About the microLESSONS

Introduction to the microLESSONS research project

In line with the IT Master Plan for Education, there is a need to investigate how IT can be integrated fully
into the school curriculum.
Teacher training plays a vital role in the successful implementation of the IT Master Plan. As part of the
Initial Teacher Training programme, the School of Education (SOE) conducts training in the use of IT,
especially in the integration of IT into the school curriculum. In the IT Foundation and Elective courses
conducted by the Instructional Science Division, trainee teachers, in collaboration with faculty members,
produce IT instructional materials. We call these computer-based instructional materials microLESSONS.
The microLESSONS are focused IT-based instructional components that are developed to teach specific
objectives within a lesson. The microLESSONS could consist of instructional activities, simulations,
games, problem-solving activities, mother-tongue materials, and teacher-presentation materials. They are
developed to fit the instructional needs of teachers and students and their production is based on sound
Instructional Design principles.
Teachers have problems locating commercially developed materials that are suitable to our schools'
curriculum and thus there is a need to produce our own materials. In this project, the microLESSONS will
be developed, evaluated, selected and compiled into a resource for school teachers and will be
categorised into subject areas and into primary, secondary and JC levels. This R & D project will help to fill
the need for locally produced instructional materials.

Objectives of the microLESSONS research project

1.
2.
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7.

To
To
To
To
To
To
To

develop guidelines for microLESSONS development.

conduct training sessions on microLESSONS development.
design and develop evaluative tools for selection.
conduct evaluation and selection of microLESSONS.
produce prototype microLESSONS.
test prototypes for quality.
evaluate the effectiveness of the microLESSONS in schools.
introduction | objectives | funding | personnel | address | top

Funding
The microLESSONS project started in 1998 as an NIE funded research project (RP4/98 PW). A number of
samples of microLESSONS were brought before various presentations and exhibitions and the response
from teachers were very positive. In early 1999, NIE produced a sample microLESSONS CD-ROM and
response from teachers and trainee teachers was good. In Jan 2000, Ednovation approached NIE
expressing interest in distributing microLESSONS to schools and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
was signed on 16 February 2000. In the MOU, Ednovation will provide further financial and technical

support to develop the microLESSONS.

Are microlessons always videos?

Nope!
Microlessons can be any format, but there is a focus on web-deliverable media.
Additionally, they should be small enough/simple enough to download quickly to the
student's browser. Videos and games are nice due to the ability to feed multiple
senses at once, but text based information is fine as well.
As a general rule of thumb, though, if the page has a scroll bar, it will take more
than 90 seconds to read.
Additionally, not all instruction has to happen through microlessons. Microlessons
should replace all parts of instruction designed to statically communicate facts, but
there is no need to replace activities or curicular elements which are already highly
interactive. This means it is entirely acceptable to design a project that takes more
than 90 seconds to complete, or to design a game that takes more than 90 seconds
to play, provided that it is engaging. On a similar note, if music is still engaging
after 90 seconds, it may be acceptable to use it as an instructional element. On the
other hand, what happens if you play the song at double speed?

What are microLESSONS?

microLESSONS are IT-based instructional
materials that are used to teach specific
objectives. They are small and specific
unitsof instruction for teachers to use within
lessons. The microLESSONS developed span
many curricular content areas, and are suitable
for supporting a wide variety of learning
outcomes. The majority of the microLESSONS
are student-centered materials that
incorporate various computer features (e.g.
animation, graphics, sound, interactivity) that
will enhance the teaching-learning process.

1st generation
microLESSONS
In the first generation microLESSONS, the
projects were mainly student-centered projects

Five Instructional Approaches How

MicroLESSONS Can Be Used in
Schools
We can now classify these microLESSONS into
five types:
1) Resource-based
In this approach, various links to the WWW can
be established and students will access the
web sites to collect information, facts, opinions
and then synthesize them or compare the
different viewpoints.
2) Problem-based
microLESSONS can now be used to present
"instructional problems" in a multimedia fashion
through which activities can be formulated and
where students can be engaged in the process
of investigation and problem-solving. For
example, a video-clip of a water shortage
problem in Singapore can be presented and

adopting a direct instructional approach. Most

of the microLESSONS developed under this
phase adopted one of these common modes of
instruction: tutorial (teach some content and
then test the students' understanding of the
content), drill or informational multimedia.
These are mainly used for transmission of
knowledge in curricular areas. Multimedia
features are also used in these microLESSONS
to help enhance the learning process.

