SMART SCHOOL
Content
1.0
INTRODUCTION
Smart school is one of the „flagship‟ in Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), which is should be implemented by 2000. By 1999 as many as 90 schools, including schools Boarding School and normal daily choices have been selected to implement the smart school. This effort is not a luxury but the only way to move forward. Smart school will lead to the democratization of education entirely. This school is not just for smart people but it is a smart way to ensure that each student which is strong or weak, rich or poor or others but this smart school help students try to achieve its full potential in the most suitable way rates and different learning styles. Computer technology will allow diversity built into the education system. In 1996, the Ministry of Education Malaysia has enacted the Smart School concept of centred teaching and learning of critical thinking and creative. Technologies as enablers become an important component of the smart school concept when smart school project established as the Multimedia Super Corridor flagship applications. Malaysia Smart School is a learning institution that is designed for a comprehensive and in terms of the teaching-learning process and management of the school to help students meet the challenges of the Information Age. Teaching-learning process, a process related to curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and teaching and learning materials, will be redesigned to help students learn more effectively and efficiently. Smart schools will encourage students to practice self-access learning and autonomy, as well as according to their own learning pace.
2.0
OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of Smart School management will be to manage efficiently and effectively the resources and processes required supporting the teaching-learning functions. Management will help to reallocate skilled human resources to more valuable activities, save costs over the long term, improve the quality of decisions through better access to information and accelerate decision making. Creativity and better management of information is facilitated through the use of technology where students, teachers, administrators and parents are better prepared for the challenges of the information Age.
The objectives of the Smart School, which are based on Malaysia's National Philosophy of Education. Education in Malaysia is an on-going effort towards further 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 harmonic, based on a firm belief in and devotion to God. Such an effort is designed to produce Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral standards and who are responsible and capable of achieving high level of personal well-being as well as being able to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family, the society and the nation at large. Based on The Malaysia's National Philosophy of Education, the objectives of Smart School are to produce a thinking and technology-literate workforce. The Smart School also made to democratize education and to increase participation of stakeholders. Furthermore, it aims to provide all-round development of the individual. The objective of Smart School also is to provide opportunities to enhance individual strengths and abilities. Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Former Prime Minister of Malaysia, pointed out the three core visions of the Smart School Flagship Application during the Launching of Multimedia Super Corridor on 1st August 1996. Firstly, the visions are teachers will need to change their role in the electronic classroom from being information providers to counselors to help students develop know how and judgment to select information sources. Secondly, Key to success in the Information Age will be making the right judgment between an awesome array of choices and the next vision is we are examining our education system to create a curriculum where people learn how to learn for continuing education throughout their lives. Besides that, since the early 1970s, the Malaysian Government introduced various initiatives to facilitate a wider adoption of ICT to boost capabilities in every field including education. The history of the Smart School Project is rooted in the two-pronged objectives of the flagship, which are to jumpstart the Multimedia Super Corridor Malaysia (MSC) towards building a knowledge-based economy, contributing to the growth of the ICT industry and creating a pool of talent resulting in high-value job creation. It is also initiate to prepare the citizens for the information age through an innovative education delivery process.
2.0
SMART SCHOOL COMPONENTS
2.1
TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESSES
The teaching-learning processes are the core or the heart of the Smart School. The processes relating to curriculum, pedagogy, assessments and teachinglearning materials (TLMs), are reinvented to help students learn more effectively and efficiently. The Smart School enable students to practice selfaccessed and self-directed learning, at their own learning pace.
2.2
MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION
The management and administration of the Smart School, which represents the driver or the brain of the Smart School, is computerised. Management software helps the Smart School principals and headmasters to manage more efficiently and effectively the resources and processes required to support the teaching-learning functions.
2.3
HUMAN RESOURCES, SKILLS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Parents, the community and the private sector as stakeholders, play more active roles in improving the performance of the school. All these parties are constantly involved in professional and knowledge development relating to school management, teaching-learning and other aspects of Smart School.
