SSI 3013

ASSIGNMENT 1 : CHALLENGING SMART SCHOOL

LECTURER

: SIR AZMI IBRAHIM

GROUP MEMBERS

MATRIC NO

NURSHAHIDA BINTI ABU HASSAN

D20141067061

NUR HIDAYAH BINTI ABD HALIM

D20141067065

CHRIS ROXA ANGELLA BINTI SUPAIN

D20141067094

CONTENT

TOPIC

INTRODUCTION

CHALLENGERS IN SMART SCHOOL

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

PAGES

INTRODUCTION
Smart school is defined as ones that having learning institution that has been
systematically reinvented in terms of teaching and learning. The purpose of
Malaysian Smart School is to prepare children for the Information Age.
Smart School had become one of the seven flagship of the Multimedia Super
Corridor (MSC) that will carry out in 2000. Early in 1996, the Ministry of Education
was created laws of Smart School concept. There was teaching and learning based
on creative thinking. Technology as a important component in Smart School concept
when Smart school project exist as one of application that are part of Malaysian
Mutimedia Super Corridor (MSC).
The Malaysian Smart School has the following qualities:
-

a philosophy that says all students can learn if taught, coupled with high

expectations for all students

a broad curriculum that considers the different capabilities and needs of all

students
a school climate that is conducive to learning
an on-going assessment that supports good instruction
strong and professional principals and teachers
a high level of parent and community involvement and support

Teaching Learning Concept is related to Smart School Curriculum. The Smart

Schools Curriculum designed according to the best practices of other successful
Smart Schools before. The element in this curriculum will enable the education
system to achieve the goals of National Philosophy of Education.
The teaching and learning environment comprises four areas:
-

Curriculum: designed to help students achieve overall and balanced

development
Pedagogy: allows for appropriate mix of learning strategies to ensure mastery

of basic competencies and promotion of holistic development

Assessment: designed to give accurate feedback of students readiness,
progress, achievement and aptitude

Teaching-Learning Materials: cognitively challenging and motivating by

combining the best of network-based, teacher-based, and courseware
materials

The goals and objectives of Smart School contain five important agenda that need to
be fulfil which is provide all-round development of the individual (intellectual,
physical, emotional, spiritual), provide opportunities to enhance individual strengths
and abilities, produce a thinking and technology literate workforce, democratise
education and increase participation of stakeholders.

CHALLENGERS IN SMART SCHOOLS

There are some problems and challenges that we must face since the inception of
Smart Schools in Malaysia.
1. Heavy investment on facilities
In multimedia infrastructure aspect, Smart School invariably demand a heavy
investment on it. The hardware would include computers and peripherals,
video and voice conferencing equipment and the backbone
telecommunication infrastructure. The software will comprise word
processors, spreadsheets, networking software, e-mail software.
Apart from that, Smart Schools will require the creation of interlinked national
and local databases and resource centre to ensure it works properly. The
infrastructure is not incremental to the current information technology
deployment but orders of magnitude higher. The successful planning,
installation and maintenance will require a radical change in approach.
This is essential to ensure the optimum utilization of the facilities, which
otherwise could easily become an expensive high-tech means of doing more
of the same. Effective implementation of Smart School will require funding for
the building of new schools with all its multimedia infrastructure, upgrading
facilities in existing schools and teacher training institutions , and for the
maintenance of new technology introduced. We need to explored more on
innovative methods to achieve the targeted budget such as private sector

funding, corporate and community involvement, sponsorships and also wisely

used of the excellent infrastructure after school hours.
2. Lack of technological infrastructure and teaching materials in school
especially in rural area
As we know, there are limited internet connection in rural area. This is
because, this area in not well develop as the city area. Other than that, the
problem of limitation of infrastructure, such as computer labs lead to
ineffectiveness of technology supported teaching and learning.
Next, there is shortage of computers which will cause the students sharing a
computers and sometimes there is students who do not have the opportunity
to use the computers.
3. Teachers are lack of trainings
In early development of smart school, the teachers are having difficulties in
using ICT as they are quite lack of ICT knowledge. This cause poor
effectiveness in teaching and learning process. Some of the teachers has
been blended with traditional methods and difficult to adapt new instructional
technology.
There needs to be a careful addition of intensive training and counselling to
assist teachers adapt to the whole new environment. This training will have to
devote considerable attention to changing the mind-set of teachers, so that
they will understand that Smart Schools must provide the best and good
environment for self-directed and self-accesses learning of students in
classrooms.
4. Update the courseware
In term of material there is a need to make available a rapid and sustainable
supply of courseware in future and to have these constantly replenished and
updated. Courseware that we used has to be developed for all subjects in the
curriculum and to provide for the higher fliers, the average and the slow
students.
In this respect, maybe the greatest challenges will be to prepare courseware
to the slower students. This courseware will need to exhibit some features
such as interactive, cognitively challenging, with self-assessment and built-in

checkpoints for the teachers inputs. This will make easier to teachers to utilize
the courseware well and enhance the learning and teaching process.
5. Students attitude
Students are passive in teaching and learning process. They just listen to
teachers and doing nothing unless hoping fully to the teachers. This means,
they do not give full cooperation to the teachers and the learning process is
not going smoothly.
6. Involvement of parents
Most of parents are not really involved in this projects and too busy with their
work so that they can upgrade their life and provide the better environment to
their children. They think this Smart School program is the work for
government as well as teachers. Therefore, some of the parents cannot afford
to provide computers for their children. So, the students do not have the
opportunity to practice the ICT knowledge that they have gained.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Smart Schools will provide a golden opportunity for the Ministry of
Education to implement innovations to achieve the highest standards in education
and become a global leader in the field. Ensuring the successful implementation of
the nationwide expansion of the Smart School will require certain move such as a
long-term implementation plan for the period 2005-2020 will set performance targets
that will have to be met by the major players.

The plan would have to get the approval and fully backing of the government in
terms of its commitments to the goals of the Smart Schools. Obviously there is a
need to learn from successful existing and ongoing projects around the world and
then merge this learning with unique local requirements to create something that is
beyond and more advanced. The challenges ahead is a great one, but the rewards
will be just as great.

REFERENCES

https://www.scribd.com/doc/19782425/What-is-a-Smart-School
http://d20101037427.blogspot.my/p/malaysian-smart-school_15.html
http://www.mscmalaysia.my/sites/default/files/pdf/publications_references/Smart_Schoo
l_Blueprint.pdf