A Portal For Web-based Information System

For Secondary Schools In Malaysia

Mr.P.RAVICHANDRAN,
KOLEJ YAYASAN UEM,
Lembah Beringin, MALAYSIA

&

Dr. N.S.RAJENDRAN,
Associate Professor,
UPSI, Tanjong Malim, MALAYSIA
 Session plan
Introduction and Background
•Problem statement

•Objectives

•Research questions

Methodology
•Instruments and Sample

•Research procedure

•Data analysis

Discussion & Findings

Conclusion
 Introduction

Comparing the evidence of teachers using

ICT in schools twenty years ago with that
available today, it shows that there is a
steady growth of innovative and
experienced teachers able to use ICT to
improve their pupils' attainment. What is
needed now is a way of helping more
teachers and pupils benefit from these
opportunities and experiences.
(http://www.becta.org.uk, 2003).
 Introduction

Teacher must be trained to computer

education to make meaningful curricular
decisions when using them in classroom.
Data available suggest that teachers, even
those who have been trained, in general,
find it problematic to effectively infuse
technology into teaching using Web tools.
(http://www.ejisdc.org,2001).
 Introduction

Therefore, a maladjusted teachers has to be

empowered with the technology that is
vastly available.

Thus whenever new technology is

introduced into society, there must be a
counterbalancing human response… the
higher tech (it is), the more high touch (is
needed)” (Naisbett, 1984, P.35). For this
reason this study has been thought over.
 Background

Malaysia, as a nation that intends to be fully

developed by the year 2020 (Ahmad Sarji
Abdul Hamid, 1993), has embarked on
various information technology (IT) Projects
that will keep it abreast with the information
era ("Corridor of Power," 1997; Ministry of
Education, 1997).
 Background

One such project is the Smart School

concept, which is one of the seven flagship
applications in the Multimedia Super
Corridor ("Corridor of Power"). By the year
2010, all the estimated 10,000 Malaysian
schools will be Smart Schools, involving an
estimated enrolment of 5.8 million students
and 450,000 teachers (Ministry of
Education).
 Background

Although billions of dollars have been invested in

this area to integrate ICT with education, there
seems to be a big skepticism to impart ICT into
education and to prepare today’s teachers for
tomorrows’ demand.
As such there is a need to investigate how teachers
at the secondary schools in Malaysia can be looked
upon for effectively transferring their Pedagogical
content knowledge into teaching, using Technology.
 Aim & Significance
This study focuses on

2) The current skills and confidence level the teachers have

to integrate technology in teaching using Web-tools.

2) It attempts to find the attitude, knowledge, and belief the

teachers have in using Web-tools.

3) It finds a suitable method for the teachers at the

secondary schools, as to how they should be empowered
to use ICT in teaching in a Web-based environment and

4) It tries to find out how the teachers could adapt

themselves in a Web-based teaching environment.
 Research Questions
RQ 1:
What is the current level of knowledge, skills,
attitude and beliefs of the present secondary
school teachers in using Web-tools in
classrooms?

Ho: There is a significant difference between the

teachers having ICT knowledge and those
without ICT knowledge opting for Web-based
teaching

Ho: There is no significant difference in knowledge

and skills between rural and urban teachers in
using Web-tools, as a part of their teaching
tool
 Research Questions

RQ 2:
What learning opportunities do teachers have in
order to use Web-tools in their classroom teaching ?
 Research Questions
RQ 3:
How could teachers at secondary schools in Malaysia
be empowered to use ICT in teaching in a Web-based
environment?

a) How far can the teachers adapt themselves to Web-

tools?

c) What is the learning curve of the teachers while

infusing Web-tools in their teaching?

c) What kind of framework does the Ministry need to

promote the use of Web-tools based on the lifespan
and learning cycle of the teachers at the secondary
schools?
 Methodology
Quantitative