2.4
PROCESSES The Smart School processes are viewed as a system. These processes have been and will continuously be studied reviewed carefully to ensure that the system provides accurate and functional input to produce the desired output.
2.5
TECHNOLOGY Technology is used as an enabler for Smart School practices in teachinglearning, management and communications with external constituencies.
2.6
POLICIES To ensure the successful implementation of the Smart School, changes in existing policies and regulations, as well as the formulation of the new policies and regulations, have to be conducted.
3.0
CHALLENGES IN SMART SCHOOL
3.1
TEACHING AND LEARNING MATERIALS
Teaching-learning materials are the most important thing in smart school. Smart schools will need teaching-learning materials designed for the new teaching strategies. These materials will accommodate students differing needs and abilities, resulting in fuller realisation of their capabilities and potential, and allow students to take greater responsibility for managing and directing their own learning. Somehow, in some studies state that the teachers use computer laboratory for teaching only four times per month. Teachers rarely use technology in their teaching. For them, by using technology in teaching they should make a preparation before enter the class by preparing slide presentation and others. They also should make a second plan if the first plan cannot be run because of computer problem or missing data. Using the technology tool in teaching and learning also can waste time. This will happen especially for teachers who don‟t know how to use this technology tools. For example in a situation when a teacher is teaching her students by using technology tools then blackout are happen, so the learning session will stop automatically. Then the teacher should take another initiative to take student attention and will continue the lesson by using traditional way. One of the Smart School concept components is to allow students to learn at their own pace and to access learning materials independently. Therefore, availability of reliable computer facilities is critical to meet the objective. From a research, a score of 2.9 out of 4 is given by students who could access school computing facilities without teacher‟s guidance. However, these students mentioned that they will require teacher‟s permission for the access. A score of 2.7 is given by students who were not very satisfied with the performance of computers provided in school. These students
claimed that they sometimes had to deal with poor performance of the computer or servers during lessons. From some research, only 62.4 percent of students said that their teachers had used computer to teach lessons during the class, when there should be 100 percent of ICT usage in the classroom. The wide gap could probably due to the availability of system, courseware and administrative arrangement. The limited opportunity to learn from teachers teachers during classroom lessons through ICT also reflected a need to increase the optimal use of ICT facilities to increase the access hours to students. 3.2 TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE
Computer Lab is a project initiated by MoE in year 2000, which aims to provide students additional access to personal computer (PC) during or after school hours. Under this project, all primary and secondary schools would be furnished with at least 13 PCs per school. More specifically, the allocation of PCs in schools is proportionate to the number of students, such that 13 PCs are allocated to schools with between 100 and 399 students, 21 PCs to schools with between 400 and 799 students, and 42 PCs to schools with 800 or more students. Number of students in the school did not give them the fully opportunity to use the technology tools. For example, maximum student in a class will be 40 students, maximum class for every form are five classes and there are 5 forms in a school. The total students is 40 students x 5 classes x 5 forms = 1000 of students in a school. While a computer lab provided in each school is only one and maybe have 30 to 40 computers only. This computer lab is not adequate for students use. 3.3 IT COORDINATORS (ITC)
For each Smart School, there needs to be a media or technology coordinator who will be responsible for supporting who will responsible for supporting teachers in the overall deployment of multimedia and other technologies in the delivery of Smart School teaching. The technology coordinator is entrusted to guide and help train teachers in delivering effective technology supported instruction. Thus the technology coordinator should be a teacher with the skills in the integration of technology for enhancement of information gathering, instruction, management processes and communication. Other responsibilities of the technology coordinator include assisting
the principle in the management software application as well as keeping abreast with development in education technology. ITC skills is a factors that keeping a Smart School running efficiently. One of the most fundamental issues is the ITC‟s ability to provide solutions to problems that arise in schools. However, the onus is on the ministry to provide adequate training and support for ITCs. One of the major issues affecting ITCs was the general lack of training provided to perform their job. Without proper training, it is no surprise that many problems occur with IT facilities. From a research, the amount of pre-service training was inadequate. Around 90 percent of ITCs learnt their ICT knowledge on the job and substantial 54.5 percent attented private training centers for courses. 3.4 IT FACILITIES
In almost all the school visited, most ITCs express a general dissatisfaction with their IT facilities. Almost 80 percent of respondents in some research felt that the ICT facilities were not satisfactory. They were further queried on what they felt were major problems. The problems with the ICT facilities were due to a variety of factors and in many cases a combination of the above factors. Hardware and software failure were commonly cited as was the reliability of Internet access. Power shortage was a problem as well, but largely in rural areas. Lack of technical support was another factors cite. 3.5 AWARENESS OF SOCIETY
The building, structure, students and teachers of smart school same as normal school. What the characteristic that society can see for a school can be said as smart school? The criteria cannot be seen clearly by society and others who are not from school‟s participant. Only school stakeholders like teacher, students and staff know that they are in a smart school. People also don‟t know about smart school and many people had notion that the smart school was a school for smart students only.
