Developing the three masterplans for ICT is very crucial and also representative of MOE’s foresight for its’ citizens and the future generations. The first masterplan was implemented in 1997 and it sought to create greater connectivity between the students and the increasingly globalised world. Decades later, we are able to experience and receive the fruits of such foresighted planning when we realise that many Singaporeans are well-equipped with it gadgets and it-savvy. In this way, Singapore does not lose out to its’ international competitors as well.
One of the ways in which the first masterplan has influenced and shaped my days as a student was that in my later years in primary school, we had IT lessons a few times a week. These It lessons would range from learning how to type on the computer keyboard, learning how to use the powerpoint programme, learning from online video and even doing tests and assessment on the computer. In my secondary school days, I recall having e-learning lessons (which was something new to me then). Furthermore, teachers started relying more and more on powerpoint slides to aid in their teaching and our learning. In JC, when we had to do research for project work, it very valuable to be IT savvy and computer literate. One of the biggest impact of the masterplans was that it allowed us to gain more exposure with the wired community and learn how to filter and harness the immense knowledge to our advantage.
As a beginning teacher, I think one of the biggest implications must be learning how to incorporate ICT effectively into the lesson plans. I believe that ICT is an integral part of the education in our modern world, because it would be easier to capture the short attention span of our students who are IT natives. Furthermore, I believe ICT plays an exceptional in allowing students to experience self-directed learning through teaching them how to filter and use the appropriate information from online sources. Websites like Facebook and lino also encourage collaborative learning, because students can access them readily to share their opinions and thoughts. In this way, I believe that I would also be able to check regularly on my students and answer their queries also instantaneously.
I agree with you on how ICT is an integral part of our education (since the current generation of students are, as you said, IT natives). I also believe that with IT, we are able to capture this group of visually-driven individuals but i guess the challenge still lies in the filtering of information as well as teaching them to be responsible users of IT.
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