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  Today Online 26 May 07
Is futuristic the way to go for schools?
The great outdoors a better tool than virtual possibilities
Letter from Jeffrey Goh Kwee Meng

Do schools really need to go to the extent and substantiate their image as though we are a highly futuristic society, just like in the movies?

It may be true that such measures could raise the student's interest in a particular subject because they provide interaction, but what is wrong with using a whiteboard? I see no difference in the level of knowledge imparted if a teacher were to use that particular medium.

Ask ourselves, do rural schools in Africa teach their students differently just because they do not have the means to use advanced technology? I think not.

The enthusiasm and resources devoted to this initiative could have been better used in putting our students back to the great outdoors for them to learn things they wouldn't have otherwise be able to within the confines of a classroom.

Today Online 4 Jun 07
An all-round environment Future
Schools will develop students holistically
Letter from Dr Koh Thiam Seng
Director, Educational Technology Ministry of Education

We thank Mr Jason Chiam Chiah Sern ("Spare a thought for students from the low-income group") and Mr Jeffrey Goh Kwee Meng ("The great outdoors a better tool than virtual possibilities") for their views — both published on May 26 — on the FutureSchools@Singapore initiative.

As we prepare our students for the future, our education system needs to stay relevant and responsive to the rapid social, economic and technological changes in the new economy.

The FutureSchools will lead the way in developing innovative teaching approaches that leverage on information and communications technology (ICT) to enhance teaching and learning. The experiences of these schools will be shared with other schools and the successful practices can be adapted to enhance the learning of their students.

The focus of FutureSchools is not on ICT use for its own sake, but on providing our teachers and students with the appropriate ICT-based environments and tools to bring about more engaged learning.

The schools will also stay focused on the Ministry of Education (MOE)'s goal of providing students with holistic education.

We agree with Mr Goh that the outdoors can provide rich learning experiences for students. The programmes of FutureSchools will provide students with many opportunities for learning outside the classroom.

We appreciate Mr Chiam's concern about the needs of students from low- income families and wish to assure him that MOE has in place various financial assistance schemes to help these needy students. We also work with the Infocomm Development Authority to help students from low-income families to acquire desktop computers or laptops through its NEU PC Plus Programme.

We agree with Mr Chiam's view that teachers must be adequately equipped to use ICT for teaching. Teachers in our schools undergo continuous professional development throughout their career and are kept abreast with developments in ICT. They also go through specific training to acquire the necessary skills to employ ICT in their lessons.

MOE will work closely with the FutureSchools to develop professional development programmes to enable their teachers to deliver their proposed FutureSchool programmes effectively.
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