4.0
SOLUTIONS
Malaysia intends to transform its educational system, in line with and in support of the nation‟s drive to fulfil Vision 2020. Transforming the educational system will entail changing the culture and practices of Malaysia‟s primary and secondar y schools, moving away from memory-based learning designed for the average student to an education that stimulates thinking, creativity, and caring in all students, cater to individual abilities and learning styles, and are based on more equitable access. It will require students to exercise greater responsibility for their own education, while seeking more active participation by parents and the wider community. The Smart Schools Initiative received considerable support from the relevant governmental agencies, parents and private companies and such continuous support was important to maintain the effective and efficient management practice of the Malaysian Smart Schools.
4.1
GOVERNMENT
In realizing The Smart School idea, it is become to need more attention from Malaysia‟s government. Thus, it is mean that all Malaysian cooperation needed in achieving Smart School objective. The higher degree of individualized attention for students at a Smart School will necessitate new roles and responsibilities for teachers, principals, Ministry of Education officers, support staff and parents.
The 1Malaysia Laptop Computer Programme is one of the plans of government under the National Broadband Initiative (NBI) with the objective of enhancing the rate of broadband accessibility. Under the plan more than 60,000 units of laptop computers have been allocated to be distributed to school students in Sarawak. A total of 14,500 units of laptops have been distributed under the first phase. Under the programme, preference was given to qualified and less-privileged school students. It is hoped that the programme will be able to enhance the ability to master knowledge and technology among the community especially those living in the rural areas.
4.2
SCHOOL STAKEHOLDERS
The school stakeholders consist of administrator, teaching staff, non-teaching staff and students. To survive professionally in this fast changing world, one has to be a lifelong learner. Learning how to learn, therefore, is basic to all other skills that should be acquired at the school. Schools which support students' learning and thinking skills with programs, infrastructure, tools, teachers and management by using information and communication technologies will be the Smart Schools.
The school personnel play a key role in achieving the vision of the fully functioning Smart School Scenario in Malaysia by 2020. Their main role is to create a teachinglearning environment that can provide education which not in the sense of acquiring “knowledge for knowledge sake” but rather to respect knowledge and to have an awareness of the uses knowledge can have for personal and societal gain.
The school also can engage and drives students to want to know more during teaching and learning. As well as the school can provide the environment of education not for the sake of passing examinations and scoring excellent grades but one that help the child meet challenges effectively.
4.2.1
TEACHERS
Teachers must have knowledge and skills to play an effective role in smart school education. Teachers at Smart Schools, must been trained in the use of information technology. The teachers also must address fear of technology and change, strive for continuous education even if students decide to pursue non-academic careers for example singers and athletes, go beyond portal stage to using applications such as planning and scheduling of lessons online and nurture balanced thinking among students. Teachers nowadays must have knowledge in ICT. That is very important. Teachers could give many different and specific examples of how technology had changed their work.
