Ching e-campus. Background

Transcription

1 A1 Pui Ching e-campus Background In the beginning of 80s, microcomputer has been introduced prevalently in the society and the school market. In order to assist in the implementation of this new and advanced technology in Pui Ching Middle School and to contribute to his mother school, Mr. Lam Sau Tong made the donations of HKD$100,000 on behalf of to carry out a Education Plan in With the same intention and enthusiasm, Dr. Ho Hua Wong donated a few ten thousand Hong Kong dollar to support the plan. Being subsidized by the Education Department in 1985, the second computer laboratory has been established in which there were eleven Apple IIe computers and two printers. Regarding the increasing importance and popularity of computer use, Studies in HKCEE became a subject open to all Science students. In 1987, Literacy was further brought forward to Secondary 1 to 3 students in Pui Ching. During the 100 th Anniversary of Pui Ching in 1989, the school was funded for the advancement of computers to be the IBM-XT compatible ones and the setup of LAN (Local Area Network) in connecting all computers in school. The network also extended to and covered the general office to computerize the school administration. From 1992 onward, AS-level Application and A-level Studies became the subjects that Arts and Science students have the opportunity to take and to learn more about. At the end of 1996, Pui Ching started to plan the implementation and integration of Information Technology (IT) in education. The idea had gained the great support from Dr. Leung Wing Chiu. With the donation of more than HKD$600,000, the first Language has been set up. In 1997, the establishment of the Demonstration was facilitated with the aid of the graduate from 1972 class. Later, the school was sponsored by the Hong Kong

2 A1.2 Pui Ching e-campus Telecom to develop the school Intranet system, which undeniably helped lay the foundation and pave the way for Pui Ching to carry out the comprehensive use of IT in education in the coming years. The Pui Ching e-campus Project In the early 1998 Pui Ching applied to the Education Department for the fund to run the Pilot Scheme of the IT in Education Project. Later, the application for Quality Education Fund for Pui Ching Special Project in Reinforcing Information Technology (P. C. SPIRIT) - A New School Model Towards 21 st Century aimed to develop the whole-person development for students and strengthen the quality learning, with IT and I nformation Superhighway (IS) as the backbone. The details of the project included (1) training students IT literacy as their basic skills, (2) utilizing IT as a critical tool in enhancing learning quality, and (3) transforming the school to be the one that allowed students to experience active and creative learning. Based on the aims, the two applications had been approved with the total amount of HKD$16,000,000. The project of Pui Ching e-campus then started in July The Pui Ching e-campus includes the installation of school network system, school Intranet system, student performance management system, e-learning system and IT-enhanced environment as shown in Diagram A1.1 and Table A1.1, as well as the training of teachers, students, staff and parents.

3 Pui Ching e-campus A1.3 Diagram A1.1: The front-end of Pui Ching e-campus Sponsored for IT Pilot Scheme Project, Education Department Sponsored by Quality Education Fund, EMB School Intranet System Pui Ching e-campus Student Performance Management System School Network System IT-enhanced Environment e-learning System Information Technology Learning Centre (ITLC) Learning Centre (MMLC) School Hall Library Teaching Materials Production Centre Art & Design Music Assisted Design & Technology s A & B Geography Classroom Assisted Physics Assisted Biology Assisted Chemistry Assisted Science Table A1.1: The computer units and functions of IT-enhanced classroom IT-Enhanced Environment Unit Function Multi-purpose Classroom (36) 37 sets To enrich classroom teaching and learning activities, and to aid classroom management Information Technology Learning Centre (ITLC) Teaching Materials Production Centre Language Learning Centre (MMLC) Leung Wing Chiu Language Centre English Corner 47 sets 5 sets 45 sets 1 set 4 sets To serve as a general-purpose computer room opening to all subjects with multimedia and computer supervisory as a teaching and learning tool To be a centre for teachers to prepare learning materials with multimedia production computer, and be a broadcast station for PCMS TV run by students To provide advanced audio and video equipment, allow group activities and record student s learning outcome with ICM (Information & Communication Manager) To practice student s listening and oral skills in Cantonese, English and Putonghua with ICM To serve as an unique English centre, and to allow training activities in group