2nd generation
microLESSONS
In the second generation microLESSONS, the
learning paradigm has shifted from knowledge
transmission (as in the 1st Generation lessons)
to one which allows students to explore,
construct and create knowledge through
various computer-based learning activities.
Generally, these microLESSONS consist of two
parts. In the first part, students are presented
with some multimedia instructional materials
and these could be in the form of an ill-defined
problem, a case study, a scenario, or a
situation. In the second part, the students may
access some linked documents that requires
them to be involved in some form of higher
order activities such as generating possible
solutions, solving complex problems, accessing
the web to collect information, exploring a
simulation or to collaborate on a piece of work.

students would be made to undergo a

scientifically sound investigative process where
possible causes and solutions found.
3) Case-based
Another more generic approach besides the
problem-based method is for a "case" or
scenario to be presented to students through
the microLESSONS. Through such an
approach, students would have to consider the
learning situations and the problems associated
with it. From the considerations of problemidentification, students can then be made to
determine the possible solutions and
alternatives. Through the process, students
need to access other resources most possibly
from the WWW.
4) Collaborative-based
In this approach, students can be asked to work
collaboratively or in pairs to undergo an

Objectives

1. The primary objective of this project is to develop highly focused teaching materials that use the
power of IT to enhance the learning process. These teaching materials are not major development
units (such as those that may be found in many CD-ROMs). Those types of materials are usually
intended to comprise an entire lesson (such as teaching students how to multiply fractions).
Our microLESSONS, as the name implies, are instructional materials that are specific enough for
teachers to use within larger lessons. They are not intended to cover a whole lesson or section of
the curriculum.
2. A second objective of this project is to make the lessons available to all Singapore teachers in an
easily accessible form. The microLESSONS you will develop will span many curricular content
areas, and will be suitable to support a wide variety of learning outcomes. We intend to distribute
these materials to schools via Intranets, and in the future, through the Internet. These
microLESSONS will serve as resources for teachers who wish to incorporate IT into their teaching.
This is one way of overcoming the shortage of appropriate software for our school curriculum.

The software tool

Types of projects
We envision several types of projects that could be developed at NIE:
Using the enhanced features of Powerpoint 97 (e.g. hyperlinks, animation, builds, etc.), microLESSONS
that incorporate simple but effective presentation techniques can be developed. They can also permit a
useful degree of interaction. MicroLESSONS can be prepared for use as self-instructional materials: the
students (either individually or as a group) sit at the computer and engage in the materials.
We are proposing 5 different learning models for you to follow:

Resource-based learning

Problem-based learning

Case-based learning

Collaborative-based learning

Simulation-based learning

What you should concentrate on

Do not be concerned with the colours and design of the microLESSONS. Instead be concerned with the
teaching strategy that you use. We are providing some design templates that you can use so you dont
have to worry whether your design looks good or not. Instead concentrate on the content and the teaching
strategies. In other words, ask yourself: how can you help the students learn? What kinds of learning
activities have you designed? Do the activities promote thinking?
You should also plan your microLESSON carefully before you start. We are also providing a planning
guide, a content checklist and a design checklist to make it easier to generate these lessons.

Some Do's and Donts

Since we are distributing materials to teachers in the schools, we have to provide some do's and donts so
that we do not run foul of the law or breach good ethical behaviour.
A couple Donts

Don't extract any text from printed materials, the Internet, CD-ROMS, or other sources without
quoting the source. If you use someone else's words and do not attribute them, you are plagiarising
(a serious ethical, and sometimes legal, offense).

Dont overuse animation effects found in Powerpoint. (E.g. dont use the "typewriter" effect with
sound on every slide and on every text that appears. It gets irritating after a while.)

Don't use commercial and/or copyrighted materials videos, pictures, cartoon characters, music.

Specifics:
o

No trademarked characters from books, websites, etc. This also means scanned pictures
from textbooks or storybooks are not allowed. (E.g. All of the Disney characters are
corporate trademarks, so you may NOT use them. The same goes for the Simpsons,
Peanuts, etc.)

No copyrighted graphics, pictures, sounds, or video clips from the Internet.

No materials from school textbooks, e.g. Pets workbook materials.

No video materials from videotapes, VCDs, DVDs, or other CD-ROMs.

No pictures from copyrighted CD-ROMs.

No copyrighted music from audio CDs (e.g., no music clips from The Titanic).

Some Do's

Do reword and rephrase text you find from an outside source. Remember copyright does not apply
toideas but to the expression of ideas.

Use pictures from many of the clip art CD-ROMs that can be easily found in software stores or in
our ECL library.

Use royalty-free pictures from Internet (please cite web address in your "credits").

Use only public-domain sound clips from Internet (e.g., speeches, classical music MIDI files, etc.).

Use historical pictures from magazines, books, but not from commercial CD-ROMs (e.g., dont use
World War II pictures from Microsoft Encarta) again, please cite all sources from where you
obtained this kind of information.

Include music from royalty-free CD-ROMs.

Do seek written permission if you use any copyrighted materials.

Content Planning for microLESSONS

(You may download a Word document version of this page here.)

1. Identify your learners.

2. Brainstorm: identify some problem areas in your curriculum subject.
Examples: a section of a topic that is very hard to teach in a traditional manner; an abstract topic; a
difficult problem to solve; something that is best taught by using lots of visuals or animations. Make sure
your topic is relevant to the school curriculum.

3. State clearly the objectives that you hope to achieve.

When you write objectives, state what the students can do at the end of the lesson. Remember this is a
microLESSON. Therefore, try to satisfy one or two objectives only. Use Blooms taxonomy to formulate
higher level objectives.

