NEWS: Get Smart

Some rural smart schools in Sarawak are making lots of headway with ICT in the classroom.

WHAT image comes to mind when you think of kampung (village) schools? An old rickety fan, rows of wooden chairs and tables, and wide-eyed children in front of a blackboard, perhaps?

Ah, but for some smart schools in the rural areas and towns of Sarawak, you could not be more wrong.

From interactive whiteboards to organising information databases on the computer, the Education Ministry’s smart school initiative has brought ICT skills to the previously uninitiated, prompting them to engage in innovative ways of using technology in the classroom. This has helped to narrow the digital gap between urban and rural students.

A teacher using an interactive whiteboard to teach Science at SM Sains Kuching, Sarawak.

Last month, ministry officials and Multimedia Development Corporation (MDEC) staff visited three Sarawak schools — SMK Bahasa Malaysia (SMK BM) Saratok, SM Sains Kuching and Kolej Datuk Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah (KDPAHA) — as part of the Smart School Qualification Standards (SSQS) monitoring exercise.

Smart schools, first introduced in 1999, differ from regular schools in several ways. For one thing, a part of their teaching and learning uses digital content and ICT hardware. Then, students are provided with facilities such as web-based TV while teachers are given software like the Web School Management System (WSMS) and Learning Content Management System (LCMS) for organising administrative detail.

With the SSQS, all 88 smart schools are ranked from one to five, according to criteria such as ICT utilisation, human capital, applications and technology infrastructure.

The visit to the Sarawak schools proved to be as much an eye-opening experience as a monitoring exercise.

Diverse experiences

SMK BM Saratok uses the government-provided SchoolNet and Streamyx to offer Internet access to students, who often conduct research for projects and submit assignments online.

“The computer labs are open every day, from 2pm to 5pm,” says Form Six student Lydia Luta. “I come three times a week if I have work to do.”

The school’s Briged Bestari member and Form Four student Muhd Norhelmi Ahmad, 16, explains that the special brigade not only maintains the computers in the school but also teaches fellow students ICT use during assembly as well as engages in community work.

Awang Alyster (right) with the robot he created.

“We bring in primary pupils during the school holidays to learn ICT and use our facilities,” he says, adding that soon, there may be an online forum for students and teachers to communicate with each other.

Over at SM Sains Kuching, principal Salbiah Seman talked about how her school applied ICT in every aspect, even in teaching physical education and running its cooperative retail shop.

Form Five student Josepha Awing, 17, says using interactive whiteboards, doing online research and making powerpoint presentations are normal practices in the school.

“We make use of computers and LCD screens for all our subjects. Right now, I’m researching the challenges of Vision 2020 for Moral Education,” she says. “We have to compile the information in a scrapbook.”

KDPAHA has a vibrant ICT culture. It often holds exhibitions showcasing students’ work with IT and conducts workshops for teachers and students. It even has an IT song that is sung every assembly — complete with action.

“The students produce VCDs of their school’s rugby game and other co-curricular activities to sell to their peers,” says principal Johara Zen. “They also hold video-making competitions between sports houses.”

Students like Awang Alyster Awang Kasumar, 16, took part in robotic competitions, exhibiting robots they constructed and programmed using computer software. “In future, I want to make robots that are beneficial to humans,” he says, showing off his robot at the school’s IT fair.

Despite all these positive efforts, there are a number of problems. SMK BM Saratok principal Rahim Ibas pointed out that there are often blackouts after a rainstorm and the surge of voltage sometimes spoils the computers.

For KDPAHA, the cost of maintaining the equipment hinders them from fully utilising the facilities provided.

“Currently, 14 of our 32 LCD projectors are not usable because the bulbs have fused and it costs RM2,000 to replace each bulb. Replacing 14 would mean we have to spend RM28,000,” explains Johara.

"Most schools will be made smart by 2010, but in phases" - DR NORRIZAN RAZALI

Another concern brought up by the principals was balancing their school’s image.

“We feel tension because we’re trying to be a smart school and also achieve good exam results,” Rahim says. “People tend to say, ‘Your school is supposed to be a smart school, why don’t the students do well?’”

Ready for challenges

Nevertheless, the general response has been encouraging. If everything goes well, all 10,000 schools in the country will be “smart” by the year 2010.

“All schools will be made smart by 2010, but in phases,” says (MDEC) smart school senior manager Dr Norrizan Razali.

“Most are ready in terms of infrastructure, as digital content for Maths and Science and resources like SchoolNet are available.”

Although 1,737 schools have been identified by the ministry as being at various levels of “smart school readiness”, more remains to be done, she adds.

“Perhaps some are not ready in terms of ICT utilisation and human capital, so coaching will be focused on these two aspects.”

By “coaching”, Dr Norrizan means monitoring and advisory help from educationists from tertiary institutions and the ministry’s Technology Education Division officers. Smart schools currently have 18 coaches from universities and 21 from the ministry in a system implemented on a trial basis last year.

One such KDPAHA coach, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak lecturer Norazila Abdul Aziz, explains her role.

“I visit the school once a month and also correspond with them by phone or email,” she says. “I meet with teachers, give tips on how ICT can be included in lessons and make sure they document their ICT usage.

“If they raise problems, I suggest strategies to overcome them. I also raise them up during focus meetings in Kuala Lumpur every month, where we discuss problems and best practices.”

Dr Norrizan adds that coaches also identify the training that needs to be provided by the ministry or MDEC. Of course, she admits, the challenge is how to engage enough coaches for 10,000 schools.

But she believes that there is a bigger purpose for smart schools.

“It’s an effort to create a culture for the world of work, and talent for a knowledge economy,” Dr Norrizan says.

“ICT is used to enhance interest in the field itself as a career, and also to improve the students’ lives.”