• Nine districts in the state of Perak

• Questionnaire administered to 216 Secondary Schools

• English, Mathematics and Science teachers who were

teaching the form-3 or form-4 classes were given
questionnaires.
 Methodology
Qualitative

• Observations and interviews with 10 teachers from 2 districts,

5 each from rural and urban school districts.
 Data Analysis
To assess pedagogical preferences and pedagogical acceptance of the Web-tools
in the teaching strategy, observation were designed based on Salmon’s 5-stage
model. The system design is shown below.
System design

Salmons’ 5 stage model

 Data Analysis

Web-tools
System design
Teachers’ attainment through various modules of Web-tools
 Discussion & Findings
From the table we can notice that three teachers (Vel, Loh and
Padhma) were not comfortable while journeying through the first
module of the Web-tools. This was also evident from their interviews
that they did not utilize the Web-tools in the classroom or seem to
have little commitment in using the technology as a pedagogical tool.

Vel: I think I did find many difficulties. If I do it continuously I think

it would not be a problem as a part of my job [2I5UA]. I have really
not tested it so it was only during the observation I have tested
[2I4UA].

Loh: I think there is no difficulty but I think I have to spend more

time in working with the Web-tools.[3I5RI]

Padhma: But.. when it comes to lesson plan and linking it to website

was bit difficult [3I5RG].
 Discussion & Findings

However, Suriathy, Krishna Kumar and Azila faced

problems during the Quiz and Web-tools
administration modules. Thus, only four out of these
seven teachers in this stage were able to adapt the
Web-tools so as to facilitate teaching within their
classroom and beyond.
 Discussion & Findings
These teachers with the experience gained with
commitment were able to modify and infuse
technology as a tool in their classroom. However, it is
quite difficult to estimate if such commitment and
ability of the teachers to infuse technology was due to
the additional knowledge these teachers had before
the conduct of the observations. Moreover, this has
to be seen in the context of Shulman’s argument
(1986), which states that having knowledge of subject
matter and general pedagogical strategies though
necessary is not sufficient for capturing the
knowledge of good teacher.
 Discussion & Findings

Although Shulman did not discuss technology and its

relationship to pedagogy and content, it was Punya
Mishara and Matthew J. Koehler (2006), who blended
technology with PCK (Pedagogical Content
Knowledge) and emerged with a new approach, called
TPCK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge).
This TPCK is a form of knowledge that expert
teachers bring into play anytime while integrating
technology with PCK.
 Discussion & Findings
For example, in the case of Khalijah, during her observation
session she mentioned that “I think yeah, everything I have
learned in this six observations are good, but as I mention now
there are few other things that you can do it to be more useful”
[3I4RF].
For me I’m a mathematics teacher so I need space for using
formulae, I need some thing that can be used to do calculations
and so on” [3I6RF].
From this statement, we can see that she is looking forward for
more added features, in addition to what she had mentions
“good” after all her six observations, thus we can see that there
seemed a “knowledge quest” and an uplift in her Technological
Pedagogical Content Knowledge.
 Discussion & Findings

Therefore, the four teachers who were able to infuse

Web-tools successfully without much hindrance and
integrate it in their classroom teaching were those
teachers who had sufficient TPCK (Technological
Pedagogical Content Knowledge), which seems to have
allowed them effectively to transform their subject
knowledge for the purpose of technology integration in
their teaching and able to modify their classroom
structure.
This finding concurs the model for the adoption of new technologies by
Hooper and Rieber (1995). They proposed a model that consists of five
specific phases: familiarization, utilization, integration, reorientation and
evolution.

In the familiarization phase, the teacher simply learns how

to use the technology.

At the utilization phase, the teacher uses technology in the classroom but
has little understanding of, or commitment to, the technology as a
pedagogical and learning tool
During the integration phase, the technology becomes an integral part of the
course in terms of delivery, learning, management, or other aspect of the
class

In the reorientation phase, the teacher uses the technology as a tool to

facilitate the reconsideration of the purpose and function of the classroom.

