1 Introduction
The Classroom of the Future (CoTF) breaks away from the traditional understanding of “the classroom” being a room within a school where lessons take place. In the Classroom of the Future, learning takes place not only during the formal lessons taking place in the school’s classrooms and laboratories, but also in cafes, on the public transport and at home. I shall first describe my observations based on the CoTF tour, and discuss the extent of student-centredness of the learning tools featured in CoTF. I shall then go on to highlight some practical matters which should be considered before the CoTF model is adopted in schools. This is followed by a short conclusion and suggestions for improving the CoTF tour.
Disclaimer: This post reflects the opinion of an individual student teacher, and does not represent the view(s) of her employer and the institution where she is studying.
2 Observations and Discussion
In the classroom of the future, students are each given (or each own) a handheld computer, known as ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), which has a touch-screen. Students carry this handheld computer with them wherever they go, and most of their learning takes place with the help of these computers (together with other devices).
2.1 Cafe
This is a favourite hangout place among students, providing a relaxing environment for students to discuss their projects. When computers are placed on pull-out trays at the same table, students can see on the table’s touch-screen what’s going on in each other’s computers. This enables students to conduct their research work simultaneously and to read each other’s research findings, facilitating discussion within the project group.
The use of the handheld computers also allows the students to communicate with their overseas counterpart, e.g. with Amada, a French-speaking student in Canada, regarding her biology project about a particular bacteria strain. A translation programme built into the computer helps the Singaporean and Canadian students understand each other despite their language differences.
There is also a computer software that links the different concepts in a particular subject together in a mind-map, and identifies a student’s weak concepts based on tests he/she has taken. This helps to direct the student to the concepts he/she should spend more time and effort on, making independent learning less daunting.
2.2 Biology lab
The data collected from an experiment could be keyed into the handheld computer, and a programme (presumably some kind of spreadsheet such as MS Excel) generates the raw data into graphs. By superposing their graphs with that obtained by Amanda, the Singaporean and Canadian students could compare their findings. The use of IT therefore facilitates the organisation of raw data as well as data analysis, and allows for the exchange of experimental findings with overseas counterparts.
The students can consult an American expert in their project field regarding the differences between their findings and those of the Canadian student. The ability to communicate with both the Canadian student and the American prof. at the same time allows for easier collaborative efforts across countries/ continents.
2.3 MRT
Advertisements containing discount coupons, information about upcoming events etc seen at the MRT station can be scanned into the handheld computer by tapping the computer on a sensor. This helps to save time and effort (in copying the information onto a notebook etc), but I’d struggle to see the full extent of how it would make learning more student-centred. [Perhaps a kind soul could point that out.]
Using GPS, students can locate their classmates in other areas of Singapore. The ability to send and receive emails on the MRT suggests that the wireless network is available underground, enabling students to learn on the go. GPS is also useful for locating students during field trips, which allow students to explore and learn experientially. I have visited a primary school that has made use of handheld computers during a learning journey, though it must be said that the learning journey took place in an indoor location (the Science Museum), which allows for easier access to the wireless network. The students could make use of their handheld computers to write down notes, take photographs of the exhibits, complete their electronic worksheet and to consult a science expert when in doubt.
2.4 Smart home
Voice recognition can assist learning for those who are visually-impaired or physically disabled. In the world today, the availability of audio books, “reading” software programmes (which read out text on the computer screen) has certainly helped many visually-impaired students in getting access to information which would otherwise not be available to them.
Parents receive updates from the school about their children’s performance in school, helping to engage parents in monitoring their children’s learning and to establish better teacher-parent relationships.
Students complete their homework by playing an online shooting game against each other, and in the process learn about projectile motion through the game’s simulations. Multiple users can play the game at the same time, allowing for continued social interaction with classmates even at home and increasing the “fun level” of playing and learning. The use of simulations for teaching and of games as a means of assessment is student-centred, as it allows students to explore for themselves the principles of projectile motion. It also engages students as it matches students’ interest. However, by playing virtual games and interacting with their classmates by virtual means, perhaps students could get detached from real life. Specifically, the virtual shooting game could detach students from the consequences of real wars.
2.5 Classroom
Attendance is taken when students sit at a table with their handheld computers on their laps. While this could save some lesson time, a teacher who takes the system for granted and does not pay close attention may find herself having an imposter in her class, holding onto one of her student’s handheld computer!
The classroom wall is a backdrop where the simulation that can be changed according to the subject e.g. for physics the different concepts could be projected onto the wall for students to revise. This fanciful version of a notice-board has the advantage that more information could be displayed in a span of (say) one week, but also the disadvantage that students can no longer take their own time during recess or after school to process the information for themselves.
Each table used for group work has a touch-screen, on which students can write their thoughts, sketch graphs, etc, and from which they can read what the other groups have written, drawn, etc. The advantage of this system over the Smartboards seen in some schools at the moment is that the different groups are able to write/draw at the same time, and all these additional information can be read off a screen by all the students in a class.
Assessment activities can be marked by the teacher during the lesson (in a matter of one second!) using a software programme, which also indicates the time taken by different students to complete the activities. However, the assessment activities would be limited to simple multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank type questions, which merely test students’ ability to recall and not the higher order thinking skills.
3 Practical considerations
In order for students to be able to learn anytime, anywhere, the whole community has to be involved e.g. for cafes such as Starbucks to install infrared sensors and touch-screens at their tables, SMRT Corporation to install the necessary hardware and software for virtual advertisements which can be captured easily onto a handheld computer.
The intensive use of technology in schools would incur very high costs on schools i.e. heavier burden on tax-payers. Moreover, the income-divide between the “haves” and “have-nots” means that not all homes can afford the same level of technology. Would an increasing reliance on technology for learning serve to bridge the income-divide or would it further widen it?
There are also concerns that the widespread use of Wi-fi has implications for children’s health, as children’s skulls tend to be thinner (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/6674675.stm). While there is insufficient evidence at the moment to support the claim that Wi-fi radiation is harmful to children, some would argue that the day when sufficient evidence has been gathered might perhaps come too late. Would the government one day cordon off areas of the country, including schools, as “non Wi-fi zones”?
For collaborative work across countries/ continents, despite advances in technology which serve to break down geographical and language-related barriers, real time communication with Europe and the USA is still constrained by time differences. Would the nations one day decide that the different time zones create so much inconvenience (especially in the financial sector) that there would be a universal time zone, so that our daily routine no longer revolves around the sun or our biological clocks, but by (ironically) the “convenience” brought about by technology? But until that day, there are still contraints when it comes to communication across continents.
4 Conclusion and suggestions
To conclude, there are many aspects in CoTF which help to promote student-centred learning. In particular, the use of IT gives students access to a vast pool of information, information-processing tools, and facilitates interactions among students, and between students and teachers, both local and overseas. However, there are also features in CoTF, such as attendance-taking and the classroom wall, which in my humble opinion do not enhance learning to a large extent, as they are merely fanciful (and expensive) versions of what we see in classrooms of today.
To make the CoTF tour a more enriching one for “experiential learning”, perhaps student teachers could be given more time to explore and play with the handheld computers at the start of the tour. I must admit that when issued a handheld computer, I was rather distracted with playing with it such that I missed out the guide’s information on Groker, a kind of search engine. Also, it would be good if we were allowed to have a look at the “teacher” computer screen displaying all the activities going on in the students’ computers. It gives us a feel of what we could expect should the CoTF become a reality in the future.
Meanwhile, student teachers dare not set our hopes too high. We would be utmost grateful if resources could be allocated such that class sizes could be reduced to 15, as seen in CoTF!
