NEWS: Going Green

SUN Microsystems Malaysia Sdn Bhd and University Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) in Tanjung Malim, Perak recently launched the Thin Client Centre at the university’s main library, to meet the needs of a new digital generation.

The centre will provide the students with three education essentials — access, communication and collaboration — to address the growing demand for better eco-solution awareness, as UPSI works towards achieving a greener environment.

The partnership is to also educate the university community on the ecological impact of today’s technologies and how they can be part of the eco-responsibility initiative to reduce energy costs and IT environmental impact,” said Prof Mustamam Abd Karim, the university’s deputy vice-chancellor (research & innovation).

“Our partnership with Sun is in line with our efforts to work towards k-Perak, an IT initiative by the Perak state government to develop ICT and enable Perak achieve ‘knowledge state’ status by 2010.”

He added that UPSI was keen on the technology because of its environmental benefits and efficiencies.

“The centre will provide one-stop support and integration services for the university and its students.

“There is also a services kiosk where students can get access to more efficient printing resources for class and project submission and documentation,” said Prof Mustamaman.

The centre, besides having a centralised data and applications system, also has greater security as virus attacks are eliminated.

The centre’s servers consume less power which makes this a “green” solution, said Sun’s managing director C.P. Loo.

NEWS: A Good Start

THe new, technology-enabled Taylor’s College Sri Hartamas campus recently opened its doors to about 350 pre-university students, all enrolled in either the Cambridge A-Levels or South Australian Matriculation programme.

The contemporary furnishings, coupled with lots of open spaces, zesty colours and free wi-fi access seem to have scored points for the students who lauded the “high tech” study environment.

Students at the new Taylor’s College Sri Hartamas campus were in high spirits.

“Today’s students are more attuned to technology. For this reason, we place greater emphasis on the use of ICT for teaching and learning here. Our teaching revolves around student-centred learning,” said Taylor’s College Sri Hartamas’ Cambridge A-Levels programme director Ananda Kumaresh.

“We integrate our teaching and learning framework with extensive use of technology,” said Cambridge A-Levels academic department head Hariandra Muthu.

“This means our students have easier access to our teaching resources. For example, lecture notes are given out in soft copy, revision lessons are offered in audio and video recordings, and downloads are enabled using Bluetooth — all made available on Blackboard 7, a web-based course management software,” he added.

Located close to Mont Kiara, Damansara and Kuala Lumpur, Taylor’s College Sri Hartamas offers time- and money-saving solutions for students who no longer need to travel to Subang Jaya, Selangor, for their pre-university education.

“Besides, this new campus is much nearer to my house, so I managed to convince my dad to let me study here.”

NEWS: 全球校友一线牵 吉华互动网站开步

亚罗士打7日讯）《吉华互动网站》正式开步，今后国内外校友可通过该网站了解母校最新进展及互相交流。

吉华校友会主席王庆中日前在推介礼上声称，该校友会在前任主席郑江湖，卢有福领导时期已经展开网页发展计划，至2008年7月份才积极投入网页建构任务，借用网际网络的跨国平台，号召全球吉华校友齐献心力，凝聚遍布国内外的校友人力，财力，物力筹办100年校庆。

他也指出，《吉华互动网站》将是一个兼具校友沟通联谊、发布吉华6校会讯、校友会新动态、搜集校史资料的多功能、全互动站台。

他欢迎各地校友浏览网站，注册成为电子会员，号召更多校友前来参与，让《吉华互动网站》成为最受欢迎的网站，尤其希望年轻校友加入校友会，壮大校友会阵容，成为未来的校友会领导人。

董家教校友互动

《吉华互动网站》（http://www.kh-alumni.com/）， 是吉华校友会配合迎百年庆典大计划，精心构思的“吉华电子化计划”，希望一举带动吉华董家教成员，遍布全球各地的校友，在网上互相学习，借重电子资讯强化 教学效益、组织效率，成为未来全球校友一线牵，齐为吉华开拓往后百年新教育方案的桥头堡。所提供的内容包括供校友网上登记的电子会员系统，供校友追踪母校 和校友会消息的电子报系统，供搜集校友意见和看法的论坛，供校友跨国交流的聊天室，供母校促进教学的网上教育系统等。

分3 ROOM：

ROOM 01:《吉华电子新闻网》是广播校友、母校和校友会活动资讯的《吉华互动网站》；

目 前，电子新闻网有两个等级的投稿区，一是完全公开予校友，董家教成员，甚至在借学生和学生家长自由投稿的区域，只需将写好的稿件贴上投稿栏，按送出即可等 待登上新闻网。另一特设投稿区，是专供拥有本身部落格，熟悉部落撰稿方式的校友申请，获批为这一等级的校友，可直接将稿件和贴图送上电子新闻网，管理员批 阅即可直接送上首页。

ROOM 02:《吉华大家族》《吉华大家族》是一个结合部落格功能和游戏广场的虚拟空间，相等于正在构思的吉华校友俱乐部。在这一空间，校友不只可以书写自已的部 落文章，还可参与数之不尽的部落活动如心理测验、趣味投票、十二生肖命理、网上读书会等，难以置信的是，这一空间还提供数以千计的网上电台、电影院和电子 游戏等，足让加入吉华大家族的校友，经营个人部落文章之同时，也尽兴于久违的康乐、联谊、互动游戏。

ROOM 03:《吉华·纵横天下论坛》《吉华·纵横天下论坛》促进校友的知识，通过论坛找回读书时代天南地北无所不谈的好时光。

NEWS: Smartboard to make inroad

KUALA LUMPUR: PENCILS and books in some classrooms have been replaced with lightweight individual computers and thanks to a Canadian company, students and teachers can say goodbye to the dusty blackboards and chalks too.

Smartboard, developed by Smart Technologies is set to replace the old ­blackboard and chalk teaching method.

The Smartboard looks like an ordinary whiteboard but is equipped with a projector hook and allows direct interaction with a computer.

