The Walls (Dindings) Blogs

ICT Training For All

It is probably true that pupils have much higher ICT levels of ability than many of those in the teaching profession. ICT is the new literacy skills and teachers have to grasp any available opportunity to enhance their ICT skills if they are to use it in the teaching and learning process. Pupils cannot be expected to become adepted at the new technologies if the teachers themselves do not fully appreciate the potentials of these technologies.

Continuous professional development is the key to effective technology integration. Teachers need to access the technology as much as the students. They need longer time to acquire the new skills and to integrate technology into the curriculum. Thorough integration of ICT into the learning process will fundamentally change the role of teachers. Teachers will have less instructional role and more guidance function.

SMJK Dindings provides a wide selection in-service ICT training for teachers and administrative staff. In SMJK Dindings, all the staff members attend computer lessons, 1.5 hours per week, learning more about email programs, Internet search tools, Web Designing, MS Office, PC Hardware and trouble-shooting, Window XP Installation, CD Burning, Digital Photography and Printing. Training for in-house systems such as School Management System (SMS) is in-depth and ongoing to update users of any changes

Mr. Gerry Smith of River Oaks Public School said that if we can restructure the curriculum properly we would not have to worry about how the technology fits. Technology should become almost transparent in the learning process for students and teachers. ICT has become a pervasive tool in SMJK Dindings. It is a tool for learning, like pencil, and is used by students and teachers where it will help them to be more efficient, productive and creative focusing more on learning curriculum concepts while ICT is merely used as a resource.

ICT Training for students in Remove to Form 3, 80 minutes per week

· Remove and Form 1: Window 2000, Office package, eMail, Internet

· Form 2: UNIX, PC Hardware, Installing Window OS, Networking, Digital Photography

· Form 3: Digital Photography, Networking, HTML and VB Programming

Pupils learn about ICT and how to use the skills to acquire further knowledge in various subjects and curriculur areas. It is hoped that with enough encouragement and guidance from the teachers, the students will be able to use the ICT skills acquired to look up for materials in the Internet relevant to their subjects and curriculum areas.

SMJK Dindings collaborates with ICT companies in providing various training for the cyber brigades. These trainings include:

• Partner in Learning (PIL) with Microsoft Malaysia in PC Help Desk
• My Directory and Red Hat, USA for Red Hat Academy Programs
• Mynet and Thomas and Betts, USA for structural cabling TIA/EIA 568
• 3Com Asia Pacific Netprep program in Local Area Networking
• De’Fastec Computer Sdn Bhd for PC Hardware trouble-shooting and HP Laserjet printer maintenance.