ABOUT 20 students from Crescent Girls' School (CGS) sat at their desks yesterday decked out in red-rimmed 3D glasses.

On a screen in front of them flashed images of a river bed being whittled away by a torrent of water.

The girls then shared their thoughts about soil erosion with students in China during a videoconferencing session and exchanged video clips of local rivers over the Internet.

The initiative was part of a programme launched officially yesterday called i-Connect@Crescent, which aims to transform learning through the use of technology.

CGS is one of the six so-called 'future schools' that will be testing grounds for a host of new technologies up till 2012.

In May, it was announced that the Government and four private companies will pump $80 million over the next four years into the Future Schools programme. It will eventually see 15 schools tapping into new technology.

Through i-Connect@Crescent, which was developed by a group of companies headed by Hewlett-Packard Singapore, CGS students will be exposed to a range of technology both in and out of the classroom.

For example, the girls can work on essays using the WriteToLearn program, which checks their grammar, and get real-time feedback to improve their work. They also use personal digital assistants outfitted with a global positioning system to explore the outdoors.

Secondary 2 student Yeo Yitong welcomed the technology, which she said fosters independent learning.

'If I find that my essay is not good enough, I will get tips from the WriteToLearn program and learn how to improve.

'I am taught to rely on myself. I think this will help me when I start working,' she said.

Principal Eugenia Lim said that while technology provides many possibilities, it is important that it is integrated seamlessly into the curriculum.

'This integration is the difficult part but it will be what makes learning relevant and enduring for the girls,' she said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on 22 Oct, 2008.