1517-creating-holistic-technology-enhanced-learning-experiences

NANCY LAW
FOREWORD
Reforming curriculum and pedagogical practices in schools to better meet the
challenges of the 21 st century and integrating ICT into learning in schools have
been on the agenda of many ministries of education around the world since the last
decade of the past millennium. While the priorities for education reform and the
reasons for introducing ICT into classrooms may not always align with each other,
efforts to link the two together at the policy and organization levels are not new. In
fact, international comparative studies of ICT-supported education innovation
started in the late 1990s, the best known of which are the OECD cases studies of
ICT and organisational change (Venezky & Davis, 2002) and the IEA case studies
of ICT-supported pedagogical innovations in the SITES Module 2 Study (Kozma,
2003). These studies explored the role of ICT in reforming (or transforming)
education and came to the conclusion that ICT per se cannot be the driver or
catalyst for change, but where there is already a commitment to school-wide
innovation and change, ICT can serve as levers to accelerate the intended changes.
The chapters in this volume go beyond documenting the courageous efforts of
the teachers and school leaders in their journey to realize the vision of a “future
school” today. Most of the chapters belong to the genre of practitioner research,
jointly authored by teachers or leaders of the school in partnership with education
researchers. Together, they make a unique contribution to the innovation literature
in providing a holistic understanding of the complexities, challenges, as well as
possibilities and successes in leveraging the potentials of ICT to build a school fit
for the 21 st century.
Beacon Primary School is not only a Future School. It was a brand new school
that was expressly set up as a Future School in Singapore, a country that is well
known internationally for its ICT in Education Masterplans, and the high academic
achievement of its students in international comparative studies of academic ach.
Singapore is not alone in having launched a number of ICT in Education
Masterplans since the 1990s. However, it stands out as having an outstanding
clarity and consistency in its vision, as well as continuity in having strong,
supportive strategic measures in its progressive implementation. Thinking Schools,
Learning Nation (TSLN) encapsulated the vision and goal for the First Masterplan
launched in 1997. While TSLN is still the guiding vision, the subsequent
Masterplans have set up more specific directives and foci to guide the change
process. At the launch of Masterplan 2 (mp2), the Senior Minister of State for
Trade and Education pointed out that the goal was
ultimately not about the use of technology, but about changing the culture of
the classroom and school to support and motivate thinking and independent
learning among our pupils. (Shanmugaratnam, 2002)
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