4. Choose appropriate examples, scenarios, case studies, stories, questions or

problems that will help you to achieve the objectives.
Develop your ideas and stories here. Sketch out your plan and discuss it with your tutor for feedback. Be
innovative! Check previous examples of microLESSONS to get some ideas. You can prepare storyboards
to help in your planning.

5. Design student activities that will promote thinking rather than just recall of
information.
Powerpoint presentations can also be linked to an Excel spreadsheet, a Word document, a web page with
Java applets, etc. You can also use the Internet as a resource for your lessons.

Checklist for appropriate content

Does your microLESSON follow any of the following formats?

Problem-based learning

Where the students are given ill-structured problems and are required to source for information to
solve the problems or to suggest possible solutions to the problems.

Case-based learning

Where students are given well-defined problems or scenarios from which they have to source for
information in order to suggest possible solutions.

Resource-based learning

Where students can source for print or non-print resources that will provide them with a better
understanding of the task at hand. This category can also be part of problem-based learning and
case-based learning.

Simulation-based learning

Where students take into account the information given or source for information in order to
"experience" a situation from which they learn.

Collaborative-based learning

Students can be asked to work in pairs or in small groups on an exercise. For example, tasks can
be assigned to different individuals and they work on different pieces of the "puzzle". Later they
come together to construct the entire "jig-saw puzzle".

Note: the examples shown to you during the tutorials or provided at the website will better
illustrate the format of the microLESSON.

GENERAL
What is a "second generation" microLESSON?
It is a PowerPoint based lesson that fulfils one or two specific objectives and encourages higher order
thinking/skills, e.g. decision making, hypothesis testing, collaborative work, role play, etc. Very often, such
lessons will launch external files (Word documents, interactive Excel spreadsheets, Java or javascript
enhanced HTML files, web pages, etc) to enhance the learning experience.
There are no sample microLESSONS for the subject that I shall teach. Can you put some up on the
website in future?
Ideally there should be a sample for each subject. But this is not practical nor necessary.
The samples put online serve to illustrate the ideas or approaches that may be used in producing a
microLESSON. Having an example of various approaches for each subject is time- and space-consuming.
Instead, you can apply the ideas from a sample into any microLESSON that you design and construct. You
may also combine ideas or come up with your own.

POWERPOINT
Can I use FrontPage to produce a microLESSON (i.e. create web pages)?
No, microLESSONS are PowerPoint based. However, you may produce HTML files to support your
microLESSON.
Why are microLESSONS PowerPoint based?
PowerPoint is a common tool in schools and most teachers are familiar with it. Teachers can easily modify
microLESSONS to suit their needs. Many teachers do not know how to produce or edit web pages. (Not yet
anyway.)
Can I prepare my microLESSON with PowerPoint 2000?
Yes, but remember to save it in a format that PowerPoint 97 can read. (Note that some projects prepared in
PowerPoint 2000 are larger than if prepared in PowerPoint 97.)

COPYRIGHT / IMAGES
Can I use scanned images from a text/reference book?
No, the images belong to the publisher of the book and are therefore copyrighted. This also applies to any
magazine, newsletter, postcard or even pamphlet where the publisher is stated.

What can I scan? What alternative sources of images are there?

You may choose to scan your own photographs, drawings or even 3-D objects. You may use the MS clip art
collection that comes as a standard with MS Office. You may also use the numerous clip art and photo CDROMs that NIE has bought (look for them in ECL 1 and 7). You may use your own clip art CD-ROMs if you
wish but remember to state the publisher of the CD-ROM. If you decide to use images or clip art from the
web, remember to check the terms of use at that web site (ask the webmaster of that site if in doubt) and
acknowledge the site in your microLESSON.
Can I photograph or scan logos or labels?
These items are trademarks and should not pose a problem. (If anything at all, they provide free advertising
for the company or organsation!) However, you may opt to blur, smudge or pixelate the brand name if you
do not want to create a bias. An alternative to this is to create fictitious names for shops or naming items
Brand X and Brand Y.

TEMPLATES
Must I use every slide in the templates provided?
No, you may add any slides you need or remove those you do not require. For example, your
microLESSON might have four sections while the template provides only three. Or the template may
include a Q&A section that you do not need.

MISCELLANEOUS
I have a question that is not addressed here. How can I get help?
First make sure that you have read the information in the other sections of this website. Next approach your
tutor for advice. Finally you can e-mail the Project Officer (Mr Wan Fareed) or the Principal Investigator
(A/P Philip Wong).
I would like to join the team of project editors. How do I do this and what requirements are there?
Can you provide details about what the editors do?
E-mail the Project Officer and indicate your interest.
Ideally, a project assistant should be a teacher or teacher trainee who has a good sense for design and an
eye for detail. It helps if you are creative and take pride in your work. You should be competent with the
standard MS Office software and one image editing program (e.g. Adobe Photoshop). That aside, it is more
important that you are committed, willing to learn and able to interact well with workmates.