INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN

SCIENCE

(SSI3013)

REPORT

SMART SCHOOL IN MALAYSIA

Name NOR FARHANA ADILIN BT BASRI

(D20152072043)
SYAZWANIE ADILA BT MAT YAZID
(D20152072023)
PUNITHA A/P NARAYANASAMY
(D20152072028)
Lecturer ENCIK AZMI BIN IBRAHIM

Group B

Date 12 / 03 / 2018
 LIST OF CONTENT

1.0 Abstract …………………………………......................... 3

2.0 Introduction ……………………………………………... 3-5

3.0 Advantage ………………………………………………..5-7

4.0 Disadvantage …………………………………………….7-8

5.0 Challenging………………………………………………. 8

5.1 Investment in facilities …………………………….. 8

5.2 Lack of teacher’s competency ……………………... 9

5.3 Limited time ………………………………………. 9

5.4 School with limited technical support …………… 9-10

6.0 Conclusion………………………………………………. 10

7.0 Reference………………………………………………... 11

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TITLE
Smart School in Malaysia

1.0 ABSTRACT
Basically Malaysian smart school is one of the ideas for developing 21st century skills.
Smart School is a Malaysian education system which learning institution that reconstruct
systematically teaching-learning and school management in order to prepared children
for 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 an important component in Smart School concept when Smart School project exist
as one of application that are part of Malaysian Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC).

2.0 INTRODUCTION
For more than a century there is a lot of technology advances have brought the world closer
and profoundly changed education system. In Malaysia smart school was introduce as a new
teaching-learning process by using technology platform as a medium in teaching and learning.
Besides, with the existence of the smart school makes Malaysian education are on the higher level.
In the beginning, Smart School Project is rooted in the two-pronged objectives of the flagship,
which are to jumpstart the MSC towards the building a knowledge-based economy, contributing
to the growth of the ICT industry and creating a pool of talent resulting in high-value job creation.
Other than that, smart school project Prepare the citizens for the information age through an
innovative education delivery process.

Based on the definition, smart school is a learning institution that has been systemically
reinvented in terms of teaching-learning practices and school management in order to prepare
children for the Information Age. The progress smart school begin in Malaysia with the

i. Wave 1 Pilot Phase (1999 –2002) 88 school nationwide selected

ii. Wave 2 Post-Pilot (2002 –2005) Massive computerization phase to all 10,000
schools

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 iii. Wave 3 Making All Schools Smart (2005 -2010) Leveraging all ICT initiatives
iv. Wave 4 Consolidate & Stabilize (2010 –2020) Innovative practices using ICT
enculturated

The teaching and learning components in smart school consist of

i. Teaching and Learning

ii. Management and Administration
iii. People, Skills and Responsibilities
iv. Processes
v. Technology
vi. Policies

For Teaching-Learning Materials focused on the Interactive courseware and printed

materials for Mathematics, Science, English and Bahasa Melayu that enables students to practice
self- paced, self-accessed and self-directed learning. Four main components for the teaching and
learning are curriculum which is help students to achieve overall and balanced development
integrate knowledge, skills, values, and correct use of language. For the assessment it had been
designed to give accurate feedback of students’ readiness, progress, achievement and aptitude. But
for the pedagogy it will allows for appropriate mix of learning strategies to ensure mastery of basic
competencies and promotion of holistic development. The last one is the materials which is
cognitively challenging and motivating by combining the best of network-based, teacher-based,
and courseware materials.

Then, the management and administrations represents the driver or the “brain” of the Smart
School, is computerized. Besides, Management software helps the Smart School principals and
headmasters to manage more efficiently and effectively the resources and processes required to
support the teaching- learning functions. The 9 major functions of Smart School management are
listed as School governance, Student affairs, Educational resources, External resources, Finance,
Facilities, Human resources, Security and Technology.

For People, Skills and Responsibilities Stakeholders involved in the implementation of

Smart Schools will be equipped with specific skills and requisite knowledge base to enable them

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to play their roles effectively. While, processes focus on the Smart School processes which are
viewed as a system. These processes have been and will continuously be studied reviewed
carefully to ensure that the system provides accurate and functional input to produce the desired
output. Then, Technology is used as an enabler for Smart School practices in teaching-learning,
management, and communications with external constituencies and the last one is Policies which
is to ensure the successful implementation of the Smart School, changes in existing policies and
regulations, as well as the formulation of new policies and regulations, have to be conducted.

The characteristic of smart school are can be listed as Student-centred teaching & learning
Catering to different learning styles, Students exhibit Higher-Order Thinking Skills Self-paced
Self accessed Self-directed, Teachers and Administrators skillful in using ICT in daily tasks,
Creative and innovative teachers using ICT as enabler and accelerator for better teaching and
learning and Smart partnerships with various agencies.