According to Christopher Chong, regional director and general manager of Smart Technologies Asia Pacific, the Smartboard is used in many education institutions around the world and is a hit with pre-schoolers and secondary students alike.

“Based on our latest statistics, the Smartboard is now used in 700,000 ­classrooms and about 18 million students enjoy its benefits,” he told In.Tech recently.

Teaching tool

The Smartboard can be a great teaching tools for teachers to present any subject from science to history, Chong said.

“With the right software and presentation skills teachers can make these subjects more fun and engaging,” he said.

Chong added that as digital technology becomes part of our modern lives, students nowadays also expect to see more digital interactivity during lessons.

“They are used to getting information instantly off the Internet, which also allows them to be interactive in learning and sharing of opinions, so they expect the same kind of interactivity in classrooms as well,” Chong explained.

He added that teachers can do more things on the Smartboard than they could with a conventional blackboard and chalk method.

Ep-Tec Solutions Sdn Bhd general manager Loh Kwai Nam said teachers teaching ­geography can easily use Internet tools to pull up a map. Ep-Tec is the local distributor for the Smartboard.

“Teachers will not be able to get the exact map using the chalk and board method,” he said.

Loh added that biology need not be a messy subject with the board, especially when it comes to dissecting frogs.

Using the board’s built-in software, teachers can demonstrate how to dissect a frog without having the whole class cramped up in front of the teacher’s desk.

Education market Chong claimed that Smart Technologies owns 53% of the global interactive whiteboard market share and expects an increased sale in the tool with the growing number of schools opting for e-learning.

“More and more schools are equipped with projectors and computers these days and we see that as a driver for the sale of the Smartboard,” he said.

Loh added that the step to transform local national schools to smart schools will also augur well for the Smartboard take-up.

“It is seen as the next step in teaching tools,” he said.

However, the Smartboard is only at the proof-of-concept level in the country with about 300 schools in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia using the tool.

“We see an adoption of the tool but not at a massive scale yet,” he said adding that it would take about five years before the Smartboard can make its way into every Malaysian school.

Other targets

Although it had gained a strong foothold in the education sector, Smart Technologies plans to expand into other sectors as well. Its Smartboard has already made its way into news studio set-ups in the United States and even at meeting rooms in businesses locally. It also plans to make a versatile table top version of the Smartboard, which is due to be available in January.

“This table top version can be used for group activities for pre-schoolers and lower primary school students and even at ­military academies where it can be used to teach combat strategies and languages,” Chong said.

There have also been requests for the Smartboard from home users but Loh said Smart Technologies has not made any plans to enter the home user market yet.

“We see a market opportunity in parents who prefer their children to be home-schooled but we would like to focus on the larger education market first,” he said.

NEWS: Precious Resource

Every week, a group of 13- to 17-year-olds from the GOSM Precious Network in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, go to UCSI University for weekly computer classes.

Most of the children need help with their studies and come from deprived backgrounds.

As their parents are undergoing rehabilitation programmes, the children are placed in stable homes and cared for by the staff of the GOSM Precious Network.

Associate Dean of the Management and IT Faculty at UCSI Stephen Corneilius and lecturer, Sharon Lee initiated the computer classes. They not only got the university’s staff to teach the children computer and language skills, but also commit part of their salaries to defray the home’s monthly utility bills.

UCSI University has been providing computer lessons to the children of GOSM Precious Network.

“The children need to be taught basic English before they can use the computer,” said Lee, adding that simple exercises prepared by lecturers at the faculty ensured that the children could reach a stage where they could use the computer.

This included setting up their own e-mail accounts, surfing the Internet, and learning basic computer software applications.

The faculty’s commitment to the Precious Network began in early August.

“During a visit to the home, I found that what we could truly offer as a university was education, and education for these children can go a long way in the long run,” said Lee.

Rev Dr Robert Judah Paul, who oversees GOSM Precious Network, said: “These weekly classes may seem small in comparison to the many other classes going on at UCSI University, but it is monumental for the children and for the home as well.”

The GOSM Precious Network operates near the Chow Kit district of Kuala Lumpur, and provides food relief and shelter, rehabilitation opportunities and facilities as well as counselling.

UCSI University is the first higher education institution to help the home through computer classes.

There are 14 homes under the care of GOSM Precious Network, housing over 600 individuals picked from the streets. About 45% of them have been integrated back into society.

Holistic education for children

MICHELE Sagan has grand dreams of nurturing creativity among young children in Malaysia.

Children today need a more holistic education than what is currently available, she said adding that “they need to learn about emotional intelligence instead of just focusing on academics, which was why she was inspired to start the InsightKIDs programme.

Sagan was speaking at the official launching ceremony of the InsightKIDs learning centre in Medan Damansara in Kuala Lumpur.

The event was attended by Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong and Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan, as well as parents of children enrolled in InsightKIDs programmes.

Sagan (left) and Dr Wee together with InsightKIDs staff at the launch of the centre.

Dr Wee said that Malaysian students were being spoon-fed and lacked the skills to think critically.

“InsightKIDs should stand out as an example in the private sector for complementing the exisiting education system,” said Dr Wee.

The launch also saw the start of the centre’s effort to be listed in the Malaysian Book of Records for creating the largest mind-map.

The mind-map would be a joint effort by those who have been attending the courses and programmes provided by InsightKIDs.

“Mind-maps are very useful tools in enabling a child to think innovatively, and this is one way of taking a lesson beyond the classroom,” said Sagan who is also InsightKIDS director.

Sagan added that the mind-map created will be used to spark a charity drive for various orphanages and autistic centres around Petaling Jaya. — By PRIYA KULASAGARAN

NEWS: Innovation in action

IT was a memorable moment for Flight BPF creative thinkers Emilia Miranda, Marise Brandao and Marli Fiorentin when they won third place in the Innovation in Collaboration category of the Worldwide Innovative Teacher Awards.

The project saw the Brazilian, Portuguese and French teachers offering students the opportunity to experience borderless collaborative learning through the Internet.

