PETALING JAYA: Chipmaker Intel Corp is further expanding its successful IT-assisted teacher-training programme in Malaysia.
Intel said it has trained a small but significant percentage of teachers in the last eight years and hopes to double that to 100,000 teachers over the next five years.
The Intel Teach programme was started in 1999 and has trained about five million teachers worldwide in over 40 countries. Introduced in Malaysia in 2000, about 50,000 local teachers have been trained under this programme, according to Intel Malaysia officials.
Senior trainers host teaching classes for current and prospective teachers who are interested in improving their pedagogic skills.
“The idea of the programme is to help teachers enhance their educating skills by integrating technology into their lesson plan,” said Hasnan Hakim, K12 education programme manager for Intel Malaysia.
“It would be a mistake to think that this course is wholly about information technology. It is a pedagogical course on how to teach with the help of technology.”
Teachers are taught how to engage their students more effectively and to help them develop creative and critical thinking skills. This is achieved through project-based and problem-based approaches with the help of technology.
Lim Siew Geck, a lecturer and head of the IT unit of the educational technology department at Institut Perguruan Ilmu Khas (IPIK), said the response to the Intel programme has been very favourable.
“Intel Teach nurtures the students’ ability to analyse and solve problems, make critical decisions, as well as develop a quest for lifelong learning,” Lim said.
“We have many pre-service and in-service teachers who are even willing to come for night classes. This is very encouraging because it shows us that those future and current teachers see the benefit of this course.”
Lim is a senior trainer for the Intel Teach Programme at IPIK.
Intel Malaysia has been collaborating with the Teacher Education Division (BPG) and the Educational Technology Division of the Ministry of Education to “localise” the content of the programme. This was done by the BPG in 2007.
Jayanti Sothinatan, a lecturer at the English Language Training Centre and senior teacher for the Teach Programme, said: “It is not important to know what subjects the teacher will go on to teach or whether the national curriculum changes.”
“This programme is a guide to the methodology of teaching and on how to utilise computers and other forms of technology to aid this methodology.”
In 2005, Minister of Education Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein emphasised the importance of technology in education and the ministry is working with companies like Intel to help provide training and equipment to teachers and schools.
For more information on the Intel programme, surf to www.intel.com/ education/teach.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
NEWS: Booming business
The relentless focus on education in Asia has triggered more investments in the sector.
PRIVATE equity firms, betting that Asia’s obsession with childhood education is recession-proof, are increasingly investing in the fast-growing private learning sector.
While the technology, media and telecom sectors that typically attract venture capital are vulnerable to spending cuts in a global downturn, many Asian parents would make other sacrifices before scrimping on their children’s education.
“To cut the budget for your child’s educational costs is the last thing many parents in China, India and other parts of Asia will do, due to the tradition and culture in the region,” said Andrew Qian, managing partner of advisory firm New Access Capital in Shanghai.
“So the education sector is a relatively safe area for investments,” said Qian, whose firm has advised on about 20 deals valued at more than US$700mil (RM2.4bil) in total since 2003.
Young students at a computer learning centre in India. Many companies invest in supplementary education classes in Asia knowing that education is always prioritised. — AP Filepic.
Last month, British private equity firm Actis led a consortium investing US$103mil (RM364mil) in China’s Ambow Education, which targets middle-school students who aspire for coveted seats in Chinese universities.
In South Korea, private equity firm The Riverside Co became the top single shareholder in Wiz-Korea, a pre-school tutoring institute, with a 20bil Korean won (RM52.8bil) investment, in a deal announced in September.
Last year, the Carlyle Group invested US$20mil (RM70mil) in Topia Education, which runs tutoring institutes in South Korea.
Asia’s education firms are keen to attract foreign capital to expand their share of markets where private training and education does not have a long history.
“They are not in fierce competition now, because the pie is growing, but they want to raise their market shares now with more capital before competition turns stiffer,” said Park Jong-dae, an analyst at HI Investment & Securities.
The most important thing
Asian parents typically invest in their child in the hope and expectation their offspring will support them when they are old.
This relentless focus on education has triggered a boom in private supplementary education.
The northern Indian city of Kota, for example, attracts some 20,000 students to cram for entrance exams for the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology(IIT); In Hong Kong, some highly-paid tutors are minor celebrities.
In China, the Communist nation’s “one child” policy has further raised the stakes for many parents who place huge importance on the education of their only child.
China’s education market grew to an estimated US$143bil (RM507bil) in 2007, and there is still huge potential for the market to expand over the next few years, according to Actis.
In South Korea, the after-school tutoring service market reached 20 trillion Korean won (RM53bil) in 2007, according to its National Statistical Office, or 2.1% of the country’s gross domestic product.
Foreign capital is estimated to account for less than 10% of that total.
Besides young students, experienced workers are also expected to go back to school to improve their professional or language skills during a global economic crisis that has already led to thousands of job cuts worldwide.
