Statement:
Report: Smart School Initiatives
1.0 Introduction
The Smart Schools initiative is one of
the flagship applications that are part of Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor
(MSC) projected. The Government of Malaysian aims to capitalize on the presence
of leading-edge technologies and the rapid development of the MSCs
infrastructure to jump-start deployment of enabling technology to schools. This
project will be done by creating a group of 90 Pilot Smart Schools by 1999. The
Pilot Smart School serves for the teaching and learning concepts and materials,
skills and technologies.The Smart School has their own
objective such as the project will develop individuals who are intellectually,
spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonious. The Smart
Schools will transformed the culture and practices of Malaysian primary and
secondary schools that moving away from memory based-learning but it will
stimulate the individual to think more creative and caters individual abilities
and styles of teaching and learning concept. Besides, the individual get more
knowledge about a technology and became a responsibility person in their
education life. The Smart School objectives will increase participation of
stakeholders and it also democratizes education. The project also prepare the
citizens for the information age through an innovative education delivery
process.The Malaysian Smart School is a
learning institution that systematically reinvented in terms of teaching and
learning component. There are four waves of the Smart School implementation
such as the first wave are The Pilot Phase in 1999-2002. The second wave are
The Post-Pilot in 2002-2005, it involved the lessons learnt from the Pilot. The
third wave are the making all schools Smart in 2005-2010 and the fourth waves
is the consolidate and stabilize, technology becomes an integral part of the
nation’s learning process in 2010-2020. The objectives of the Smart School are
to produce a thinking and technology-literate workforce and democratize
education. It is also to increase participation of stakeholders and to provide
opportunities to enhance individual’s strengths and abilities in education.The pilot phase is the plan of the
original implementation Plan, it use to prepare a Master Plan to ensure that
all schools in the country become smart schools in stages by the year of 2010.
The Government of Malaysia is expected to play the role of architect and driver
for the Smart School project in the few way such as they prepare the guideline
and provide the basic amenities to schools according to their individuals
needs. The Government also actively encourages all schools to become Smart
Schools on their own initiative by using their own financial resources and
expertise. The pilot phase also introduced the ICT infrastructure and system,
supported service in the form of centralized Help Desk and a data centre, the
provision of training for teachers, Principals and Schools Heads in smart
teaching and learning, the use of the application software, courseware and ICT
literacy. The Pilot Phase also involved the post of an ICT Coordinator for
Smart Schools approved by the MOE and made available to assists teachers in the
day-to-day operation of infrastructure and the dedicated software.The second wave Of the Smart School
are Post Pilot Phase that are involved ICT as a key enables learning. This will
obtain more stakeholders support to the nationwide implementation of the Smart
School. The second wave also monitoring and corrective action to achieve and
attaining target in the Smart School vision. The third wave of the Smart School
is Making All Schools Smarts (MASS) is one of the MOE’s strategies to
complement the National Education Policy which calls for holistic development
of students and teachers. There are the policy statements of National Education
Policy such as ICT for all students, ICT as a teaching tool, ICT as a subject
and ICT as a subject component and ICT to improve productivity, efficiency and
effectiveness of the management system.The fourth waves of the Smart Schools are
consulate and stabilize. Therefore, technology becomes key enable in teaching
and learning and the computers will be made available for teachers use so that
they can manage the learning process better. The measure will be taken to
enhance the infrastructure in localities where electricity supply is a problem
such as for example, battery-powered computers will be used in places that are
prone to electricity shortage.
2.0 The Smart School Initiative in the Teaching and Learning Component
The Smart School initiatives are
focusing in teaching and learning component, there are four main areas which
are curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and teaching-learning material. The Smart
School curriculum must achieve the goals of National Philosophy of Education.
The curriculum must be socially responsible, multicultural, reflective,
open-ended, goal-based, technological and meaningful.
The
curriculum shall promote holistic learning, and it allowing children to
progress at their own way and think in their capabilities.
It also educated children to think more creative thinking skills and
helps students achieve overall balanced development. The overall balanced developments
involve communication, cognitive, affective and physical or social. The
curriculum also integration of knowledge, skills, values, and correct use of
language across the curriculum. The integration of elements is suitable for the
Information Age. In addition, the curriculum activities shall make the teaching
and learning process become more interesting and more fun for students to
involve. The examples of activities are community service activities,
subject-related activities and so on.
