MICA (P) No: 057/10/2006

9th Issue | July 2007

Message from CEO

Three years ago, we set out to be a pan-Asian leader in providing innovative
ICT solutions to support teaching and learning. We have now achieved a major
milestone in that journey.
ASKnLearn will merge with Educomp Solutions Ltd, India’s leader in ICT solutions
for schools. It opens up exciting new channels for us. We can now tap on
Educomp’s network into a potential 1 million Indian schools, as well as ride
on Educomp’s outreach in the USA and Middle East. The many innovative
products we have built over the last 7 years can now find their way into these
exciting markets. At the same time, ASKnLearn can tap on thousands of high
quality multimedia content that has made Educomp into the leading supplier
of teacher-led multimedia content in India. This will strengthen our product offerings to our existing
customers throughout Asia. Indeed a synergistic tie between two leading education technology companies!

Operationally, there will be no change. We will continue to service our many loyal customers in Singapore
and in the region. ASKnLearn will be the operational HQ for Asia, as well as a base for research and
development. ASKnLearn will continue its tradition of innovating education. Educomp has been a leader
in India in R&D in ICT in Education. Both companies will continue the culture of constantly exploring
technology to more efficiently and effectively deploy solutions to support teaching and learning.

In this issue, we feature Educomp, various ASKnLearn and partners' technologies, stories from schools
in the use of ICT, and spotlight our ICT training programme that has helped a number of schools win
national awards. We also welcome back Marc Checkley as our resident Editor and video journalism
specialist.

We look forward to your continued support.

Yee Jenn Jong

CEO, ASKnLearn Group of Companies
eNNOVATE TEAM
Editorial
THE JOURNEY OF INNOVATION
Educomp Solutions began its journey in 1994 with a vision to use technology to transform the teaching-learning
CEO process.
Yee Jenn Jong
COO
Dr Ngoi Kian Peng Founded by Shantanu Prakash, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM-A), he foresaw vast potential
in growing Information Technology based education and its impact on raising the quality of learning. His dynamic
Education Director
Sharon Ngoi pursuit of technology-enabled education resulted in Educomp becoming the number one education company in India
reaching out to more than one million learners, with operations in the US and South East Asia.
Editor
Marc Checkley
[email protected] Investment in Research and Development has been critical to Educomp’s growth. Today it has the largest R&D budget
Contributors for education in India’s private sector. This has resulted in a multitude of pioneering world-class educational products
Loyang Secondary School, Nanyang launched by the company.
Girls’ High School, Shuqun Secondary
School and Wellington Primary
One of these products is Smart_Class, installed in more than 330 Indian schools, is a teacher-led content system
Contributing Partners
EDN Media Pte Ltd, AdaptACE Pte Ltd that dramatically improves learning effectiveness in classrooms. It allows teachers to move beyond 'chalk and talk'
to create a multi-sensory learning environment.
Design
Designer Another of Educomp's core product is providing ICT training and resources for government schools, where it is
Emily Goh supporting some 6,000 schools currently across various states. Within the past 2 months for example, Educomp
Sales and Marketing
secured new contracts from the Gujarat and Haryana state governments to support some 3,600 schools in ICT
training.
Vice-President (Education)
Victor Yuk
Other examples are Roots 2 Wings, India's first structured pre-school learning system and the Learning Leadership
AMT/ SET
Allen Poon
System that consists of more than 200,000 pages of lesson plans, books, processes, policies and best practices,
Garett Chen which any school in India can adopt to transform their learning system. On the web there's Mathguru.com and
Marvin Ang Mentoraide, unique online tutoring systems that focus on assisting overseas school students learn mathematics
Lek Li ling from some of the best teachers in India.
Nurul Balkis
Bernard Chen
Mike Kok Educomp leverages its leadership position to further strengthen its market share in professional development and
turnkey solutions for schools. It is India’s largest professional development company impacting more than 150,000
How to get a free copy of e-nnovate? teachers, directly or indirectly, each year their proprietary programs and pedagogy systems. It partners with central
e-nnovate is available free of charge to and state government to bridge the digital divide in schools across India.
teachers and other qualified
professionals in the education and e- Over the years Educomp has been the recipient of some prestigious awards. In 2005 it won the CNBC TV18 Emerging
learning community. E-mail to
[email protected] for enquiry.
India Award as company of the year and was recently hailed a ‘future Titan’ featuring among the top 16 hottest
companies in India by Outlook Business.
Tell us your news
Schools interested in featuring your “We see ourselves as an education transformation company,” says founder and managing director Shantanu Prakash.
exciting IT projects in this publication, “We see a place for our products and services in every classroom in the world. As the world makes the shift to a
may email your article to: knowledge economy, as the internet creates a level playing field for the digital have-nots of the world, we see a
[email protected]
boundary-less world where education and learning will be the key drivers of economic empowerment.”
Disclaimer
Although every reasonable care has In the course of its 13-year journey, Educomp has grown from two to 1300 people. From being a closely held company
been taken to ensure the accuracy and to a public listed one that impacts more than a million students and educators every day.
objectivity of the information contained
in this publication. The publisher, editor
and employees cannot be held liable for With education at its heart, Educomp’s mission is to be among the top 10 learning solution companies worldwide
any errors, inaccuracies or omissions.
However, we are committed to
by 2010.
correcting serious errors should these
be detected.
Smart Class
e-nnovate is published by ASKnLearn
Pte Ltd Educomp's Smart_Class™ is a proven solution that has helped thousands of teachers
10 Science Park Road in India, USA and Singapore through instructionally sound and highly engaging digital
#03 – 13 The Alpha Singapore materials designed to aid teaching in the classroom. This is achieved through hundreds
Science Park II of hours of digital multimedia instruction materials mapped precisely to the
Singapore 117684
Tel: 6776 2013 curriculum of the Ministry of Education, Singapore.
E-mail: [email protected]
RCB Reg. No: 199905014N The smart class instructional materials consist of multimedia lesson modules that
teachers can display through classroom projectors to guide the lessons. The materials
enhance a teacher's effectiveness and productivity by providing media-rich resources
ready for instant use. The animations, 3D models and interactive activities help
stimulate students' interest in the content.

