The world today is not the same as before. Information technology is nowadays an integral part of our lives. Majority of the households now own at least one set of computer that has access to the internet. Some of the students might not have come worked with some of the common programmes that are used these days such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Powerpoint. However, they would have in some ways or other seen such programmes utilized, be it in the schools or their own homes. As such students these days would not be intrigued to participate in the lessons conducted if they seem boring to them. They are more receptive to lectures or classes conducted using modern technology because they are able to relate to these tools used. With the implementation of the three Masterplans for ICT in education, students are now able to think out of the box as well as satisfy their desire for additional knowledge that are out of their syllabus.
As a student, many improvements were made along the way from my time in primary school, then to secondary school and finally to a tertiary institution. Being brought to the computer labs back in the primary school was a luxury and something that I personally looked very much forward to. The content delivered might not be as extensive as compared to that taught in the classrooms due to more time wasted on getting us students to the computer labs, getting us to settle down as well as lacking the necessary knowledge and skill to access some of the programmes. However, these lessons are the ones that I was excited to attend. The content might have been dull and heavy but the learning process was definitely an exciting and interactive one.
In the later part of my education, Microsoft Powerpoint slides were used instead of plain pieces of paper with words written all over and no pictures to illustrate. No doubt the slides and the handouts were still in black and white, it is the way of learning that was different. No longer is the teacher merely writing on the board asking us to copy them down in our exercise books, colourful pictures were used to illustrate some of the things that we do not get to see in our daily lives. It was certainly not easy to picture for example a three-dimensional structure when attempting to solve a three-dimensional vectors problem in mathematics class or to understand how an earthquake or a tsunami arises without the help of multimedia.
Coming to know the vision and goals of the current Masterplan 3 and having learnt very useful teaching methodologies in my recent enhanced school experience, I believe that it is very important for students to be more exposed to e-learning, where they would have a day or two or even up till a week spent at their own homes learning some of the content covered in the syllabus by themselves. This not only instills self-discipline but also teaches students to be more independent. Students would now not be that fearful to respond in class in case of embarrassing themselves with the wrong answer and everyone would now be able to learn at their own pace. Students who learn at a faster pace would then be able to enhance their understanding on the topics covered by attempting some of the supplementary questions provided by the teachers.
Also imperative to achieving the goal for Masterplan 3 are more opportunities for the students to work in groups. This would not only help students who are weaker and unwilling to ask for help but also those who are better in their studies to reinforce the concepts learnt by coaching their peers.