Ho ho ho, if i were the principal of any top school i would push for the ipads.
Reason? Because it will look damn good on me. I can brag to moe top brass i am forward thinking, adopting new tech for my school. Another achievement to add to my resume. The minister will praise me and my school to heaven, my career prospects in moe will look a whole lot brighter.
Doesn't matter if there is no concrete plan to ensure full utilization of the ipads. All that matters is there SEEMS to be a plan, so some minister can talk about it. It looks good on the minister too. Make it seem like great things happen under his leadership. Can por him. It can turn out eventually to be one big expensive waste of money, but when that time comes, i have already got the recognition, bonuses, and promotion. The rewards of putting together one big wayang show. The failures of the system i implemented will be forgotten. Why? Because my successor would by that time have come up with another new wayang show, and everyone will be so caught up in it.
Don't believe? Evaluate the tablet laptop scheme back in 03.
See what minister then had to say:
Quote: "
10. In coming together with IDA and Microsoft to work on BackPack.NET, River Valley High will be among the first schools in the world to experiment with the use of tablet PCs. With BackPack.NET, students are equipped with tablet PCs and 'Digital Ink' technology. They can express their thoughts and ideas using natural handwriting in a digital environment while simultaneously being connected with their peers. There may be real benefit in this. For example, learning in areas such as Chinese Language and art has the potential to be better undertaken through the Tablet PC and 'Digital Ink', than through the PC. (For Chinese or any written orthography based on symbolic representation, it is important to capture the nuances of pressure and strokes. In chemistry and mathematics too, molecular structures and complex formulae may be more easily depicted, manipulated and understood on Tablet PC than on the PC.)
11. I understand from the Principal that the River Valley High's teachers and students view this pilot project with a fair bit of excitement. In one of their brainstorming and planning exercises about integrating this new technology in their teaching, the teachers have thrown up suggestions to use the tablet PCs in a diverse range of learning experiences, from field trips and community service projects, to physical fitness tests, Chinese projects and even music composition for the school's Arts Niche Programme. The possibilities are many. All it takes is imagination and creativity.
12. As tablet PC technology is still relatively new in the market, BackPack.NET will bring researchers, industry developers and schools together to spark innovation in software applications for the Tablet PC. This collaborative approach is essential for any emerging technology in education.
Conclusion
13. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and commend River Valley High School for taking up this new challenge. In piloting the use of tablet PCs in teaching and learning, I hope that teachers and students will consider how we can change the culture of the classroom to support and motivate independent learning and thinking among our students, and to make full use of the resources that are now at our fingertips.
"
end quote
Source: SPEECH BY MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, ACTING MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, AT THE LAUNCH OF BACKPACK.NET AT RIVER VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL, ON SATURDAY, 25 OCTOBER 2003, 9.30 AM
So much high hopes and potential back then. Look at all the wonderful things they plan to use the tablets for. Then now we ask what happened to that tablet laptop scheme? Answer kindly provided by allenleonhart is disappointing. The "the tablets were never maxed to its full potential", and "the whole sch, maybe per level only 3-4 knows how to use the tablet to its full potential." Somemore some students abuse it by "downloading stuff left right center, and end up virus a lot." Also, correct me if i understood this part wrongly, but groups or ccas set up to use the then new tablets like "web div, which photoshop and a lot of stuff which used the tablet came under, died lor."
But that was the costly wayang show in 03, which is mostly forgotten. Today the wayang show of 2012 is ipads.
Reason? Because it will look damn good on me. I can brag to moe top brass i am forward thinking, adopting new tech for my school. Another achievement to add to my resume. The minister will praise me and my school to heaven, my career prospects in moe will look a whole lot brighter.
Doesn't matter if there is no concrete plan to ensure full utilization of the ipads. All that matters is there SEEMS to be a plan, so some minister can talk about it. It looks good on the minister too. Make it seem like great things happen under his leadership. Can por him. It can turn out eventually to be one big expensive waste of money, but when that time comes, i have already got the recognition, bonuses, and promotion. The rewards of putting together one big wayang show. The failures of the system i implemented will be forgotten. Why? Because my successor would by that time have come up with another new wayang show, and everyone will be so caught up in it.
Don't believe? Evaluate the tablet laptop scheme back in 03.
See what minister then had to say:
Quote: "
10. In coming together with IDA and Microsoft to work on BackPack.NET, River Valley High will be among the first schools in the world to experiment with the use of tablet PCs. With BackPack.NET, students are equipped with tablet PCs and 'Digital Ink' technology. They can express their thoughts and ideas using natural handwriting in a digital environment while simultaneously being connected with their peers. There may be real benefit in this. For example, learning in areas such as Chinese Language and art has the potential to be better undertaken through the Tablet PC and 'Digital Ink', than through the PC. (For Chinese or any written orthography based on symbolic representation, it is important to capture the nuances of pressure and strokes. In chemistry and mathematics too, molecular structures and complex formulae may be more easily depicted, manipulated and understood on Tablet PC than on the PC.)
11. I understand from the Principal that the River Valley High's teachers and students view this pilot project with a fair bit of excitement. In one of their brainstorming and planning exercises about integrating this new technology in their teaching, the teachers have thrown up suggestions to use the tablet PCs in a diverse range of learning experiences, from field trips and community service projects, to physical fitness tests, Chinese projects and even music composition for the school's Arts Niche Programme. The possibilities are many. All it takes is imagination and creativity.
12. As tablet PC technology is still relatively new in the market, BackPack.NET will bring researchers, industry developers and schools together to spark innovation in software applications for the Tablet PC. This collaborative approach is essential for any emerging technology in education.
Conclusion
13. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and commend River Valley High School for taking up this new challenge. In piloting the use of tablet PCs in teaching and learning, I hope that teachers and students will consider how we can change the culture of the classroom to support and motivate independent learning and thinking among our students, and to make full use of the resources that are now at our fingertips.
"
end quote
Source: SPEECH BY MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, ACTING MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, AT THE LAUNCH OF BACKPACK.NET AT RIVER VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL, ON SATURDAY, 25 OCTOBER 2003, 9.30 AM
So much high hopes and potential back then. Look at all the wonderful things they plan to use the tablets for. Then now we ask what happened to that tablet laptop scheme? Answer kindly provided by allenleonhart is disappointing. The "the tablets were never maxed to its full potential", and "the whole sch, maybe per level only 3-4 knows how to use the tablet to its full potential." Somemore some students abuse it by "downloading stuff left right center, and end up virus a lot." Also, correct me if i understood this part wrongly, but groups or ccas set up to use the then new tablets like "web div, which photoshop and a lot of stuff which used the tablet came under, died lor."
But that was the costly wayang show in 03, which is mostly forgotten. Today the wayang show of 2012 is ipads.