The Smart Class repository is internet ready and can easily be accessed by the
students and teachers via internet from their homes. An intranet model is also available
for faster and more reliable access in the classrooms.
Subjects currently available for subscription by Singapore schools are:
Secondary 1-4 Mathematics Secondary 1-4 Geography
Secondary 3-4 Biology, Physics and Chemistry Secondary 1-2 General Science

2
 Singapore Learning Update

ONE SITE TO BRING THEM ALL

Singapore Learning is being revamped in preparation of an exciting new venture with IDA.

This comes after ASKnLearn was awarded a project under the Public Private Partnership Scheme to
make the official one-stop-spot for students. SingaporeLearning consolidates various government
information and services for five to 12 year olds under the government eCitizen initiatives.

As well as being a virtual meeting place for students to blog, they will also be able to join forum discussions,
access learning content, share jokes and explore links to other kid-friendly sites on the web.

Launched only in May 2006, SingaporeLearning is undergoing a major revamp to ready itself for the
new services. Already SingaporeLearning has secured partnerships with kids service providers such
as Kidsworld Media (Wawa Magazine), Cybermalayu.com, Cybertamil.com and Kidzgrow. These companies
will help to provide a wider outreach to users through content, activities and publicity exchange.

The new portal is supported by the Public Private Partnership scheme, a long-term relationship between
the public and private sectors to deliver services to Singaporeans. The scheme allows the public sector to focus on acquiring services at the most cost-
effective basis using the expertise and resources of the private sector.

Besides being the official government portal for kid’s services, SingaporeLearning.com will also be the site where learning and community comes
together under one roof.

SingaporeLearning.com invites schools to be its partner to open up this exciting new channel for teachers to share content with each other and showcase
student’s work.

Watch out for more exciting activities to be released on the portal soon!

VITAL UPGRADE
Teachers wanting to upgrade their skills can benefit from a new set of learning courseware.

The Ministry of Education has awarded ASKnLearn to supply more than 40 coursewares from the libraries of
ASKnLearn and Thomson NETg. Since 2003 ASKnLearn has supplied courseware for teachers on the ministry’s
staff training portal, VITAL.

One of the new coursewares helps to deconstruct science misconceptions. It is designed to clarify science
fallacies among children and adults, with tips and notes for teachers on how to explain the concepts to their
students.

Other coursewares supplied by ASKnLearn include. Misconceptions

Science And Mathematics Series NETg Library

Cycles Interpersonal Communication
Diversity Presentation Skills
Systems Employee Performance
Energy Change Management
Interaction Organisational Skills
Biologic – Man and His Environment Leadership and Managerial development
Biologic for Secondary Science – Recycling Plastic, Biobugs, Service excellence
Sulphur Recovery Unit and Environmentally Friendly Cars Creativity
Application of Nanotechnology In The Classroom Team Management

Teaching Selected Primary 5 & 6 Mathematics Topics Stress Management

Teaching Selected Primary Science Topics

These libraries are available from April 2007 to March 2008 on VITAL. 3
 It’s a weird concept, writing for Ennovate. I Auckland and Philadelphia! Around this time I also decided to not go down
mean, it’s not the publication I find quizzical, the same path of studying television but to divert to journalism and see
it’s just the very thought of contributing to where that would take me.
ASKnLearn’s industry publication (let alone
Full Circle editing this issue) is still something I’m coming In the end it was the greatest decision as I discovered journalism is my
to terms with. I remember the days when ‘umbrella’. It covers all aspects of communication and can adapt to suit.
ASKnLearn didn’t even have an internet My major not only covered print but also radio, the web and television
By connection in its office, let alone its own journalism, so in essence I had all bases covered.
Marc Checkley magazine!
It’s funny how things go in circles. On March
It was a pioneering time for ASKnLearn when 23 I graduated from Auckland University
I joined the company in February 2000. There was only a few of us and of Technology and now that my studies are
it was indeed a challenge to make our presence felt in a saturated dot-com finally out of the way it’s time to set sail
market. It wasn’t long though before we were making inroads, not only in for another adventure. In September I’m
interactive learning technologies but also in creating a new generation of heading to Beijng to join the China Daily
student filmmakers. The video production course became very popular and News as a journalist. Due to this, my first
it was great seeing students grasp skills in such a dynamic medium. Around port of call is Singapore and I’ll be working
the same time the School Video Awards was launched giving students an Marc Checkley with ASKnLearn and Laras Ethno to again
outlet for their creativity. ignite creativity in Singapore students both in video, drama and a newly
developed TV Journalism course that puts participants in the thick of a
By the time I left ASKnLearn, I’d taught at more than 30% of schools and television newsroom.
been to every MRT station (excluding the north-east line) at least once.
Every day we learn something new. The challenge is not to let these
In late-2003 I began to ponder my next move. I had half a degree back moments go to waste. I feel very fortunate to have been involved with
home so decided I should finish what I began. Revisiting student life was ASKnLearn in its early days and my time there has contributed to this new
tough at first but it did allow me to concentrate on personal creative path I’m now travelling, one that seems familiar yet new and exciting all
challenges again. In my first year I wrote, directed and edited ‘Ball Game’, at once. It comes down to following your bliss, all the more better if we
a short romantic-comedy, which ended up playing at film festivals in Sydney, can make that journey in the company of others.

