3. Compare Three Masterplans in Education

A summary of the three Masterplans in Education:

• 1. MasterPlan 1(1997 - 2002):
  • 1.1 Aims of MP1:
    • To enhance linkages between the school and the world around it
    • To encourage creative thinking and lifelong learning
    • To encourage innovative processes in education
    • To promote administrative and management excellence in our education

• • 1.2 Targets at the year 2002:
    • provision for continuous training for every teacher in the use of IT in education
    • 2:1 teacher-to-notebook computer ratio
    • 5:1 students-to-computer ratio
    • 30% of the curriculum time to include IT-based teaching and learning
    • whole-school networking for every school
    • Internet access for every school.

• • 1.3 Budget of MP1:
    • Total: $2 billion
    • Annually: $650 per student, $1million per school

• • 1.4 Achievements of MP1:
    • According to the 2002 Information Society Index, Singapore,together with 13 other countries, belongs to the Skaters category, a group of countries in a strong position to take full advantage of the information revolution because of advanced information, computer, Internet and social infrastructures. More directly related to education, in the Global Competitiveness Report 2001-2002, Singapore was ranked 2nd in the world, after Finland, for the availability of Internet access in schools. 
    • Teacher training was the centrepiece of the first Masterplan, with every teacher in every school receiving the core of 30-50 hours of training in use of IT in teaching over the course of a year. On a national scale, this is exceptional by international comparisons - exceeding that in Israel, Finland and Norway.

• • 1.5 Implementation strategies:
    • FastTrack@School Programme
    • PC Reuse Scheme

• 2. MasterPlan 2(2003 - 2008)
  • 2.1 Aims of MP2:
    • Pupils use ICT effectively for active learning
    • Connections between curriculum, instruction and assessment are enhanced using ICT
    • Teachers use ICT effectively for professional and personal growth
    • Schools have the capacity and capability in using ICT for school improvement
    • There is active research in ICT in education
    • There is an infrastructure that supports widespread and effective use of ICT

• • 2.2 Budget of MP2:
    • Total: $600 million
    • Annually: $300 per student, $450,000 per school

• • 2.3 Achievements of MP2:
    • By setting baseline ICT standards that every student has to achieve at certain milestones of their education (i.e. basic typing skills by Primary 3, application of data for scientific investigation by Secondary 4), MOE ensures that every student will attain certain ICT skills that are necessary for the 21st century.
    • Under the recognition schemes, schools have competed to come up with innovative usage of ICT in education and daily curriculum. Some schools came up with alternative pedagogies such as inquiry-based learning and problem-based learning. Some of the ICT usages include blogs, wikis, podcasts,e-portfolios, animations and video production, in which students displayed and demonstrated what they learnt in class.

• • 2.4 Implementation strategies:
    • Edvantage
    • BackPack.NET
    • NEU PC Plus Programme

• 3. MasterPlan 3(2009 - 2014)
  • 3.1 Aims of MP3:
    • strengthen competencies for self-directed learning - usage of ICT in order to achieve competencies such as technology literacy, higher-order thinking skills and even life and collaboration skills.
    • tailor learning experiences according to the way that each student learns best - use the stronger ability of teachers to recognise how each student learns and where he has difficulty in, and then effectively tailor their teaching to achieve better outcomes.
    • encourage students to go deeper and advance their learning - for those who want to go deeper into any subject, ICT is a powerful tool to achieve that. Thus, if we have the abundancy of such tools such as 3-D representations, audio and video, data loggers etc, students will be encouraged to go deeper.
    • learn anywhere - the use of ICT allows such mobility and flexibility in learning, freeing it from the physical confine of classrooms and the rigidity of structured curriculum time.

• • 3.2 Strategies of MP3:
    • To strengthen integration of ICT into curriculum, pedagogy and assessment to enhance learning and develop competencies for the 21st century.
    • To provide differentiated professional development that is more practice-based and models how ICT can be effectively used to help

• • • To improve the sharing of best practices and successful innovations.
    • To enhance ICT provisions in schools to support the implementation of MP3.

• • 3.3 Implementation strategies:
    • Edulab
    • Edvantage
    • IDM (Interactiva Digital Media) in Education
    • BackPackLive!
    • Enhanced NEU PC Plus Programme