EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION LESSON 3

To provide confidence to educators that they are taking the right steps in adopting technology in education, it is good to know that during the last few years, progressive countries in the Asia Pacific region have formulated state policies and strategies to infuse technology in schools.

NEW ZEALAND 2001 ICT Goals and Strategy Government with the education and technology sectors, community groups, and industry envisions to support to the development of the capability of schools to use information and communication technologies in teaching-and-learning and in administration. NEW ZEALAND 2001 ICT Goals and Strategy

STRATEGY It foresees schools to be: STRATEGY It foresees schools to be: . Improving learning outcomes for students using ICT to support the curriculum . Using ICT to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of educational administration . Developing partnerships with communities to enhance access to learning through ICT.

FOCUS AREAS . Infrastructure for increasing school’s access to ICTs to enhance education . Professional development so that school managers and teachers can increase their capacity to use ICT

INITIATIVES . An On-line Resource Center with a centrally managed website for the delivery of multimedia resources to schools . A computer recycling scheme . A planning and implementation guide for schools . ICT professional development schools/clusters

AUSTRALIA IT INITIATIVES Students should be confident, creative and productive users of new technologies, particularly ICTs, and understand the impact of these technologies on society (Adelaide Declaration on National Goals for schools) AUSTRALIA IT INITIATIVES

Fast local and wide area networks linking schools across the state and territory Substantial number of computers in schools, ensuring adequate access Continuing teacher training in the use of technology Technical support to each school Sufficient hardware and software Digital library resources Technology demonstrations as models for schools

MALAYSIA SMART SCHOOL-LEVEL TECHNOLOGY PROJECT Technology plays many roles in a Smart School from facilitating teaching-and-learning activities to assisting with school management . MALAYSIA SMART SCHOOL-LEVEL TECHNOLOGY PROJECT

Classrooms with multimedia, presentation facilities, e-mail, and groupware for collaborative work Library media center with database for multimedia courseware and network access to the internet Computer laboratory for teaching, readily accessible multimedia and audiovisual equipment

Multimedia development center with tools for creating multimedia materials. Computer studies as a subject Studio/theatrette with control room for centralized audiovisual equipment, teleconferencing studio, audio room, video and laser disc room Server room equipped to handle applications, management databases and webservers

Teachers’ room with on-line access to courseware catalogues and databases, information and resource management systems and professional networking tools, such as e-mail and groupware Administration offices capable of managing databases of students and facilities, tracking student and teacher performance and resources, distributing notices and other information electronically

SINGAPOREAN MASTERPLAN FOR IT IN EDUCATION FOUR KEY DIMENSIONS: * Curriculum and Assessment . A balance between acquisition of factual knowledge and mastery of concepts and skills . Students in more active and independent learning . Assessments to measure abilities in applying information, thinking and communicating SINGAPOREAN MASTERPLAN FOR IT IN EDUCATION

LEARNING RESOURCES Development of a wide range of educational software for instruction Use of relevant Internet resources for teaching-and-learning Convenient and timely procurement of software materials

TEACHER DEVELOPMENT Training on purposeful use of It for teaching Equipping each trainee teacher with core skills in teaching with IT Tie-ups with institutions of higher learning and industry partners

PHYSICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE Pupil computer ratio is 2:1 Access to It in all learning areas in the school School-wide network, and school linkages through wide area network (WAN), eventually connected to Singapore ONE (a broadband access service for high-speedy delivery of multimedia services on island-wide basis.

HONGKONG EDUCATION PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Government aims to raise the quality of school education by promoting the use of IT in teaching and learning. HONGKONG EDUCATION PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

IT initiatives: On average, 40 computers for each primary school and 82 computers for each secondary school About 85,000 IT training places for teachers at four levels Technical support for all schools An Information Education Resource Center for all schools and teachers

An IT coordinator for each of 250 schools which should have sound IT plans Computer rooms for use by students after normal school hours An IT Pilot Scheme to provide schools with additional resources

Review of school curriculum to incorporate IT elements Development of appropriate software in collaboration with government, the private sector, tertiary institutions and schools Exploring the feasibility of setting up an education-specific Internet