The document discusses Singapore's Masterplans for ICT (Information and Communications Technology) in education from 1997-2014. The key points are: 1) The 1997-2002 Masterplan aimed to integrate IT into Singapore's education system, with goals like a 2:1 pupil-computer ratio by 2002 and 30% of curriculum being IT-based. 2) The 2009-2014 third Masterplan continues this vision and focuses on strengthening ICT integration, providing teacher professional development, improving practice sharing, and enhancing ICT infrastructure in schools. 3) Studies found multimedia/computer-based instruction improved learning outcomes and reduced learning time compared to traditional lectures. However, pictures sometimes interfered with learning to read for young

1. The Masterplan for IT in Education (MPITE) was launched in 1997 with the aim of integrating
information technology (IT) into the Singapore education system.
Phase 1 of the Masterplan consist of selected schools which will integrated IT into their curriculum.
Phase 2 (MP2) will cover a total of 90 schools by 1998.
Phase 3 (MP3) will extend the coverage to a total of 250 schools by 1999.
By 2002, it is expected that the pupil-computer ratio in schools will be 2:1 and the curriculum
time will be 30% IT-based.
In the Global Competitiveness Report 2001-2002, Singapore was ranked 2nd in the world, after
Finland for the availability of Internet access in schools.
MOE Launches Third Masterplan for ICT in Education
1The Ministry of Education has developed the third Masterplan for ICT in Education
(2009-2014). The third masterplan represents a continuum of the vision of the first and
second Masterplans i.e. to enrich and transform the learning environments of our students
and equip them with the critical competencies and dispositions to succeed in a knowledge
economy.
2The broad strategies of the third Masterplan for ICT in Education are:
• To strengthen integration of ICT into curriculum, pedagogy and assessment to
enhance learning and develop competencies for the 21st century;
• To provide differentiated professional development that is more practice-based
and models how ICT can be effectively used to help students learn better;
• To improve the sharing of best practices and successful innovations; and
• To enhance ICT provisions in schools to support the implementation of mp3.
Strengthening Integration of ICT into Curriculum, Assessment & Pedagogy
3ICT will be more extensively integrated into the planning, design and implementation
stages of the curriculum, assessment and pedagogy. There will be greater alignment of
students’ learning outcomes in the syllabi, national examinations, and classroom
experience to 21st century skills such as IT skills, and the ability to communicate
persuasively and collaborate effectively. Students will be required to use ICT to look for
information, synthesise reports, give feedback on each others’ work and collaborate with
peers within and outside school.
Differentiated Professional Development
4School leaders can create the environment for teachers to reflect and learn from each
other about effective teaching practices that incorporate ICT use in the classrooms to
achieve desired learning outcomes for their students.

2. 5In addition, MOE will train a pool of “ICT specialist teachers” with strong pedagogical
groundings to model and lead professional development efforts within and across
schools. A learning roadmap will also be developed to help pace teachers in learning how
to effectively use ICT in their classes.
Improve the sharing of best practices and successful innovations
6To improve the sharing of best practices, MOE will support the establishment of a
network of educational labs where innovations can be prototyped and tested. These labs
will provide the latest technologies to promote exploration of learning possibilities. They
can also serve as training ground for pre- and in-service teachers.
7MOE will continue to support schools to innovate in the use of ICT and to facilitate
sharing of good practices among schools through programmes like the
FutureSchools@Singapore and LEAD ICT@Schools.
Enhanced ICT Provisions
8Accessibility of ICT to students will be increased through more flexible and mobile
infrastructure provisions such as wireless internet access, piloting 1-notebook-to-1-pupil
ratio in more schools, and higher data bandwidth to the Internet.
Background
9The Masterplans for ICT in Education drive the use of ICT in education. The underlying
philosophy of the Masterplans is that education should continually anticipate the needs of
the future and prepare pupils to meet those needs.
10The first Masterplan for ICT in Education (1997 — 2002) laid a strong foundation for
schools to harness ICT, particularly in the provision of basic ICT infrastructure and in
equipping teachers with a basic level of ICT integration competency, which achieved a
widespread acceptance for its use in education.
11The second Masterplan for ICT in Education (2003 — 2008) built on this foundation to
strive for an effective and pervasive use of ICT in education by, for example,
strengthening the integration of ICT into the curriculum, establishing baseline ICT
standards for students, and seeding innovative use of ICT among schools.
IS MULTIMEDIA EDUCATION EFFECTIVE?
In this section we would closely examine if there is any empirical evidence to support the assertion that
multimedia improves effectiveness. We aim to derive scientific conclusions based on the various studies
done by educationists. At present the most commonly used education method is Classroom lecture. Thus to
ascertain the effectiveness of Multimedia it would be reasonable to compare it with classroom lectures.
A number of studies (cited in Najjar, 1996) have been conducted in the area to ascertain the effectiveness of
multimedia instruction. Analysis has been done by Bosco, 1986; Fletcher, 1989, 1990; Khalili & Shashaani,
1994; Kulik, Bangert, & Williams, 1983; Kulik, Kulik, & Bangert-Drowns, 1985; Kulik, Kulik, & Cohen, 1980;

