A Summary of ICT in Malaysian Schools Prepared by : MOHAMAD JASMI B MD JAA!A" Prepared for : Dr Byaba)aire *usuf Sub+ec# : S,DT -.

&/ IT In 0duca#ion Ma#ric $o:%&'(&(

Introducing ICT into all schools in the country is a major undertaking. It corresponds to future productivity of Malaysias workforce and a down-payment on the Malaysias future prosperity. Therefore, Malaysian government has introduced several initiatives to facilitate the utili ation of ICT to improve capa!ilities in every field including education. "ccording to the #ision $%$%, the Ministry of &ducation attempt to !ring technology into the classrooms !y introducing certain project such as Computer 'iteracy (ilot (roject, Computer in &ducation, Computer "ided Instruction and 'earning, )ational &ducational )etwork, Munsyi )etwork and *mart *chools. In order to support the countrys ICT master plan, the education system has to !e transformed. It !egins with the training of teachers, school administrators and other school staff. "ll efforts are concentrated on the developing new medium of teaching, enhanced pedagogies, more effective organi ational structure in schools and stronger link !etween schools and society. The concept of ICT in education includes system that ena!le information gathering, management, manipulation, access and communication in various form. +ith such increased emphasis on ICT and a giant investment in its infrastructure, teachers are e,pected to fully utili e and effectively adopt ICT into the curriculum. Malaysia takes the initiative to further !oost the use of ICT in teaching and learning process. ICT making communication and management in schools more efficient and effective while teaching and learning processes grow to !e easier and more fun -Multimedia .evelopment Corporation, $%%/0. The use of ICT is dramatically growing. In &112 3Pro4ram Pen4a+aran dan Perbela+aran Berban#u5an 6ompu#er 7PPB689 was introduced to students in standards 1,/ and 2 at 3/ primary schools in *elangor. "fterward, Ministry of &ducation -M4&0 introduced a program called 36ompu#er Dalam Pendidi5an 76DP89 that emphasi ed the four main su!jects that is 5ahasa Melayu, &nglish, *ceince and Mathematic. In 3662, the Ministry of &ducation introduced the computer literacy su!jects as one of the steps of applying computer technology in education. +ith such increased emphasis on ICT and a giant investment in its infrastructure, the Ministry of &ducation implemented few programs throughout the years to integrate technology in curriculum. Tan *ri .ato .r 7ohari Mat, the *ecretary 8eneral of the M4&, introduced the 3Pasan4 Sendiri 6ompu#er9 Pro+ec# 7PS68 consecutively to increase the num!er of trained man power in the area of assem!ling and repairing computers in schools. In addition, Computer 8raphics and Multimedia (roduction -8rafik 5erkomputer dan (roduksi Multimedia0 is a vocational su!ject e,clusively offered to upper secondary students in vocational schools to fulfill the nations needs in the era of information technology and communication. The Ministry of &ducation is implementing a computeri ation program in schools to introduce ICT literacy to as many schools as possi!le, and thus reduce the digital divide to some e,tent. The Smar# School 9lagship is one of the seven flagship application envisioned under the Multimedia *uper Corridor initiative. This ICT-mediated project attempted to systematically transform the schools in terms of teaching and learning practices and

school management processes in order to prepare the students for the information age. In order to implement the initiatives, compu#er labora#ories were constructed on a large scale in schools. :p till May $%%6, more than 2,%%% schools were e;uipped with computer la!s. The la!oratories are e;uipped with !asic ICT facilities such as (Cs, 'ocal )etwork, printers and servers. The continued progress of ICT, the School$e# pro+ec# provides !road!and internet access to 3%%%% schools with the aim of !ridging the digital divide !etween pupils in ur!an, rural and remote areas. The :ireless School under unwiring school initiative was formed to ena!le schools to get connected internally and glo!ally. In the first phase of the pilot project, a!out <%% schools from 3%%%% schools in *chool)et (roject were tested through end of $%%/. It continues increased in second phase of the implementation when 3$%% school were provided with +i-9i in partnership with Intel. In 366=, the (rime Minister launched the Malaysian *mart *chool as one of the Multimedia *uper Corridors 9lagship "pplications. The aim was to take advantage on leadingedge technologies and the rapid deployment of the M*Cs infrastructure to jumpstart deployment of ena!ling technology to schools. In Malaysia, *mart *chools are not only categori ed !y the introduction of the technology, !ut polishing their a!ility to deliver education in a !etter way. The *mart *chool initiative encourage all-round development of individual covering the intellectual, physical, emotional, and spiritual domains, and secondly, to provide opportunities for the individual to develop his or her own special strengths and a!ilities. "lso, it related to the needs of society to produce a thinking workforce that is also technologically literate. "s a conclusion, continuing professional development for teachers, school heads, and other educational personnel must !e instituted. Teacher and their management need to give a lot of effort in order to achieve Ministry of education goals.