'Smart classrooms' not for all schools: Thailand

[webfact]

'Smart classrooms' not for all schools
Supinda na Mahachai
The Nation

NCPO will only provide extra equipment after assessing each school's needs

BANGKOK: -- THE NATIONAL Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has already decided not to install "smart classrooms" at all schools, citing the need to save costs and cater to the different context of each school.

The decision ends widespread speculation that "smart classrooms: would spring into operation as the main IT-project for education in place of the One Tablet Per Child scheme, which has been scrapped.

"Although we have not yet concluded how to improve educational quality through the use of IT, the NCPO has already made clear that it is not necessary for all schools to have a smart classroom," Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) secretary-general Kamol Rodklai said yesterday.

The Pheu Thai government's tablet scheme saw cheap computers handed out to a large number of Prathom 1 and Mathayom 1 students regardless of their school's location and their family's financial status.

After the NCPO came to power this year, it scrapped the One Tablet scheme and instructed the Education Ministry to come up with other IT-related projects for children's education.

'IT equipment based on needs'

According to the Obec, if the Bt6.97 billion budget that was earmarked for the tablet scheme this year and next was redirected to the 'smart classrooms', about 19,000 schools would get IT labs for their students.

"But the NCPO has already decided not to create 'smart classrooms' at all schools. The NCPO prefers to deliver additional IT equipment to each school based on its needs and context," Kamol said.

He said the Obec has now conducted a survey among 38,000 schools to determine their IT needs.

"We should be able to conclude on the survey results within |two weeks," he added.

Kamol expected academics to analyse the results and decide what additional equipment should be prepared for each school.

"There may be various different models. For example, 1,615 small schools will likely focus on satellite-based educational IT," he said.

"And for the very small schools, we may simply prepare computers and projectors for teachers."

Kamol said the new Cabinet would have the final say on how to improve educational quality through IT in the coming fiscal year.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Smart-classrooms-not-for-all-schools-30241771.html

-- The Nation 2014-08-26

[lostinisaan]

It sounds like " Should we really join the ASEAN community?"

"And for the very small schools, we may simply prepare computers and projectors for teachers."

They should have a projector in each class. We may simply prepare.....the usual bs.

Edited August 26, 2014 by lostinisaan

[clockman]

There are still many rural schools without electricity. They always want to run before they can walk!

[Don Aleman]

Wouldn't "smart classrooms" require "smart students" who WANT to learn ?

Do Singapore students qualify ?

[lostinisaan]

"There may be various different models. For example, 1,615 small schools will likely focus on satellite-based educational IT," he said.

And Chinese tablet PCs plus high speed trains will attract more and more quality tourists from Russia and China....

[iReason]

"(NCPO) has already decided not to install "smart classrooms" at all schools, citing the need to save costs and cater to the different context of each school.”

They will see the cost of that decision soon enough...

"Although we have not yet concluded how to improve educational quality through the use of IT, the NCPO has already made clear that it is not necessary for all schools to have a smart classroom,”

Perhaps they should attend a “smart school” themselves...

[MediaWatcher]

iReason, on 26 Aug 2014 - 11:59, said:

"(NCPO) has already decided not to install "smart classrooms" at all schools, citing the need to save costs and cater to the different context of each school.”

They will see the cost of that decision soon enough...

"Although we have not yet concluded how to improve educational quality through the use of IT, the NCPO has already made clear that it is not necessary for all schools to have a smart classroom,”

Perhaps they should attend a “smart school” themselves...

Being unable to accept their own educational short comings, or mistakes, they will never progress. The system as is, is not designed to "really" educate but more to indoctrinate into a submissive society, a society that does not "challenge" the "decision" makers, at any level.

[belg]

due to lack of smart thai students, come to my mind

with the army in power over everything ...

why not make all students ... soldiers ...

and prepare them to become SMART generals

because thailand has not enough of them yet (1900 ? 3x more than USA I red and the army is 3x smaller)

Edited August 26, 2014 by belg

[billd766]

I have read this thread and most of the comments are nrgative but in the replies I didn't see anyone saying what the Education ministry and the NCPO ought to be doing.

IMHO the biggest problem is the Education Ministry itself. If all the dead wood were to be cleared out from there and fresh people with fresh ideas were to replace them it would be a start.

Teachers should be paid to teach and the best ones promoted and paid more. The old nearly retired and stuck in the past ones need to be gracefully retired and fresh young blood brought in to replace them. THEN the children may stand a better chance in the future.

