Information and Communication Technology in

Science
(SSI3013)
CHALLENGES IN
IMPLEMENTATION OF SMART
SCHOOL IN MALAYSIA

STUDENT’S NAME NUR HASANAH BINTI MUHAMAD PUAT (D20151070950)

AND MATRIC
NUMBER SITI NUR AZZWANI BINTI AMIR (D20151070958)

NURUL AMIRAH BINTI MOHAMED SABRI (D20151070970)

GROUP A

LECTURER ‘S EN. AZMI BIN IBRAHIM

NAME

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 CONTENT

Topic Page
Introduction
3-4
Challenges in Implementation of Smart School in Malaysia

a) Lack of Infrastructure and Support Materials 5

b) Lack of teacher’s skills 6

c) Inadequate Financial Resources 7

d) Technical support team is not enough 8

Conclusion
9
References
10

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Introduction

In this 21st century, the term “technology” is an important issue in many fields including
education. This is because technology has become the knowledge transfer highway in most
countries. Technology integration nowadays has gone through innovations and transformed
our societies that has totally changed the way people think, work and live (Grabe, 2007). As
part of this, schools and other educational institutions which are supposed to prepare students
to live in “a knowledge society” need to consider ICT integration in their curriculum
(Ghavifekr, Afshari & Amla Salleh, 2012).

The Malaysian Smart School was launched in July 1997 by the Prime Minister as one
of the Multimedia Super Corridor’s Flagship Applications. Smart School is a Malaysian
education system which learning institution that reconstructs 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. There was teaching and learning based on creative thinking. Technology as an
important component in Smart School concept when Smart School project exists as one of
application that are part of Malaysian Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). Learning institution
of Smart School was created systemically reinvented in term of teaching and learning
practice and school management in order to prepare student for Information Age.

In the Information Age, a Smart School will evolve over time continuously
developing its professional staff, education resources and its administrative capabilities to
adapt to changing condition, while continuing to prepare student life. Teaching and learning
process were included the process of curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and teaching-learning
materials in a mutually reinforcing, coherent manner. The curriculum process will help
student achieve overall balanced development and integrate knowledge, skills, values, and
correct use of language. Then, Smart School pedagogy will seek to make learning more
interesting, motivating, stimulating and meaningful. It is also involve the children mind, spirit
and bodies in the learning process. The strategies in Smart School pedagogy were use an
appropriate mix of learning strategies to ensure mastery of basic competencies and promote
holistic development, accommodate individual different learning styles, so as to boost
performance and foster a classroom atmosphere that is compatible with different teaching-
learning strategies.

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 Therefore, the benefit of Smart School assessment is teachers, students and parents
will be able to access on-line assessment items. It will causes increasing of living
certification, which not only attest to students cumulative accomplishments but will also be
open to continued improvement on a lifetime basis. The new teaching strategies will need
teaching-learning materials designed that will accommodate student differing needs and
abilities. It is will lead students to take greater responsibility for managing and directing their
own learning. Smart School management can be managed efficiently and effectively when
the primary objective were correlation with the resources and processes that required to
supports the teaching-learning function. The Smart School management will need strong,
professional administrators and teachers who can articulate school goals clearly, lead
teaching at the school, and elicit strong parental and community support to achieve its
objective. Finally, Smart School is important in Malaysian education system in line with and
in support of the nation drive to fulfil Vision 2020. At the same time, the individuals who are
intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonious can be well
produce.

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Challenges Of Implementation Of Smart School In Malaysia

a) Lack of Infrastructure and Support Materials

Expanding computer literacy education be an important agenda in line with the national ICT
policy in the 21st century. The era of information technology requires educational systems
and institutions to formulate the ultimate goal of school education in shaping young computer
literate and skilled.

An important challenge of education in secondary schools is to provide computer

facilities for all students. This means that the computer facilities are not limited to certain
groups of people but involves the entire student regardless of economic status, social, ethnic,
and so on. Sophistication of the ICT facilities available in secondary schools at this time is
not uniform. Some are put computers in the classroom, some of which put all the computers
in the lab. There are those who owns a connection to the Internet, some are not. Teachers who
use the guidance contained in this document shall first determine the level of ICT
infrastructure capacity available in their schools before planning any learning activities using
ICT. This is to ensure that the activities carried out yielded the optimum fit with the learning
objectives. As a guide, are included under this matrix shows the relationships between the
level of technology and learning.

Challenges of the present and future in the education sector is the provision of a
complete computer infrastructure for the teaching and learning methods. However, the
provision of Internet access alone does not guarantee effective teaching learning on-line.
Attitude of teachers and students on the use of technology must be considered to ensure its
effectiveness as a method of teaching.

To overcome this problem, the school should improve communications and

multimedia infrastructure of computer facilities, high bandwidth Internet connections and
integrated and computer labs. In addition, the school also needs to improve infrastructure
such as networks, local content, incentives and legislation to create an enabling environment
infrastructure.

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b) Lack of teacher’s skills

Not many of educators who utilize the Internet as an alternative that provides access to
information that can help enhance teaching and learning materials. However, the use of e-
learning in schools, particularly the use of the internet or www is still low. In reality, the
teachers do not fully prepared to raise their capability to the level of ICT excellence. Among
230 thousands teachers in Malaysia, only 20 per cent has the pre-knowledge in ICT while the
others are new to the ICT technology (EMIS 2013; RURAL 2013). The process of ICT
training is very important and will ensure that it becomes a national agenda for
implementation on continuous basis. Since teachers do not have the pre-knowledge of ICT,
teachers have to skip their teaching class for long hours and require to replace another time
due to attending the training. Most teachers had not completed the training programmes. Only
half had enrolled and most had not completed the training. The teachers who undergo this
training become catalysts for the coordination of efforts and success of the national
education. This is because training is a wide process, and clearly it can assist in the
development of the human resource (Nadler, 1984).

