Yesterday, I was privileged to attend a seminar at the Crescent Girls School in Singapore, one of the nation’s “Future Schools”. This is one of five schools on the island that is pioneering the use of technology in education.
A few highlights, in order of amazement:
1. A device in the main corridor takes attendance through fingerprint scanning. It also has an infrared sensor that determines the student’s body temperature, thus screening for fever-based illnesses (such as SARS and H1N1)
2. The virtual reality lab, with 3D models of soil erosion . You have to get your very cool 3D goggles on to see it. 3D is not just for Avatar!
3. The “One to One” program, where every child (1200 of them so far) has a personal computing device. In this case, a Windows-powered Tablet PC.
4. Use of the Wii as an instructional tool. I noticed Wii Sports and the Balance Board in heavy use.
Singapore is leading the World in the use of technology in Education.
I’ll say it again: Singapore is leading the World…
Alam Kasenally was born in London and began travel writing at age 5. His first essay, “Why I want to live in America” was written on a jagged scrap of paper and described his enchantment by the World’s biggest cars and “buildings that touched the sky”. He has since lived in Mauritius, France and Hong Kong and has finally achieved his life-long dream of living in the San Francisco Bay Area. His passions include kids, improv, flying, swimming, the quest for the perfect pain au chocolat and writing. In his spare time, he’s an entrepreneur, working on bringing technology to education.
