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Parents who grew up around blackboards and overhead projectors may not recognize today's classrooms. How is technology changing the way students learn? Aaron Loh, former Director of Educational Technology at MOE, gives us a quick look at how AI is reducing classroom time.
Students are tapping away on their personal laptops, solving math problems that appear on the screen. A dashboard with names on a projector at the front of the classroom begins to glow in red, green, and yellow.
This is a heatmap, with colors changing in real time as students complete a math quiz. Red indicates incorrect answers and green indicates correct answers. Yellow indicates an incomplete answer and may indicate that the student is unsure how to approach the question.
Once the sheet is full, teachers scan the data to get a quick snapshot of their class' level of understanding of the new concept they just taught. It also lets you know at a glance which students need more help and allows you to pay more attention to students in the red zone.
Welcome to the modern classroom, powered by smart technology and data, where instant feedback promotes more effective learning.
Mr Aaron Loh, who was Director of Educational Technology at the Ministry of Education (MOE) until last year, said more such technology-based developments were expected with the launch of the “Transforming Education through Technology” Masterplan 2030. September 2023.
In short, it will be called EdTech Master Plan 2030 in September 2023. This blueprint outlines MOE's vision for teachers to leverage learning data to provide more targeted instruction to students.
In the past, teachers would spend a lot of time marking worksheets after class and could only fill in the gaps in understanding during the next class.
Learning tools and software that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) now allow teachers to provide more accurate and immediate feedback to all students, Mr Loh says.
Heatmaps are a good example. “Heatmaps are a two-way feedback tool,” he explains. “This technology provides teachers with data to better understand their students. This means you can see which students need help and which concepts need more explanation. It also helps with self-directed learning because students have a better idea of where they are.”
Self-directed learning puts the power of learning in the hands of the student. In fact, AI can help students learn independently and at their own pace.
Announcing MOE's EdTech Masterplan 2030 this year, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said technology provides opportunities to personalize learning experiences, enabling students to learn better according to their needs and abilities.
An important pillar of the masterplan is the Singapore Student Learning Space (SLS), an online portal launched in 2018 to improve teaching and learning in schools. Parents who have stayed home with their school-aged children during the COVID-19 pandemic will have witnessed how schools are using SLS to deliver lessons during home-based learning.
Teachers also use this platform to design classroom lessons. And we improve our expertise as a community by exchanging best practices with each other.
For example, inserting a thinking prompt at any point in the lesson allows students to pause and reflect on what they have learned so far, inspiring each other to enhance their SLS learning experience.
SLS is also home to challenges with gamification features that kids love.
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“SLS also attracts quieter students, for example those who don't typically raise their hands to answer questions. They see online platforms as a safe space and avenue to express themselves.”
Mr. Law
Students can also take advantage of a repository of digital learning materials included in all subjects of the MOE curriculum. These materials, which include additional reading material, videos, images and audio files, are tailored to the curriculum. Students can access all of this material regardless of their level.
Simply put, the portal allows students to learn anytime, anywhere, explains Mr Loh. You can attend classes as often as you want, accelerate through what you already understand, and even learn things you like in addition to what you learned in class. “This type of personalized learning will level the playing field for those who need more help.”
AI complements educational efforts. Amid the rapid expansion and adoption of technology, all this talk may lead some parents to wonder if contact time with teachers will decrease and learning will become a more solitary practice.
Rather, Mr. Lo says: Technology allows teachers to better understand the learning needs of their students. It also frees up time and energy to nurture students and care for those who need more support.
Case in point: By next year, teachers will be able to mark assignments using two new AI-assisted features in SLS. Linguistic Feedback Assistant for English, known as LangFA-EL for short, can correct basic grammar and spelling errors in students' English assignments. Another tool, Short Answer Feedback Assistant (ShortAnsFA), provides grades and basic feedback for closed-ended, short-answer questions.
Grades and feedback given must be reviewed and approved by the teacher before being released to students. “Teachers are intentionally brought into the loop to act as a check on the AI and ensure that system feedback is accurate and pedagogically sound,” he adds.
