2013 Information Technology Education Staff Training Course (Unit 4) – “Planning and Management of School Information Technology”

Information Technology Education Staff Training Course (Unit 4):”Planning and Management of School Information Technology” Design and Report of Project Study was held in J210, Silver Jubilee Building, University of Macau, on 24 August. The programme was organized by Macau Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) and entrusted to Centre for Information and Communication Technology in Education, Faculty of Education, University of Macau. The invited guests are Mr. Kin Mou WONG, Director of Department of Research and Educational Resources; Dr. Iat Hang VONG, Head of Division of Research and Education Reform; Prof. Xitao FAN, Dean of FED and Prof. Jianxia DU, Director of Centre for Information and Communication Technology in Education.

Prof. Fan, Dean of Faculty of Education, UM, first delivered a welcome speech. He said that the development of information and communication technology is creating higher demands on technology teaching staff to integrate information technology with education, and the course aims to further improve the participants’ educational concept of information and technology, to enhance its role in school education. Mr. Kin Mou WONG, Director of Department of Research and Educational Resources, then gave a speech. He said that this course is to assist schools to carry out information and technology education, to enhance their strength of information and technology and to establish a more comprehensive environment for the development of information and technology.

Project-studied activities are held with a theme of “School Information Technology Planning and Management” and learners are divided into groups with five or six persons in each. Learners can share with each other different school situations and design a favorable proposal to improve school information technology education. The topics include “Tablet PC Teaching”, “Integration of Information Technology and Disciplines”, “Assessment and Planning of Schools’ Use of Information and Technology”, “Possibility of Mobile Learning in Primary and Secondary Schools”, “Promoting the application of the whiteboard in kindergartens and lower primary schools”, and “ICT Project for 2013-2014”

“Tablet PC Teaching” is aiming to increase information technology equipment in the classroom for facilitating teaching, which will fully develop students’ thinking and creativity. “Integration of Information Technology and Disciplines” is to introduce a learning platform to provide information, tools and resources backup for teachers, students, and parents. The team members of “Assessment and Planning of Schools’ Use of Information and Technology” conducted a survey on the construction and use of information and technology in schools, and concluded that students’ information literacy and attitudes, standards of campus network, standards of digital teaching materials and teaching software are badly needed.

“Possibility of Mobile Learning in Primary and Secondary Schools” revealed the school’s existing problems and offered solutions, such as improving network coverage and transmission speeds, establishing a comprehensive software database, and offering systematic teacher training. “Promoting the application of the whiteboard in kindergartens and lower primary schools” is designed to explore the use, difficulties and influencing factors of whiteboard in kindergartens and lower primary schools, and team members proposed that schools should make good use of resources and upgrade teaching staff’s learning and willingness to use the resources. “ICT Project for 2013-2014” intends to integrate information and communication technology with English, Portuguese and Mandarin teaching in kindergarten K1, K2, K3 classroom.

After these reports, the supervisors Prof. Jianxia DU, Dr. Kan Kan CHAN, Dr. Chun Wai FAN gave a few comments on each group. In the Q & A session, team members answered the questions of the audience and the participants took a picture together at the end of the course.