3. Kulik, Kulik, & Schwalb, 1986; Schmidt, Weinstein and Niemic, & Walberg, 1985 by examining 200 over
studies. The information included sciences, foreign languages and electronics. The control group normally
learnt the information via classroom or lecture combined with hands-on experiments. The comparison group
learnt information via interactive videodiscs or computer based instruction. The achievement of learning was
measured via tests taken at the end of the lessons. Over this wide range of students, meta-analysis found
that learning was higher when computer-based education was used.
Learning also appeared to take less time when multimedia instruction was used. Kulik, Bangert, and
Williams (1983) found one study that recorded an 88% savings in learning time with computerized
instruction (90 minutes) versus classroom instruction (745 minutes) and another study that recorded a 39%
savings in learning time (135 minutes for computerized instruction versus 220 minutes for classroom
instruction). Kulik, Kulik, and Schwalb (1986) identified 13 studies in which students using computers mostly
for tutoring learned in 71% less time than students in traditional classroom instruction. In a comparison
involving eight studies, Kulik, Kulik, and Cohen (1980) found that computer-based instruction took about
2.25 hours per week while traditional classroom instruction took about 3.5 hours, a 36% savings in learning
time.
The usage of multimedia has not always given good results. For example, in the Severin (1967) study,
animal name recognition accuracy was highest when children were presented the names via simultaneous
audio and pictures (verbal and nonverbal channels). However, children who received the same information
via audio and print (two verbal channels) did not outperform students who received the information via print
alone (verbal channel).
In a classroom test, Samuels (1967) found that a related picture accompanying a simple short story
interfered with the ability of poor first grade readers to learn to read the 50 words in the short story. In a
laboratory study, Samuels (1967
international study involving 26 other participating countries and economies,
including Japan and Hong Kong, Singapore was ranked top in having a clearly
articulated policy on the use of information technology (IT), the provision of
some of the world's best computers and peripherals to schools, and IT training
for its teachers. In short, foreign education planners and practitioners hold
Singapore up as a model to emulate.

4. presented words alone or words with identifying pictures to kindergarten children who were learning to read
four words. After the children saw each word or word and picture, the experimenter read the word to the
children. When the experimenter tested learning using only words, the children who saw only words
performed better than the children who saw words with pictures. For this latter test, it appears that the
pictures distracted the children. A review of related literature (Samuels, 1970) also concluded that pictures
interfered with learning to read.
Thus there is empirical evidence to suggest both the positive and negative effects of multimedia. The key is
to analyze these findings and find out the precise reasons and the situations in which multimedia is useful
and in which it is not. While Multimedia seems to be improving the learning rate, it is not a universal fact. In
the next section we would discuss the main conditions in which multimedia would be useful.
WHEN IS MULTIMEDIA-BASED EDUCATION USEFUL?
Multimedia-based education when used only in certain situations would maximize the returns. Using it in
every circumstance would not give the desired results and also require huge amounts in infrastructure costs.
Here we will be discussing three main scenarios when using Multimedia instruction would be appropriate.
1. When the students have low prior domain knowledge or spatial learning aptitude.
When multimedia is used with students who have low prior domain knowledge or spatial aptitude, the
multimedia helps the students in developing mental models and connect to the new knowledge domain.
They are better able to visualize the activities in the knowledge domain and learn from them. On the
other hand a student with high prior domain knowledge or high spatial aptitude would be able to create
mental models of the knowledge domain without any external help and not gain anything from the use
of Multimedia. Thus the cost and the effort in multimedia instruction would go waste.
2. When students have low motivation
When dealing with students with low learning motivation, it is very important to keep them interested in
learning. Interesting lessons would keep the students interested and enable them to do their own self-
directed learning and research (Tan and Leong, 2003). Use of pictures, animations and sounds can
help in keeping the students interested in learning about a new domain. The interactivity generated by
the use of multimedia instruction would also help in motivating the students towards learning. On the
other hand highly motivated students might not need these audio-visual aids and be able to understand
the instructions given in text format itself.

5. 3. When effectively designed multimedia content is available.
This is indeed the most difficult aspect to deal with in the use of multimedia-based instruction. Unless
we have properly designed multimedia content, there is no point in using it. Mayer and Mareno suggest
few key design principles in the creation multimedia instruction.
1. Multimedia Representation Principle- It is better to present an explanation in words and text rather
than text alone.
2. Contiguity Principle-Present the words and text contiguously rather than separately.
3. Split Attention Principle-When giving explanation, present words as auditory narration rather than as
visual on screen text.
4. Coherence Principle-Wherever possible, it is better to use fewer words and pictures than using too
many of them.