[Rykbanlor]

Another waste of money making smart classrooms that the teachers will struggle to use. Until they improve the standard of teaching, the curriculum, the swathes of bueracracy, the endless meetings, the lazy teachers who sit eating outside the classroom while they're supposed to be teaching, or the meetings that are always held during class hours so theres no-one to teach the students, the system that every child must pass and rise to the next level regardless of whether they accomplish a lot or absolutely zero, the assignments involving copying and pasting verbatim that are deemed acceptable, the unwillingness to allow students to question anything, the endless competitions that use up class time and so on ad infinitum,

then anything like smart classrooms and tablets are pretty much as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike

[MediaWatcher]

billd766, on 26 Aug 2014 - 14:20, said:

I have read this thread and most of the comments are nrgative but in the replies I didn't see anyone saying what the Education ministry and the NCPO ought to be doing.

IMHO the biggest problem is the Education Ministry itself. If all the dead wood were to be cleared out from there and fresh people with fresh ideas were to replace them it would be a start.

Teachers should be paid to teach and the best ones promoted and paid more. The old nearly retired and stuck in the past ones need to be gracefully retired and fresh young blood brought in to replace them. THEN the children may stand a better chance in the future.

The problem I see it is that there isn't enough "fresh" people with "fresh" ideas, they have all been brought up in the same "institutionalised" environment, unable, and not allowed, to think outside the box. This seems endemic throughout most of Thai society... what is needed is help from outside, but we know that will not happen.

[Jonmarleesco]

Smart teaching will always trump smart classrooms.

[lostinisaan]

due to lack of smart thai students, come to my mind

with the army in power over everything ...

why not make all students ... soldiers ...

and prepare them to become SMART generals

because thailand has not enough of them yet (1900 ? 3x more than USA I red and the army is 3x smaller)

Congrats!!! A very intelligent post.

[Leung Falang]

We see teachers with fancy "readers" of paper that send the picture to a projector and then to a screen. Cannot understand why they even need the original piece of paper since they have laptops that connect to the projector.

We see classes that are difficult to control due to disruptive students who just get promoted year after year without knowing much of anything beyond 4th grade. Many have difficulty reading the Thai language.

Smaller classes, no auto promotion, better teaching methods, less memorization and more critical thinking, and sometimes better teachers or better trained teachers.

[lostinisaan]

The Smartest decision would be to let students fail. But also the teachers.

[WonnabeBiker]

Don't get me started! Often, it's a missing audio cable(@ 65 Baht). Or they let 7th grade students use the teachers' PC => then viruses will infect the teacher's memory stick. Or the PC's USB ports are all "dead". Or ... The upkeep and repair of existing tech doesn't bode well.

"No budget" is the usual excuse. The school has dozens of unpaid final year students from the university. Many have IT skills. Alas,no one cares at a government school.

The administration is Byzanthine. (Voucher for gassing up worth all of 400 Baht and endless meetings to pay for a WP. Only to claim the 3,100 back from the hapless foreigner "because the director hasn't signed the approval". Yeah, right. Someone paid for that WP weeks ago!

Now they say they want some kind of a "loan" from the employee, promising to reimburse the amount later on. Why not schedule 2 more meetings of halfan hour to talk this through?!?

Thai teachers should attend a "Culture Course" by Americans on efficient time management!

[lostinisaan]

Don't get me started! Often, it's a missing audio cable(@ 65 Baht). Or they let 7th grade students use the teachers' PC => then viruses will infect the teacher's memory stick. Or the PC's USB ports are all "dead". Or ... The upkeep and repair of existing tech doesn't bode well.

"No budget" is the usual excuse. The school has dozens of unpaid final year students from the university. Many have IT skills. Alas,no one cares at a government school.

The administration is Byzanthine. (Voucher for gassing up worth all of 400 Baht and endless meetings to pay for a WP. Only to claim the 3,100 back from the hapless foreigner "because the director hasn't signed the approval". Yeah, right. Someone paid for that WP weeks ago!

Now they say they want some kind of a "loan" from the employee, promising to reimburse the amount later on. Why not schedule 2 more meetings of halfan hour to talk this through?!?

Thai teachers should attend a "Culture Course" by Americans on efficient time management!

Thai teachers should attend a "Culture Course" by Americans on efficient time management!

The only problem would be that they'll still live in "their Thai time." after such a course about fast food chain management.

Edited September 3, 2014 by lostinisaan

[rijb]

I'd like to see educators get away from the all or none approach to technology.

I just saw a study (but can't find it now) that showed how students are willing to take more learning risks with a machine than with a teacher.

Many Thai students are reluctant to ask questions or make mistakes when interacting with a teacher. Not so with a learning app.

I don't know what the hell a smart classroom is. But, I'm all for providing learners with a bunch of learning apps for their smart phone.

[swbcare]

I am sure that we in our school have the most smart classrooms from Thailand because those "free" tablets are still in the box in the corner from the class.