ICT POLICIES AND STRATEGIES IN ASIAN COUNTRIES

IN MALAYSIA

Since Malaysia implemented the first computer system in 1966, the Government has introduced various initiatives to facilitate the greater integration of ICT to improve capacities in every area of life, including the enhancement of education and training programmes.

Furthermore, “Vision 2020”, Malaysia's long-term vision, calls for sustained, productivity-driven growth, possible only with a technologically literate, critically thinking workforce, prepared to participate fully in the global economy of the 21st century. At the same time, Malaysia’s National Philosophy of Education calls for “developing the potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner, so as to produce individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonious.”

The Ministry of Education sees ICT as a tool to revolutionise learning, to produce richer curricula, enhanced pedagogies, more effective organisational structures in schools, stronger links between schools and society and the empowerment of learners. The concept of ICT in education, as seen by the Ministry of Education, includes three main policies for ICT in education:

•ICT for all students, meaning that ICT is used as an enabler to reduce the digital gap between the schools
•The role and function of ICT in education as a teaching and learning tool, as part of a subject, and as a subject in its own right
•Using ICT to increase productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of the management system...

In order to support the country’s ICT master plan and fulfil Vision 2020, the education system is in the process of being transformed, to create a new generation of more creative and innovative Malaysians who are adept with new technologies and able to access and manage the information explosion. ICT-enabled Smart Schools act as a catalyst within this process. The first phase of implementation began in 1999 with 90 schools. These constitute the pilots, a sampling of the array of schools in Malaysia. Broad deployment to the remaining schools started from January 2000 using a phased approach...

Other ICT-related projects involve the pre-service and in-service training of teachers, along with the training of school administrators and other school staff. Innovative projects such as the use of electronic books and e-learning are also being piloted.

Smart Schools are not only characterised by the introduction of technology but by their ability to deliver education in a better way. The Government envisages that all schools will be converted into Smart Schools by the year 2010. Multimedia technologies will create the enabling infrastructure for new teaching-learning and management processes, the connectivity to the external constituencies, and the educational network to link all Smart Schools. The three pilot applications are teaching learning materials, a more accurate assessment system and an integrated management system...

IN AUSTRALIA

Australia with its vast territories and dispersed population has long been known for its successful distance education programmes to provide education to those who live in remote places in the outback. More recently, Australia has become a pioneer in using ICT for educational purposes...

Here is the far-reaching vision of MCEETYA, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs in Australia, the key body responsible for formulating national school education policy, including developing and implementing ICT policy and plans in education.

This national action plan for schools was further developed in 2000 by the Education Network Australia (EdNA) Schools Advisory group and endorsed by MCEETYA, released in the paper Learning in an Online World, which specifies the vision, the objectives and a framework which all stakeholders can use to initiate positive changes.

In addition to the above mentioned vision for students, schools will seek to integrate ICTs into their education systems to improve student learning, to offer flexible opportunities and to improve efficiency in business. All state governments share responsibility for making this vision become a reality, in terms of funding and ensuring that public funds are spent effectively and efficiently. The Commonwealth will help in terms of policy development and pre-service teacher training, while the States and Territories have responsibility for school infrastructure, teacher professional development and the development of curricula.

Five key action areas concerning the manner of ICT introduction are specified:

People: Improved learning outcomes for students, supported by educational leaders, teachers and administration staff with the skills and motivation to use ICTs effectively.

Infrastructure: Access to an advanced ICT infrastructure that supports teaching and learning.

Content and Services: Access to, and application of online resources and services that support continuous improvement in curricula, in classroom and distance learning and in school administration.

Supporting Policies: Policies that support the integration of ICTs in schools.

Enabling Regulation: A legal framework in Australia that supports rather than inhibits the use of new ICTs to enhance learning...

IN SINGAPORE

Here in Singapore,the government sees technology as a key enabler in making student-centred learning and assessment a reality, helping to reach the goal of ability-driven education and the government's vision of Thinking Schools, Learning Nation. Dubbed mp2, this second Masterplan aims to build on what has been achieved in the first, and bring the use of IT in Education to greater heights...

Here, its focus of professional development is to create sustainable proficiency and to meet the varied needs of our teacher...By the help of this, teachers and pupils will increasingly be accessing rich online resources, access should be readily available as and when needed. The infrastructure should be able to support the delivery of rich multimedia instructional content...

IN HONGKONG

Hong Kong's aims to harness the power of ICT to turn schools into dynamic and innovative learning institutions, where students can become more motivated, inquisitive, creative and independent life long learners.

In this way,ICT elements will be incorporated in the school curriculum, aiming to have at least 25 per cent of the curriculum taught through ICT by 2002/03. The government will provide schools with a threshold level of hardware, technical support and an appropriate network infrastructure for collaboration and communication between the educational sectors and the community. ICT facilities will be progressively increased and the provision of educational software will be more structured...

IN NEW ZELAND

This country has the most highest access to telecommunications per capita, with the cost of accessing the Internet being almost as low as it is in the United States. Research shows that New Zealanders are usually quick to embrace new technology. New Zealanders have been buying computers, signing up to Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and going online at an internationally impressive rate...

Last year 2002-2004 its ICT developedin consultation with schools, researchers, tertiary education providers, businesses, and others. It builds upon the achievements of the 1998 strategy (Interactive Education: An Information and Communication Technologies Strategy for Schools) and the lessons learnt from it. The ICT strategy recognises that to focus on technical skills alone is to limit the vision of ICT in education. Rather, the focus must be on extending and deepening educational experiences (and on sharing those experiences) to work towards further developing an innovative and thriving society...

Insights for future ICT developments

•Informed, high-quality leadership is essential. School leaders need to be committed to change and to support collaboration among teachers and the school community.
•Bringing about improvements, and embedding those improvements into day-to-day practices, takes time. However, short programmes are important because they raise awareness of ICT, generate enthusiasm, and clarify the roles of educational leaders in enhancing their school's teaching and learning. Short programmes are also valuable because they promote collegial support and the development of networks.
•When approaching ICT, teachers are sometimes oriented towards skill development. However, the acquisition of technical skills does not necessarily lead to critical and creative thinking or improved pedagogy. When identifying purposes for their ICT developments, successful schools appear to go beyond technology, drawing on their knowledge of how people learn, higher-order thinking, effective knowledge management, information literacy, teamwork, and self-evaluation.
•To transform their practice, teachers must have ready access to technology and be active, confident technology users with a desire to learn. They need to become researchers of their own practice.
•Teachers are most open to change when they have collegial support. The greatest benefits for teaching and learning appear to occur when teams of people work together, learn from each other, and have access to sustained support as they integrate ICT into their teaching.
•The "school-cluster" model has proved effective. Schools determine the model they will use, their needs and priorities, and their pace of work. Schools appreciate their autonomy, and this engenders a sense of ownership and responsibility.
•The amount of readily available information about how teachers include ICT within their classroom programmes is limited.
•The amount of readily available information about how students use ICT in their learning processes is limited.



SOURCE OF INFO.
http://www.unescobkk.org/education/ict/themes/policy/regional-country-overviews 7:46:00 PM by Reynard Rabanes Delete