Implementation of challenges

The Malaysian approach to embedding ICTs firmly within our educational culture has been through the creation of Smart Schools. In the previous units, you were introduced to our concept of Smart Schools as well as a study on the implementation of the Smart School programme by scholars at UKM and UNIMAS. The Malaysian approach to the creation of the Smart Schools has all the hallmarks of orderly planning which comprises a seven stage cycle. These are:

Stage 1: Creating a national ICT policy with specific goals
Stage 2: Embedding ICT for education within the national strategy
Stage 3: Clarifying the national curriculum in response to the technology environment
Stage 4: Identifying appropriate technologies and approaches to meet the demands of the curricula
Stage 5: Building the capacities of both the teaching staff as well as administrators involved in the programme
Stage 6: Implementing of the programme
Stage 7. Conducting periodic monitoring and evaluation of progress made.

Figure 5.1 Planning approach to ICT introduction in schools
Source: Policy on ICT in Education Malaysia: a report by MSC and Frost and Sullivan (2010) extracted from www.mscmalaysia.my on 30 June, 2012

In 2010 the Malaysian Multimedia Super Corridor Agency jointly commissioned a review of Ministry fo Education's ICT policy and progress with a consulting company called Frost and Sullivan. Read the preamble section of this report as your next activity. You are encouraged to brief through the entire report to further strengthen your understanding.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has been pursuing a policy of both introducing and inculcating an ICT receptive environment in all National Type Schools. Many have praised the MOE for its efforts. In 2010, one of its officers presented a report on ICT in our school system. You are encouraged to read this report following which you may wish to compare your personal experience with those described by Dr. Shamsuddin in Table 4 in his paper ‘Integrating ICT in Teaching and Learning: Country Report: Malaysia' (Activity 5.3).

While policy initiatives such as those described by Dr. Shamsuddin bring about change in educational systems, such changes, unfortunately, do not seem to benefit all parties across the board. It is not because policy initiatives by itself discriminate, but personal, community and infrastructure differences can marginalise some and benefit others.

In the next two sections we will consider how individuals and institutions attempt to ensure that benefits brought about by the use of ICT can be made more inclusive by the creativity of teachers and schools.