head of Department for Mathematics and Science and a teacher of these two subjects at Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi (SBPI) in Gombak — need only switch on her laptop and surf the Internet for ideas.
Since SBPI Gombak is one of the 175 selected schools equipped with wireless access points, she can surf the Internet virtually anywhere within her school compound.
Intel Electronics (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and the Education Ministry recently announced the conclusion of the third phase of the Wireless Technology Pilot Programme, a collaboration allowing teachers to harness the Internet as an effective teaching tool in classrooms.
During the third phase, 500 wireless access points were installed in 175 selected schools, enabling wireless access in locations such as teachers’ rooms, resource centres and science labs — areas typically the focus of teaching and learning.
The Wireless Technology Pilot Programme was developed to align with the Education Ministry’s English for Teaching Mathematics and Science project, under which teachers received notebooks to promote learning of these subjects in English.
Since the launch of the Wireless Technology Pilot Programme in 2004, some 800 wireless access points have been fixed in 475 selected schools across Malaysia.
With the successful completion of the third phase of the three-year pilot, Intel transferred ownership and maintenance of infrastructure to the Education Ministry.
One of the advantages cited for wireless Internet connection in schools is the creation of a learning environment untethered to desks or even classrooms. NorSaidah agrees.
"When you have to explain abstract and complex concepts to students, you must rely on lots of examples. The best way to explain these concepts to students is through simulations, videos or animation.
"With wireless Internet, you can bring your laptop to class and just play the simulation or animation from its website," says NorSaidah.
Before wireless Internet access at SBPI Gombak, NorSaidah had to save the webpage onto her laptop. Often, the webpage would fail to work properly when offline.
The disparity between a wireless classroom and one which is not may seem small but principal Norlia Mohd Suhaili believes it has made a world of difference to the academic performance of SBPI Gombak students.
"The response from students has been very encouraging.
" Students appear to be much more interested in the subjects; they interact more in class and conduct their own reading to complement what they have learned.
"In other words, learning becomes more student-oriented rather than teacher-centric," says Norlia, adding that there is a marked improvement in students’ academic performance.
"I think it is not a coincidence that the school has charted the highest average mark in physics for the recent Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination among Government fully-residential schools," she says.
Teachers at SBPI concur that the school-wide adoption of wireless Internet has been successful partly due to the unwavering commitment of its principal.
Norlia took her own initiative to buy wireless cards for the personal computers in the school computer lab.
Of the 40 PCs in the school lab, about eight are wireless-enabled.
She dreams of equipping all nooks and crannies of the school with wireless PC stations so that "students will have better access to the Internet".
Nurul Huda Omar, ICT coordinator at SBPI Gombak says, that the principal always keeps an open mind about ICT.
"Her openness puts teachers at ease, which is important especially for those who are still getting the hang of the technology.
"We find that even the religious teachers are excited."
As a young teacher, Nurul Huda says the Internet is a big part of her daily life.
"I use instant messaging (IM) systems to keep in touch with friends who are also new teachers and exchange lesson plans via file transfers.
" It helps to have a principal who understands that IM is important for my work and not just for idle chats.
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