»The use of technology in education is the starting point for students to develop problem-solving and collaborative skills« RALPH YOUNG

Operating from their respective countries, the trio had elementary and high school students read Brazilian writer Claudio Fragata’s book Seis Tombos e um Pulinho (Six Tumbles and One Small Leap) — a narration of the life and contribution of aviator Santos Dumont — before getting them to share their work and thoughts on a blog,
voobpf.blogspot.com.

The students then had to choose from specific classroom subjects to work on, from Portuguese and Geography to Arts and Computing.

An online learning initiative like this certainly takes the sharing of knowledge, skills and experiences among students to a new high.

Winner of the Innovative Teacher of the Year award, Andrew Douch is one forward-thinking and resourceful teacher at Wanganui Park Secondary College in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia.

Three years ago, the tech-savvy man came up with a brilliant solution to make the most out of only 200 minutes of class time a week with his secondary school students. He incorporated podcasting into his pedagogy.

Since then, the motivated innovator has not looked back, for that solution not only helped him prepare students for their exams but also got him to redefine classroom teaching and learning.

The outcome? The birth of his Anywhere, Anytime Biology Class.

Instead of listening to teacher talk in class, his students have the option of tuning in to his podcast episodes at their preferred time and place, be it day or night, whether they are in the gym or out in the park.

“That way, we can fully utilise class time for practical,” said Douch, who also adopts the use of a website, discussion board, blog, and interactive media in his teaching and learning.

If you think that his students are the only beneficiaries of his innovation, think again. His interesting Biology podcasts, complete with music and sound effects, have a listening audience of an estimated 3,000 students from 22 countries.

Flight BPF’s Marli Fiorentin (left) and Marise Brandao won third place in the Innovation in Collaboration category.

Highlighting the advantage of podcasting, Douch, who won first place in the Innovation in Community category, said: “Students who have been sick and missed their Biology lessons can benefit from podcasting too. All they need to do is to download the podcasts from the Internet, listen to them, and participate in online discussions.” (For more information, visit
andrewdouch.com.au).

Nothing motivates like success. It was to rousing applause that the winners of the Worldwide Innovative Teacher Awards were announced. There were four categories of awards — Innovation in Collaboration, Innovation in Community, Innovation in Content as well as the Educator’s Choice Award.

Among those who bagged awards were Nathan Kerr from New Zealand, Parambir Singh Kathait from India, Dan Roberts from the United Kingdom, Fong Yin Kuan from Singapore and Pongpanote Phongpanngam from Thailand.

NEWS: Pacesetting techies

Teachers at the fourth Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum prove they have what it takes to stay relevant as they enthusiastically embrace change and jettison traditional classroom practices for new alternatives.

NEITHER a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.”

If you had doubts about this observation made by Dwight Eisenhower, you need only look at the recent Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum (ITF) held in Hong Kong to acknowledge the resounding truth of this saying. For at every turn, you would find the wise and the brave in the 250-odd teachers, school administrators and education policymakers, who flew in from more than 64 countries last month to attend the fourth annual conference organised by Microsoft Corporation.

Nur Ain and Maznah (third and fourth from left) gleaning ideas with members for the special collaboration project.

New pedagogies

What picture immediately comes to mind if you are asked to describe a typical learning experience? Students sitting in rows in their classrooms, furiously scribbling notes as their teacher talks and writes on a board ensconced conspicuously centre stage?

If teacher talk, reference books and notes on a big rectangular board are images that instantly float to mind, then you, or to be exact, your learning experience, must have surely missed the winds of change.

Chalk, talk and board may still be most educators’ essential teaching tools but to the participating primary and secondary school teachers at the three-day forum, emerging technologies are what set the pulse and pace of their classrooms.

Laptops, and other technological gadgets like Zune are the new tools of the trade for teachers today.

These teachers are aware that with more and more digital natives occupying classrooms the world over, the tried-and-tested chalk-and-talk method of classroom instruction is in need of enhancement, if not transformation.

Paving the way for such change is technology giant Microsoft, whose Partners in Learning (PiL) initiative has made it possible for 123 million teachers and students in 103 countries to keep up with the evolving learning environment. Incepted in 2003, the global initiative is dedicated to providing education communities worldwide with access to technology and solutions, as well as connected learning communities, through three key programmes – Innovative Teachers, Innovative Students and Innovative Schools programmes.

Collectively, these programmes offer a golden gateway for the three parties to employ, enhance and experience technology integration in classroom instruction and research.

“If, five years ago, we started out with a mission to set up a computer on every desk and in every home, now, we are moving towards enabling people and businesses throughout the world to realise their full potential,” said Microsoft Worldwide Public Sector vice-president, Ralph Young, in his opening address at the Asia World-Expo.

Waldon speaking to the participants at the forum. Looking on is Butler (far left).

That Microsoft has channelled massive resources and roped in support from public, private and non-governmental sectors is testimony to its commitment to seeing this education imperative take off. Indeed, there is urgency in the imperative as headhunters these days favour job candidates who possess skills vital for the smooth running of 21st century projects.

“The right skills,” as Young called them.

“The use of technology in education is the starting point for students to develop problem-solving, collaborative and other skills necessary to compete in the global community,” he added.

Echoing Young’s sentiments is Deirdre Butler, a faculty member at the Education Department of St Patrick’s College in Ireland and a staunch advocate for technology-integrated instruction.

“21st century learning should move beyond classroom walls and focus more on depth than breadth. We should prepare students for the future workplace which values critical thinking, creativity and communication,” she said.

However, Butler was quick to point out that digital learning entails more than just the incorporation of the use of computers in instruction.

Most students prefer to learn using technology rather than via conventional methods such as chalk-and-talk. — Filepic

“There is more to technology than just computers; mobile phones and portable media players are some of the gadgets that teachers and students can use,” emphasised Butler, a key speaker at the ITF.

Such alternatives were explored at the forum which saw teachers from Canada, the United States, Brazil, Finland, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, India, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand showcasing best practices of technology use in the classroom.