In fact, fulfilling these roles and responsibilities will require specialized training for each group. Teacher development will be critical to the success of the Smart School. Teachers will need intensive training in the use of information technology and in its integration into classroom activities in ways that enhance thinking and creativity. Support from teachers and a conducive environment, such as adequate and decent quality of facilities, would be critical to encourage students to be independent and proactive in using ICT facilities. Smart School teachers will also need to learn to facilitate and encourage students in taking charge of their own learning. In the long term, these teachers will need to augment their skills regularly, if they are to stay abreast of developments in their profession and remain confident in their application of the technology. 4.2.2 STUDENTS
In a Smart School, students are autonomous learners, they learn how to learn. Smart Schools enable children to acquire abilities of constructing knowledge from available information. These abilities are crucial to a learning society. In Smart School, all students have the ability to learn and progress, which can be enhanced by using appropriate learning technologies. Student‟s role is very important in determine whether the Smart School is succeed or not. In, Smart School, learning is a consequence of thinking, and good thinking is learnable by all students. Smart School also apply the learning should include deep understanding, which involves the flexible, active use of knowledge. Thus, the students have to adapt to the way of the Smart School operate. Without the student‟s cooperation and achievement in Smart School, The Smart School may not continue. Smart Schools for enhancing the learning of students have effectively used computers, the Internet and other high band communication technology such as video-conferencing and now satellite data streaming and satellite radio.
In sharp contrast to traditional schools, Smart Schools offer an open environment for learning. Students function as autonomous learners. In a Smart School, the emphasis of learning shifts from acquiring discrete pieces of information to acquiring abilities by students such as constructing their own knowledge from information. In constructing the student‟s knowledge, the student‟s own desire to learn are very important and play a big role to realize the Smart School objective as the student‟s desire will help them in obtain the knowledge without feel forced and make them feel comfortable in learning. The student‟s role is very important because the objective of
4.3
PARENTS
Smart School is based on the min determining whether the Smart School achieves the objective or otherwise. Parents can play a major role in helping Smart Schools provide individualized education for students. Research has shown that students do better when their parents are involved. This task will go beyond monitoring the child‟s progress, and providing guidance, motivation, and counsel, it will require familiarity with the new educational processes, a willingness to assist with developing teaching-learning and assessment materials, as well as the ability to access the school‟s public domain data bases electronically.
5.0
CONCLUSION
ICT-based teaching and learning are no longer a trend to follow, but a way of life imbued in the education system of all countries with the desire and determination to leverage ICT to bring upon systematic change to knowledge delivery mechanism within their education system. Malaysia has gone a long way in adopting ICT-based teaching and learning. Invariably challenge has and would continue to surface throughout the journey and Malaysia‟s ICT-based education would have to surmount them in order to nurture a Malaysian approach to e-education. Suffice it to say, the plethora of issues, challenges and recommendations contained in this impact assessment reflect the importance and benefits of evaluating the progress of eeducation initiatives in Malaysia. The impact assessment also highlights the „borderless‟ and „pervasive‟ nature of e-education. The enlargement of paradigm of learning and teaching requires transformation in pedagogy, role mapping, for example teacher-student-administrator relationship, as well as content to be delivered within and beyond the classroom environment. Ultimately, the impact assessment outcomes amplify the need to align the wider scale of the implementation of the Smart School initiative in a more defined, structured and balanced manner. This does not merely translate to more policies, but also a new wave of guided empowerment to make the implementation journey a shared experience amongst the key stakeholders. This indicates a need to close the gaps identified in the current phase, for example through a Management Dash Board to track various on-going projects. An improved mechanism to track project implementation leads to greater efficiency and increased productivity on the part of all stakeholders. As to say that cooperation from all Malaysian whether students, teachers and parents needed to achieve the objective of Smart School to produce a knowledge society that is critical, creative and innovative, to produce technology savvy individuals for the Information Age and to cultivate lifelong learning based on Information and Communication in Technology.
APPENDIXES
Picture 1 : Smart School initiatives
Picture 2 : Students at a smart school rely on computers to work on their projects.
Picture 3 : Teacher using technology material in teaching and learning.