“Many people become unemployed during an economic crisis, so it’s time for you to recharge yourself,” said Ran Wang, chief executive of investment bank eCapital, whose clients include Google Inc and Microsoft Corp in China.
No fast exit
English language training is the most popular service in Asia’s private education sector, with a handful of schools, including China’s New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc listed in the United States.
Beijing-based Global Education & Technology Group, which prepares students for a British language exam, has said it plans to raise at least US$100mil (RM352mil) in a United States (US) listing. SAIF partners, a private equity firm backed by Japan’s Softbank Corp, is one of its investors.
Last year, an investment arm of insurance giant American International Group reportedly invested US$60mil (RM212mil) in Avalon English, a major English language school in South Korea.
But education firms are not immune to market sentiment.
In September, South Korea’s Hansol Education, a domestic tutoring service targeting toddlers to high school students, said it would postpone its plan for an IPO (initial public offering) of shares due to lower-than-expected valuations.
“New Oriental is a success story, but it also makes it more challenging for latecomers to tell an even more successful story when they want to go to the market,” said Qian, referring to New Oriental’s 2006 IPO in New York. — Reuters
PRIVATE equity firms, betting that Asia’s obsession with childhood education is recession-proof, are increasingly investing in the fast-growing private learning sector.
While the technology, media and telecom sectors that typically attract venture capital are vulnerable to spending cuts in a global downturn, many Asian parents would make other sacrifices before scrimping on their children’s education.
“To cut the budget for your child’s educational costs is the last thing many parents in China, India and other parts of Asia will do, due to the tradition and culture in the region,” said Andrew Qian, managing partner of advisory firm New Access Capital in Shanghai.
“So the education sector is a relatively safe area for investments,” said Qian, whose firm has advised on about 20 deals valued at more than US$700mil (RM2.4bil) in total since 2003.
Young students at a computer learning centre in India. Many companies invest in supplementary education classes in Asia knowing that education is always prioritised. — AP Filepic.
Last month, British private equity firm Actis led a consortium investing US$103mil (RM364mil) in China’s Ambow Education, which targets middle-school students who aspire for coveted seats in Chinese universities.
In South Korea, private equity firm The Riverside Co became the top single shareholder in Wiz-Korea, a pre-school tutoring institute, with a 20bil Korean won (RM52.8bil) investment, in a deal announced in September.
Last year, the Carlyle Group invested US$20mil (RM70mil) in Topia Education, which runs tutoring institutes in South Korea.
Asia’s education firms are keen to attract foreign capital to expand their share of markets where private training and education does not have a long history.
“They are not in fierce competition now, because the pie is growing, but they want to raise their market shares now with more capital before competition turns stiffer,” said Park Jong-dae, an analyst at HI Investment & Securities.
The most important thing
Asian parents typically invest in their child in the hope and expectation their offspring will support them when they are old.
This relentless focus on education has triggered a boom in private supplementary education.
The northern Indian city of Kota, for example, attracts some 20,000 students to cram for entrance exams for the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology(IIT); In Hong Kong, some highly-paid tutors are minor celebrities.
In China, the Communist nation’s “one child” policy has further raised the stakes for many parents who place huge importance on the education of their only child.
China’s education market grew to an estimated US$143bil (RM507bil) in 2007, and there is still huge potential for the market to expand over the next few years, according to Actis.
In South Korea, the after-school tutoring service market reached 20 trillion Korean won (RM53bil) in 2007, according to its National Statistical Office, or 2.1% of the country’s gross domestic product.
Foreign capital is estimated to account for less than 10% of that total.
Besides young students, experienced workers are also expected to go back to school to improve their professional or language skills during a global economic crisis that has already led to thousands of job cuts worldwide.
“Many people become unemployed during an economic crisis, so it’s time for you to recharge yourself,” said Ran Wang, chief executive of investment bank eCapital, whose clients include Google Inc and Microsoft Corp in China.
No fast exit
English language training is the most popular service in Asia’s private education sector, with a handful of schools, including China’s New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc listed in the United States.
Beijing-based Global Education & Technology Group, which prepares students for a British language exam, has said it plans to raise at least US$100mil (RM352mil) in a United States (US) listing. SAIF partners, a private equity firm backed by Japan’s Softbank Corp, is one of its investors.
Last year, an investment arm of insurance giant American International Group reportedly invested US$60mil (RM212mil) in Avalon English, a major English language school in South Korea.
But education firms are not immune to market sentiment.
In September, South Korea’s Hansol Education, a domestic tutoring service targeting toddlers to high school students, said it would postpone its plan for an IPO (initial public offering) of shares due to lower-than-expected valuations.
“New Oriental is a success story, but it also makes it more challenging for latecomers to tell an even more successful story when they want to go to the market,” said Qian, referring to New Oriental’s 2006 IPO in New York. — Reuters
NEWS: Rural folks need a reason to go broadband
KUALA LUMPUR: Rural folk need to see value in using the Internet before they will actively sign up for broadband access, said industry research group Frost & Sullivan.
