SMART SCHOOL CONCEPT

A SMART SCHOOL CONCEPT

Smart School is a Malaysian education system which is learning institution that reconstructs systematically teaching-learning and school management in order to prepared children for Information Age. 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 an important component in Smart School concept when Smart School project exists as one of application that is part of Malaysian Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). In the Information Age, a Smart School will evolve over time continuously developing its professional staff, education resources and its administrative capabilities to adapt to changing condition, while continuing to prepare student life.

The main components in the Malaysian Smart School, according to the Smart School conceptual Blueprint is teaching-learning process, management and administration, human resources, skills and responsibilities, process, technology and policy. Teaching and learning process were included the process of curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and teaching-learning materials in a mutually reinforcing, coherent manner. The curriculum process will help student achieve overall balanced development and integrate knowledge, skills, values, and correct use of language. Then, Smart School pedagogy will seek to make learning more interesting, motivating, stimulating and meaningful. It is also involve the children mind, spirit and bodies in the learning process.

THE ISSUES IN SMART SCHOOL

Implementation of Smart School is one of the improvement levels in teaching and learning process in our country. Our government comes out with this ideas to build Smart School because is compatible to our government intention to change Malaysia from develop country be Modern country. So, to build Smart School is one of the steps to make our country can archive target be a Modern country in year 2020. The product of smart school we generate the new ideas for make our country more develop and it can get their target to make modern country.  But to realization the Smart school we have so many issues and problem in this programme.

Firstly, the issues that we can observe based on reading The Smart School Blueprint and The Smart School Roadmap is high cost to sustaining the programmed. As we know, the Smart School program will built the modern school and the learning and teaching process based on the Information Communication and Technology, so to build the modern technology in the eighty- seven school involved it make our government must invest so many money to this project. Our country is developed country so the source of financial is limited, we does not have enough money to make the smart school to become reality.

Second issues for the Smart School implementation is smart learning concept have been written in The Smart School Blueprint not clear or not fully understood by commoners. It is an issue when public can not understand this programmed is difficult for government to implementation this smart school because they dos not have full supported from citizen. The programme can be successful by getting supports from others.

Other issues, lack of exposure to the concept of smart learning among school principle. School principle is the main stimulate for the school to achieve their successful in the school. If the principle not understand or not exposure to the concept of smart school,  then how can the principle brings the school to be a smart school without any understanding of the concept.

Last issue is constant breakdown of electricity supply especially in the rural area school. This is due to inability of existing system in schools to cope with increase usage of electricity. So, this program can not successful if not have enough energy because to turn on the computer we need energy supply if all students and teachers open the computer in one time the energy will breakdown because the energy supply is not enough. Government also must pay more to supply more energy.

 THE CHALLENGE OF SMART SCHOOL

Malaysia intends to transform its education system, in line with and in the support of the nation drive to full fill vision 2020 to make Malaysia a developed nation. The vision calls for sustained, productivity driven growth, which will be achievable only with a technologically literate. Therefore, the implementation of smart school is one of the way to increase the level of educational system. Transferring the educational system will entail changing the culture and practices of Malaysia’s primary and secondary school. The concepts of smart school is very different to the current system which is many changing need to adapted with the students, teachers, and school management.

            There are several main problems that need to be faced by the school systems as a challenge to achieve the Smart School level. Firstly, learning and teaching system in smart school totally will different with the current school system. The teachers faced with the challenge of dealing with a learning environment, which is borderless offers multi-modal learning pathways, and is resource rich. This implies that the teachers need to understand how an ICT- based learning environment as intended by the Smart School educating concept affects the student’s training and learning.

Most of the teachers in Malaysia, less exposure to the uses of technology, so the government should give special training of the way to the uses  ICT in classroom to ensure that the process of teaching and learning takes place effectively. Moreover, time constraints are one of the frequent issues stated by students and teachers. Some of the students felt that learning using a computer is very time consuming. Teachers said that they have to prepare 10 minutes earlier if they want to use a computer lab for teaching and it will disturb the process of teaching and learning. When the teachers only depends on  the ICT, it will cause the lack of variety in the teaching materials and method. Learning process should be done with the variety skills to enhance the thinking skill.  When the students only interact with the computer, the communication skills of students will be limited.