The pedagogy of the Smart School is important
to achieve the high level of thinking skills and to improve the student’s
knowledge in ICT. It
also provides the different learning experience for the student. The pedagogy
will make learning more interesting, motivating, stimulating and meaningful to
all students. The Smart School pedagogy is student-centered learning. This make
students have challenged to get information from other people. The pedagogy
also involved the children minds, spirit and bodies in the learning process. It
also builds the basic skills as to prepare the students greater challenges over
time. The pedagogy also as encouragement
of learning activities to promote creativity and experimentation with
content-independent subjects while maintaining sufficient rigor in
content-dependent subject. The pedagogy can manage the student behavior and it
also can manage classroom procedures.
The
Smart Schools assessments are to integration of technology as a tool enables
the on-line assessment and conducted in order to show the strength and the
abilities of the student.
The Smart School assessment will be flexible and learner-friendly. It assures
the information is good quality. It also provides an accurate picture of a
student’s performance. The teaching learning material of the Smart School is
designed to achieve the objective of the Smart School concept. The teaching and
learning materials will help the students to get a better understanding of the
lessons and it will motivates students to learns and encourages active
participation of the students. The element-based assessment focuses on the
elements that students possess or must develop through the subject in the
school curriculum. The example of subject and the element are the communication
and social-emotional development. Through communication, the elements that can
students achieved are the ability to demonstrate their ideas. While in
social-emotional development, students will able to work cooperatively in a
group and share their knowledge.
The other component are teaching and learning
materials. The teaching and learning
materials can make students to better
understanding of the subject in the classroom. The teaching and learning
material make students become a cognitively challenging, attractive, motivates
students to learn and encourages active participation of the students. The
students will take responsibility for managing and directing their own
learning. There are five main criteria for the selection and evaluation
guideline for teaching and learning materials such as the cosmetic adequacy,
technical adequacy, instruction adequacy, cost effectiveness and curriculum
adequacy. The cosmetic adequacy involved graphic quality, video quality,
animation quality, layout quality and other.
Besides, the technical adequacy must user friendly and clear and comprehensive
manuals and guides. The curriculum
adequacy must promote values skill, knowledge and language across the
curriculum. The cost effectiveness is
value for money and the instruction adequacies are promoting vertical and
horizontal integration. The students
have different learning style, thus they need a variety of materials to
maximize their learning potential. The use of conventional media such as 3D
objects and audio or visual material still feature in Smart Schools but it is
highly integrated with computer based media. The teacher must know how to use
ICT with teaching and learning materials in their classroom to promote students
to focus in their teaching.
3.0 The Use of the Technology as Enables Contained in the Smart Schools Concept
To prepare the students for the
challenges of the new era of technologies, Smart
School program are introduced with
ICT. ICT literacy is emphasized in the Malaysian education system to
develop learning skills such as critical thinking, analysis of information,
effective communication and problem-solving. It also provides support to
learning, teaching, administrative and management processes within the
education system. Multiple intelligences thinking, essential for personalized
learning, is incorporated into the school curriculum to enable students
understand concepts and ideas.
Technology
plays a significant role in developing these intelligences. Personal, social, knowledge,
acquisition, scientific, generic, mathematical, environmental, creativity and
skills are integrated across the curriculum. In order to ensure the Smart
School program to be success, The Ministry of education Malaysia has formulated
a national ICT policy in education, and a master plan to implement policies,
with sufficient allocation of budget to ensure effectiveness. There are some
uses of ICT that have been identified.
ICT is a key enabler for learning. In
Smart School, the use of ICT as supporting tool in teaching and learning
process has the implication to the process. For each teaching-learning
practices, ICT is widely use throughout the process. For example, in self
learning, the uses of computer provide the source of latest educational
materials in a single click, as well as to external resources such as reference
books and journals. For collaborative learning, ICT is used as a tool that
facilitates group work within the class and across the class. Distance learning
also can be convenient by using ICT that enable long distance communication
using technology such as video conferencing or email. The use of software or
courseware helps the student to stimulate learning in experimental learning
process and very useful for drill and practices purpose, where it allows the
students to practice on their own or with peer. In research, reference and data
collecting, ICT act as a tool to search, collect and collate information. By
using ICT, the electronic assessment can be performing by using built-in
assessment courseware.
Through
ICT, teachers are able to create
interactive classes and make the lessons more enjoyable, which could improve student attendance and concentration.
Teachers can use ICT devices such as projector, interactive whiteboard and
computer in order to enhance their teaching process. Schools need to work
towards increasing use of ICT in education. ICT has the potential to be an
effective teaching and learning tool. The use of ICT provides greater
efficiency throughout the school, increase in communication channels through
email, discussion groups and chat rooms, and a motivational influence on
students learning. By using these devices, teachers are able to create
interactive classes and make their lessons more enjoyable. Furthermore,
students also will give their full attention during the teaching and learning
process. Students learning experiences and learning outcomes can be improved by
the use of ICT. Students and teachers will also can develop their new
strategies and ways of thinking in response to new experience and the lifting
of existing constraints.