The four Cs

»The use of technology in education is the starting point for students to develop problem-solving and collaborative skills« RALPH YOUNG

Community, collaboration, content and challenge — these were the four themes highlighted at the fourth ITF, which recognises and rewards educators for their efforts in utilising technology to support teaching and learning.

As Microsoft Worldwide PiL team academic programme manager David Waldon put it, the forum was a “celebration of the work educators are doing” in the 21st century.

Given a booth each at the Asia World-Expo, participating teachers set up posters showcasing their pedagogies, strategies and learning outcomes. Poster format presentations aside, they also demonstrated their classroom projects to judges and other attendees through their chosen tools of trade – laptops and portable media players like Zune.

Representing Malaysia was Maznah Zaini, a Malay Language teacher at SK Sungai Rawang, Selangor. Her The Diamond in KIA presentation saw her incorporating technology to help her Year Five students master reading and writing skills.

The conference provides a platform for innovative teachers to form communities of practice, collaborate with global counterparts, access and share quality content as well as challenge themselves to take technology integration in education to a higher level.

“Actually, many teachers stand to gain from the ITF as participants go back to their home countries and share with their colleagues their experiences here,” said Finland’s representative, teacher Minna Perokorpi-Sulin.

This is especially true this year as participants will team up online with members and other teachers in a special collaboration project by March next year. Each team, comprising six members, is to come up with a learning project that connects students in their schools via ICT, from mobile phones to text and video. The winners for the special project will be announced in May next year.

The ITF has also boosted the confidence of teachers in using less conventional methods of classroom instruction.

“Teachers often lack confidence about using hardware and software. Many, in fact, know less than their students. Teachers need to change their mindsets and be open to change.

“Through this forum, the teachers get to network with like-minded practising teachers and will feel that they are not alone in implementing change,” said Butler.

Shaping tomorrow

Someone once said that “it is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

“We, the educators, must create our vision rather than have others create it for us,” expounded Butler who, in her keynote address, inspired participants with Gandhi’s philosophy that “we must be the change we want to see in the world.”

Malaysia’s Education Ministry’s Education Technology Division assistant director Nur Ain Wong Abdullah, Inspectorate and Quality Assurance principal assistant director Mohd Haliza Mohd Adnan, and Selangor Education Department’s assistant director of ICT and Computing in the Academic Management Sector Zahri Ramlan, were also present at the conference.

“This forum has been an insightful one. We get to look at how teachers from all over the world integrate different technologies into classroom instruction and see how students have benefited from the hands-on approaches. This enables us to share ideas and best practices with the participants,” said Nur Ain, who is also currently in charge of the Malaysian Smart School project.

NEWS: 獨中統考成績12日網上揭曉

雪蘭莪‧加影）2008年度第34屆高初中統考及第16屆技職科統考成績已在週五（12月12日）上午9時正式在網上公佈。考生可上董總考試局網站http://www.djz.edu.my/kaoshi）統考成績網上查詢系統裡，在有關欄上輸入本身考生編號及身份證號碼即可查獲成績。

此外，考生也可通過手機簡訊服務（SMS）獲知本身統考成績，方法是：先輸入UECC（華文媒介）或UECE（英文媒介）<空格>考生編號<空格>身份證號碼，傳送至39885即可（考生若為外國公民則無須輸入身份證號碼）。

另外，獨中工委會統一考試委員會在12月12日開始印製學校成績總表及考生個人成績報告表，然後陸續寄送給全國華文獨中。此委員會希望各考生於12月下旬左右返回原校領取成績報告表，作為報讀各大專院校的成績憑據。

NEWS: ICT in the classroom begins with teachers

FINDINGS from a recent evaluation report on the school adoption scheme by the Education Ministry should augur well for the future of information and communications technology (ICT) programmes in schools.

Apart from the observation that many students are fast adjusting to the new mode of learning through technology tools such as PCs and the Internet, the report highlighted that the majority of teachers agree that they need to bring themselves up to speed on digital literacy skills, mainly to build their confidence in integrating technology into their lesson plans.

This is encouraging and important too, as teachers play a vital role in ensuring the success of ICT programmes in schools. Teachers need to keep pace with the latest ICT developments and incorporate them into their teaching delivery.

For example, with Web 2.0 technology, teachers can create collaborative platforms to manage and share teaching and learning resources.

The Education Ministry also needs to have an effective support system to constantly expose teachers to innovative teaching and learning methods that are based on ICT. These include continuous support to enhance teachers’ digital literacy skills through training in the use of multimedia computing and Internet-based pedagogies. Such efforts will further drive greater ICT competence among teachers and knowledge creation among students.

Lending support to this push is a recent move by the education authorities in the United Kingdom to set the bar higher for those aspiring to become teachers.

A report by the Institute for Learning, with support of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, Lifelong Learning UK and Standards Verification UK, says ICT ability will be one of the personal skills required for teachers to be granted licensed practitioner status. It states that all providers of teaching training must make sure that they work to develop important personal skills, including ICT, in their students.

Looks like only those who are committed to teaching and adopting ICT are given the trust to integrate ICT successfully into classroom practice.

NEWS: Taking the loads off students' back

As children and parents prepare for the new school year, a perennial issue crops up again – heavy school bags.
Students checking out an e-book launched by the Terengganu State Government. Apart from doing away with heavy school bags, the initiative aims to expose students to ICT.
Students checking out an e-book launched by the Terengganu State Government. Apart from doing away with heavy school bags, the initiative aims to expose students to ICT.

The issue had been much discussed and debated, with parents and academicians expressing worry over the well-being of the children, citing reports from health experts. Suggestions after suggestions had been mooted, but none could solve the problem.

Then in 2001, the Education Ministry initiated an e-book pilot project in a fresh attempt to tackle the issue of heavy school bags. The pilot involved selected schools, the bulk of which were located in rural areas. It was reported then that the e-books would be distributed to Form Four arts stream students.

Under the pilot, there were also plans to expand the use of e-books to all primary and secondary schoolchildren. That was the last heard about the project.