4 A1.4 Pui Ching e-campus Library Circular Desk 6 sets To computerize library management and services Cyber Corner 31 sets To advocate interactive teaching and learning with multimedia and Internet access Assisted Physics 14 sets To deliver clear demonstration and experiment, and to use sensor to input data for analysis Biology 1 set To capture and deliver microscopic image Chemistry 6 sets To do experiment with PASCO Scientific Science Workshop, and to use sensor to input data for analysis Science 1 set To use different sensor to input data for analysis Demonstration To address experiment with computer equipment and 5 sets SmartBoard Special Art & Design 25 sets To encourage drawing and creativity with computer (22-iMac) equipment and software as a tool Music (X 2) 23 sets To foster abilities in creativity and appreciation in music Design & Technology 12 sets To learn using technology in design and craft works Home Economies 1 set To support classroom management Geography 1 set To offer an engaged learning environment with multimedia Special A 26 sets To serve as a computer training centre for upper form B 25 sets students in particular The back-end of Pui Ching e-campus includes the routing system and different kinds of servers. Details are shown in Diagram A1.2. Diagram A1.2: The back-end of Pui Ching e-campus Pui Ching Middle School Servers Summary Schoolteam Server Cluster (ST2000+) Mail, Ftp, Web servers Ray-1 clients MAC workstations PC workstations Thin Client Server (Sun E450) (Linux) Web, Ftp & News Server Proxy Server (Sun ultra 10) HKTIMS T1 Router cisco 1601 Firewall (Linux) Default Gateway Internal LAN Student.puiching.edu.hk (Linux) Web, Ftp & Database Servers Domain & DHCP server (NT 4.0) File, Print & Web server HGC 10M-BB Media Server (NT4.0) Power Users Project Servers Data Server (Teacher only) (Linux) Firewall (Linux) Proxy Server SAMS server (NT 4.0) SPMNet Servers (NT 4.0) Domain server Database server CD Tower Resource Server (Win2k)

5 Pui Ching e-campus A1.5 The backbone is using fibers and the network is connected by the Ethernet up to 1000Mbps. It extends to 33 classrooms, 16 special rooms, 5 laboratories, 2 counseling rooms, staff room, general office and other public areas of the school. Totally there are 625 ports for network connection (see Table A1.2). The Gigabit switch allows the computer system to broadcast more than 40 different video programs simultaneously whereas other rooms employ 100M switch or patch panel in operation. Table A1.2: The distribution of network port in Pui Ching Middle School Location No. of No. of Port Total No. of Port Classroom Special Counseling Staff General Office Server Others 34 Total 625 Supporting System 1. Television Broadcast System The television RF network system is connected to the classrooms, special room, laboratories, staff rooms and general office in order to broadcast school programs. Altogether there are over 60 connecting points. The central panel has the direct control in operating the TV sets of all rooms. The system allows live broadcasting in different areas of the school. 2. Central Power System The computer, television set and projector installed in all classrooms are under the direct control of the central power system in order to maintain a proper management. 3. Smart Card System Accessing door with cards identifies users.