The others challenges concerning the implementation of the smart school concept is some of teachers complaints about the shortage of computers. The facilities, the computers and the equipments are limited. It gives problem to student and teacher to start the learning and teaching process. Sometimes the use of Information Technology does not necessarily make teaching easier because the computer sometimes can be a distraction for learning. This leads the students would prefer to play using the internet, which has been programmed with a variety of entertainment such as face book, YouTube, twitter and so on. Not only that, internet connection is one of problem in Smart Schools.

            According to the teacher at the school, the internet connection is slow at night, a bit faster in daytime and sometimes jammed. It did not allow students to open more than three windows at the same time because it will crash. Teachers also said that it is difficult to use the Internet as a learning tool since the information is scattered and not related to the teacher’s lessons. One teacher said that she had to search all the available websites and choose for her classroom unlike Math and Science, which have many sources available on the Internet for Smart teaching. However, there are also private agencies who have tried to establish learning portals and websites according to smart school standards. 

Besides, the Smart Schools software was not compatible with the national textbooks. One of student suggested looking into this problem and upgrading the Smart software in accordance with the national textbook.  The reason for that, according to the students, is that they have to answer the exam questions, which are based on the textbook. Some of the student said that some of the content in Malay Language software is not so important, and suggested it should not be included in the software and something there was wrong information in the software.

Smart School management can be managing efficiently and effectively when the primary objective were correlation with the resources and processes that required to support the teaching-learning function. The Smart School management will need strong profesional administrators and teacher who can articulate school goals clearly, lead teaching at the school, and elicit strong parental and community support to full-fill its objective.

Finally, Smart School is important in Malaysian education system in line with and in support of the nation drive to full fill Vision of 2020. At the same time, the individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonious can be well produce. In conclusion, participants acknowledged that the changes in Smart Schools were very much related to the changes in computer technology. Smart Schools were created to meet the demands and challenges of the Information Age, to cater for the needs of ICT literate schools in Malaysia. One teacher who said: “The change towards Smart Schools is based on a general concept; technology changes, therefore education changes as well”.

ENHANCEMENT OF SMART SCHOOL PROGRAMME

To make this Smart School Programme becomes reality, the problems and challenges emerged must be recover to ensure that this programme can be succeed. Based on the challenges which have to be faced by this programme, it shows that our government with the aiding of non-government institution can be settled down and find out the solution for these challenges. Since we know that, one of the Smart School Programme vision is to prepare the citizens for the information age through an innovative education delivery process, this programme should getting the supports from all parties. Therefore, every party must plays their roles in order to educate our Malaysian citizens and give exposure to them about this Smart School Programme. One of the solutions is by organizing a campaign about this Smart School Programme. This campaign should be taken part from all parties by having target delivery people. They can use the technology as a medium to educate Malaysian about this programme such via the mobile phone, radio, television, magazines, advertisement,pamphlet and others. By this, people may understand better about Smart School Programme and encourage them to give their all in order to achieve the vision.

Besides a public campaign, our ministry of education also can play their role by providing a teachers training on ICT to improve the services of teaching and learning process. Introducing the intensify change management programmes and pedagogy training for all teachers on how to integrate ICT in teaching and learning more efficiently. By this, our teachers having their own capability to handle the technology tools efficiently which is used in a smart school. Furthermore, with the bursting use of technology in our country, it is not difficult for student to follow the teaching and learning process using the ICT nowadays. Even thought, student in rural area very rare with this technology but nowadays, it is not possible because our government have been distribute so many electronic note book all over the rural school. This is one of the strategies of government to improve the facilities of technology in teaching and learning process.

This is due to problems of most schools having reported that the computer labs were not adequate in number. A number of schools did not have enough computers for students’ use. So that, our government tried to solve this problems by distributing the electronic note book among the student. Besides, the hardware problems related to the LAN, PCs and servers were also reported.Since the enhancement of Smart School Programme is in progressing, our government still is trying their best to recover this problem. In conclusion, there are others strategies that can be use to ensure that this Smart School Programme can achieve its target and visions. Therefore, all parties whether government and non government institutions should play their role so that our education system especially in terms of teaching and learning process using ICT can be succeed.