INTRODUCTION
Smart school is one of the „flagship‟ in Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), which is should be implemented by 2000. By 1999 as many as 90 schools, including schools Boarding School and normal daily choices have been selected to implement the smart school. This effort is not a luxury but the only way to move forward. Smart school will lead to the democratization of education entirely. This school is not just for smart people but it is a smart way to ensure that each student which is strong or weak, rich or poor or others but this smart school help students try to achieve its full potential in the most suitable way rates and different learning styles. Computer technology will allow diversity built into the education system. In 1996, the Ministry of Education Malaysia has enacted the Smart School concept of centred teaching and learning of critical thinking and creative. Technologies as enablers become an important component of the smart school concept when smart school project established as the Multimedia Super Corridor flagship applications. Malaysia Smart School is a learning institution that is designed for a comprehensive and in terms of the teaching-learning process and management of the school to help students meet the challenges of the Information Age. Teaching-learning process, a process related to curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and teaching and learning materials, will be redesigned to help students learn more effectively and efficiently. Smart schools will encourage students to practice self-access learning and autonomy, as well as according to their own learning pace.
2.0
OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of Smart School management will be to manage efficiently and effectively the resources and processes required supporting the teaching-learning functions. Management will help to reallocate skilled human resources to more valuable activities, save costs over the long term, improve the quality of decisions through better access to information and accelerate decision making. Creativity and better management of information is facilitated through the use of technology where students, teachers, administrators and parents are better prepared for the challenges of the information Age.
The objectives of the Smart School, which are based on Malaysia's National Philosophy of Education. Education in Malaysia is an on-going effort towards further 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 harmonic, based on a firm belief in and devotion to God. Such an effort is designed to produce Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral standards and who are responsible and capable of achieving high level of personal well-being as well as being able to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family, the society and the nation at large. Based on The Malaysia's National Philosophy of Education, the objectives of Smart School are to produce a thinking and technology-literate workforce. The Smart School also made to democratize education and to increase participation of stakeholders. Furthermore, it aims to provide all-round development of the individual. The objective of Smart School also is to provide opportunities to enhance individual strengths and abilities. Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Former Prime Minister of Malaysia, pointed out the three core visions of the Smart School Flagship Application during the Launching of Multimedia Super Corridor on 1st August 1996. Firstly, the visions are teachers will need to change their role in the electronic classroom from being information providers to counselors to help students develop know how and judgment to select information sources. Secondly, Key to success in the Information Age will be making the right judgment between an awesome array of choices and the next vision is we are examining our education system to create a curriculum where people learn how to learn for continuing education throughout their lives. Besides that, since the early 1970s, the Malaysian Government introduced various initiatives to facilitate a wider adoption of ICT to boost capabilities in every field including education. The history of the Smart School Project is rooted in the two-pronged objectives of the flagship, which are to jumpstart the Multimedia Super Corridor Malaysia (MSC) towards building a knowledge-based economy, contributing to the growth of the ICT industry and creating a pool of talent resulting in high-value job creation. It is also initiate to prepare the citizens for the information age through an innovative education delivery process.
2.0
SMART SCHOOL COMPONENTS
2.1
TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESSES
The teaching-learning processes are the core or the heart of the Smart School. The processes relating to curriculum, pedagogy, assessments and teachinglearning materials (TLMs), are reinvented to help students learn more effectively and efficiently. The Smart School enable students to practice selfaccessed and self-directed learning, at their own learning pace.
2.2
MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION
The management and administration of the Smart School, which represents the driver or the brain of the Smart School, is computerised. Management software helps the Smart School principals and headmasters to manage more efficiently and effectively the resources and processes required to support the teaching-learning functions.
2.3
HUMAN RESOURCES, SKILLS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Parents, the community and the private sector as stakeholders, play more active roles in improving the performance of the school. All these parties are constantly involved in professional and knowledge development relating to school management, teaching-learning and other aspects of Smart School.