Schools interested in TV Journalism and other media arts courses can contact [email protected].

HORRIFIC START TO A RELATIONSHIP By Marc Checkley

Singapore filmmakers have gained a new ally in the southern reaches of stories for the international market,” says Julie Christie, CEO, Eyeworks
the Pacific Ocean. Touchdown.

A deal struck between New Zealand’s Eyeworks Touchdown Productions It’s not just the industry that is gaining from this artistic relationship. The
and Singapore’s MediaCorp Raintree Pictures will see the release of two New Zealand Film Festival, now in its fourth year, organised by New
co-produced horror films in 2007. The Tattooist and Altar are the first Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and the Singapore Film Society has
feature films to be made under the countries’ Audio Visual Agreement signed been exposing Singaporean audiences to the eclectic portfolio of Kiwi-
by Prime Ministers Lee Hsien Loong and Helen Clark last year. made films.

The New Zealand based film Tattooist is described as a psychological thriller NZTE played a key role in facilitating the New Zealand/Singapore co-
with elements of horror. The plot production and is providing assistance in a Strategic Investment Fund
involves an American tattoo artist, grant to Eyeworks Touchdown to develop projects in Asia using local and
played by Jason Behr (Roswell, The international talent. This is a welcome boost to Singapore’s media industry
Grudge), who discovers the ancient and will broaden the options for those wanting to pursue a career in film
tradition of Samoan tatau and is and television production.
taken on a devastating journey into
Pacific mysticism. The film also stars Singaporean actress Caroline Cheong “This is great news for the local industry,” says Benny Tan aspiring
(Light Years). filmmaker currently in National Service. “I believe the [co-production]
agreement will provide a whole new avenue for talented and creative
Altar, which begins filming in Singapore later this year, is about an Asian Singaporeans. I can’t wait to be part of it.”
embryo ghost.
As the local film industry expands the education market will see a greater
The films are the beginning of what is hoped to be a long-term relationship demand for courses in media arts and production. The alliance between
between the two production houses. It is also hoped Singaporean filmmakers Eyeworks Touchdown and Raintree Pictures is poised to generate a new
will gain greater experience and opportunities from working with their New economy for Singapore and South East Asia.
Zealand counterparts. Over the past decade the Pacific nation has earned
the reputation of being Hollywood’s ‘home away from home’. “No longer will film be seen as a weekend hobby but a viable career
choice,” says Tan.
“When you consider the array of award-winning talent and
infrastructure, New Zealand presents a very compelling proposition Filmed on locations in Auckland, Waitakere City and Singapore, the Tattooist
as a creative partner,” says Daniel Yun, CEO Mediacorp Raintree will open on New Zealand screens on August 30. It is financed by the
Pictures. New Zealand Film Commission, MediaCorp Raintree Pictures and supported
by the Singapore Film Commission a branch of the Media Development
“Both Singapore and New Zealand markets by themselves are small. We Authority.
believe we can use specific elements from each of our cultures to develop Additional information from Film New Zealand.
4
 PODCASTING THE WEBCASTING
WORLD
TEACHERS HOOK ONTO NETCASTING
Article by Normarina Noordin, ASKnLearn Multimedia Educator at Shuqun Seconday School

