ICT in Education: A Hong Kong Perspective OER Symposium April 2012 Kenneth Chen Under Secretary for Education Education Bureau, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

1.ICT in Education – Where we are 2.Vision for the Future – Where we want to be 3.Game plan – How we get there 4.Useful Links for Follow-Up Briefing Outline

2 Total capital and recurrent spending (1998 – 2012): Nearly $9 billion Infrastructure at schools: Student : Computer ratio – 4 : 1 (secondary) 4.66 : 1 (primary) All computers are networked and connected to the Internet via Broadband plus wireless network All have some kind of e-learning platform Teachers: All trained and “retrained” on skills and pedagogy Support: Recurrent grant to schools – $300 million per annum Status at System Level

3  There should be few, if any, really lagging behind schools on IT in education, however there exist differences amongst schools in terms of degree and sophistication of IT in education practices  Nearly all schools have IT in education development plan incorporated into their school development plan in which improving students’ learning outcome is the most common goal  On average, about 13% of the annual school budget is on implementation of IT in education  Normally schools have 3 – 4 teachers responsible for coordinating IT in education development and 1 – 2 technicians to take care of the IT infrastructure Status at School level (general observations)

4 Basic –  Teaching students computer skills through formal lessons in computer rooms and in a detached manner  Limit students access to computers for learning  Using IT as a presentation tool  Characterized by having one computer rooms with training-room setting and one desktop computer with projection device in most classrooms  Use of computer facilities by subject teachers not facilitated Status at School Level (practices)

5 Intermediate –  Students acquired most of their computer skills through application of IT in the learning of school subjects  Students are required/encourage to access learning or revision materials online and are required to submit some of their assignments online  Wide application of multimedia and interactive resources for learning and teaching as well as the Internet for information searching by students  Computers were relatively dispersed with sufficient number in library and other shared spaces for use by students  Campus TV available to engage in media education Status at School Level (practices)

6 Advanced –  Students well versed with computer skills and are considered to be reasonably IT-literate  e-classes or e-courses are offered online (via e-learning platform) to complement classroom teaching and to cater for diverse learning needs. Students learning records are captured through the e-learning platform  Wide application of collaborative learning tools such as blogs and wikis for learning and teaching  Mobile devices are used for learning outside classroom and campus  Engage in global communication and collaboration with peers through the Internet and/or video conferencing Status at School Level (practices)

7  All teachers are competent in using IT  Survey results (2005 – 07):  86% primary and 71% secondary school teachers agree that use of IT can make teaching more effective  62% primary and 52% secondary school teachers are confident in selecting appropriate digital resources to teach  Just over 50% of teachers frequently use IT in class  Difficulties cited for not using IT zeroed on the extra time required to source appropriate digital resources and to a lesser extent technical and classroom management problem in deploying IT in classroom teaching. Status at teacher level

8  Students embraced the use of IT to learn, the same survey mentioned in the last slide indicated that:  90% primary and 80% secondary school students like to use computers to learn in class  85% primary and 60% secondary school students like to use computers to learn beyond school hours  According to Government survey in 2009, 97.3% of households with a primary or secondary school student aged 10 or above has at least one computer at home. Among those computers, 99.1% have access to the Internet (for all school children, the percentage is about 95)  Concern of parents and teachers has shifted from deprivation of digital access to the problems arise from the extensive use of the Internet Status at student level

System-level context PISA 2009 shows significant system performance in reading, mathematics and science McKinsey’s 2010 study characterizes HK as one of five “great to excellent” systems that have achieved “sustained improvements” Strong system performance… Encourage school-led innovation and experimentation Create additional support mechanisms for teaching professionals Cultivate peer-led learning for teachers and principals … calls for more de-centralization Sources: OECD-PISA 2009, McKinsey analysis

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To achieve learning objectives through various learning strategies with the aid of information technology. Why e-Learning in HK? The overall goal of all IT in Education initiatives is to transform school education – from a textbook-based and teacher-centred mode to an interactive and learner- centred mode of learning Self-directed learning… Catering to diversified learning needs… Foundation for life-long learning 11

1.Enhancement of “Depository of Curriculum-based Learning and Teaching Resources” 2.Extra grants for schools to experiment with e-Learning resources 3.Pilot Scheme on the Promotion of e-Learning in schools 4.Building a marketplace for the e-Learning industry Measures to be implemented 12

To look into when and how e-Learning should be implemented in different contexts, as well as the support measures required. Pilot Scheme Aims  develop, try out and evaluate when and how e-Learning works best to bring about effective interactive learning, self-directed learning, and cater for learner diversity in different curriculum and school contexts in Hong Kong to facilitate the charting of the way forward for wider adoption of e-Learning in schools; and  explore commercially viable business models for the development of e-Learning resources, to meet needs of schools, teachers and students. 13

Pilot Scheme Projects Total 98 project proposals submitted 21 projects selected, representing 32 primary schools, 18 secondary schools and 11 special schools All subject domains are covered across key learning stages Average grant of $2.5 million per project Cross-sector collaboration across schools, educational publishing and IT sectors Diverse set of projects covering development of resources, learning objects and tools across different technology platforms Technology neutrality ensured Rigorous progress monitoring and effectiveness assessment Highlights Participant profile

15 Market Place On-Line Ed-Mall to be rolled out by Hong Kong Education City ( with micro-payment and digital rights management capabilities. Learning and Teaching Exposition to be held for third consecutive year in HK in second half of 2012.

Useful Links for Follow-Up OrganizationURL E-Learning Consortiumelearning.org.hk E-Education Alliancee-education.hk Association of IT Leaders in Educationwww.aitle.org.hk HK Association for Computer Educationwww.hkace.org.hk Association of Mobile Technology and Education HK Education Citywww.hkedcity.net HK Education Bureauwww.edb.gov.hk