Integrating Technology into Teaching and Learning.

Concepts and Applications: A Malaysian Perspective

Ms Rusmini Ku Ahmad
Institut Aminuddin Baki
(National Institute of Educational Management and Leadership)
Ministry of Education, Malaysia.
SEAMEO-UNESCO Education Congress & Expo, May 27 29,
Bangkok, Thailand
Abstract
During the last few years, many important changes have occurred in the education systems, which will
require teachers to upgrade and refine their technology skills. Some of these changes are due to
changes in government policies related to the use of information technology (IT) in schools while
others are due to developments in state of the art pedagogical practices. Others are due to the continual
advancements in technological products and systems themselves, both the hardware and the software.
Most countries including Malaysia have been working hard for the last few years to develop policies
and strategies for school to infuse technology into schools. The reasons for these efforts are not difficult
to understand: a nations economic success in the 21 st century will be linked to how well it can adopt
and thrive in a global IT environment. The need for knowledge workers and become a developed
nation place tremendous responsibilities onto schools and educators to prepare their children to meet
global technological changes. In preparing students for their role in society, the Malaysian Ministry of
Education has identified technology along with literacy and communication, problem solving and
human relations as a foundation skill area to be developed in every subject. The uses of information,
communication and technology (ICT) will not only enable the students to learn but to also enhance
their understanding of the connections between technology, society and the environment. Hence this
paper will discuss the methods and the importance of integrating ICT in teaching and learning and the
concept of Smart School project. The role of the computer as a tool and a tutor will be highlighted. The
relationship between learning theories and the use of ICT will be discussed. Furthermore this paper
points out the role of the leader in developing IT culture through policy making and plan development,
supervision of resources, staff development and community support in integrating technology into
teaching and learning. Strategies of ICT integration in acquiring skills and knowledge among the
school community will be suggested.

Introduction
During the past decade there has been an exponential growth in the use of information
communication and technology (ICT), which has made pervasive impacts both on
society and our daily lives. It has transformed the way people live and work,
communicate, entertain and conduct businesses. In becoming a developed nation in
sixteen years to come and heeding the call of gaining competitive advantage,
Malaysia has embarked on a massive project namely Multimedia Super Corridor
(MSC). The project aims at revolutionizing information technology and multimedia

industries by creating a massive corridor with suitable environment for local and
international companies wanting to create, distribute and employ information
technology and multimedia products and services. MSC ( Multimedia Super Corridor)
is also expected to place Malaysia as a regional and international technology and
become the test bed for research and development in high technology industries. Due
to the increasing demand for knowledge workers in the information technology and
high technology industries of the MSC, a Smart School program was adopted as one
of the seven flagship applications ( Nurhizan Abdul Manab and Azman Othman,
1999).
The flagship will support the governments plan to obtain the status of an
industrialized nation by the year 2020 and to gain competitive advantage over other
developing countries in the global economy. The objective of the Smart School
application is to transform the school culture to one that is informed, thinking and
caring information and multimedia technologies will be widely used to improve the
effectiveness of the teaching learning and management process. Greater emphasis has
been placed on integrating technology into the Science, Mathematics and English
curricular. The project not only emphasizes the need to develop an efficient and
technologically literate thinking workforce but also will strive towards enabling
students to perform in a global environment. The smart school project is intended to
complement the Integrated Primary and Secondary Curriculum of the National
Education Philosophy (Malaysia Ministry of Education, 1997). Therefore new
elements will be infused into the school system. The focuses of the Smart School
initiative are as follows:
a. Emphasis on maturity of thought, application of information technology and
the assimilation of noble values.
b. Proficiency in Science, Mathematics and English.
c. Enhancement of performance according to individual capabilities.
d. Contributions to the development of knowledge.
The implementation of the Smart School flagship calls for new roles and
responsibilities on the part of students, teachers and the community. In a Smart
School, learning is self-directed and caters to students with varying capabilities.
Teachers play the important role of facilitators and parents are encouraged to give due
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attention to students progress and achievement. The Smart School project has been
implemented in phases. In the initial phase, which was from 1999 to 2002 we have
established 89 smart schools with the total enrolment of 85,000 students (Malaysia
Ministry of Education, 1997). There were three pilot projects being implemented
under the Smart School initiative namely:
a. Teaching-Learning Materials
Comprehensive teaching-learning material has been prepared for four selected
subjects in all grades namely National Language, English, Science and
Mathematics. The teachers together with the Telecom Smart School and Education
Technology Department prepare these materials. The aim of using interactive
material is to enhance teaching-learning strategies.
b. Management System
The Smart School Management System will enable school administrators to
efficiently and effectively manage the resources and processes required to support
teaching and learning functions. This involves reallocating skilled human
resources to more useful activities, saving cost over the long term, upgrading the
quality of delivery through better access as well as accelerated and enhancing
decision making.
c. Assessment System
The Smart School Assessment System is formulated to provide more accurate and
comprehensive feedback on students progress and achievement. Teachers,
students and parents will have on-line access to details about assessment items.
There will be greater flexibility in the administration of assessment.
Apart from establishing the Smart School project the government has reviewed
the education policy in responding to the environmental changes (Rohani Hamid,
2002). Emphasis has been given to critical subjects, which are English,
Mathematics and Science. Malaysia has 7404 primary schools and 1794
secondary schools. The planning of providing computers to all the schools in the
country were done in stages:
From 2001:

