Functioning of ICT@7500 School Programme as perceived by the Head masters of secondary schools

Purpose – Aims to explore the role of Principals in producing outstanding education outcomes in Years 7 to 10 in New South Wales (Australia) government schools.Design/methodology/approach – Sites where “outstanding” educational outcomes were believed to be occurring were selected using a variety of data including performance in standardised tests, public examinations, various value added measures and nominations from various stakeholders. Sites were of two types: subject departments responsible for teaching certain subjects and teams responsible for cross‐school programs in Years 7 to 10. Sites were selected to be broadly representative. Some schools had more than one site, e.g. Mathematics and Student Welfare. A total of 50 sites across NSW from 38 secondary schools were studied.Findings – With both subject departments and teams responsible for cross‐school programs, leadership was found to be a key factor in the achievement of outstanding educational outcomes. Often, this leadership was exercised by the...

Principal leadership for outstanding educational outcomes

The unprecedented advances in interactivity and multimedia capabilities together with a myriad of emerging technologies have enabled the creation of virtual learning environments that could be utilized to boost the development of English language skills among Malaysian primary and secondary school students. English language standards have been deteriorating over the years and basic oral skills have been appalling due to lack of usage and reflective practice. English lessons that incorporate multimedia applications can exert powerful motivation and provide bored students with exciting new ways to learn. The utilization and integration of ICT tools can indeed assist students in acquiring English Language competency as well as enhance the quality of their learning experience. This paper first examines the present scenario of English language teachers as regards ICT integration and tries to determine if ICT skills of English language teachers in the light of existing infrastructure facilities are adequate to promote English language teaching and learning. The researchers next look at some of the obstacles faced by English language teachers in ICT integration and finally in the concluding part the researchers suggest the use of interactive lessons to speed up the teaching and learning of English. Keywords: interactivity, multimedia elements, rich learning environment INTRODUCTION There is growing concern about the level of English proficiency at the workplace which if left unchecked could lead to the country losing its competitiveness especially in the industry and technical fields. Malaysia needs communicative competence to maintain its competitive edge in all aspects of our economic environment be it administration, education, trade or finance. The 2004 School Certificate Examination Report on English Language 2 revealed that the majority of the candidates have yet to master the writing skills in English (Laporan Prestasi SPM, 2004). What is amiss? Can the right ICT tools enhance English language teaching and learning and quickly arrest the rapid decline? ICT tools have now removed the time and space limitation found in traditional teaching. Classroom dialogue can now extend beyond the time and space constraints of class time (Frayer, 1997). Carmen et al., (2003) say that integrating ICT tools in teaching can lead to increased students' learning competencies and increased opportunities for communication. Key findings under ImpaCT2 (www. becta. org. uk) show that the use of ICT tools in teaching and learning has positive effects on behaviour, motivation, communication and process skills and that it enables pupils to learn more autonomously. ImpaCT2 further shows that teachers in schools where pupils used ICT in English achieved higher mean gain scores. The integration of ICT tools in the teaching and learning of English have found to bring other benefits too. Besides motivating pupils and raising self-esteem and confidence, ICT can enhance pupil interaction, verbalization and involvement in collaborative learning (SIIA Report - 2000). What is the scenario on the utilization and integration of ICT tools among English option teachers in Malaysia? Can similar benefits be achieved here in Malayia? In order to answer these questions a qualitative study was carried out to find out the extent of ICT integration among 30 English language teachers in Kuala Langat District in Selangor. METHODOLOGY The sampling frame of study was primary and secondary school teachers in three premier schools in Banting. Over a period of six months (i. e., July to December 2005), the researchers conducted face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with 30 trained teachers from three schools namely Sekolah Kebangsaan Sri Langat, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Teluk, Panglima Garang and Sekolah Menengah Sultan Abdul Samad, Banting. Prior to the interviews, the researchers visited the above three schools and obtained useful information pertaining to infrastructure facilities. …

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The utilization and integration of ICT tools in promoting English language Teaching and Learning: Reflections from English Option Teachers in Kuala Langat District, Malaysia

The emergence of information and communication technology has ushered in a new era. It has brought about a revolution in the field of teaching-learning process. ICT is affecting both the teaching style and the learning style, whereby a student becomes the explorer of information and an independent knowledge worker. The National Curriculum Framework for School Education (2002) addresses at length the question of integration of information and communication technology (ICT) into schooling and acknowledges the pedagogical rationale behind this integration and brings to the fore its manifold implications. The National Curriculum Framework (2005) suggested that information and communication technologies can enable activity-based and collaborative processes. Computer literacy is the need of the hour. It has the capability of multiplying the human intellect beyond part conceptions and has tremendous implications for education.  Computers can be used as books or workbooks, for word-processing and for programming of graphics among young children (pre-school 2 nd grade students) (Brown, 1996). Number of educational software has been developed for providing rich educational materials to the students. With the advent of ICT, the traditional talk and chalk approach, the blackboard, the charts have given way to slides, OHP, multimedia presentation, graphics, computers, animation, video-clippings, T.V., radio broadcasts, audio-video tapes etc, to be used for educational purposes. IT is also complemented by tele-education via satellites.

Functioning of ICT@7500 School Programme as perceived by the Head masters of secondary schools

References

Principal leadership for outstanding educational outcomes

The utilization and integration of ICT tools in promoting English language Teaching and Learning: Reflections from English Option Teachers in Kuala Langat District, Malaysia

Teaching-learning with ict at primary level

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