By Marc Checkley The moment I watched my friend Kevin

Lim’s netcast, which showed the term
Podcasting is a great way for kids to share their work and experiences finale for his class at the Singapore
with a global internet audience. Schools the world over are becoming part Management University, it left me deeply
of this new tech-movement promoting what they do and to celebrate the inspired. The video highlighted his unique
achievements of their students in an entertaining way. teaching style and techniques. As people
usually learn through repetition and visualisation, I believe netcasting
In essence a Podcast is like a radio is a fantastic way of teaching our students as it fulfills both these
programme. However, instead of being criteria. However, netcasting is not as widely adopted in primary and
broadcast live, it is recorded and then secondary schools as compared to the tertiary sector.
uploaded to the internet where users can
download and listen to it wherever and Why isn’t net or podcasting popular with more teachers? It’s frequently
whenever they want. Whatever your voiced that teachers perceive it to be difficult. In addition, many
interest, you’re bound to find a Podcast teachers feel too self-conscious to put themselves online.
about it, from Hollywood gossip to movie reviews, cooking programmes to
foreign language education, it’s all there to listen to. Being a blogger and an avid netcaster myself,
I know that netcasting is a wonderful way of
Software like iTunes, available for Mac and PC, allow you to subscribe to learning and sharing information. So I decided
the Podcasts you enjoy. Each new episode will be automatically downloaded to conduct a presentation on netcasting to
to your computer where you can listen or transfer to your portable music Shuqun Secondary School during their weekly
device such as the iPod. This means you can have entertainment on the way teacher’s meeting to share on the potential of netcasting in education.
to work or walking the dog.
The response was positive. A number of teachers were intrigued and
For kids, Podcasting has many benefits. It’s great for developing literacy are willing to give netcasting a try after seeing how it has been
skills, writing scripts, organising interviews and researching information. implemented in tertiary schools.
It’s also a great outlet for them to practice their speaking and enunciation,
which can benefit them in socialising and explaining their thoughts and ideas Mr Gopal, the head of department for mathematics at Shuqun
clearly. On the tech side, kids get to learn new ICT skills such as voice Secondary School approached me regarding netcasting. Being self
recording and editing and even foley (sound effects) and music composition. conscious, he was initially concerned about filming himself. We
worked around it by filming him solving one of his class tests without
So where do you start? The basic equipment you need is a computer with showing his face. The footage was then digitalized and uploaded to
a line or microphone input and some audio recording software. Audacity is the ASKnLearn netcast function for his students to view.
a free download for both Mac and PC. You can record, edit and mix audio
all in one place. iTunes converts your recording to .mp3 or .aac(mp4) format The feedback from his students was positive. They appreciated the
that you can upload to your website. fact that they were able to pause and replay the movie till they were
able to comprehend the solutions. The netcast has aided their
The best way to get into Podcasting is to download some and have a listen. understanding at their own learning pace.
Burn the best ones to CD and play to your students. Start off small, one
show per month. If the ideas start flying it could become a weekly project Many teachers followed suit. Ms Foo Ying
that can be heard in the furthest corners of the planet. Hui, used netcasting to showcase the
student’s discussion on the topic of ‘Anger
Students can broadcast their school news or record interviews from school Management’. Ms Jasmine Tan used
events. They can interview other students, teachers, members of the netcasting to archive a literature workshop
community and visitors to the school. They can make up ‘radio plays’ and she conducted. And most recently, Mdm Teresa Michael used a
act them out or even compose/perform music for their audiences listening netcast of her science lesson for the sharing session during the yearly
pleasure. teacher’s renewal.

Podcasting is easy. With a bit of groundwork and practice the possibilities The fact that more and more teachers are aware of netcasting has
are endless. Not only can kids learn new creative skills, they also discover been an exciting development. I believe that with time, the netcasting
how they can be empowered by their own media. It’s the amalgamation of culture will become more widely used as the teachers further their
technology and artistic creativity. skills in this inspirational technology.

Students and teachers can take to the Podcast airwaves by using Edulearn’s Links
http://www.asknlearn.com/contentpackaging/52746/htmlviewer/htmlviewer.htm
webcast function in its courseware package.
http://www.asknlearn.com/contentpackaging/53521/htmlviewer/htmlviewer.htm

5
ASKnLearn started the Project Engagement Team (PET) in 2005 with just 4 trainers in response to rising demand for short-term ICT training,
due in part to its commitment as Adobe training partner in IDA InfoComm Club programme. Since then, the team size has more than doubled with
increasing number of schools engaging our training services.

The schools we have trained in have produced impressive results, winning awards in many national
competitions. Here are some of the recent awards assisted by PET training:

8th School Video Awards

The 2006 School Video Awards saw achievements for teams trained under the guidance of dedicated
PET leader, Mr Astley Wong. River Valley Primary and CHIJ Toa Payoh Secondary won Silver Awards
while Evergreen Secondary School & Northland Secondary received Merit Awards.

National StrITwise Challenge 2006

ASKnLearn was the official training partner for the NATIONAL StrITwise CHALLENGE 2006 (http://stritwise.ict.np.edu.sg) This competition was
jointly organized by the School of InfoComm Technology, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Infocomm Development Authority (iDA) of Singapore under
the National InfoComm Competition initiative. The winning teams must possess broad-based programming and design skills as well as general IT
knowledge. Challenges include programming a virtual robot to compete against the robot of another team in a virtual arena, and an IT Savvyness
Quiz.

Seven teams trained by ASKnLearn emerged amongst the15 winning teams. Congratulations to all winners!

British Council Digital Art Competition 2007 NYGH Winning Entries at ActionScript Awards
Gold, Silver & Bronze award Article by Chiu Wee Ming, ASKnLearn Educator at NYGH

This year’s competition required students to use digital art to create It was a joyous day for Nanyang Girls’ High
an awareness of climate change and global warming. Raffles Institution School as eight members of the Infocomm
and the Singapore Sports School won Gold, Silver and Bronze awards. Club won a silver award and two merit
awards in the annual Actionscript Awards
Ms Eka & Ms Fion Lum provided these participants with training. In competition.
addition, Tanjong Katong Secondary, with ASKnLearn full-time IT
educator, also secured the other Gold in the secondary category. The winning team underwent an Advanced
Flash course (including Action Scripting) twice a week over two months,
conducted by ASKnLearn dedicated trainer Mr Felix Goh and assisted
by myself. Within a short period of 10 days, the students completed
their projects. The students put in great effort, interest and commitment
Pitch 07 Ideas Alive in producing the award winning entry despite their busy schedules.
Pitch 07 is an Advertising and Public Relations Competitions and
Conference organised for Secondary two to five students by Ngee The entry showcased their capability and creativity with digital drawing
and also their high level of understanding of Adobe Flash. Below are
Ann Polytechnic. Participants from CHIJ St Theresa’s Convent screen shots of their entry:
brainstormed ideas together with training guidance from Mr Astley
Wong and Ms Fion Lum. Their hard work paid off, attaining the Silver
Award.

