Singapore, 19 May 2003

E-learning - a paradigm shift; Informatics is well positioned to offer all the benefits of e-learning
Today's content providers have wonderful resources. The challenge: add magic

E-learning is fast becoming a wonderful mode of education, particularly with the SARS situation still lingering on. E-learning is a great alternative to traditional classroom learning and a major shift in the education mindset of the community is expected.

Informatics, as a leader in e-learning in the region, is well-positioned to leverage on its world-class e-learning facilities and quality programmes, to offer all the great benefits, flexibilities and convenience of e-learning to the community. And, with over 700 online courses, there is definitely something available to suit everyone's needs. For e-learning, the world is the marketplace, as geographical boundaries no longer exist. That is the beauty of e-learning -- no restrictions, but with endless, invaluable global experiences with students from all over the world. You can get your degree anytime, anywhere.

A recent article on the "excitement" over e-learning is included here for your reference.

<Business Times, 15 May 2003>
By KENNETH JAMES

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We're talking, of course, about e-learning, the application of computers to formal teaching. Just a week into the forced school break, firms providing educational content online to schools and individual students were reporting sharp jumps in demand. Richard Yen, who runs Ednovation, one of the biggest e-learning players here, told BizIT: 'The Sars outbreak has made people sit up and pay attention, and may result in the 'legitimising' of e-learning and turn it into a 'mainstream necessity'.'
Indeed. While it's too early to start counting market gains, school-level e-learning clearly registered an important win in the mindshare battle during this period. And with more students - and their parents and teachers - experiencing for themselves the benefits of taking at least some of the school curriculum out of the classroom, the time when e-learning becomes a 'mainstream necessity' may not be too far away.

In one sense it already is. The proportion of Singapore homes with PCs is among the highest in the world, and a good majority of those who buy cite 'kids' education' as the main reason for their purchase. That's been true right from the early '80s when PCs were first introduced here.
The challenge, then as now, is getting the content right. In the mid-80s, I introduced my two pre-school children to the wonders of the PC, and quickly discovered what held their attention and what didn't. The 'count the oranges' type of programs drew disdainful 'been there, done that' looks. Picking out a-p-p-l-e on the keyboard in response to a picture of the fruit bored them to tears.

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Ah, but King's Quest was something else altogether. Interestingly, this program wasn't even marketed as educational software. King's Quest, created by Roberta Williams for Sierra Online, was a game, pure and simple. But what a game. There was a charming story line about magical adventures in the kingdom of Daventry. Most magically, the hero walked, climbed and swam in a three-dimensional landscape, a marvellous achievement in those days of rudimentary colour graphics.

Initially, Papa had to be at the keyboard because the hero moved on typed commands like 'walk', 'jump', 'pick', with Shantini and Krish willing and able navigators. Very soon, though, Shan, then all of five, wanted to type in the commands herself. Point is, she had to get the spelling exactly right, otherwise the hero wouldn't move. In this way, through the increasingly complex KQ II, III, IV and on, both the kids polished their spelling and typing - and importantly, exercised their creativity, imagination and initiative. And there was a lot of fun and joy in the process.

Today's educational software is miles more sophisticated and realistic, and with Internet access the amount of information available is mind-boggling. But is learning a magical experience for them? Is the child encouraged to think outside the box? Looking at software whose major selling point is that it covers the exam syllabus, one fears not.
Looked at positively, this simply spells opportunity for e-learning content providers. They have so much more to work with - PCs keep getting more powerful, Internet access is almost ubiquitous, and soon broadband Internet will be, too. It would be a shame to use all those resources simply to achieve a better virtual reproduction of the classroom experience.
Coping in today's world requires nothing less than a radical mindshift, becoming a more independent, creative, enterprising people. And as our educational authorities now acknowledge, that mindshift must begin in schools. E-learning, properly developed, could help achieve that mindshift.

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