Smart School

Malaysia intends to transform its educational system, in line with and in the support of the nations drive to fulfill vision 2020. The Smart Schools initiative is one of the seven flagship applications that are part of Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) project. The Government of Malaysia aims to capitalise on the presence of leading-edge technologies and the rapid development of the MSC’s infrastructure to jump-start deployment of enabling technology to schools. This will be done by creating a group of 90 pilot Smart Schools by 1999 that will serve as the nucleus for the eventual nation-wide rollout of Smart School teaching concepts and materials, skills, and technologies. By 2010, all 10,000 of Malaysia’s primary and secondary schools will be Smart Schools. For a Smart School to achieve its educational objectives, its internal processes must be co-ordinated. Ensuring coordination entails viewing these processes as a system: if the system is well designed, providing appropriate inputs will yield the desired outputs - namely, students ready for higher education or active and productive participation in the work force. The Smart Schools initiative offers an

ideal opportunity to reassess the current schooling system, identifying problems and finding potential solutions, many of which can be enabled by technology. For the Smart School system, the major inputs are the resources - students, teachers, technology and tools – and the Ministry of Education, in the form of curriculum specification, financing, and management and control functions. The system proceeds through a series of subprocesses identifying and localising teaching plans, selecting and organising teaching-learning materials, determining a student’s entry level, planning the student’s experience, holding classroom sessions, assessing achievement internally, providing feedback – before delivering the student for external achievement assessment, and ultimately for higher education or the work force.

TECHNOLOGY AS ENABLERS CONTAINED IN SMART SCHOOL CONCEPT

Technology is used as enablers especially in teaching and learning process. The government believes that education to be the most important use of technology, so it need a comprehensive plan for using technology in the smart school. To fulfill the vision 2020, the need of Ministry of Education to put a  lot of attention to ICT in schools especially in teaching and learning aspect. The concept of Smart School is not only based on curriculum but the technology plays an important part as a prime enabler and also one of the main success factors for the Smart School. Information technology can enable the process of transforming traditional schools into Smart schools. Consequently, a nation-wide system of Smart School will depend on advanced information technology at the school. Technology has many roles to play in a Smart School, from facilitating teaching and learning activities to assisting school management. Fully equipping a school might include the classrooms with multimedia courseware and presentation facilities and email for collaborative work, library or media centre with a database centre for multimedia courseware and network resources like access to the internet and computer laboratory for teaching such as a subject and readily accessible multimedia and audiovisual equipment.  The technology insfrastructure facilitate the teaching and learning applications such as in self exploratory learning, collaborative learning, distance learning, experiental learning and research, reference and data collection.

One of the applications of technology in teaching and learning process is self exploratory learning. In this case, the uses of computer become very important part. This is because, students shall have access to the latest materials available locally, as well as to external resources. This process of learning provide the students to gain more knowledge by themselves. They can search anything or information and knowledge on their subjects. In this matter, learning will not only depends on teacher but students must take initiative  to involve and they will try and manage to gain information by themselves. Others than that, students can access to the homeworks assignments or materials. Usually , they only depends on the reference books , but technology  of Smart School able them to search materials through internet. This is in order to broaden their mind with new discoveries about the subjects that they learnt in the school.

Others than that, the technology also apply in collaborative learning. This learning process involve computer supported. It is a tool that facilitate group work within and across classes. The collaborative learning support with computer take place via social interaction using a computer or through the internet. This kind of learning is characterized by the sharing and the combination of knowledge among the students in group by using technology as the main means of communication. It can be implemented in online and classroom learning environments. The goals of collaborative learning are to improve the new knowledge of a person, construct the communication skill to each other and help students to construct  meaningfull learning rather than individual learning. One of the common approaches to this kind of learning process is collaborative writing. The process of planning and writing together encourages students to express their ideas. Tools like blog and interactive whiteboards can be used to share work,form idea and write smoothly. Interactive whiteboard is a large interactive display that connects to a computer and projector. A projector projects the computer’s desktop onto a board’s surface where the users control the computer using a pen or finger. Others than the collaborative writing, there is also a technology-mediated discourse that refers to debates and discussions. This allows students that separated by time and distance to build knowledge together. Students can do their exploring in an online environment or reflect their experiences together through the internet. In this learning process, teachers act as facilitator that monitor their students to facilitate learning. The teachers must pay attention to the students that have a problem when involve in online communication. The benefit of this collaborative learning based on computer supported, is students can use technology to build learning found with their friends.

Distance learning is a medium that apply technology in teaching and learning process. This field of education focuses on teaching methods and technology with the delivering teaching to students who are not physically present in a classroom. This is separated by time and distance. This kind of learning able the communication with other students using technology such as video conferencing,email,video-on demand. Actually, the types of distance learning are divided into two, which are synchronous learning and asynchronous learning. Synchronous learning is technology where all participants present at the same time. It requires a timetable to be organized such as web conferencing and video conferencing, while asynchronous learning does not require students present at the same time that include message board forums, email , video , print materials , voicemail and fax. This kind of learning enable students to keep abreast of assignment when they are not physically in school. Parents can also  access the school for feedback on their children’s progress.