3.0 ADVANTAGE
The smart school should be continued and improve by time because of the positive impact to
students. It helps teachers, student and school as well to improve academic achievement. This is
because the teaching and learning process that occurred in smart school nowadays included process
of curriculum, pedagogy and teaching-learning materials in order to prepare our student for
information age.

First of all, each student will be able to think critically when learning process occur in
classroom. The objective of learning will be achieved more easily because the students stay
focused in class. In addition to this, they more interested to learn in fun and enjoy condition. For
example, when the teacher showed something by using the attractive video, the student gave their
full attention because it looks more interesting rather than only hear teacher’s explaining. Other
than that, by using smart school strategies in pedagogy to deliver content in class, the student will
think critically because it is involve thinking, spirit and bodies in learning process. From that, our
student will be able to understand the topic that they learned clearly not only they just memorized
it. Besides, the smart school encourage student to be more creative and innovative. It can be proved
when the curriculum is more flexible and open which is mostly of the evaluation is on self-

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evaluation so that the student did all thing by themselves. The teacher act as facilitator to guide
and help student when learning process occurred at school.

The other advantage of smart school is to teacher. They can improve their learning
strategies by using technology in delivering their lesson. Addition to this, teacher can easily attract
the student to stay focused in a classroom. Benefit from this, teacher able to control the classes
during the lesson and make sure all of the student participated to the lesson. The goals of the lesson
also can achieve completely by using smart school strategies pedagogy which included skills and
academic achievement of student. Besides, the teacher also can enjoy when teaching because the
lesson not only teacher centered. All individuals in a classroom with participated the lesson and
gives the situation become fun and comfortable. From that, teacher not only use chalk and talk that
give boring environment rather than using technology as a teaching material. Teacher also can
improve themselves to designing learning activity to make sure all they can completely can
challenge student in cognitive, mental and physically. Teacher can use a lot of teaching method
such as by using graphic and video. From that, teacher can improve their multimedia skills.

Smart school not only give advantages to student and teacher in school, but it also gave
positive impact to school, parent and community as well. The smart school strategies help so much
in student achievement. From that, the school goals which is mission and vison to produce a student
that have complete skill not only in academic achievement only. It helps so much in managing and
lead student in school because most of the students have a good attitude. The student that take
greater responsibility for managing and directing their own learning so that they easily get used to
obey to the school’s law. So that the school can decrease the discipline problem that occur among
student. Parent are the most important person to make sure the student can success in their life.
Smart school also help parent to monitor their children on lesson progress. For example, the benefit
of smart school achievement is parent will be able to access on-line assessment items. So that,
parent know what to do and can helps to guide their children to complete the assessment correctly.
Besides, the parent and teacher also can communicate to discussing about each of their children to
make sure they didn’t have any problem in school. Smart school can produce perfect person in
academic and skills that can helps our community in future. They will be able to monitor economy,
national development and in religion also.

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 Last but not least, smart school can improve our student achievement and help national
development as well. This program should be take serious by the school because of the positive
impact that we can get from smart school. Smart school help student, teacher, school, parent and
community as well.

4.0 DISADVANTAGE

Every system has their pro and con same as smart school program. Because of that, not every
school use the smart school strategies in pedagogy and curriculum. The smart school is not so easy
to run in a school because it included technology that not every person expert and know how to
handle it.

One of the disadvantage of smart school is difficult to run. It is because smart school is use
technology and multimedia as a teaching material to deliver the lesson, so that person that work
with it must has talented and know everything about technology. Not all teacher at school expert
in this field and it sometimes take time to make sure everyone in a school can handle it perfectly.
Besides, student also must be provided with ICT information before the lesson occur to make sure
all of student can participated the activity during the lesson occurred. So that, school also must
make sure all of the person know how to work with technology by do the ICT seminar and ICT
classes to teach them. The problem here is they didn’t have so much time to doing all these.

Second, the smart school also need higher cost to run because included a lot of equipment.
Government need to spent a lot of money to make sure all of equipment to do lesson by using
technology. For example, the computer at least one for teacher and students in one room. Other
than that, the projector and software needed to use in class also must be provided as well. Addition
to this, government must provide an expert person to guide teacher and student to handle all the
equipment. The government need to pay them with higher salary and this can give effect the
national economy.

Third, the negative impact from smart school is due to the internet connection. Most of the
software need the internet coverage to run. This is a big problem to countryside school which is
has very slow internet coverage. So it can affect the lesson in time management and student focus.
Teacher need to have other plan to deliver the lesson not only focused to the technology as the

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deliver material every time to teach. Besides that, the slow learner student cannot catch up the
lesson as fast as the other. So that, the objective of the lesson cannot achieve by teacher and student.
This is because every student has different ability to learn.