For a listing of award winning teams trained by ASKnLearn, see http://www.asknlearn.com/schoolawards

6
 PRIZED ACHIEVERS By Marc Checkley

ASKnLearn rewarded the achievements of two high-flying students at Ngee Ann

Polytechnic last month.

Ng Soo Ee Faith and Lum Yi Leong Lionel received the awards at their graduation ceremonies
on June 11 and June 13 respectively. The prizes celebrate achievement in information
technology and E-marketing AsknLearn has been provided to the polytechnic since 2001.

Ng (20) who graduated with a diploma with merit in business studies received the E-
Marketing award as part of her marketing module that explored ways to increase net-
traffic to websites.

“I find customer behaviour really interesting,” says Ng, who comes from Nanyang Girls’
High School prior to entering the polytechnic. “The module looked at bridging relationships
with online customers and how viral marketing can give an I.T business more presence
on the web.” Mr Yee with ASKnLearn's prize winners.
From L-R, Mr Lum Yi Leong (2007) and Mr Ng Yun Chi (2006)
Ng is waiting to enter Singapore Management University where she will begin studies for a Bachelor of Business and Administration. Upon graduating
she hopes to secure a job in marketing.

Lum (20) originally from Regent Secondary School, won the ASKnLearn prize for outstanding academic achievement, graduating with a diploma with
merit in multimedia computing. He was also the recipient of the IDA Gold Medal for most outstanding performance.

When he began his studies at Ngee Ann he had no intention to win any awards but changed tack when he entered third year.

“I consider myself very lucky. I saw the opportunity and decided to go for it. I just tried my best.”

Lum’s interest in media and art began as an after school hobby. For him, Ngee Ann was the ideal place to begin a career in multimedia. Following his
National Service, which begins in October, Lum is planning to take his skills to the next level.

“I’m wanting to do a Bachelor of Fine Arts at NTU specialising in Art Design and Media. I also have an interest in business and I’m hoping to combine
the two.”

Both Ng and Lum are appreciative of the award provided to them by ASKnLearn. While Ng has yet to decide what she will do with the prize, Lum says
it will come in handy for his celebratory post-graduation trip to Hong Kong next month.

PRIZE WINNER GIVES BACK By Marc Checkley

NP School of ICT, IDA Gold Medal Winner

A prizewinner from Ngee Ann Polytechnic has gone back to secondary school.

Lim Wei Jie Ivan (20), who studied at Bendeemer Secondary before opting for the ICT course at Ngee Ann
Polytechnic, won the IDA Gold Medal for the (2006/2007) academic year. He was presented with the
prestigious award at his graduation ceremony on June 13.

While waiting to enter National Service in August, Ivan has returned to his Alma Matar Bendeemer Secondary
to assist in IT activities.

“It was really quite a coincidence,” says Ivan. “I accompanied my mother to a school breakfast for parents.
While there I chatted with the teachers and the principal about my studies. The principal then asked if I’d
like to help at the school.”

Ivan’s interests in computing began during his childhood when his uncle bought a personal computer. He
spent many afternoons on the now very dated 486 machine.
Ivan Lim Wei Jie
“From there I slowly learned about computers. Then in Primary 4 I got my own computer and took a few courses while attending secondary school.”

Whilst at Bendemeer, Ivan wants to promote and share his interests in ICT with his students. Upon completing NS he wants to further his studies by
doing a Bachelor of Computer Science at NTU.

Bendeemer Secondary is one of the first schools in Singapore to offer Computer Science as an O level subject and is also offering Infocomm as a CCA
under IDA support since 2006. ASKnLearn is pleased to be the ICT training and e-learning provider at Bendeemer Secondary since 2003.