ICT
can improve the retentive memory of
students. Through ICT, images
can be used in teaching in the class and improving the retentive memory of
students. This is because developing children have high memory skills. They are
also easy to absorb new things that they had learned. In Smart School program,
government had provided so many devices and applications that can help the
students to improve their retentive memory such as computer and application
software. For self-exploratory learning of students, every computer shall have
access to the latest educational materials available locally, as well as to
external resources. Although using ICT in their learning process, students also
should be able to discuss with their friends through collaborative learning. In
Smart School program, there are provided with the tools that facilitate group
work within the class and across classes. By using this way, students can
improve their memory skills when discuss with their friends. For the
disabilities student, inclusive educations are provided. It is a tool to help
students with disabilities cope with learning more effectively.
By
using ICT in teaching and learning process, teachers can easily explain complex instructions and ensure student’s comprehension. To strengthen
their teaching, therefore teacher need considerable support and adequate
training both in learning to use technology and in thinking through how to
integrate its use into the day-to-day work of the class. This provides
opportunities for development in ways in which they themselves feel
appropriate. It is helpful for teachers to have knowledge of ways in which ICT
can improve student understanding when planning learning sequences and guidance
on what is available and how and when it might used.
Through ICT, teachers can easily explain complex instruction such as during experimental class. During experiential
learning, teachers can use simulation software and virtual reality to stimulate
learning. By this way, students are able to understand more. For the research,
reference and data collection, there are tools for students and teachers to
search, collect and collate information. The IT implications in Smart School
also provide students and teachers with electronic assessment which is on-line
assessment via standard database and built-in assessment courseware.
ICT also gives benefit to school management
such as for school governance. ICT can be implies using computer
communication such as video conferencing to link the school to the Ministry of
Education for administration and policy implementation purpose. School
management such as student affairs department, can stores information about
their students efficiently using computers and database instead of stores
manually to maintain student profiles. By using this way, teachers can store
the information about their students safely without thinking of data to be
lost.
Teachers
also can get their educational resources using computer communications to link
the schools databases to central resource database to regulate and organize
educational resources.
Schools also can manage their financial using computer communication to link to
the schools database to facilitate budgeting, accounting and reporting. For
human resource management, ICT can implies by using computer communication to
link the schools databases to the State Education Departments for human
resources management purpose. For the technology management, schools can use
computer communication for the purpose of acquiring centralized IT support for
the school.
ICT
also give benefits for linkages to
external constituencies. For the example, ICT implication of linkages to
constituencies such as to the other schools, optimal sharing of information and
resources to encourage collaborative learning on a subject among schools.
Besides, by using ICT distance learning enables students to keep track of
school work even when they are not physically in school. Parents also can
access the school for feedback on their children’s progress. The Smart School
can be a community centre to enable community involvement in school activities.
The community can also use the Smart School as an on-going learning centre.
Smart School also provides libraries with research, reference and data
collection resource available on-line. Schools also can link with the certain
universities and colleges by using ICT. Distance learning on topics by experts
in the field and research data can be
conducted. Furthermore, school also can access to information on industries,
and career opportunities, industrial practical training and sponsorship
programs offered by these industries.
4.0 Overview the progression made so far since inception of Smart School in Malaysia
Since the inceptions of Smart School
in Malaysia, there are a lot of progression had being conducted to match with
goal. These are the outline of the progression had been carried out in the
period from 1998 until 2008 which are reviewing the implementation of Smart
Schools and the training of Bestari teachers in Malaysia.
Started from 28 September 1992, the proclamation of Malaysia become a develop nation in its own mould by 2020, form a
starting point for developed of a cluster of smart schools. It would require
the implementation of the formation of seven applied multi-media corridor. Early 1996, there was discussion about
Smart School by the Ministry of Education on the concept and it implication on the Malaysian education system. Late 1996, the Smart school became one of
the seven flagship application of Multimedia Super Corridor. The vision of the
Smart School in the document “Smart School in Malaysia: A Quantum Leap”. This
type of blueprint was produced by February
1999 until June 1999 and establishment of a project team comprised by the
industry representatives, multimedia development corporation officers, and
officers of the ministry of education. They were charged with the task of
proposing the necessary guideline for launching the Smart School. The team
obtained various kinds of resources by made the study visits to Smart School
various part of the world and reported their finding.
