Chew, Lee Chin

In an effort to spearhead the use of IT for education, the Centre for Learning Technologies, which is jointly set up by the Ministry of Education, Kent Ridge Digital Labs and Infocomm Development Authority, has embarked on an R&D project named eduTOOLS. This project aims to provide teachers and students a suite of on-line tools for project work. For the teachers, the use of these tools could help them monitor and assess students' project work processes and products. For the students, these tools could help them collaborate on-line in their project work with other group members. Also available to students are a collection of recommended project resources and a list of experts. This paper reports on the development of eduTOOLS by examining the conceptual and technical aspects of each tool. The discussions bear implications to the use of IT for project work and some pertinent issues for consideration.

School-based testing is an integral part of the teaching and learning process, and it provides teachers with vital information about students' learning progress. What are the current practices in school testing in Singapore, and what are some of the issues arising therefrom? Do conventional testing practices measure up to the needs of recent changes in Singapore education, in the areas of IT, Thinking, Project Work, and the "School Excellence Model"? What are some innovations in educational assessment that may be more compatible with these changes? How can computer technology support and enhance these innovative assessments? This paper will first examine the assessment system in Singapore education, and discuss some issues related to current testing practices. In the light of recent changes in education, the need for a rethink on these practices is proposed. The paper will then explore some innovations in educational assessment that may bring about a more meaningful assessment of student capabilities and potentials in learning. A place for technology in educational assessment will also be discussed.

EduTOOLS, a R&D project of the Centre for Learning Technologies which is jointly set up by the Ministry of Education, Kent Ridge Digital Labs and Infocomm Development Authority, involves an innovative use of computer technology. With EduTOOLS, students can make use of a suite of on-line tools for project work. Also available to students are a collection of recommended project resources and a list of experts. This project will be piloted in three Singapore schools - two secondary schools and one junior college. For an implementation of a high technology project such as EduTOOLS, one main concern is student readiness in terms of IT skills. This paper reports on the findings of an investigation of students' experience with computers, namely their use of computers in and outside of school, the types of computer applications used and of activities engaged with a computer, and their frequency of computer use. Self-reports of students' working behaviours on the computer as well as their affective characteristics were also captured. The implications of the findings for EduTOOLS implementation will be discussed.

This study attempted to provide a better understanding of the career development and career guidance needs of students in a Singapore secondary school. The influences of age/grade level, gender, academic ability, socioeconomic status and parental examined. The relationship between career maturity and career guidance needs was investigated; and the best independent predictors of career maturity and career guidance needs were also determined.

Using a cross-sectional design and a stratified random sampling technique based on grade level, gender and academic ability, a sample of 521 students was drawn from a secondary school; and a purposive sampling technique was used to obtain sub-samples for the SES and parental influence variables. Data were collected using a General Information Questionnaire, the Career Development Inventory - Australian version and a Career Problem Checklist. The students responded to the three instruments in one sitting.

Results of this study revealed a prototypic pattern of progressive increase in career maturity by grade level. Significant differences in career maturity were observed between the upper and lower secondary students. Although no significant differences in the overall maturity of students were observed for the gender and academic ability variables, it was found that female students were more mature in the cognitive aspect of career development whereas male students were more mature in the attitudinal aspect. Also, students of lower academic ability were significantly less mature in the cognitive aspect of career development but not in the attitudinal aspect. Results also suggested a positive effect of high SES and parental influence on the career development of students.

In terms of career guidance needs, significant results were obtained for the SES and parental influence variables. Students of a more favourable SES background or those who had been exposed to greater parental influence in their career planning, had less career guidance needs.

A link between career maturity and career guidance needs was also established. Students who were more career mature had less career guidance needs. The independent variables of grade level and parental influence were found to be important predictors of career maturity. On the other hand, SES and parental influence variables were found to be the best predictors of career guidance needs.

With an insight into these factors which may either aid or hinder the career development of students, implications for the planning and implementation of comprehensive career guidance programmes in schools were discussed and suggestions made.

In Singapore schools, testing of student learning is serious business but teachers have yet to get in full swing to exploit technology for school-based testing. What then is stopping them? Among other things, there is a imperative need to first understand and ensure the harmonious interplay of three related factors of hardware & infrastructure, software, and people-ware.

In the Singapore context, with increased availability of computers and a broader access to computers in the coming years, computerised testing where computers are used as devices for delivering tests has good potential. More specifically, computerised adaptive testing (CAT) holds promise as a new and innovative strategy for testing and measuring student achievement. However, the acceptability of CAT by both the public and those directly involved, namely, school administrators, teachers and students, is critical. They will need to be convinced of the suitability of computer technology to many of the testing tasks, and of the equity of this new testing method especially in terms of students’ test performance. This paper reports on the findings of an investigation study of several pertinent factors that were hypothesised to influence student performance at computerised adaptive tests on biology. The variables included a) student gender and ability, b) student computer ownership and experience, and the frequency of their use of computers, c) student attitudes to computers, and to science learning.