7
 News from schools

DRAGONS & SPACESHIPS

SOAR TO FIRST PLACE
Camp Comes Alive
By Marc Checkley, with information supplied by Alan Tan, ASKnLearn
With Bloggers
Multimedia Educator at Wellington Primary School. at Loyang Secondary School
Wellington Primary School has taken top honours Article by Adrian Fan, ASKnLearn Multimedia Educator at Loyang Secondary School
at AniMania ’07. The annual competition organised by
CreativeBITS provides budding animators a platform The school’s term 1 ended with a big bang
for creative expression. for Loyang Secondary. The whole school was
involved in the Great School Camp from 5 to
The school was awarded Best Game Creation at the 9 March.
ceremony held at the Woodlands Regional Library on
March 24.
The school’s IT Educator and Infocomm Club
Andromeda, is a scrolling shooter game of spaceships members collaborated with the Media Club on
and dragons with a scientific theme. Its creator, Lakshit the setup of information distribution using the EduLearn Blog System.
Kumar (12) of Primary 6C, has had a keen interest in
game building for some time. Infocomm Club members went through thorough blog training, ranging from
“The easiest part is creating rooms and levels,” says resizing original photos, blog script editing to uploading and previewing the blogs
Lakshit. “I just clicked around the room space where posted.
I wanted to put the game objects. It was more difficult
writing the scripts for the pop up questions. I had to The members of both clubs put in a lot of
look up my textbook to find all the questions!” effort to gather and post the information daily
with some news items going live as soon as
Lakshit built Andromeda on Game Maker 6, a Windows
based software, which is free to download. Wellington the event was completed.
Primary’s multimedia educator Alan Tan says Lakshit’s
win shows the positives games can bring to the learning “Despite being the first time Loyang Secondary
environment. has run live blogs, the students did an excellent
job in gathering the information and editing
“They gain knowledge in their analytical thinking and
creativity skills,” says Tan. “It also reinforces what the blog site and putting up ‘live’ news,” says Multimedia Educator Adrian Fan.
they have learnt in the classroom and from textbooks.
Learning through playing is not impossible – it just “It was a great way to develop the student’s leadership skills and talents in a
depends on how you do it.” variety of areas especially in digital photography, video filming, writing, oral
presentation and internet publishing.”
This year’s competition saw a total
of 18 awards chosen from more On 25 May Loyang Secondary also held an innovation day where it showcased
than 100 entries. They were judged its new portable video studio.
on their creativity, concept,
aesthetics and technical skill. Those
with an educational value were
looked on more favourably. Also new Overseas News
this year, online voting results were
LAKSHIT & TEACHER incorporated into the total grading
system. Wellington Primary was the only primary school New overseas deployment – Come the new academic year, students
to win in the open S.U.V – Game Creation category.
at the Shanghai Singapore International School and Raffles International
For his efforts Lakshit won a guitar and a trophy for Christian School in Jakarta will be using EduLearn, contents and other
his school. He says the competition was a thoroughly
enjoyable experience and he looks forward to putting innovative solutions from ASKnLearn. We welcome these two prestigious
his game-building prowess into other projects. international schools into the growing fold of ASKnLearn international
Wellington Primary School will host the National eGame users and look forward to help bring Singapore education content and
Creation Competition later this year. tools to students in China and Indonesia.
More information can be found at:
http://www.wellingtonprimary.moe.edu.sg/
competition.asp

http://www.animania.com.sg

8
 Edulearn update
Edulearn Email eNoticeBoard
A new function called This function allows teachers in the
'EduLearn Email' allows school to post school events, school
teachers to send messages announcements, reminders for
to students and students to homework, tests and exams for the
reply back to that message entire school or for individual classes
or send new messages to or students.
teachers or their classmates.
These notices appear in an easy to
You can even add attachments view calendar based layout.
to your message, much like email and it has a built in WYSIWYG
HTML editor for users to format their emails.

Content Updates Eduvideo function

ASKnLearn school clients can now enjoy these new content EduVideo is a new feature in EduLearn
from ASKnLearn in their school portals: (Course Package) that allows teachers
Sec 2 - Summary For Secondary Students (English) to easily insert MOE ETD's educational
videos to their courses.
Sec 3 - Social Studies
It comes with a video preview that allows
Pri 6 - Solving Mathematics Problems (Saving Phos) you to view the videos before adding them
to your course package.
Pri 1 - Solving Mathematics Problems (Saving Phos)

Pri 3 to 6 - Misconceptions in Primary Science

Subjects available:
Pri 1, 2, 3 Mathematics Mastery Quizes added into existing Primary
Mathematics Series
Primary: English, Maths, Science, Social Studies, Malay, Chinese & Tamil
Educomp Primary 1 to 6 English Channels (Selected content from Secondary: Maths, Art, Biology, Chemistry, Chinese, D&T, Geography, History,
India's Grammar, Genre, Reading, Vocabulary repository) Home-Economics, Malay, Physics, Science & Tamil

ArtAni
ArtAni is a rapid animation tool
developed by WizLearn in
KooBits
collaboration with NTU School of ASKnLearn is pleased to partner
Computer Engineering, with Personal E-Motion Pte Ltd, an innovative
start-up company of the National University
support from the InfoComm of Singapore to bring the KooBits Interactive
Development Authority Innovation E-Book to primary schools.
Development Scheme. It uses
advance algorithms to represent drawings and to create auto-generation Originally called PEM
Book, the software has
of in-between scenes. It is so easy to use that even primary students undergone major revamp
can easily master with just 30 minutes of training. after intensive piloting at
several primary schools
ArtAni is useful as an education tool for: in 2006. It is now
relaunched as KooBits,
packed with more
Rapid prototyping of storyboards for animation students intuitive user interface,
Creation of quick animation to illustrate teaching and learning intelligent fusion of
concepts graphics and animation
according to active text input, multi-language input,
spell checker, increase digital libraries and many more
ArtAni has been piloted tested with primary, secondary and university students in features!
Singapore, China, Indonesia and Taiwan. An agreement was signed with Lin Tung
University, the largest animation training institution in Taiwan to explore cross-borders
collaboration on animation research and usage. ArtAni will also feature as an animation
tool in Raffles International Christian School's Centre of Excellence in Digital Art and
animation in Jakarta.
9
Item Analysis and Calibration Project Highlights
Relevance of IQ-Type Items