All of us must cooperate and handle as of these problem if we want to run smart school
because it is not easy as we think. The importance thing that we should take serious is the
effectiveness of smart school. We also make sure that the lesson and content that need to deliver
to student can achieve.

5.0 CHALLENGES
The smart school is a learning institution that has been systematically reinvented in terms of
teaching-learning practices and school management in order to prepare children for Information
Age. As in the process of making the new generation furnished with the important information and
to enhance their skills, some of the challenges have been identified as a barrier to implementing
the smart school program all over of Malaysia. Studies of Eng Tek Ong and Kenneth Ruthven
(2010), show that even though smart school projects intended to prepare the younger generation
for scientific and technological careers, they have failed to accord with expectations as there are
some of challenges government faced implementing the project.

5.1 Investment in facilities

In expanding the smart school project all over Malaysia, Government needs to spend a lot of money
for electronic facilities and new books to ensure all the students get the equity in education. As we
know, there are some schools especially in the rural area that do not have complete ICT equipment
in their schools comparing the school in the urban area that has complete ICT equipment and lab.
To implement a smart school in a rural area, the government need to invest to build a new building
or lab to set all the ICT facilities. Therefore, the government has to invest more to set the facilities
in the rural area as the cost and maintenance fees for the facilities are high. This problem such a
big problem to teachers and student to achieve a goal of smart schools due to inadequate facilities
to them explore the world of ICT.

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5.2 Lack of teacher’s competency

Basically some teachers unable to teach a lesson using new technologies tools effectively.
According to Thang, Hall, Azman, and Joyce, 2011, teachers in smart schools have not been fully
instructed to manage the process of ICT integration into education. The school faced problem to
implement the smart school project when the old teachers not interested to use the technology
tools. These old teachers prefer and they feel more comfortable to use traditional method in the
class as they lack ICT knowledge. Therefore, it affects some new teachers who have an ICT
knowledge and willing to use new technology tools to teach in their classroom.

5.3 Limited time

The most common problem faced by all the teacher in schools is lack of time. Many teachers have
a knowledge and willing to use ICT tools in the classroom, but they do not utilize the facilities
fully because of lack of time. The time constraint becomes barrier for some teachers to use ICT in
their teaching and they found that ICT affect their ability to complete their task on time as it is
required more time to access it. The time required to access is including the time to find the internet
advice, preparing lessons, look into and execute the technology. According to Sicilia (2005), the
most common challenge reported by all the teachers was the lack of time they had to plan
technology lessons, explore the different Internet sites, or look at various aspects of educational
software.

5.4 School with limited technical support

Apart from lack of teacher’s competency and time constraint, limited technical support is also
become the major obstacle to ensure the smart school project to keep progress. This is because the
teachers in the schools are specialized in the teaching and they do not any skilled of ICT to repair
if there is any problem occur and most of the school do not have any technician to solve ICT
problem. Pelgrum (2001) found that in the view of primary and secondary teachers, one of the top
barriers to ICT use in education was lack of technical assistance. Lack of technical support in the
school might be a risk if there is any technical breakdown happens as ICT tools need to do technical

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maintenance regularly. This problem may discourage the teachers from using ICT in the class
because of the fear of equipment breaking down during a lesson.

6.0 CONCLUSION

The main objective of Smart School in Malaysia is to implementing ICT tools in teaching and
learning in the classroom among students and teachers as well and providing opportunities to
improve individual strengths, abilities and develop students physically and mentally for better
future. It also provides a platform for a new generation to learn the new technologies in schools
and encourage the school teacher to enhance their knowledge about the use of technology in the
classroom. Therefore, all the students, teachers, and the government should cooperate with each
other and help each other to achieve the goals.

7.0 REFERENCE

Eng Tek Ong, & Ruthven, K.. (2010). The distinctiveness and effectiveness of science
teaching in the Malaysian ‘Smart school’, Research in Science & Technological
Education, 28(1), 25-41

Pelgrum, W. J. (2001). Obstacles to the integration of ICT in education: results from a

worldwide educational assessment. Computers & Education, 37, 163‐178.

Sicilia, C. (2005). The Challenges and Benefits to Teachers' Practices in Constructivist

Learning Environments Supported by Technology. Unpublished master’s thesis,
McGill University, Montreal.

Smart School in Malaysia. Retrieved on March 10, 2018 from

http://www.jaet.jp/katudou/seminar_ict/Malaysia.pdf.

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Thang, S., Hall, C., Azman, H., & Joyes, G. (2010, July 25). Supporting Smart School
Teachers’ Continuing Professional Development in and through ICT: A model for
change. International Journal of Education and Development using ICT [Online], 6(2)

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