BLOG 2 (without ESE)

For your second post, share about the

following:

·         Why do you think it is important for MOE to develop the 3 Masterplans for ICT in education?

I feel that the implementation and incorporation of ICT within the education curriculum and system requires time, effort and resources. Hence, it is highly impossible to achieve such goal outcomes with a single masterplan.

Masterplan 1 laid the foundation for schools to utilize ICT and provide the basic ICT infrastructure that is necessary for the development and use of ICT in education. Teachers were also trained to attain basic competencies in the purposeful use of ICT for teaching.

Masterplan 2 aimed for the effective and widespread use of ICT in facilitating teaching procedures. In addition, ICT enables the tailoring of teaching strategies which supports the needs and abilities of students, enhancing lifelong learning. Furthermore, schools were given ownership in ICT implementation as well as an emphasis on research in ICT in education. Therefore, masterplan 2 fortified the integration of ICT into the curriculum and assessment as well as encouraged the innovative use of ICT within schools.   

Masterplan 3 provides the continuity from the previous two masterplans to create a learning culture that equips students with the necessary skills to meet the demands of today’s global competitive technological era.

In my opinion, the three masterplans for ICT in education has led to tremendous changes within the education system in terms of curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and learning. There is growing emphasis on building a school culture that is ICT-enriched. The professional learning and development of teachers is also supported to enhance teachers’ ICT competencies and effective use of various teaching strategies to match student learning needs and abilities. This is important as there are individual variations in learning preferences and being multi-modality, ICT is better able to cater to various senses and grab the attention of students as compared to tradition methods which may be less appealing to the technological-savvy generation.  The use of ICT enables teachers to actively engage learners and foster self-directed and collaborative learning among students. Lastly, I feel that ICT provides the convenience and accessibility to learn anywhere, lifting constrains of a classroom and the rigidity of school timetable.