On 30 November, the Malaysian Ministry of Education opened the “National Teachers Convention on ICT”. The three-day convention, with the theme of “From Teacher to Teacher: Towards an ICT Culture in Education”, aimed to promote existing national ICT initiatives and encourage greater cooperation among partners in efforts to enhance the use of ICT in Malaysian classrooms. The organizers of the Convention hoped that the event would help teachers begin to “think outside of the square” and would help to make ICT an integral part of education culture.
The event, held in Kuala Lumpur, was divided into two sections, a seminar titled “Sharing Best Practices” and an exhibition titled “Transforming Education through Technology”. Approximately 500 teachers from 50 schools across Malaysia attended the Convention.
According to the Education Director-General Datuk Dr Ahamad Sipon, the seminar would introduce the participants to new technologies and to new methods for teaching and learning. In addition, the seminar would show teachers that ICT can be useful in assisting students to learn to use information critically and creatively, and that using ICT can enable students to surmount all knowledge barriers. The seminar would also demonstrate that ICT is an indispensable asset for teachers.
The convention's organising committee chairman and Education Deputy Director-General, Datuk Salleh Mohd Husein, recently pointed out that the Ministry’s initiatives to provide the physical infrastructure required for installing ICT in schools, which began in 2000, are now having an impact. Salleh also noted that in recent years, in line with efforts to reinforce the use of ICT in teaching and learning, the Ministry has emphasized infrastructure development; procurement of hardware and software; courseware development, and development of human resources.
The Convention was convened through the Smart Education Partnership (SEP) with TIME Engineering Berhad; Microsoft (Malaysia); Intel Electronics (Malaysia); and Prestariang Technology.
In Malaysia, the establishment of “Smart Schools” and the development of “MySchoolNet” have already provided an avenue by which teachers and students can learn to use the Internet and other ICT in teaching and learning.
Further information:
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=232132
Related articles:
- Rural Malaysian schools to be equipped with ICT equipment
http://www2.unescobkk.org/education/ict/v2_2/detail.asp?id=51307
- Malaysian Minister calls for upgrading of tertiary ICT-training
http://www2.unescobkk.org/education/ict/v2_2/detail.asp?id=44771
- Malaysia plans to place more emphasis on education and ICT
http://www2.unescobkk.org/education/ict/v2_2/detail.asp?id=21150
http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2006/12/10/education/16203387
Previous issues of the e-newsletter:
- UNESCO ICT in Education e-newsletter
http://www.unescobkk.org/education/ict/enewsletter
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