this is getting ridiculous, a school that requires all its
student to own a mac book? seriously??
Each student is required to purchase an Apple MacBook when
he enters Maris Stella High School. He will use the laptop to
complete his assignments and projects during lessons and while at
home.
Imagine a classroom where keyboards, laptops and touchscreen
monitors have replaced traditional pen, paper and chalkboard.
At Maris Stella High School, this is no dream. Sitting on a quiet
hill along Mount Vernon Road, the school is unlike any other in
Singapore.
For one, it makes it compulsory for all 1,500 of its
students — all the way from Sec. One to Sec. Four from next year
onwards – to purchase an Apple MacBook, which will be used for
school assignments and projects.
That’s not all. The school’s ground-breaking ”1:1 Learning
Programme” requires all teachers to conduct multi-touch interactive
lessons using Nintendo’s Wii Remote and Samsung’s flatscreen
TVs.
The school embraces technology on all fronts.
Fewer worksheets are given out to students. Instead, teachers post
classwork and homework assignments on the Studywiz e-learning
portal, and students access them via their MacBook while in school
or at home.
Assignments are done in various forms of software —
Microsoft Office for Mac (for creating documents) or GarageBand
(for making podcasts) — depending on the teacher’s
requirement.
Teachers actively use Google Docs to create forms for taking
attendance during CCA meetings. Each student and teacher has their
individual Maris Stella Google Mail address, and teachers can send
e-mails to a specific group of students — class, level, CCA or the
entire school.
Launched in September 2009, the school’s ”21st century classroom”
is equipped with infrared LED light pens, remote controls of the
popular Nintendo Wii gaming console, and Samsung’s flatscreen TVs,
which act as a multi-touch whiteboard. The classroom can house two
classes at one time.
Students from disadvantaged families who cannot afford the
MacBook will be rendered financial assistance and provisions will
be made for by the school (an entry level MacBook on the Apple
online store costs $1,488 while the higher-end MacBook Pro costs
anywhere between S$1,788 to $3,398).
The school even has its own Apple Service Centre situated
within its grounds in case students encounter any hardware or
software issues with their MacBook.
To discourage the unrestricted use of social networking
sites like Facebook and Twitter during school time, every student
has a unique username and password to the school’s wireless
network. As such, the school authorities can track down which
websites have been visited.
Random checks are also conducted and teachers often use Apple
Remote Desktop to monitor student internet activity.
In an interview with Yahoo! Singapore, Principal Mr Joseph Lim said
that the institution places a lot of emphasis on technology in
education, and has an excellent Information and Communication
Technology-orientated culture to inculcate a sense of
responsibility regarding the use of technology in students.
When asked about the impact of the 1:1 Learning Programme on
students’ academic results, Mr Lim said, “While we place a
lot of emphasis on technology, there’s always a balance, and I
don’t think it has affected much on our students’ academic
results.”
Darrell Tan, a Secondary One Maris Stella High School student,
supports the school’s whole-hearted embrace of technology.
“The 1:1 Learning Programme gives me an entirely different learning
environment and I’ve learned a lot from it — responsible use of
technology, how to record podcasts and short clips, and tricks to
better find information on the internet for my projects,” said the
13-year-old teen.
Maris Stella’s ground-breaking new program is also making waves
among the student community far and wide.
17-year-old South Korean high school student Nigel Kaian Luke Lee
from Daegu, Republic of Korea, told Yahoo! Singapore in an e-mail
reply that he is “envious of the level of technology integrated
into Maris Stella’s educational system”.
“I’m jealous. Republic of Korea can’t do it. Most teachers
have negative thoughts about modern technology. They think it’s not
efficient at all and creates unnecessary distractions for
students,” he said.
Stefan Etienne, a 14-year-old technology US blogger for LaptopMemo,
feels that tablets will play a significant role in the future
educational system.
“I see education moving to technolgy in all sorts of ways — the
tablet may just be the ideal answer, especially for young ones. And
the iPad may be a perfect learning tool. But I also believe
books will remain, at least for a while,” the
Florida-based Gulliver High School student told Yahoo! via
Skype.
But what of teachers – will they eventually be replaced by
technology too?
Ng Zhan Ming, a 16-year-old ASEAN scholar at Maris Stella High
thinks that teachers will not be out of job even though it
is a general thinking that technology reduces the need for manual
labour.
“Learning does not equal education. Technology can aid learning,
but can’t educate. Education is about personal development and
social skills, not just knowledge. Learning is only knowledge, so
there must still be a human element in education,” he
explained.
then don't go to the school...
lots of these "elite" schools are actually rubbish... the
schools don't need to teach anything because the students or their
parents are already pressured to be way ahead of the
curriculum..
i was from one of these "elite" schools way before the "elite"
rubbish became political... we were not taught anything at all...
those like me, had to go figure everything out by ourselves...
there is no need for these "elite" schools, and even lesser need
for macbooks in the class