2400 schools

2002:

2000 schools

2003 onwards :

All schools
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The government has budgeted USD 1.3 billion from the year 2002 to 2008 for the
infrastructure of ICT, teaching and learning material, training for teachers and
principals to ensure the expansion of Smart School concept to every school in the
country (Bajet, 2003). To achieve the aim of the MSC and the vision of becoming
a developed nation, the initiative to integrate the use of ICT in Malaysian
Education System is timely. The Ministry of Education is serious in its endeavor
to equip schools with computers and appropriate telecommunication for database
and Internet facility. However the most pivotal element in integrating technology
is the understanding of the teacher in the content of the teaching process related to
technology. The integration of ICT into teaching and learning needs competencies
and commitment of the teachers consistently. Teachers who integrate technology
must add value to their activities such that if one were to remove technology, the
quality of the lessons would somehow be diminished (Williams, 2000).
What is technology integration?
According to Pisapia (1994), integrating technology with teaching means the use
of learning technologies to introduce, reinforce, supplement and extend skills. The
difference between the classroom of exemplary users of technology and
technology users is in the way their classes are conducted. In the exemplary
classrooms, student use of computers is woven integrally into the patterns of
teaching; software is a natural extension of student tools. Roblyer (1997) puts it in
another way. He states that the most important and the most difficult challenge is
how teachers can help to improve existing conditions or to create important
educational opportunities that did not exist without information technology. As
part of this process, teachers decide what they need to make these changes occur.
This process of determining where and how technology fits is known among users
of educational technology as integration. From the perspectives of educators, the
function of ICT in schools is not primarily to promote computer literacy or
because technology is the fad of the 21st century or just for the sake of using
computers in the classrooms. Rather the function of technology in schools is to
enhance teaching and learning. Using technology in any other way is not true
integration. There are many integration strategies but the important thing is that
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each strategy addresses a specific learning or teaching need. In general most

