Trends in Distance Education and Open Learning: Policy ... - ADEA

2. AsiaA research project was set up to probe and analyze how teachers utilize mobiletechnologies for teaching and learning at their scheduled classes in Hong Kong. There were10 schools participating in the project. Five of them are primary schools and the rest aresecondary schools. The project was divided into two phases: planning and implementation.In the planning phase, the researchers developed a set of instruments for the evaluationpurpose of this project. The instruments include questionnaire and semi-structuredinterview questions to solicit students’ and teachers’perception of using mobile technologies for teaching and learning. Representative teachersfrom the participating schools were asked to submit a detailed implementation plan onhow to apply mobile technologies in their classes. In the implementation phase, pre- andpost-tests on subject knowledge, classroom observation, questionnaire survey and semistructuredinterview will be carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of using mobiletechnologies in formal class teaching.Countries taking the lead in such matters include South Korea, Malaysia,Singapore and Hong Kong. South Korea is radically overhauling K-12, special needs andgifted children’s schooling and trialling ubiquitous online learning (u-learning) for afterschoolas well as classroom learning (Korea.net, 2005). Hong Kong’s Digital 21 Strategy2includes plans to provide all Hong Kong schools with free wireless broadband connectivityand all pupils with access to ICT at home and in the classroom. The Malaysian Ministry ofEducation plans to use technology in support of curriculum change and for all schools tobecome ICT-enabled Smart Schools by 20103 (Lallana, 2003; Bakar and Mohamed, 2008).In Bangladesh, a study entitled “Learning communities enabled by mobile technology: Acase study of school based in-service secondary teacher training in rural Bangladesh”carried in December 2007 by Sarah Lucas Pouezevara and Rubina Khan.The study equipped two subject trainers, a training coordinator, and a cluster of 10 schoolswith “smartphones” (with video, speakerphone, and three-way calling capabilities), for useby 20 Bangla and math teachers in 10 schools of the Barisal region in southern Bangladesh(for a map indicating the study area, see Appendix 1 of this report). The existing trainingcurriculum was revised from a 2-week, face-to-face workshop to a 6-week distance-modetraining based on printed materials and practical application of training content with peers.The phones were intended primarily to enhance communication, motivation, andmultimediadelivery.61