Educational Technology in the Asia Pacific Region

To provide confidence to educators that they are taking the right steps in adapting 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. The reason for this move is not difficult to understand since there is now a pervasive awareness that a nations socio-economic success in the 21st century is linked to how well it can compete in a global information and communication technology (ICT) region. This imperative among nations has therefore given tremendous responsibilities on educators to create an educational technology environment in schools. And since it is understood that state policies will continue to change, it is helpful to examine prevailing ICT policies and strategies of five progressive states/city, namely New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.
New Zealand 2001 ICT Goals and Strategy (Weblink for more a detailed document) http://www.tki.org.nz/ict/

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 partnership with communities to enhance access to learning through ICT.

Goal
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.

Focus areas
Infrastructure for increasing schools 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 (http://www.deet.gov.au/schools/Adelaide/text/htm)

In the Adelaide Declaration on national goals for schools, information technology is one of the eight national goals/learning areas students should achieve. Students should be confident, creative and productive users of new technologies, particularly ICTs, and understand the impact of these technologies on society. The plans for achieving the national goal for IT are left to individual states and territories with the Educational Network Australia (EdNA) as the coordinating and advisory body. Across the states and territories, the common features to planning, funding and implementation strategies are:

 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 for instruction Technical support to each school Sufficient hardware and software Digital library resources Technology demonstrations as models for schools

Malaysia Smart School-level Technology Project (http://www.ppk.kpm.my/smartschool/)

Technology plays many roles in a Smart School from facilitating teaching-and-learning activities to assisting with school management. Fully equipping a school includes: Classrooms with multimedia, presentation facilities, email, 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 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 video room. 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. Server room equipped to handle applications, management databases and web servers. Administration office capable of managing databases of students and facilities, tracking student and teacher performance and resources, distributing notices and other information electricity.
Singapore Masterplan for IT in Education (http://www.moe.edu.sg/iteducation/masterplan/welcome.htm)

The Masterplan has 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 Assessment to measure abilities in applying information, thinking and communicating.

Learning Resources
Use of relevant Internet resources for teaching-and-

learning Convenient and timely procurement for software materials

Teacher Development
Training on purposeful use of IT for teaching

Equipping each trainee with core skills in teaching

with IT Tie-ups with institutions of higher learning and industry partners

Physical and Technology infrastructure

Pupil computer ration of 2:1

Access to IT in all learning areas in the school

School-wide network, and school linkage through

wide area network (WAN), eventually connected to Singapore ONE (a broadband access service for highly-speedy delivery of multimedia services on island-wide basis)
Hong Kong Education Program Highlights (http://www.info.gov.hk/emb/prog_high/schoolprog.html)

Government aims to raise the quality of school education by promoting the use of IT in teaching and learning. The IT initiatives are: 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 coordinating for each of 250 schools 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 Intranet

Enrichment Activity
Groups are separately assigned to access IT masterplans of each state/city and to make a report to the class on the most remarkable IT features in the plan.

Self Help
On a cartolina paper, each group will devise a geographical sketch/drawing with graphic and cutout illustration of IT features of assigned country/city.

Discussion
1.

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3. 4.

How do Philippine schools compare with schools in progressive countries in the Asia Pacific region? The plan of the Department of Education is to supply computers to public elementary and high schools at a ration of 1 school 1 computer. How adequate or inadequate do you find this plan considering that the public school system in the Philippines has an average of 1,000 students in each school? What can be proposed so that the Philippines can cope up with its neighbors on IT Education? Filipinos, including students, are hooked up on cellphone texting. Is this enough for information skills literacy for our citizens and youths? Mention the benefits and disadvantages of our texting culture.