The Teachers Education Section, MOE has been assigned the responsibility to
implement Smart Training in the effort to supply education’s work force which will help
achieve the objectives of Smart School (Shaharuddin & Abiddin 2009). Teachers’ readiness
and skills in using ICT are playing essential role in the use of ICT in education. To overcome
this problem, teachers need to be exposed to new ideas and career opportunities in teaching
profession they like to attend short-term ICT courses. The school also needs to take the
initiative to develop the teaching profession in the context of the use of ICT in education that
teachers working in schools to accept the changes and progress in their careers teaching
profession. Staff development program involving the teaching profession in schools should
be well planned. This can lead to innovation and implementation of education reform is done.
The teaching profession should always be open to change, innovation and new innovation in
the use of ICT in secondary schools.

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c) Inadequate Financial Resources

The school does not have sufficient financial resources to finance the cost of various
information technology usage will return to conventional learning. Weaknesses of the school
leadership is committed to the use of ICT can also cause missed school from current premier
change occurring. Schools also failed to play a positive role in developing students to
computer literacy, especially in rural areas. This change will provide a big challenge for
instructors. They should be prepared enhance the knowledge and skills to make computers as
teaching and learning technology replaces a less conventional approach based on
technological innovation.

Maintenance and upgrading of ICT equipment in rural schools is subject to their

limited financial resources. Largely, the government initiatives are restricted by budgetary
constraints. The ICT projects in rural schools are not self-sustainable. When the projects
launched by government or private sector phases out, the maintenance of equipment need to
be borne by the students. The students often with weak economic backgrounds are unable to
fund the maintenance and computing facilities expenses.

Appropriate and latest hardware and software facility availability determines the
effective and efficient usage of technology. In developing countries, technology
implementation into education systems is a difficult task as it requires a magnum of funds,
infrastructure and support facilities. Lack or insufficiency of finances leads to redundant and
obsolete infrastructure and equipments in rural schools leaving a huge lacuna in the process
of enabling ICT skills and imparting ICT education; thereby rendering the entire ICT
experience meaningless.

So, to overcome inadequate financial resources, the school also must cope with
financial difficulties that may be encountered from time to time. Therefore, the question
related to cost implications often the criteria for implementing computer-based learning in
schools. School planning should also take into account the changes specially the use of ICT.
In addition to providing ICT-based learning, schools should develop education budgets are
rising, particularly expenses involving the use of facilities, equipment and technology
hardware information. Schools staffs also have to deal with financial problems that may be
encountered from time to time.

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d) Technical support team is not enough

The technical support team is composed of individuals that are familiar with the ins and outs
of a device. With this knowledge, they are able to troubleshoot most problems that a user
experiences. Information on how to reach technical support is usually provided with the
packaged materials included with a device. Technical support may be provided over the
phone, through email, or with a live-chat interface.

Technical difficulties sought to become a major problem and a source of frustration

for students and teachers and cause interruptions in teaching and learning process. If there is
lack of technical assistance and no repair on it, teachers are not able to use the computer for
temporarily (Jamieson-Proctor et al., 2013). The effect is that teachers will be discouraged
from using computers because of fear of equipment failure since they are not given any
assistance on the issue. Rural schools face issues related to technical know-how, absence of
ICT service centers, shortage of trained technical personnel. Whether provided by in-school
staff or external service providers, or both, technical support specialists are essential to the
continued viability of ICT use in a given school. Without on-site technical support, much
time and money may be lost due to technical breakdowns. One of the major obstacle to
optimizing computer use in schools has been the lack of timely technical support.

Primary schools were using ICT more in their teaching, and things were slowly
improving in secondary schools - but there was a weakness in special schools. Oftsed said
half of the secondary schools did not meet the national curriculum requirements for
information technology - with teachers finding it hard to get access to the technology except
for specific information technology courses. LEAs had often underestimated the funding
needed, with small support teams fully stretched trying to meet demand for support.

Smaller schools that including most primary schools could not afford proper technical
support. The government computer agency Becta approved "managed services" offering a
complete solution for schools' ICT needs, usually from private companies, but the take-up of
these was low because they cost too much, Ofsted said.

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Conclusion

Smart School is one of the Multimedia Super Corridor flagship that emphasizes
teaching and learning in software courses. To ensure the effective use of software courses in
smart schools, effective courseware production is important. Effective use of the course
software will guide and shape the minds of the students' mind so that they will be creative
through a more realistic picture. ICT use as an ingredient in the process of teaching and
learning is the heart of the smart school.

The idea of the smart school is actually to revolutionize the education system through
a holistic approach to a development that focuses on the individual, making value based
education available to anyone, anytime and anywhere. The smart school vision brings
together the vital components required to exploit technology to improve the system and
delivery of education to children which is to produce a thinking and technology literate
workforce, to develop a workforce for the Information Age, to develop students physically,
mentally, emotionally and spiritually as well as to provide opportunities to improve
individuals strengths and abilities.

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References
Ghavifekr, S. & Rosdy, W.A.W. (2015). Teaching and learning with technology:
Effectiveness of ICT integration in schools. International Journal of Research in
Education and Science (IJRES), 1(2), 175-191.

Lack of technical support (2001, May 8). In Slow impact of school computers. Retrieved
March 7, 2018, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/1319578.stm

Omidinia, S., Masrom, M., & Selamat, H. (n.d.). Smart School System Issues And
Challenges. Retrieved March 7, 2018, from
http://www.academia.edu/3158453/SMART_SCHOOL_SYSTEM_ISSUES_AND_
CHALLENGES

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