Several interesting findings arose from an item analysis and calibration project, involving
the participation of over 1300 Primary 6 students from six Primary Schools in the East
Zone cluster. Over a period of 3 months in 2006, a total of 500 Mathematics MCQ items
were calibrated and analysed. Item 3 is another example of an IQ-type or non-routine
item which is difficult (only 30% of the students got it
In the last issue, I highlighted examples of items that were identified as ambiguous or correct) with fairly good discrimination. The correct
inappropriate for the students, and others which highlighted the students’ lack of answer is (4). However item analysis showed the high
understanding on a particular topic. endorsement rate for alternative (3) could indicate a
possible misconception or weakness in understanding this
A third finding arose from the use of IQ-type or non-routine items dealing with logical topic. Essentially the zero item-theta correlation for
thinking, general knowledge or practical aspects which is generally not covered in the alternative 3 suggests that even some of the better
syllabus. students are making this mistake. Given that this topic
is not covered in the syllabus, is it appropriate to penalise
them?
Item 1. What is the missing number in the following sequence?

1 , 5, 14, , 55, … Item 4. 4 cuts were made on a 2.8m wooden pole

to get a few shorter pieces of equal length.
What is the length of one short piece in cm?
(1) 21
(1) 5.6 cm
(2) 24
(3) 25 (2) 7.0 cm
(4) 30 (3) 56.0 cm

Item 2. Study the figure below carefully. How many cubes are needed (4) 70.0 cm
to form the 10th layer?
Fig 3: Example of IQ-type or non-routine items
1st layer which is not appropriate
2nd layer
.
(1) 10 . Similarly, Item 4 is an example of an IQ-type or non-
(2) 30 . routine item which is a difficult item (only 29% of the
.
. students got it correct) with good discrimination.
(3) 55 . Unfortunately the item analysis showed that not only
. did alternative (4) garner a higher endorsement rate of
(4) 75 .
10th layer 33%, it even had a higher item-theta correlation, which
means that more of the better students had chosen
Fig 1: Examples of IQ-type or non-routine items with good discrimination alternative (4) than the correct answer (3). Obviously
this item is not suitable and should be invalidated and
Items 1 and 2 are typical IQ-type or non-routine items. It is difficult (only 40% and 53% removed from the item bank.
of the students got it correct respectively) but item analysis showed that both items had
fairly good discrimination, which means those who got it correct were the better students. In conclusion, while most of these IQ-type or non-routine
The correct answer is (4) for Item 1 and (3) for Item 2. items do discriminate well, and are appropriate as test
items, some items were found to have some “ambiguity”
Item 3. There were some soft toys in a jumble sale. Ali bought ¾ of or “inappropriateness”. It is suggested that students be
all the soft toys and was given 10 soft toys free. Next, Bob bought ¾ given more exposure to such IQ-type and non-routine
of the remaining soft toys and was given 4 soft toys free. Later, Chen items if these exercises are to be used in tests and
Ee bought ¾ of the remaining soft toys and was given 1 soft toy free. assessments. Without a proper item analysis, it would
If there were 3 soft toys left in the sale, how many soft toys were there not be possible to differentiate between these items.
at first?

(1) 80
(2) 90
William Tan is the Executive Director of AdaptACE Pte Ltd. AdaptACE
(3) 280 provides item analysis, item calibration and Computerised Adaptive Testing
(CAT) services. William can be contacted at [email protected]
(4) 360
Fig 2: Example of IQ-type or non-routine items which may not be appropriate

Article by Mr William Tan Boon Kim, MBA (Management of IT), MA (Instructional Design and Technology).
10
 A Blossoming Relationship: ASKnLearn partners Fujitsu Asia Private Limited
By Yee Jenn Jong

ASKnLearn is now an education partner of Fujitsu Asia. It is a meeting of minds of two innovative
companies. In our visit to Fujitsu’s Tokyo headquarters in April, we were excited by the many new
technologies that Fujitsu has built. Cool gadgets, robots, intelligent rooms, palm vein biomatrics,
Steganography and many more latest inventions clearly demonstrated the ingenuity of the company
to push the frontiers of ICT. In the near future, we hope to apply these technologies to schools in
Singapore and other parts of South East Asia.

An added bonus is the perfect timing of our visit to Japan,

where we caught the start of the short Cherry blossom
Posing with Fujitsu's staff and their Electronic Paper technology season – an auspicious sign of the start of our blossoming
exhibit at Fujitsu Laboratory at Kawasaki
collaboration with Japan’s largest ICT company. Indeed
a spectacular sight to behold thousands flocking to Ueno
park to picnic under long neat rows of Cherry trees.
The Fujitsu Robot

BAHASA GETS AN UPGRADE

Article by Mr Izzat B Md Ismail, EDN Media Pte Ltd, Tel: 6566 9969.

EDN Media is pleased to introduce a new product for the learning of Bahasa Melayu - the Electronic
Dictionary e-Kamus, which provides immediate English-Bahasa Melayu translation with just a click of a
button.

What is e-Kamus?
E-Kamus is a bilingual electronic dictionary designed to simplify the search for meaning of words and
technical terms/terminology through the use of technology.

In order to cater to the varying needs of users, the latest version of e-Kamus (5.02) helps users find meanings
of words with greater accuracy and efficiency. Similar to its predecessors, the content of e-Kamus is
updated regularly.