2.4
PROCESSES The Smart School processes are viewed as a system. These processes have been and will continuously be studied reviewed carefully to ensure that the system provides accurate and functional input to produce the desired output.
2.5
TECHNOLOGY Technology is used as an enabler for Smart School practices in teachinglearning, management and communications with external constituencies.
2.6
POLICIES To ensure the successful implementation of the Smart School, changes in existing policies and regulations, as well as the formulation of the new policies and regulations, have to be conducted.
3.0
CHALLENGES IN SMART SCHOOL
3.1
TEACHING AND LEARNING MATERIALS
Teaching-learning materials are the most important thing in smart school. Smart schools will need teaching-learning materials designed for the new teaching strategies. These materials will accommodate students differing needs and abilities, resulting in fuller realisation of their capabilities and potential, and allow students to take greater responsibility for managing and directing their own learning. Somehow, in some studies state that the teachers use computer laboratory for teaching only four times per month. Teachers rarely use technology in their teaching. For them, by using technology in teaching they should make a preparation before enter the class by preparing slide presentation and others. They also should make a second plan if the first plan cannot be run because of computer problem or missing data. Using the technology tool in teaching and learning also can waste time. This will happen especially for teachers who don‟t know how to use this technology tools. For example in a situation when a teacher is teaching her students by using technology tools then blackout are happen, so the learning session will stop automatically. Then the teacher should take another initiative to take student attention and will continue the lesson by using traditional way. One of the Smart School concept components is to allow students to learn at their own pace and to access learning materials independently. Therefore, availability of reliable computer facilities is critical to meet the objective. From a research, a score of 2.9 out of 4 is given by students who could access school computing facilities without teacher‟s guidance. However, these students mentioned that they will require teacher‟s permission for the access. A score of 2.7 is given by students who were not very satisfied with the performance of computers provided in school. These students
claimed that they sometimes had to deal with poor performance of the computer or servers during lessons. From some research, only 62.4 percent of students said that their teachers had used computer to teach lessons during the class, when there should be 100 percent of ICT usage in the classroom. The wide gap could probably due to the availability of system, courseware and administrative arrangement. The limited opportunity to learn from teachers teachers during classroom lessons through ICT also reflected a need to increase the optimal use of ICT facilities to increase the access hours to students. 3.2 TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE
Computer Lab is a project initiated by MoE in year 2000, which aims to provide students additional access to personal computer (PC) during or after school hours. Under this project, all primary and secondary schools would be furnished with at least 13 PCs per school. More specifically, the allocation of PCs in schools is proportionate to the number of students, such that 13 PCs are allocated to schools with between 100 and 399 students, 21 PCs to schools with between 400 and 799 students, and 42 PCs to schools with 800 or more students. Number of students in the school did not give them the fully opportunity to use the technology tools. For example, maximum student in a class will be 40 students, maximum class for every form are five classes and there are 5 forms in a school. The total students is 40 students x 5 classes x 5 forms = 1000 of students in a school. While a computer lab provided in each school is only one and maybe have 30 to 40 computers only. This computer lab is not adequate for students use. 3.3 IT COORDINATORS (ITC)
For each Smart School, there needs to be a media or technology coordinator who will be responsible for supporting who will responsible for supporting teachers in the overall deployment of multimedia and other technologies in the delivery of Smart School teaching. The technology coordinator is entrusted to guide and help train teachers in delivering effective technology supported instruction. Thus the technology coordinator should be a teacher with the skills in the integration of technology for enhancement of information gathering, instruction, management processes and communication. Other responsibilities of the technology coordinator include assisting
the principle in the management software application as well as keeping abreast with development in education technology. ITC skills is a factors that keeping a Smart School running efficiently. One of the most fundamental issues is the ITC‟s ability to provide solutions to problems that arise in schools. However, the onus is on the ministry to provide adequate training and support for ITCs. One of the major issues affecting ITCs was the general lack of training provided to perform their job. Without proper training, it is no surprise that many problems occur with IT facilities. From a research, the amount of pre-service training was inadequate. Around 90 percent of ITCs learnt their ICT knowledge on the job and substantial 54.5 percent attented private training centers for courses. 3.4 IT FACILITIES
In almost all the school visited, most ITCs express a general dissatisfaction with their IT facilities. Almost 80 percent of respondents in some research felt that the ICT facilities were not satisfactory. They were further queried on what they felt were major problems. The problems with the ICT facilities were due to a variety of factors and in many cases a combination of the above factors. Hardware and software failure were commonly cited as was the reliability of Internet access. Power shortage was a problem as well, but largely in rural areas. Lack of technical support was another factors cite. 3.5 AWARENESS OF SOCIETY
The building, structure, students and teachers of smart school same as normal school. What the characteristic that society can see for a school can be said as smart school? The criteria cannot be seen clearly by society and others who are not from school‟s participant. Only school stakeholders like teacher, students and staff know that they are in a smart school. People also don‟t know about smart school and many people had notion that the smart school was a school for smart students only.