Finally, teachers who reach the evolution phase were continually able to
modify the classroom structure and pedagogy to include evolving learning
theory, technologies, and lessons learned from experience.
 Discussion & Findings
According to Hooper and Rieber, many teachers progress only to the
integration phase and do not transform their philosophical
orientation of how learning can occur in the classroom through
technology. From the various levels of attainment the teacher
participants managed to journey through the Web-tools, showed
that the lifespan of the majority of the teachers who were observed
with the Web-tools were able to progress only to the utilization
phase and not as mentioned by Hooper and Rieber that many
teachers progress until the integration phase. This is because
effective content integration takes time, and new technologies may
have glitches. As a result, teachers' first technology projects
generate excitement but often little content learning. Often it takes
a few years until teachers can use technology effectively in core
subject areas (Goldman, Cole, & Syer, 1999).
 Discussion & Findings

However, from the observation results only four teacher

participants (Gouri, Khalijah, Loh and Mohan) seem to have
experienced in the manner Salmons defines in his 5 stage
model. Therefore, we can see that the learning curves of the
rest of the teachers tend to bend as they progress through
different stage of Web-tool. However, there can be many
factors that influence the teachers in not effectively infusing the
Web-tools. Some of the predominant factors can be: i) desire to
adapt to new teaching style or ii) low level of self-efficacy or iii)
the unwillingness to shift from traditional modes of delivery to
Web-based teaching or iv) no conducive learning environment.
 Discussion & Findings
Thus it would be worth looking at the diagrammatic illustration, as to
how this transition affects the teachers’ level of attainments during the
integration of technology in their classrooms using Web-tools.
 Conclusion
This study attempted to find a means of empowering the secondary
school teachers in Malaysia by giving a new dimension in integrating
technology in their teaching using Web-tools.
Various reasons seem to have contributed towards this state of
pedagogical traits that exist among the secondary school teachers.
Some of them are contributed by the teachers themselves, and there are
other factors, which are contributed by various other players.
Although the reformers at the Ministry of Education seem to have a clear
objective when mandating technology teaching in secondary schools,
they may have failed to look upon the factors that can help teachers
carry out the transition from Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) to
Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK).
This study therefore serves as a portal for the reformers who wish to
integrate technology teaching using Web-tools with the conceptual
framework of Salmons 5-stage model.
 Conclusion
This study attempted to find a means of empowering the
secondary school teachers in Malaysia by giving a new dimension
in integrating technology in their teaching using Web-tools.

Although the reformers at the Ministry of Education seem to have

a clear objective when mandating technology teaching in
secondary schools, they may have failed to look upon the factors
that can help teachers carry out the transition from Pedagogical
Content Knowledge (PCK) to Technological Pedagogical Content
Knowledge (TPCK).

This study therefore serves as a portal for the reformers who wish
to integrate technology teaching using Web-tools with the
conceptual framework of Salmons 5-stage model.
.
 Bibliography

Goldman, S., Cole, K., & Syer, C. (1999). The technology/content dilemma
[Online].Available:
http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/techconf99/whitepapers/paper4.html
Hooper, S., & Rieber, L. P. (1995). Teaching with technology. In A. C.
Ornstein (Ed.), Teaching: Theory into practice, (pp. 154-170). Needham Heights,
MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Hossein Arsham,(1995). Interactive Education: Impact of Internet on
Learning and Teaching at: http://home.ubalt.edu/ntsbarsh/interactive.htm.
Naisbett, J. (1984). Megatrends. New York: Warner Books.
Noel LeJeune and Karen Richardson, (1998). Learning Theories Applied to
Web-Based Instruction.
Oliver, T.A. and Shapiro, F. (1993) Self-efficacy and computers. Journal of
Computer Based Instruction, 20 (3), 81-85.
Punya Mishra & Matthew.J.Koehler. Technological Pedagogical Content
Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge. Teachers College Record
Volume 108, Number 6, June 2006, pp.1017- 1054.