NEWS: Driving education to a new level

IN A bid to enhance the learning environments in schools, the Education Ministry and Microsoft Malaysia have launched Generasi-M, a student-focused programme designed to meet their needs.

Generasi-M stands for maju (progessive), maklumat (information), maya (virtual), mudah alih (mobile), maklum balas (interactive), multimedia (multimedia), modular (modular) and mudah (easy).

Under Generasi-M, there are six core elements:
# THE provision of Robotic Studio Development Tools for schools;

# STUDENT Technology Enabler Pilot, which will be used to drive the usage of information and communications technology (ICT) among younger students and those from rural schools;

# STUDENT Ambassador Programme, which will allow Malaysian students to interact with their peers around the world through homestay programmes;

# LIVE@EDU, where Malaysian school students will be provided with a personalised online ID that will be hosted on Microsoft LIVE Hotmail, allowing five million Malaysian students access to 5GB of e-mails, blogs, instant messaging, online storage and space and other Internet tools;

# BOARD of the Future, which will comprise a group of primary and secondary students who will work together with educators to enhance student programmes in schools; and

# DIGITAL Readiness Curriculum, which will range from basic ICT literacy to setting up student-help desks to assist schools in managing their ICT infrastructure.

This programme falls under the umbrella of Microsoft’s worldwide “Partners in Learning” (PiL) initiative.

Microsoft Unlimited Potential Group senior vice-president Orlando Ayala, who was on his fourth trip to Malaysia, said the programme was about realising the full potential of an individual.

“This is about bringing the public and private sectors together to drive education to the next level and ensure that the workforce will be ready for the challenges of the new millennium,” he said after launching Generasi-M at SK Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya, recently.

Ayala added that through PiL, nearly 3.5 million educators and 80 million students in more than 100 countries had been trained.

In Malaysia, the PiL programme has reached more than 150,000 teachers and five million students in the last five years.

The ministry's Education Technology Division director Dr Salbiah Ismail, who was representing Deputy Minister Datuk Hon Choon Kim, commended Microsoft for its efforts in encouraging students to learn by themselves.

“By providing the infrastructure and the applications to do so, it will make teaching and learning fun,” she said.

Microsoft also announced that it would be adopting 10 Malaysian schools under the Generasi-M initiative.

SK Taman Megah and SK Cyberjaya are the first two schools named.

Microsoft Malaysia public sector group general manager Azizah Ali said the company was still in the process of identifying the other eight schools.

“We want a variety and are looking to include schools in rural areas to extend their capabilities,” she said.