4.0
SOLUTIONS
Malaysia intends to transform its educational system, in line with and in support of the nation‟s drive to fulfil Vision 2020. Transforming the educational system will entail changing the culture and practices of Malaysia‟s primary and secondar y schools, moving away from memory-based learning designed for the average student to an education that stimulates thinking, creativity, and caring in all students, cater to individual abilities and learning styles, and are based on more equitable access. It will require students to exercise greater responsibility for their own education, while seeking more active participation by parents and the wider community. The Smart Schools Initiative received considerable support from the relevant governmental agencies, parents and private companies and such continuous support was important to maintain the effective and efficient management practice of the Malaysian Smart Schools.
4.1
GOVERNMENT
In realizing The Smart School idea, it is become to need more attention from Malaysia‟s government. Thus, it is mean that all Malaysian cooperation needed in achieving Smart School objective. The higher degree of individualized attention for students at a Smart School will necessitate new roles and responsibilities for teachers, principals, Ministry of Education officers, support staff and parents.
The 1Malaysia Laptop Computer Programme is one of the plans of government under the National Broadband Initiative (NBI) with the objective of enhancing the rate of broadband accessibility. Under the plan more than 60,000 units of laptop computers have been allocated to be distributed to school students in Sarawak. A total of 14,500 units of laptops have been distributed under the first phase. Under the programme, preference was given to qualified and less-privileged school students. It is hoped that the programme will be able to enhance the ability to master knowledge and technology among the community especially those living in the rural areas.
4.2
SCHOOL STAKEHOLDERS
The school stakeholders consist of administrator, teaching staff, non-teaching staff and students. To survive professionally in this fast changing world, one has to be a lifelong learner. Learning how to learn, therefore, is basic to all other skills that should be acquired at the school. Schools which support students' learning and thinking skills with programs, infrastructure, tools, teachers and management by using information and communication technologies will be the Smart Schools.
The school personnel play a key role in achieving the vision of the fully functioning Smart School Scenario in Malaysia by 2020. Their main role is to create a teachinglearning environment that can provide education which not in the sense of acquiring “knowledge for knowledge sake” but rather to respect knowledge and to have an awareness of the uses knowledge can have for personal and societal gain.
The school also can engage and drives students to want to know more during teaching and learning. As well as the school can provide the environment of education not for the sake of passing examinations and scoring excellent grades but one that help the child meet challenges effectively.
4.2.1
TEACHERS
Teachers must have knowledge and skills to play an effective role in smart school education. Teachers at Smart Schools, must been trained in the use of information technology. The teachers also must address fear of technology and change, strive for continuous education even if students decide to pursue non-academic careers for example singers and athletes, go beyond portal stage to using applications such as planning and scheduling of lessons online and nurture balanced thinking among students. Teachers nowadays must have knowledge in ICT. That is very important. Teachers could give many different and specific examples of how technology had changed their work.
