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SUBMITTING assignments in the form of blogs, podcasts and videos and the use of tablet PCs are now commonplace in many classrooms here.
The widespread use of such technology among students is in part a result of the Education Ministry's Future Schools programme.
The programme, begun in May last year, has five schools - a sixth will be added next year - which act as test labs, trying out technology, determining which will work in classrooms, and then sharing these with other schools.
The schools are Hwa Chong Institution, Canberra Primary, Beacon Primary, Crescent Girls' School and Jurong Secondary. The School of Science and Technology, which will take in students only from January, is the sixth.
The four-year programme is funded by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, the National Research Foundation and the private sector to the tune of $80 million.
Though barely a year old, the programme has been instrumental in putting technology that students are very familiar with to use in helping them learn.
Crescent Girls' School, for instance, introduced recorded lessons, which are uploaded on a portal. This has allowed students to learn at their own pace.
It also tapped into the popularity of social networking websites, and started its own version earlier this year. Students use it to upload and share videos and pictures which are related to school work.
This, said the school, gives students a safe environment to express themselves.
But those ideas, while successful, are baby steps compared to what the schools are going to try next.
For example, Hwa Chong Institution is set to roll out its virtual global academy next year, linking students to more than 1,000 mentors comprising alumni, professors and industry players worldwide.
Jurong Secondary, meanwhile, has built a production studio which features soundproof walls and high-definition cameras, so that students can improve their language skills by using voice-overs and doing script writing.
Younger students will not be left behind.
Canberra Primary School is building a multi-sensory classroom where students can learn by invoking the senses of sight, sound and touch.
Beacon Primary School, meanwhile, is getting its students to write their own stories and do audio recordings of these stories so that they can work on both writing and speaking skills.
The five schools involved in the project say that one of the benefits of road-testing new technologies is that their students are motivated to learn more.
Beacon Primary's principal, Ms Lim Boon Cheng, said: 'They are so much more engaged and involved.'
Crescent Girls' Secondary 3 student Gauhrie Yogarrajah, 15, is a prime example.
She said: 'My grades have improved, because I have now more resources to call on for my weaker subjects. As for my better subjects, I can take my learning further with what is available online.
'I feel more confident and motivated about learning on my own because there are so many resources available online.'
AMELIA TAN & LEOW SI WAN
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
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