Others than that, technology can apply in experimental learning. The use of software or courseware helps the students to stimulate learning in experimental learning process and very useful for drill and practice purpose, where it allows the students to practice on their own or with their friends. Basically, the use of courseware is basic in Smart School component. Courseware is part and parcel in e-learning. E-learning is defined as learning with the aid of information and communications technology tools. These may include the internet ,computer-based technology or interactive television. This may also include the use of technology to support traditional methods of learning for example electronic whiteboards or video conferencing. In teaching process , teachers use courseware  so that it is more interesting , interactive and suitable to use in classroom. The courseware that usually used are video, interactive video, slide, audio, CD and pictures.

Technology can also used in Smart School in reference, research and data collection. It is a tool to search, collect and collate data. For examples , in library in Smart School, technology able the students to make research on their subjects. They can search information or find out the materials for their homework. Technology apply also in teachers room with online access to courseware catalogues and databases and also information. It is equipped with professional tools such as email. In the administration offices, it is capable of managing databases of students and facilities and distributing notices and other information electronically.

The technology will enable the school to draw on a variety of external resources, while also making the school more accessible to the community. Students and teachers will be able to tap into public and university libraries ,investigate museums or other archives and keep up to date with local authorities. Similarly, parents, students and other members of the community can stay in touch with the school. Students can keep abreast of coursework from outside of the school and while parents can monitor their children’s progress or communicate with teachers from home. People in the community can also use the school as a centre for continued learning.

THE PROGRESS OF SMART SCHOOL HAVE BEEN MADE SO FAR.

            In June 2010, smart technologies have announced the SMART classroom suite 2010 interactive learning software. SMART classroom offers an integrated solution that enables teacher to easily manage and assess the entire class while addressing the needs of individuals’ students. This is because we know that each students have their own learning style. So, they need a variety of materials to maximize their learning potential. This software will combine the classroom management, assessment, lesson creation and assignment tools in one offering. So, this software will facilitate the teachers to teach, encourage and motivate their students. The latest version of SMART Classroom suite features a number of upgrades including improved wireless capability, greater support for formative assessment and enhancement to teacher tools.

CHALLENGES CONCERNING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SMART SCHOOL CONCEPT

1)    PARENTS NEEDS TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION IN EDUCATIONAL PROCESSES

Parents should plays an important roles in the Smart School development. There is the need to increase the participation of parents in educational processes such as teaching-learning, development of educational materials, assessment and many more.  Parents can be educational resources, and get benefit for themselves as their own learning needs become a life-long effort. With the support from the parents, students will be more motivated and this will lead to student’s delightful performance. Parents should take part in student’s education and make sure the students get exactly what the Smart School can give.

The roles and responsibility of Smart School parents must be widely acknowledged and accepted, in order for parents to assume a much stronger role in the Smart School education process. Parents’ takes personal charge of children’s learning experiences. They can guide, motivate and counsel their children on the Smart School way of teaching and learning. Every student have different ability on learning something new like the Smart School progress which most of the teaching and learning using the technology tools. Parents also have to be familiar with the technology so the children can talk comfortably about it with their parents. If the parents know zero about the technology so, there is a gap between the parents and their children. The skills and knowledge needed by the parents like ability to access school public database to know their children’s result.

There are many possible strategies for the parents like National campaign on parents in Smart School, briefing on Smart School educational process, learning basic IT skill training at school level and doing school tours or exhibition of the technology available in school. Most of the activities provided to give the parents knowledge on today’s technology where their children are very familiar to it. Other than the above techniques, there are also parent’s support group monthly meeting and IT camps at school for the parents. From the meeting, parents among parents can discuss the problem with each other and together solve the problem. This is done for the children’s future.

2)    TEACHER NEED MORE TRAINING ON ICT PROGRAMS THAN THE STUDENTS

One of the challenges of implementation of Smart School is teacher need more training on ICT programs than the students. This training is done in order to achieve Smart School mission. Besides, we know that teacher plays an important role in school as primary deliverer of Smart School teaching.  These teachers will need intensive training on information technology skill and technology integration into classroom instructions to enhance thinking and creativity.  It is important to ensure teachers capability to deliver their curriculum. This training allows the teacher to explore a wide variety of areas and strategies. Besides that, a continuous learning is also necessary for teachers to develop their professional practices and in order to be confident to keep in touch with technology. Moreover, teachers also need to have ICT skills, thinking skill, educational values and language proficiency. This is because teacher responsible to plan and prepare learning activities, manage technology enriched environment, deliver effective instruction and handle professional tasks. In addition, Smart School principals will also need to go through an intensive management training course to equip them to manage the new facilities, technologies and method to be used in Smart Schools. ICT facilities are accessible for the school members even when the school is not in session, the students are able to explore their studies at all the time.

3)    SMART SCHOOL STAFF DEVELOPMENT

The next challenge to make the smart school implementation successful is not only students and teachers cooperation but also the staff school must gets involved. Staff are the school clerks, typists and office boy which also known as despatch boy. Cooperation of clerical staff very important to ensure the Smart School management works smoothly and systematic. Clerical staff must have qualification academic like have IT knowledge which can gives easier to them to complete all documents and works in Smart School. In addition, to give easier, clerical staff can also be introduce to basic IT skills such as word processing and spreadsheet applications. This is because in Smart School, all tasks such as school finances, school communications and school inventories must be accomplished with the aid of technology. So, all members of clerical staff would need to know and understand how this office management is done. Most important thing is the clerical staffs must have right attitude. Although like not necessary but if the clerical staff is lazy, wasting time which spend for chatting and etc, no wonder if expert in IT also did not help the implementation Smart School successful.