The fact that schoolchildren continue to carry heavy materials inside their bags only serves to suggest that the project had not taken off beyond the pilot stage.

Seven years on, the e-book came into the limelight again when the Terengganu State Government announced its plan to equip students in the State with virtual textbooks stored on Intel-powered Classmate PCs.

Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said was quoted as saying that apart from solving the problem of heavy school bags, the programme would be geared towards giving ICT exposure to students. This is a noble move, but the State needs to have a sound plan or risk suffering the same fate as those who had embarked on the e-book journey without making much headway.

The high cost of equipment and maintenance is among the challenges, but a bigger issue is to make sure that students who are accustomed to conventional textbooks are equally comfortable with the virtual version. Although they might find the e-book cool, using it as an alternative to printed textbooks in the classroom might not be appealing to some.

So, there is a need for more efforts to expand e-book usage beyond being virtual textbooks to make learning more interactive and fun. E-books have the potential of making classroom learning an interesting affair, if implemented and managed well.

And with less pain in the back, going to school might no longer be such a drag after all.

NEWS: Connected Schools for innovative Learning

In the final instalment of the Connected Life series, Cisco Malaysia’s managing director Kumaran Singaram explores the meaning of connected schools and what it means for Malaysia as the nation strives towards a knowledge society.

Education has always been one of the primary drivers for economic growth, peace and prosperity. Increasingly, we are living in a knowledge society, in which connectivity allows us access to all kinds of information at unprecedented speed and multiple formats.

One-wire vision
Innovative school leaders are beginning to transform education to realise their vision of connected schools. Connected schools create the possibilities for changing pedagogy and provide new opportunities to improve the learning experience, so that children and societies are ready to meet the challenges of today’s knowledge society.

Today, schools are increasingly turning to the data network as the “fourth utility” and using it to address facilities management challenges. Thanks to technology, today’s educators can transform the educational environment, bringing out the full potential in every teacher, student and facility. With proper support in place, schools can move beyond basic technology integration, and turn their technical infrastructure into a valuable resource that facilitates administrative efficiency and academic excellence.

Central education networks management
Connected schools can help educational institutions to reduce building capital and operational costs, increase safety and security and support new services and amenities that enhance the educational experience for students and faculty.

Equipped with a versatile network foundation that uses the open standard of Internet protocol (IP), schools can create innovative learning and building environments in which facilities, technologies, and services work together to improve the efficiency of operating and maintaining school facilities.

As school districts depend heavily on communications for school operations and administration, it can improve the dissemination of information such as human relations policies, emergency procedures and even provide districts with the opportunity to hold meetings with parents to discuss important topics.

Productive work and study environment
The connected school, however, is not just a school with a physical network. For each lesson which is possible to do so, teachers and learners are networked to the appropriate place where the information and ideas of supporting teachers and learners are located as well.

Computer technology is integrated into the curriculum providing rich media content and highly interactive educational programs. Enhancing education through video can provide students with experiences that are not traditionally available in the classroom. Integration of video and multimedia can support a range of student needs with various learning requirements as well.

Connectivity offers an avenue for teachers to prepare lesson plans and conduct administrative reports as a network resource. Additionally, it allows for more efficient delegation of tasks to support staff.

Collaborative tools and networking infrastructure will allow teachers the access they require to conduct virtual learning environments. More importantly, it also provides schools in rural areas faster access to available resources and information than otherwise possible.

The Internet is increasingly changing the way we work, live, play and learn and this is especially true for education. An intelligent school network can support a variety of applications that streamline manual processes, reduce paperwork, and keep staff more connected and productive.

With connected schools, education can be transformed, and learning can become an individualised, exciting experience for all students. Teachers can be given the tools, training, and resources they need to make an even bigger difference in the classroom, and schools can be freed from cumbersome administrative processes to become more efficient and cost-effective.

Building knowledge via connectivity
As communicated over the four parts of this Connected series, it is clear that utilising IP networks and harnessing the powers of connectivity in real estate, Government, healthcare, and education can tremendously benefit and move the nation forward into the knowledge society of tomorrow.

No single entity, company or government organisation, can address this challenge alone. It requires collaboration on a very large scale between corporations and government organisations at the state and national levels.

Eventually, the collaborative effort of these four pillars – education, health, government and real estate – with the help of digital technology, will spur the nation towards a new breed of communities that are housed in what will be known as knowledge cities of the future.

NEWS: English on the web

THE Online Resources for Learning in English (MyLinE) which was specially created to help UTM students improve their language skills, has proven to be a hit. It’s been so popular that the website has been extended to students in the country’s 19 other public universities.

First launched in the first semester of 2006/2007, MyLinE is a platform for UTM students to learn and practise their English language skills in their own time and at their own pace.

By the second semester, the MyLinE website already had 158,192 hits.

Mohamed Khaled (seated) having a go at MyLinE as UTM English Language Unit director Assoc Prof Dr Khairi Izwan Abdullah explains the system to him.

UTM vice-chancellor Prof Tan Sri Dr Mohd Zulkifli Mohd Ghazali said the website is part of the university’s English Language Support Programme (ELSP) for students.

Other components under ELSP are peer support, one-on-one support and short taught courses.

“The main aim is to develop a culture of responsibility for self-directed learning (among students) and nurture a community of learners who will take charge of their own self development,” he said.

MyLinE offers a variety of activities and learning resources to improve language proficiency, which include academic reading, writing, speaking and listening, study skills and grammar.

The MyLinE website had caught the attention of Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, when he visited the UTM campus in June.

“Realising the potential for wider use, the ministry decided to provide administrative and financial support of about RM4.5mil to UTM so that MyLinE could be extended to students in other public universities,” he said after launching its extended use at the UTM city campus in Kuala Lumpur last Tuesday.

He said MyLinE had been made available unofficially to students from other public universities for the last three days.

“As of 8am on Tuesday, there had already been 30,915 hits,” Mohd Khaled said, adding that the ministry would continue to monitor the usage at each university.

