Physical education curriculum systems and the use of technology in Singapore schools

Abstract

A review of computer applications in physical education in schools around the world reveals an adhoc collection of software and CD-ROM being used in various ways and with different outcomes in mind. Most of it not produced for school age students and the majority of it not readily available in Singapore. What compounds the problem is the actual or perceived pressure on teachers to integrate IT in all subjects in the school. Hence it is done possibly for the sake of doing it rather than have it contribute to previously determined curriculum goals or instructional outcomes. The ‘higher ground’ would suggest that PE departments should revisit the purposes of physical education in schools with a view to understanding if any aspects of the curriculum can be enhanced through the use of IT. Theoretically, the result would mean a paradigm shift in our approach to the curriculum and what it could achieve with the help of an IT integrated facility. The Physical Education Information System (PEIS) is a comprehensive PE department management information system that among other things facilitates teacher decision making and should enhance mainstream physical education curriculum services. Central to the curriculum aspect of Singapore’s PEIS are a series of web based instructional materials used to compliment the PE lessons in school. The lessons could be undertaken as homework using both instructional theories of learning as well as constructivist learning assumptions. The hypermedia materials are then developed in class in small and large group settings.