Started from 1999 until 2002, 88 schools
were selected to run as smart school, of which 82 were existing
institutions and six were new ones: SMK Putrajaya 1, SK putrajaya 1, SK
Putrajaya 2, SMK Seri Bintang Utara, SK Seri Bintang Utara and SK Seri Bintang
Selatan. These schools are all provided with ICT equipment, including 5809
computer sets and 261 computer technician. In
2003 the education system had started the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in public
school to be conducted in English
and the using of interactive courseware during class. In 2006 until 2010 the government
has implemented the “in cultured
school with smart technology” program as an agenda in the education development
master plan (EDMP). This program was
to ensure the achievement of more Smart Schools. The implementation of this
program, the government can optimize its expenditures on setting up a Bestari
school by utilizing and improve the existing infrastructures.
4.1 Bestari training in Malaysia
The training smarts school was
conducted for teachers from the pioneer Smart School project. At the early
stage, on 1998 until 2000 the duration of Bestari teachers training was 14
week. However, 2001 until 2003 the training become in-serving course (KDP) of
12 week to satisfy teachers training
requirement in Sarawak. This is because to attend this training programme, the
teacher are required to satisfy the condition that they are already confirm in
service, whereas teacher selected in Sarawak were not confirm their in service.
Thus the services period was reduced from 14 weeks to 12 week. During that time
of training, all the teachers participated had been supplied with computer
laboratory facilities.
In 2004
until 2005, the training period once again changed from 12 weeks to 8 weeks. This is because another issue was
come up about teacher being away from school and it gave effect to the school
which faced with the shortage of teachers.
In 2007 the training mode changed to 4 weeks. This training mode
was project-based learning and it was implemented to first two cohorts. The
teacher was required to have the training in two week at institute teachers
education (IPG) and another two weeks at school. The training mode continues
with the changes for three weeks at IPG while one week at school from the
aspect of methodology. During this training, teacher was exposed to the
implementation of Bestari through the development of specific project.
5.0 Challenges since implementation of Smarts schools in Malaysia
5.1 Most of the teachers are still using the traditional ways of teaching
There are several challenges since the
implementation of Smarts school such as most of the teachers are still using the traditional ways of teaching
even they already received the Bestari training programmed. They also refuse to
integrate the teaching and learning with ICT. This is because they are worried
about not being able to complete the syllabus. Based on the study conducted by
Mahani Wahab (2006), regarding the use of electronic resource materials among
the Bestari teacher in Selangor found that 64% of the respondent prefer to
complete the syllabus using the traditional method and 72.4%of the respondents
agree with the view that only a small number of student can be manage in the
computer laboratories which make the teaching and learning less effective. Abd
Rahim (1999) found that teacher who undergone Bestari training was less
creative and innovative. They were still continue the existing pattern of teaching
and did not able to generate mental development among the student.
5.2 How far the smart school can ensure the achievement of excellent student
Apart from that, there were also
voices of rejection towards this change. This is because they are worried as how
far the Smarts school can ensure the achievement of excellent student because the last thing being
evaluated is the achievement in examination. These worries arise because they
were still thinking that the existing system is good enough. Based on the study
conducted by Sharifah (2000) which states the changes in the educational system
is still cannot achieved because of the individuals who are in charge are still
imprisoned by the old belief.
5.3 software which is currently used since the implementation of smart school were sub-standard
There is also problem arise with the software
which is currently used since the implementation of Smarts school. It has been
criticized by the parents and teachers because the software provided were
sub-standard and did not suitable for the high achieving student. Education
Minister, Razak (1999) has admitted that the ministry’s courseware is not up to
the standard. But he explained that it was for temporary used and would be
replaced with the second version of software. The ministry also has confessed
the mistake for not taking views from teacher and student before.
5.4 The shortage of computers
Apart from that, there were many
complaints about the shortage of computers. One teacher said: “the facilities,
the computers and equipment are limited”. This problem arises when there were
the increasing of students which cause each computer have to be shared by two
students and this may reduce the opportunity of using computer equally. One
teacher said: “We had the computer in the old classroom but not in the new one.
This is due to the moving of classroom to the new building which takes a long
period to set the new cabling. Other than that, one of the schools had problem
with the outdated and slow computer. One student said: “We need high speed
computer”. One teacher said: “The cost providing computers and the maintenance
in all smarts school are very high and the government cannot afford that”. At
the end they just turn back to the traditional ways, do the talk and chalk.
5.5 Exam centered learning
Exam centered learning also become one
of the challenges during the implementation of Smarts school programme. One
student said: “Learning using the computer is only deepening your knowledge but
it does not help you in your examination”. Most of them would prefer to study
for the examination rather than to attend the computer literacy class. In their
opinion, the skill in computer can be learnt at anytime but preparation for the
examination is always comes first. They also did not bother if the teachers
just teach without the using of ICT. Their also would prefer to use the
national text book compare to Smarts school textbook because the national text
book is more compatible with the examination.
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