effective approach is one of solving instructional problems. That is technology
should be viewed as one means of solving some of the problems which teachers
face in their teaching and which learners face in their learning (Williams et al.,
2000).
Why the integration of ICT?
Potential strengths and weaknesses of ICT in teaching and learning have been
well documented in the literature with the former probably outweighing the latter.
Warschauer (1996) asserts that ICT can enhance student motivation by helping
students gain knowledge and skills about using computers, giving ample
opportunity to use electronic communication, and carefully integrating computer
activities into the regular structure of the lesson for meaningful learning.
According to Abdul Rahim Saad (2000), there are two types of students learning
style namely field dependent and field independent. Learning activities can easily
take place as the field independent student grasp the concept through an abstract
method as compared to their field dependent counterparts who need various types
of teaching methods. Hence the teacher must fully utilize and exploit the use of
ICT in helping students learn more effectively. The use of Internet in teaching and
learning provides opportunity for teachers and students in exploring and searching
for information and references. They could easily access an almost limitless
variety of resources and share information with their peers any time, anywhere
since electronic communication compose no boundries of time or geographical
location (Zalina Yahaya, 2002). Furthermore on-line interactive multimedia
educational websites may assist learners in a mixed ability classroom. A number
of the websites may help learners in a mixed skills and activities for accelerated
students and remedial or tutorial material for slower learners (Godwin Jones,
1996). The information technology and Internet can also promote collaborative
teaching and learning and raise the achievement of the students. A research done
by Ang Jit Eng (2002), found that there is a statistically significant difference
between the Malay Language and English Language achievement of Form Two
students who have attended Smart Schools and the Malay Language and English
Language achievement of Form Two students who have attended Traditional
Schools. These results suggest that the Smart Schools were more effective in
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promoting the Malay and English language achievement of Form Two students
than were Traditional schools (which emphasize on chalk and talk method). Hull
(1996) states that integration of ICT in teaching and learning allows teachers to
create contextual learning experiences for the students. Contextual learning
emphasizes the way that knowledge is embedded and applied in real-world
activities, including the world of work. Ramlee and Abu Abdullah (2000), note
that a contextual learning approach gives meaning and depth to learning in
technical and vocational education in Malaysia. However contextual teaching has
been difficult to carry out within traditional school structure. Many schools lack
resources to participate in contextual learning. Concerned about liability,
transportation and propriety knowledge often keeps students from the workplace.
Therefore multimedia technologies and the Internet can provide schools with
potential access to the world outside of the school. For instance using a world
wide web (www) to connect teachers and learners to the work place. A learner can
use multimedia technology to stimulate a problem-solving environment. Hence
the skill and knowledge in technology will produce multi-skilling students with
confidence and readiness in facing the competitive world.
Integrating ICT in teaching and learning
The role of the principal
As information technology flows into the nations schools, there is a real pressure
on administrators to put technology at the top of their agenda. The task to
formulate the strategies in integrating and establishing the use of ICT in teaching
and learning are not only on the shoulder of the teacher but also the school
principal. The role of the principal in molding the culture of technology in school
is imperative. Managing the use of school technology poses a host of difficult
issues and challenges for principals. However the principal needs to set a proper
strategy. To implement technology successfully, all people must be encouraged to
participate in the implementation process. Early and extensive participation in a
change should be part of implementation. Participation gives those involved a
sense of control over the change activity. The teacher understands it better and
they become committed to successful implementation. In order to permeate the
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culture of ICT, teachers should be involved from different grades, staff from all
the functional areas, students, parents and community members in the project as a
team. In aligning the vision and mission of the school with the policy of Ministry
of Education the principal should provide a school based documented procedure.
The procedure will assist teachers and students to acquire the skill and knowledge
in ICT consistently. The procedure should be reviewed at least once a year
according to the improvement of the teachers skill and the change in the
government policy (Mohamed Sani and Mohd Jasmy, 2002).
The principals command of technology is important in making informed
technology decisions. Experts say a principal who is computer literate is more
aware of his staff members needs (Mohsen Attara and Van Laar, 2001). In this
capacity the principal is responsible for managing the resources necessary for
technology integration. This encompasses developing priorities for spending
which, directly support the goals of the schools technology plan. Resourceful
principals will explore many avenues for acquiring technology resources,
including fund-raising, government, universitys grant and business partnership.
These types of quality has been describe as entrepreneurial networking.
Being concerned about the knowledge and skills of the principal in ICT, a research
on the level of acceptance on the Smart School program by the respective
principal was conducted by the Faculty of Education, National University of
Malaysia. The results showed that only 23.9% of the Smart School principals give
due attention and support the program. The findings therefore triggered the
Ministry of Education to design the module of training in stages starting from the
very basics of using the computer to managing the ICT by using the Smart School
Management System. A significant impediment to successful technology
integration is teachers limited access to appropriate ongoing professional
development. Many teachers have lacked meaningful opportunities to acquire the
skills needed to meet the ICT outcomes. Hence thorough skills assessment need
to be undertaken through job-analysis and needs analysis. The analysis should
determine what skills are needed and what changes have to take place and finally
the training should be seen as an ongoing endeavor.