In fact, fulfilling these roles and responsibilities will require specialized training for each group. Teacher development will be critical to the success of the Smart School. Teachers will need intensive training in the use of information technology and in its integration into classroom activities in ways that enhance thinking and creativity. Support from teachers and a conducive environment, such as adequate and decent quality of facilities, would be critical to encourage students to be independent and proactive in using ICT facilities. Smart School teachers will also need to learn to facilitate and encourage students in taking charge of their own learning. In the long term, these teachers will need to augment their skills regularly, if they are to stay abreast of developments in their profession and remain confident in their application of the technology. 4.2.2 STUDENTS
In a Smart School, students are autonomous learners, they learn how to learn. Smart Schools enable children to acquire abilities of constructing knowledge from available information. These abilities are crucial to a learning society. In Smart School, all students have the ability to learn and progress, which can be enhanced by using appropriate learning technologies. Student‟s role is very important in determine whether the Smart School is succeed or not. In, Smart School, learning is a consequence of thinking, and good thinking is learnable by all students. Smart School also apply the learning should include deep understanding, which involves the flexible, active use of knowledge. Thus, the students have to adapt to the way of the Smart School operate. Without the student‟s cooperation and achievement in Smart School, The Smart School may not continue. Smart Schools for enhancing the learning of students have effectively used computers, the Internet and other high band communication technology such as video-conferencing and now satellite data streaming and satellite radio.
In sharp contrast to traditional schools, Smart Schools offer an open environment for learning. Students function as autonomous learners. In a Smart School, the emphasis of learning shifts from acquiring discrete pieces of information to acquiring abilities by students such as constructing their own knowledge from information. In constructing the student‟s knowledge, the student‟s own desire to learn are very important and play a big role to realize the Smart School objective as the student‟s desire will help them in obtain the knowledge without feel forced and make them feel comfortable in learning. The student‟s role is very important because the objective of
4.3
PARENTS
Smart School is based on the min determining whether the Smart School achieves the objective or otherwise. Parents can play a major role in helping Smart Schools provide individualized education for students. Research has shown that students do better when their parents are involved. This task will go beyond monitoring the child‟s progress, and providing guidance, motivation, and counsel, it will require familiarity with the new educational processes, a willingness to assist with developing teaching-learning and assessment materials, as well as the ability to access the school‟s public domain data bases electronically.
5.0
CONCLUSION
ICT-based teaching and learning are no longer a trend to follow, but a way of life imbued in the education system of all countries with the desire and determination to leverage ICT to bring upon systematic change to knowledge delivery mechanism within their education system. Malaysia has gone a long way in adopting ICT-based teaching and learning. Invariably challenge has and would continue to surface throughout the journey and Malaysia‟s ICT-based education would have to surmount them in order to nurture a Malaysian approach to e-education. Suffice it to say, the plethora of issues, challenges and recommendations contained in this impact assessment reflect the importance and benefits of evaluating the progress of eeducation initiatives in Malaysia. The impact assessment also highlights the „borderless‟ and „pervasive‟ nature of e-education. The enlargement of paradigm of learning and teaching requires transformation in pedagogy, role mapping, for example teacher-student-administrator relationship, as well as content to be delivered within and beyond the classroom environment. Ultimately, the impact assessment outcomes amplify the need to align the wider scale of the implementation of the Smart School initiative in a more defined, structured and balanced manner. This does not merely translate to more policies, but also a new wave of guided empowerment to make the implementation journey a shared experience amongst the key stakeholders. This indicates a need to close the gaps identified in the current phase, for example through a Management Dash Board to track various on-going projects. An improved mechanism to track project implementation leads to greater efficiency and increased productivity on the part of all stakeholders. As to say that cooperation from all Malaysian whether students, teachers and parents needed to achieve the objective of Smart School to produce a knowledge society that is critical, creative and innovative, to produce technology savvy individuals for the Information Age and to cultivate lifelong learning based on Information and Communication in Technology.
APPENDIXES
Picture 1 : Smart School initiatives
Picture 2 : Students at a smart school rely on computers to work on their projects.
Picture 3 : Teacher using technology material in teaching and learning.