Application and Use Advantages

Convenient and faster search
Can be used as a reference material/source of the meaning of words
Pronunciation of words
Solves comprehension difficulties Clearer information display
Assists in preparation of homework/reports Provides meaning of words
Helps in preparation of meeting minutes Free Malay Language spell-check, including for MS Word.
Aids in broadening English vocabulary More than 500,000 words
Regular content-update
Suitable for text-based applications
In its search engine these dictionaries are available:

Kamus Inggeris-Melayu (DBP) English Dictionary (Oxford) Kamus Istilah Kejuruteraan (DBP)

Kamus Melayu-English (K.M) English Dictionary (Peter Collin) Kamus Istilah Komputer (DBP)

English-Malay Dictionary (Times) Kamus Istilah Sains (DBP) Dictionary of Medicine

Kamus Dewan Edisi Ketiga (DBP) Kamus Istilah Matematik (DBP) Dictionary of Computer

EDN is Singapore's leading provider of Bahasa Melayu and Tamil e-learning content, as well as the largest provider of cultural education tours in
Singapore. EDN also provides training for students in creative writing and has a richsuite of Bahasa Melayu education CDs, software and resources
11
Swashbuckling swordsmen, Georgian pirates, galactic warriors and Mr Chong says that over the past three months the team at IAH has
pounding trance music came together last month for the launch of the much been hard at work optimising the game for its local audience, allowing
anticipated online game Granado Espada. for cultural and religious sensitivities while maintaining the game’s
overall experience.
The massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) by legendary
gaming producer Hakkyu Kim had its South-East Asian premiere at Singapore’s “It’s about conquering the New World,” says Mr
Zouk dance club on June 16. Chong. “It’s not your typical slash-and-kill game.”

For the past 12 months Infocomm Asia Holdings Making use of GE’s unique game play ASKnLearn
(IAH) and HanbitSoft, the Korean publisher of has paired with IAH as Education Partner. For the
GE, have been working on the first English GE@School: Granado Espada in National Education
version of Kim’s Baroque inspired game. Only (GENE) competition, schools are invited to enter
a month into beta testing the game attracted the classical world of GE. The programme ties the
more than 20,000 users. Many of the fans in game to national education messages.
Singapore were at the weekend launch – more Raid Party-goers
Hakkyu Kim than 3000 registering to be the first to The GE Edupack contains fun projects, which ask students to create
experience GE first hand. movie trailers for the game and videos on racial harmony and national
pride utilising the broad themes of the game to empower the students
Set in a fantasy world of the European while at play. Making sure students use GE responsibly they will also
Renaissance, GE contains features that set have their game time managed.
it apart from the usual online game
experience. One of the most exciting is the “Twelve schools have already signed up,” says Chris Ng, manager of
ability for one player to control multiple Education Initiatives at IAH. “A total of 35 schools attended the GENE
characters at once. The idea for the game briefing and we hope after today, more will come on board.”
ignited after Kim made a trip to Europe a
few years ago. His passion for European GE Party @ Zouk GE’s launch saw enthusiastic IAH staff and
history and gaming had a new outlet. gaming fans alike arriving at Zouk dressed in their
favourite Baroque-wears. Following a media
GE won Kim and his team best game at the South Korean Game Awards conference and dramatic swordplay demonstration
in 2006 and the English version produced in Singapore is set to do just the at Velvet Underground, the event moved to the
same. main Zouk arena where Kim was greeted by an
exuberant introduction by the award-winning
“I think the discerning gamers here now know why Granado Espada is a Tanjong Katong Secondary School band. Gamers
multiple award-winning game,” says Thomas Chong, director of Education continued their celebrations well into the early
Initiatives who was at the Zouk launch. hours of Sunday at the Granado Espada Night TKSS Band
Raid Party featuring Dutch trance-master Marco V.
Schools signed up to GE@School will have access to educational activities and worksheets related to Granado Espada and unlimited 1-year play for
40 PCs. Those interested in organising events and competitions can contact Chris Ng ([email protected]) for more information.
Link: http://ge.iahgames.com

GAME PLAN
IAH Upcoming Events
July is proving to be another busy month for Infocomm Asia Holdings with more events on the agenda.

First up Granado Espada will be featured at the MOE’s ExCEL Fest on July 13. The annual event showcases MOE staff’s efforts
in ExCEL related activities (Excellence through Continuous Enterprise and Learning). More than 3000 teachers are expected at
the event to be held this year at Singapore Chinese Girls School. GE will be featured in Digital Media one of the key focus areas
at ExCEL 07. Further information at: http://go2event.net/moe/excel/home.asp

On July 17 Ngee Ann Polytechnic is hosting the Granado Espada Harnessing IT for Sales (GE-HITS) Challenge launch. The competition
requires Secondary 3 students to craft the wildest e-marketing plan and promotional video for Granado Espada. Creative juices and an entrepreneurial
spirit are prerequisites for this exciting event. The launch is from 2pm – 5.30pm. Register now at www.singaporelearning.com/gehits for more
information.

Infocomm Asia Holdings and ASKnLearn wish to thank Ngee Ann Secondary School for their help in organising the National GENE competition launched
in May. The NASS committee worked closely with IAH and ASKnLearn to come up with the GENE initiative and provided complimentary training for
participant schools. Their help is greatly appreciated.