Managing the use of school technology and integrating the ICT in teaching and
learning is both challenging and rewarding. If implemented properly ICT could
put the school ahead and possibly very ahead of the competition. However it
requires the skill and knowledge from the school heads to maneuver the
organization in implementing ICT in schools.
The role of the teachers
According to behaviorist learning theory by Skinner (1974), a learner will
gradually develop patterns of responses to specific stimuli when such responses
are followed by a particular reinforcement. However under the paradigm of
cognitivism a learners mind is perceived to contain components of short term and
long term memories, plus a working memory (Jackie J.F.Hsu, Der Thanq Chen
and David, 2000). The assumption is that learning is about how information is
received, processed and started in these memory components. Under the frame
work of behaviorism and cognitivism the major roles of the teacher is as
information provider and the students role is as information receiver.
Subsequently, the teacher must plan sequential and structured activities to achieve
objectives and finally the teacher should plan tests with specific expected
outcomes to evaluate students achievement. In relation to the above learning
theories, the computer plays traditional role acting like a tutor by providing a
learning environment. In performing the tutors role, the computer may be used to
deliver instructions, reinforce practice and provide feedback (Ng Wai Kong,
1999). Using the concepts of the computer as a tutor, Education Technology
Department has developed educational software that can be classified into
different modes such as drill and practice, simulations, instructional games and
electronic book. These modes can cater for different types of students skills. The
instructional materials has been prepared by teachers who have undergone training
under the Education Technology Department in developing multimedia interactive
modules. The process of producing the modules started from writing storyboard to
authoring the multimedia material as well as the learning theories. The
government has given a full swing effort in integrating ICT in the curriculum
beginning from January 2003. After reviewing the education policy, the
government has proposed that Mathematics and Science should be taught in
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English in order to arrest the decline of the language among the Malaysian
students. To overcome the problem, every Mathematics, Science and English
teacher is provided with a laptop computer, LCD projector, interactive multimedia
materials and on top of that, teachers in these respective disciplines are given
incentive benefits. The purpose of integrating technology is to aid the teachers in
enhancing the teaching and learning process as well as proficiency in using
English. Under the English for Teaching Mathematics and Science (ETeMS)
project (in order for teachers to effectively use the instructional soft ware), they
should examine all of the activities contained in a given instructional package and
understand each one according to its instructional function. Teachers can then
better select the specific computer activity they need to support their instructional
objectives through integration strategies.
Traditional theories of learning such as a behaviorism and cognitivism have
dominated educational practices for decades and focused on the outcomes of
learning in Malaysia. However the other paradigm of educational schools of
thought the constructivist and social constructivist elevate the importance of
knowledge construction process. The constructivist paradigm as advocated by
Piaget (1981) and Bruner (1990) stresses that whatever gets into the mind has to
be constructed by the individual through knowledge discovery. Social
constructivism is similar to constructivism except that how one construct
knowledge or meanings are also bound by ones social cultural influence. By
using the theory of constructivism the teachers role is no longer as a knowledge
or information provider. Rather the teacher is a facilitator and a coach to assist
students to model learning using various strategies and to inspire students in
playing with ideas and manipulating information they have gathered (Jackie
J.F.Hsu, Der Thanq Chen and David, 2000). In integrating technology by using
these two learning theories the computer can play a significant role in either being
used as a tool or providing access to instructional materials. Malaysian
Curriculum Development Center (CDC) suggests the roles of the computer as a
tool can be categorized as informative, communicative and constructive tools.
When integrated with lessons, a teacher can use technology as an informative tool
in order to provide information for the students to manipulate and from which
knowledge can be constructed. Students use the informative tools such as
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multimedia encyclopedia or resources available on the Internet (Pusat

Perkembangan Kurikulum, 2001). During the knowledge construction process,
students develop various important complex skills such as searching, assessing or
integrating relevant information. Using ICT as a communicative tool will enable
easy communication between the teacher and the students or among students
beyond the physical barrier (either by space, time or both) of the classroom.
Communicative tools include e-mail, electronic bulletin boards, chat and
electronic white boards. An example of how ICT has been used as a
communicative tool by the selected primary school in Malaysia through a joint
venture between the Malaysian Education Ministry, Marconi Co. and a British
initiative is Conventry 2020. The project aims at helping teachers in both
countries in using ICT in the classrooms (Simrit Kaur, 2001). One project required
primary school pupils from Smart School to collect data on climate including
temperature and rainfall in their respective countries. The pupils used Microsoft
Excel, produced spreadsheet and share their findings. The teachers also spent time
planning new projects. These kinds of methods will promote the collaborative
learning among the students as well as exploratory (Bahrudin Aris, Mohamad
Bilal & Muhammad Kasim Basir, 2001).
In enhancing the exchange of information among the schools teachers can
encourage the students to prepare their school website. Through the project the
students can learn how to use constructive tools or multimedia authoring tools
such as Microsoft Frontpage, Authorware, Dreamweaver etc. Multimedia
authoring tools are useful in engaging students in producing multimedia project to
illustrate their understanding of a given topic.
The future use of ICT in schools will be seen as an increasingly common tool for
the enhancement of students intellect, communication and collaboration. Hence it
is up to the creativity of the teachers to solve different kind of learning problems
with the tools they have on hand.

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Community support
In order to established the integration of ICT in teaching and learning, the school
has to fully utilize various parties such as private sectors, government, university
and communities. Smart partnership concept between school and private sectors
will provide some strategies in gaining skills of ICT for teachers and the school
as a whole. In early 1999 Intel Company provided an ongoing training for teachers
in ICT. Align with the slogan Teach to the Future the company provide program
and modules that create creativity and innovation among the teachers. One of the
modules required teachers to prepare material in using Microsoft PowerPoint, add
suitable animation and graphics. Environmental scanning needs to be done by the
school to take advantage of the expertise and resources among the community in
enhancing the use of ICT in teaching and learning effectively.
Conclusion
The arrival of digital technologies in schools has a great impact on the roles and
responsibilities of principals, teachers and schools in significant ways as a whole.
In Malaysian Education System the technological adoption has been elevated by
the Smart School project and the recent change in the education policy of teaching
Mathematics and Science in English. Thus it needs all the principals, teachers and
students to acquire the skill and knowledge of technology through integration of
ICT in teaching and learning. Failure in planning the use of ICT and lack of staff
development will incur cost that will be detrimental to the country.

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