Once they start deriving benefits from the Web, it will be a necessity for them and broadband penetration in the country will start to increase, said the researcher.
Currently, only 25% of Malaysian households have broadband access and rural households make up about 35% of the total number of homes in the country.
Broadband uptake is not just about affordability but also desirability, said Nitin Bhat, senior vice-president of information and communications technology (ICT) practice at Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific.
“Lowering prices is not enough,” he said. “It is about why someone in a kampung would want to get on the Internet in the first place.”
“The rural folk have to feel a desire to get connected. There needs to be applications (and websites) that are relevant to their needs, interests and lifestyles.”
Bhat was at a business and technology forum organised by Malaysia Debt Ventures Bhd.
The event is in its third year. Currently, there are some applications on the Internet that rural folk could take advantage of, but there needs to be more.
“Kampung folk would benefit from (the various) e-Government services; they could go online instead of travelling to the city to hand in their tax returns or apply for a business permit. Online banking would be another convenience,” Bhat said.
He also suggested that an application or site that helped users compare prices of items online would nudge more rural folk to start using the Internet.
Frost & Sullivan expects the cost of broadband access in the country to come down by about 10% next year due to a more competitive landscape.
“There are more players (in the segment) now and they are offering broadband services at attractive rates. The current slow economic conditions will also see service providers competing more heavily and this will drive prices down," Bhat said.
Incidentally, said the research group, video traffic is what’s driving broadband growth in the world.
“Sixty per cent of the world’s Internet traffic is video,” said Bhat. “We expect this to increase this by 13 times in the next five years.”
Once they start deriving benefits from the Web, it will be a necessity for them and broadband penetration in the country will start to increase, said the researcher.
Currently, only 25% of Malaysian households have broadband access and rural households make up about 35% of the total number of homes in the country.
Broadband uptake is not just about affordability but also desirability, said Nitin Bhat, senior vice-president of information and communications technology (ICT) practice at Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific.
“Lowering prices is not enough,” he said. “It is about why someone in a kampung would want to get on the Internet in the first place.”
“The rural folk have to feel a desire to get connected. There needs to be applications (and websites) that are relevant to their needs, interests and lifestyles.”
Bhat was at a business and technology forum organised by Malaysia Debt Ventures Bhd.
The event is in its third year. Currently, there are some applications on the Internet that rural folk could take advantage of, but there needs to be more.
“Kampung folk would benefit from (the various) e-Government services; they could go online instead of travelling to the city to hand in their tax returns or apply for a business permit. Online banking would be another convenience,” Bhat said.
He also suggested that an application or site that helped users compare prices of items online would nudge more rural folk to start using the Internet.
Frost & Sullivan expects the cost of broadband access in the country to come down by about 10% next year due to a more competitive landscape.
“There are more players (in the segment) now and they are offering broadband services at attractive rates. The current slow economic conditions will also see service providers competing more heavily and this will drive prices down," Bhat said.
Incidentally, said the research group, video traffic is what’s driving broadband growth in the world.
“Sixty per cent of the world’s Internet traffic is video,” said Bhat. “We expect this to increase this by 13 times in the next five years.”
Monday, November 10, 2008
一人一手提電腦教育部暫不推行
（吉隆坡10日訊）教育部副部長拿督魏家祥說，該部仍未準備推行政府學校學生一人一台手提電腦的計劃。
他指出，該部確實有研究其可行性，但發現每台電腦（不包括軟件）叫價1000令吉，意味政府須耗資54億3000令吉為543萬名學生提供免費電腦。
“再者，電腦只能用三至四年，這涉及今后龐大的維修及替換費用。”
他今日在下議院，這么回答安邦區國會議員祖萊達的提問。祖萊達提問，政府是否像先進國般，落實一學生一電腦計劃。
“政府不可能要求家長自掏腰包，一些家庭連掏出20令吉的學雜費都有問題。”
他透露，讓學生擁有一台電腦，並不能確保他們用得其所，他們可能用來玩電玩，倒不如提升學校的電腦軟件。
他指出，該部目前正積極把學生與電腦比例，從2006年的1：40提升至2010年的1：20。
他指出，該部確實有研究其可行性，但發現每台電腦（不包括軟件）叫價1000令吉，意味政府須耗資54億3000令吉為543萬名學生提供免費電腦。
“再者，電腦只能用三至四年，這涉及今后龐大的維修及替換費用。”
他今日在下議院，這么回答安邦區國會議員祖萊達的提問。祖萊達提問，政府是否像先進國般，落實一學生一電腦計劃。
“政府不可能要求家長自掏腰包，一些家庭連掏出20令吉的學雜費都有問題。”
他透露，讓學生擁有一台電腦，並不能確保他們用得其所，他們可能用來玩電玩，倒不如提升學校的電腦軟件。
他指出，該部目前正積極把學生與電腦比例，從2006年的1：40提升至2010年的1：20。
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