He stressed that this did not mean online resources would replace conventional teaching as the ministry would continue to provide support and encourage teaching in innovative face-to-face classroom teaching.

UTM, he added, would continue to develop and maintain MyLinE.

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.”

NEWS: Drawing on talent

“I AM constantly experimenting and creating things for my students, to the point that I sometimes feel the classroom is like my own lab,” says art teacher Nur Ilyana Mohamed Anwar, with a laugh.

With a simple tool – Microsoft Powerpoint – Ilyana trains her pupils to create animated work during the art lessons at CHIJ Our Lady of the Nativity, in Singapore.

The school has included the use of powerpoint as part of its arts curriculum and co-curricular activity, following overwhelming response from its pupils.

CHIJ Our Lady of the Nativity art teacher Nur Ilyana Mohamed Anwar posing with her students' art work.

Ilyana, who won the Microsoft-MOE Professional Development Award (Distinction) in 2006, which recognises teachers who make effective and innovative use of ICT (including at least one Microsoft technology) to support classroom learning, says her job scope involves more than just teaching in the classroom.

A teacher should grab every opportunity to take part in local and overseas competitions to gain exposure and implement new ideas in classroom learning wherever possible, she feels.

She also won the Microsoft Educators’ Choice Award at the Microsoft Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum in Philadephia two years ago.

“When you empower children with the skills to draw, it also helps increase their self-esteem. The more they practise using the tool, the more confident they feel about themselves.”

This business-savvy teacher also sees opportunities to market her students’ art work.

“I’ve been trying to get in touch with companies that produce tissue papers packs. Instead of using Disney characters on the cover, they could consider using my students’ art work. They are just as good,” she adds.

NEWS: IT-wired schools

How far can you go with the use of ICT in classroom learning? In Singapore, there seems to be no limit.

NEWTON’S students think he is smart and patient. There are 40 of them in class, but he always gives them individual attention and is generous with his compliments whenever they get an answer right.

The Physics teaching assistant is also known for his sense of humour.

A Bendemeer Secondary School student intent on a class activity during a design and technology lesson.

“Tell us about Newton’s Law 1,” says Secondary Three student Teo Wan Jing.

“Take a book resting on the table,” says Newton. “What do you think are the forces acting on it? Weight and normal reaction (Type 1) or friction and air resistance (Type 2)?”

“Type 1.”

“That’s correct! The weight of the book pushes on the table and the table exerts a contact force that pushes back on the book.”

To test if Newton is indeed as funny as people say, Wan Jing pops the next question: “Am I pretty?”

Immediately, he replies – “Why don’t you ask me about things that I’m here for?” – and ends his sentence with a smiley emoticon.

Wan Jing and classmate Ong Sin Yee burst into laughter as they read Newton’s reply on Windows Live Messenger, an Instant Messaging (IM) tool that enables a user to send and receive messages, photographs and videos.

Newton is not your usual Physics teaching assistant. He is a Windows Live Agent (WLA), an “always-on” character who can chat with students about Physics, ranging from the background of the famed scientist he is named after, to the theories behind topics such as gravity and forces.

Tampines North Primary School Year Two pupil Gwen Chan showing Dr Ng a digital story book used during her English lessons.

“WLA is a chat interface based on the interaction between a sentient human ‘speaking’ to a computer with artificial intelligence capabilities to achieve a goal,” says Alvin Tan, subject head of Information and Communication Technology/Media Resource Library at Singapore’s Ngee Ann Secondary School.

The goal, in this case, is to teach students about Newton’s Law in a pilot project involving 80 students, in collaboration with Microsoft Singapore.

The project, launched in June, is just one example of how Singapore’s Education Ministry promotes the use of ICT in daily lessons in schools. Instead of offering ICT as a stand-alone subject in national examinations, it decided that integrating ICT in the school curriculum would be far more effective.

With that in mind, the ministry launched the first Masterplan for ICT in Education in 1997, whereby it trained all teachers in basic word processing skills and presentation software, so they could start integrating ICT into 30% of curriculum time.

It also ensured that all schools were equipped with the basic infrastructure, such as hardware, computer laboratories and essential learning software packages.

When all that was in place, the second Masterplan was launched in 2002.

“It went beyond using Powerpoint presentations to replace the transparencies and the old overhead projectors. We wanted instead to bring about greater interactivity and engagement in the learning process,” says the Singapore Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen, when launching the third Masterplan 2009-2014 at the inaugural International Conference on Teaching and Learning with Technology (iCTLT) held in Singapore recently.

“For example, podcasts can help students practise different language skills, from writing to speaking. The technology allows them to play back their work, so that peers and teachers can help them improve on pronunciation or grammar.

“We expect to see, at the end of Masterplan 3, a pervasive culture of innovative ICT practices across all schools and a corps of specialist teachers in every cluster who demonstrate a deep understanding of how ICT can transform teaching and learning both within and outside the classroom.”

Bendemeer Secondary School students learning their mother tongue using tablet PCs during a Tamil language lesson.

Teachers who are already ICT-savvy are able to leverage on the use of the modern technology to transform the learning environment.

“With E-learning, our lessons can still be carried out online while school is closed, should an emergency, say, avian flu, hit us,” says Alan Goh, head of the ICT department at Bendemeer Secondary School.

Innovative learning tool

During the process of creating Newton, physics teachers at Ngee Ann “fed” the character with potential questions that students are likely to ask during the lesson, as well as responses.

The immediate nature of IM allows Newton to handle 40 or more questions simultaneously – a feat that teachers are unlikely to emulate.

“One advantage of using Newton is that if a student prefers to study late at night, he can just log in and chat with Newton and ask whatever questions he might have about Newton’s Law,” says Ngee Ann principal Adrian Lim.

Plans are also in the pipeline to create “Shakespeare”, to teach English Literature.

Tan notes that some students are shy and not forthcoming with questions.

“With WLA, they are more open about asking questions, even ‘silly’ ones. It can be used as a revision tool, with students asking the same question over and over again at their own pace and time.”

However, there is more to IM than just questions and answers.