6 A1.6 Pui Ching e-campus 4. Security System The school security system operates daily with the direct connection to the police station and security company to maintain the safeness of the school. After completing the project of P. C. SPIRIT in August 2000, the total number of computer sets in the school was over 400. The ratio of the number of computer set to that of Pui Ching student was 1:3.38. Until August 2003, the set: Student Ratio has improved to 1: 2.91 (see Table A1.3). Table A1.3: The ration of computer set to student in Pui Ching Middle School Total No. of of PCMS Total No. of Student of PCMS Location No. of Class Level No. of Class No. of Student All kinds of classroom 316 S Teacher (Portable computer) 119 (91 for Teacher Use) S Staff & General Office 30 S Server 19 S S S S Total No. of : 484 Total No. of Student: 1410 Developing a net-based learning school is as important as installing hardware infrastructure. Accordingly, Pui Ching e-campus is established with four parts, namely Web-based Resources Centre, e-learning System, Student Performance Management-Net, and ST Space with Student Server. 5. Web-based Resources Centre How to transform learning resources into digital format, how to classify them into different categorizations for future retrieval and how to share them with others through the network are essential steps in developing IT education. The web-based resources centre of Pui Ching Middle School is a resource bank, which mainly includes two aspects, which are Intranet-based and Internet-based. The Intranet-based resource bank can only be accessed inside the school. It refers to a data server, a fileserver and a media server. Data server is a storing space purely for teachers with password protected. Teachers can prepare, store and retrieve their teaching and learning materials anytime and anywhere inside the school. Resources in fileserver are categorized according to subjects while those

7 Pui Ching e-campus A1.7 of media server are by the medium format such as audio, video and graphic. Fileserver and media server is open to students in order to encourage them to find out learning materials by themselves and be self-motivated in learning. The concept has been extended by developing an Internet-based resource bank, which is not limited by boundary and identification. Teachers, students and others can access abundant learning resources and multimedia resources categorized in subjects whenever and wherever according to their need and preference. The newly implemented Live Channel provides real-time video programs like learning course or school events for students to watch and learn without the constraints posed by location. Neither time limitation is a problem since revision is also allowed. On the one hand, students learning motivation has been advocated. On the other hand, the sharing and collaborative culture among teachers has also been promoted. 6. e-learning System The e-learning system allows teachers and students to observe and evaluate the learning process. It runs in a web-based format, in which Online Assessment, Online Assignment Submission and Online Survey are three major functions. Online Assessment is an evaluation system. Students can take examination in multiple choice format through the network. The system provides immediate marking and feedback, collects diagnostic clues about students, and analyzes the results. Students can learn their weaknesses and strengths, and keep track of their learning progress. Online Assignment Submission is a collecting, marking and viewing homework system. Students hand in assignments to teachers, and check the grade and comments through the system. Students can trace back the learning outcome and reflect on their learning anytime. Online Survey is a system that helps collect first-hand data without using pen and paper. The ability of information processing in organizing, analyzing and synthesizing data and information is essential in the present society.

8 A1.8 Pui Ching e-campus 7. Student Performance Management-Net (SPM-Net) To computerize school administration is one of the crucial steps in facilitating IT in education. SPM-Net is a student digital portfolio that records not only academic results, but also students conduct in school and performance in all-round development like moral, intellectual, physical, social, aesthetic and religious domains. Teachers can understand students learning process with the portfolio, which reflects the school life of individual student. It reveals each student s attendance rate, daily workload, punctuality of homework submission, awards and punishments gained, and involvement in extra-curricular activities. It gives students, teachers and parents a comprehensive understanding of a student s academic and non-academic performance during one s secondary school life. 8. ST Space & Student Server A user-friendly online communication platform is important to attract students, teachers, staff and parents to participate and interact with each other. ST Space, supported by Schoolteam, provides each student, teacher, staff and parent an electronic mail account. Personal communication is facilitated, in which individuals can seek private consultation, distribute information, and share ideas with others. It helps raise the efficie ncy and convenience of communication, and strengthen school-family connection. Student server run by Pui Ching Middle School provides a sharing and interactive space for those who registered as a member in the bulletin board. It advocates a kind of broadcasting communication that welcomes people to broadcast their ideas, opinions, information, files or even photos to the public, and to conduct discussion in a wide range of topic. An informal learning community is encouraged to form with cooperation, tolerance with disagreement, understanding of multiple perspectives and mutual support.