These AI assistants allow teachers to focus on higher-level tasks with students and spend more time coaching those who are falling behind. “For example, English teachers can focus more on content or more complex tasks such as style and sentence structure,” he says.
The use of technology, including AI, has always been part of the EdTech plan for MOE schools.
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As the pandemic accelerated the adoption and acceptance of learning technologies, MOE built on this momentum by launching the Personal Learning Device Initiative (PLD Initiative) in 2021, seven years ahead of its original target of 2028.
That year, every secondary school student received their own PLD, such as an iPad or Chromebook, to help them build digital skills and learn effectively both online and offline.
This was possible because the initial information and communication technology (ICT) and education technology plans had prepared the Ministry well, Mr Loh said. Following the launch of SLS in 2018, MOE developed a framework for e-pedagogy in the following years to provide teachers with the know-how to design meaningful, technology-mediated learning experiences.
“Now that we have the three basic foundations in place: SLS software, e-pedagogy and access to PLD, we are ready to take the next step,” says Loh. “One of our areas of emphasis is the use of AI, which allows us to better assess students’ mastery of subjects and personalize learning.”
“Of course technology will bring about tremendous change. But some things remain the same. Teachers will continue to play a central role as leaders, guides and coordinators.”
Technology-based classrooms have become more dynamic and vibrant as students enjoy learning and collaborating more online.
“What we hear is that SLS also brings out quieter students, for example those who don't typically raise their hand to answer a question. They see online platforms as a safe space and avenue to express themselves.”
Technology has made it easier to encourage class participation, but it can also present some new challenges.
What feels like the emergence of AI overnight has put intelligent tools like ChatGPT in our hands. This led to talk about how laziness and cheating would increase if students could use these tools to write essays and solve problem sums. Some countries have tried to ban these tools from schools, but Loh believes this is not a sustainable solution.
MOE cannot ignore significant changes in the technology space, he says, and educators and students risk being left behind. Even if a ban is in place, students can still find ways to use these tools. In any case, there is no stopping the tide of AI. “Instead of banning, we should educate,” he said.
As the generative AI wave begins in 2023, the Department of Education has provided guidance to schools on how students can use these tools productively and what they should look out for.
“Students need to be educated about technology and its limitations. You can use ChatGPT as a sounding board for idea generation, but you need to fact-check content that is known to contain inaccuracies and may be out of date,” he says.
Teachers can monitor students' use of these tools in the classroom, but parents should help their children set healthy boundaries with technology at home, Mr Loh adds. He understands how difficult this is. He is a father of four teenagers, and he and his wife set limits on how much time each child can spend on their devices and for what purpose.
“As parents, we need to strike a balance between being regulatory and being accessible. “We want them to feel comfortable opening up to us and telling us what they’re going through, but we also need to teach them, provide guidance and teach them how to use the devices responsibly.”
Mr. Law
![](https://www.schoolbag.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/3-Aaron-Loh-1024x683.jpg)
“As parents, we need to strike a balance between being regulatory and being accessible. “We want them to feel comfortable opening up to us and telling us what they’re going through, but we also need to teach them, provide guidance and teach them how to use the devices responsibly.”
He loves seeing how comfortable his children are with technology and online activities: meeting classmates, doing research, cross-checking sources, creating shared documents, and working on school projects.
They acquire digital skills at school almost as a by-product of their learning, and as a parent, where his role comes is to impart guidance values.
Mr Loh believes parents have an opportunity to instill the right values about technology in their children.
“Once they reach a higher education level, they are almost on their own and parents have to let them go.”
The past six years as MOE's head of educational technology have been “eventful”, says Mr Loh, who took up the role of principal at Raffles Institution this year.
In another important step to improve student learning through technology, Mr Loh oversaw the deployment of Educational Technology Officers (ETOs) to support school clusters. This is a new role involving teachers in positions at MOE headquarters who will help upskill schools for the effective use of technology for teaching and learning.
Ultimately, the focus of his department's efforts is to improve student learning.
“As technology becomes more important, face-to-face connections between students and teachers become more important,” Loh summarizes. “Technology can help teachers focus more on the human side of education.”