Lim explains that the chat interface encourages students to seek information by asking questions. Hopefully, the inquisitive habit will stay with them.

“Newton is a learning tool that complements the use of ICT in our school curriculum. It is not a substitute for teachers, who will still have to check and make sure the students complete their work,” he says.

It can also help to determine a student’s understanding of Physics.

“Teachers can print out a copy of the conversations between Newton and students. From there, they can tell which student is weaker and requires more attention,” Lim says.

By the end of the third lesson with Newton, Tan says, students will sit for a quiz to see if their level of understanding has improved.

Students’ activities are monitored via NetAssist, a programme that treks what the students are doing, he adds.

“If they are found to be surfing the net, playing games or chatting with friends, their computers can be locked or that particular programme can be disabled.”

Windows Live Messenger, hugely popular with teenagers these days, is not new to “digital natives”like Wan Jing and Sin Yee. But using IM, a tool they’re familiar with, to learn Physics is a welcome change in the classroom.

With Newton, Sin Yee can now learn anywhere, any time. “It’s easy to use and Newton is very funny,” she says.

However, nothing can replace having a teacher explaining a lesson in front of the class.

As Wan Jing says, it’s easier to interact verbally with her teacher using facial expressions and body language, especially when a question gets too technical.

“Newton is something new and interesting. However, having a teacher is still a good idea because it may not always understand what I am trying to ask,” she says.

Do Re Mi

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could create your own ring tone?

Well, 11-year-old Nur Ardina Abdul Rahman can do just that. And the great thing is she learnt it during music lessons in school.

At Singapore’s Radin Mas Primary School, a centre of excellence for IT, all students from Primary One to Six are involved in the E-music programme, which runs for 10 weeks. It complements the school’s animation programme, which aims to equip every pupil with the skills to produce animated work.

Last year, Nur Ardina learned how to create ringtones using Prodikeys – a music-and-PC keyboard.

“It’s a fun way to learn music. They allow us to explore and create our own ringtone using modern technology,” Nur Ardina, who is in Primary Five.

In fact, some pupils have sold their ringtones on e-bay, says Radin Mas headmistress Lee Lai Yong.

Although she is only 11, So Pui Man already understands the importance of possessing ICT skills in today’s competitive job market.

“If I know how to make a presentation using multimedia tools, my boss will be impressed,” says the Primary Five pupil.

Prof Mitchel Resnick, who is constantly looking for ways to engage children in creative learning experiences, has found kindergarten to be a source of inspiration.

The “kindergarten approach” can be applied in schools, whereby students can learn what’s in the curriculum by working on projects, says MIT Media Lab Prof Mitchel Resnick.

“It’s about working on a project over an extended period of time, knowing how to run experiments, and coming up with good ideas of what to explore.”

Wild creativity

As Prof Resnick sees it, learning takes place when a child is working on a project. It prompts her to think about, say, what makes a tower fall apart, or how to build a stronger structure.

In other words, while some people are making kindergartens more like school, he proposes the reverse.

“Kindergarten is one part of the education system that does a good job in helping children develop as creative thinkers. If you look at the root of creativity, it’s about creating things. Children in kindergarten spend a lot time creating things, like a tower, using blocks or lego bricks,” he says.

Prof Resnick was giving a talk entitled “Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society” at the ICTLT in Singapore recently.

“We run our graduate programmes like a kindergarten. First, our work space is like a kindergarten. We organise it in such a way that there are different play areas and sofas where students can sit down and talk,” he explains.

“My graduate students are always making things. We don’t spend months planning something. If we get an idea, we make a little model of it. We create something, we try it out and get new ideas based on that, the same way children are always creating things in kindergarten.”

Although there is a growing understanding of the importance of creative thinking, most of the education systems around the world are not set up to prepare children for a society that demands, requires and values creative thinking more than ever before, he observes.

To help empower children with creative thinking skills, Prof Resnick and the researchers at the Lifelong Kindergarten group at MIT in the United States have developed a digital kit that enables them to create games, stories and animation and share them on Scratch (www.scratch.mit.edu).

He strongly believes that the digital gap between the rich and the poor nations will shrink eventually. However, the fluency gap is what people should be worrying about.

“It’s true that not every part of the world is able to buy even low-cost computers today. But my bigger concern is that, in the future, when almost everybody has equal access to the technologies, only a small percentage of people will be designing, creating and experimenting with them, while the great masses will just be browsing and gaming with technologies,” he adds.

Other keynote speakers at the conference were Sir Ken Robinson and Cheryl Lemke.

NEWS: Going international?

WITH a delivery system based primarily on Information and Communications Technology (ICT), it was only a matter of time before Open University Malaysia (OUM) ventured into the international arena.

The first university in Malaysia to provide courses entirely via open and distance learning, OUM has not only managed to attract individual international students, but also provided consultancy and training services on e-learning to countries like Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh.

Said OUM president and vice-chancellor Prof Tan Sri Anuwar Ali: “OUM has been mindful of the fact that international cooperation is seen as an instrument for capacity building, for finding new ways to manage open and distance learning in higher education, as well as for testing new or established practices in many aspects of teaching, consultancy and research.”

With that in mind, the seven-year-old Kuala Lumpur-based institution recently launched OUM International as its brand name and focus point for its international endeavours.

“OUM International is the reference point for all international contacts with OUM as well as the unit responsible for the conceptualisation of projects to meet the needs of international clients,” explained Prof Anuwar in his speech at the launch recently.

OUM International was officially launched by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

In his speech, the minister said: “’Borderless education’ has become a new buzzword amongst educators, and as such, universities in recent years have expanded their international reach.

“It is reasonable to conclude that such expansion has changed society’s perception of academia and at the same time, encouraged the university to have a new outlook about itself.”

Khaled added that for internationalisation to be meaningful, it should not only be seen as a set of activities catering for international clients, but also a process of integration in all spheres of university management so that the institution is internationally oriented in all its operating procedures.

“I believe that by going international, a university can maintain and benchmark its competitiveness and at the end of the day, achieve international standards and become a respected global player.

“Also note that in trying to achieve this, I must duly stress that the quality of the graduates we produce must be at par with international standards, and I believe this is readily achieved at OUM,” Khaled said.

According to Prof Anuwar, OUM has established partnerships with the Arab Open University in Bahrain, the University of Science and Technology in Yemen and Universitas Riau, Indonesia, to offer postgraduate degrees. The university will soon be offering undergraduate, Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and competency-based certificate courses in collaboration with local partners in Vietnam and the Maldives. – By TAN SHIOW CHIN

NEWS: Team effort

TO improve the proficiency of Maths and Science teachers, a project called Team Teaching was launched recently.

Under the programme a Mathematics or Science primary school teacher will be paired with an English primary school teacher.

The programme is a collaboration by the Education Ministry, HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd, and the British Council. At the programme’s launch in SK Taman Jasmin, Kajang, deputy chairman and chief executive officer of HSBC Irene M Dorner said that the partnership would help improve students’ comprehension of the two subjects.

“We seek to raise the level of education for our community, especially children.”

Liston, Asariah and Dorner at the launch of Team Teaching.

Also present at the launch was British Council Malaysia country director Gerry Liston, and the ministry’s teacher education division director, Datin Asariah Mior Shaharuddin,

Liston explained that under Team Teaching, teachers from both subjects would be in the classroom together.

“We have used the scaffolding approach so that as the project continues, the support of the English teacher decreases,” he said.

Asariah congratulated the participants selected for the programme.

“We hope that the participants will go back to their respective schools to share what they have learnt with other teachers.”

NEWS: RM33,000 to set up e-classroom

SJK (C) Kwong Hon in Sungai Besi is now equipped with a smart e-classroom for a technology-enhanced learning experience, with a donation of RM33,000 from SP Setia Foundation.

To get the smart e-classroom up and running, the foundation spent RM10,500 on the basic facilities consisting of a personal computer, LCD projector and screen, speaker, custom-made table, a Digital Visualiser and a Central Control.

Joyful lot: Lee (centre) presenting a mock cheque to SJK(C) Kwong Hon’s Board of Governors member Datuk Seri Lee Wei Ming (with tie). Looking are the school’s headmistress Lau Siew Eng, Setia Learning Academy’s general manager Liew Siong Sing and the school’s pupils.

The balance of RM22,500 was used to buy 300 sets of study desks and chairs to equip six classrooms at its newly completed four-storey school building, to allow for single session schooling.

Foundation chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said Malaysia was going full gear towards a knowledge-based economy, hence funding the smart e-classroom was in line with the Education Ministry’s directive to embrace ICT applications in the school's teaching and learning setting.

“With the ever-evolving use of ICT technology, the learning mode has changed to become more facilitatory and collaborative in nature. Thus I hope this e-classroom will encourage students here to achieve better knowledge retention via the interaction with the technology and multimedia,” he said.

He said the biggest portion of the foundation's annual budget was reserved for educational cause, as education has the power to change someone's life for the better.

Lee said the foundation spent RM2mil every year on the Setia Adoption Programme, which was currently helping 2,300 students pursuing primary, secondary and tertiary education. Each student is given basic educational needs worth RM900 every year.

“SJK (C) Kwong Hon is one of the best performing schools under the programme and I hope the sponsorship will further encourage the students and teachers to keep up with their excellent performance,” he said.

Lee added that the foundation would hold a fund-raising dinner on July 12 at Sunway Resort, to be attended by Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai. The dinner is targeted to raise RM5mil.

NEWS: Corporate Help

The Education Ministry is working with corporations to involve students in projects to enhance their problem-solving skills.

THE Education Ministry's objective is to produce all-round students who have the ability to think and cope in situations beyond the classroom.

According to Education deputy director-general (Schools) Datuk Noor Rezan Bapoo Hashim, students are already participating in co-curricular activities at school.

They can join in the various uniformed associations, sports clubs and societies.

However, she says that students are encouraged to join programmes initiated by multi-national companies (MNCs) as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Noor Rezan says that areas beyond the Klang Valley should benefit from the programmes.

“These programmes are about coping with simple and complex tasks and about grooming students to rise to the challenges of being leaders and team players,'' says Noor Rezan.

She adds that companies will usually approach the ministry with ideas and proposals.

“We, on our part, can offer suggestions on the implementation of the programmes and provide information on the target groups that would benefit most from them.

“We also have to take into consideration students and teachers who are roped in for these projects, as some may already be burdened with other chores. Students with extra workload and those in examination-classes cannot engage in these activities.”

Noor Rezan says the ministry would like the companies to offer the programmes to areas beyond the Klang Valley.

“Our request is for these programmes to be carried out in rural areas so that students there will be given the exposure and opportunity to pick up skills,” she says.

This, she adds, addresses the fourth thrust under the National Education Blueprint 2006 to 2010, which is mainly to narrow the gap between schools in urban and rural areas.

The ministry, she says, is presently collaborating with UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd through its Toyota Eco Youth (TEY) programme.

Launched in 2001, TEY selected 16 schools, both in urban and rural areas, and has since informed and educated the students on the importance of conserving the environment.

Each school has a website that gives regular written and visual updates on the environmental issue which it has chosen as its project.

The project can be based on something that affects the school premises, or its surrounding areas.

With the information they have, the students will have to analyse the problem, provide suggestions on how the problem can be overcome, and set up a procedure to ensure the results achieved, can be sustained over a long period of time.

Each team has to demonstrate that through analysis, research and action, it is able to resolve the issue with effective and sustainable methods.

The teams will each have an on-site evaluation this month, and a final exhibition during a convention to be held in late August.

During the convention, teams will put forward the findings of their project in a 15 minute presentation to a panel of judges.

The winning team will receive RM10,000.

The second and third prize winners will each receive RM7,000 and RM5,000 respectively.

Another RM3,000 and RM1,000 has been allocated for the fourth and fifth prize winners.

There will also be prizes for best presentation, best exhibition and best website.