Consultation Papers and Consultancy Reports
Information Technology for Learning in a New Era
Five-Year Strategy 1998/99 to 2002/03
Chapter 3
3.1
Many of our respondents have emphasised the need to provide our students with adequate and equitable access to IT facilities and access to information worldwide. The worldwide electronic networks break down the conventional concept of teachers and textbooks being the main source of knowledge and open up new horizons for our teachers and students. Achieving more connectivity is therefore in keeping with our vision for students to become more inquisitive and creative, and to acquire a broad knowledge base and a global outlook. Our respondents have also rightly pointed out that special efforts must be made to ensure that children from less well off families do not compare unfavourably with other children in terms of access and connectivity. Ensuring schools, teachers and students have a sufficient level of hardware and that they have more access to information and linkage is therefore a prime component in this strategy.
Access to computers
Within school hours
3.2
The levels of hardware provision outlined in para. 2.6 above represent the threshold levels for our primary and secondary schools. As new technological developments on the horizon may drastically alter the way in which hardware should be provided, we shall, in consultation with technical departments and experts in the field and keeping in view new technological developments in respect of network computer, video-on-demand etc., continuously review the hardware provision for schools to ensure that they benefit from the latest advancement in IT, and that facilities are provided in the most cost-effective manner.
3.3
In view of the above and of the varying needs of schools, we are not proposing a fixed target in respect of computer-to-student ratio, an element which characterises similar strategies of many other economies. However, it is important that schools which have action plans for a higher level of IT application and which require equipment and facilities over and above the standard provision can apply for more resources. Indeed, many schools are and will be provided with more IT facilities by virtue of their higher level of IT-readiness or special circumstances, for instance, over 100 schools will be provided with a multi-media room with 21 computers; each prevocational or secondary technical school will be equipped with an information technology learning centre, the 10 primary and 10 secondary schools in the IT pilot scheme have on average 64 and 134 computers each respectively. A number of schools have also obtained funding from QEF to acquire more equipment for their own IT plans.
3.4
We will provide schools with more funding flexibility in acquiring IT facilities and IT-related services to suit their specific needs. This should also shorten the acquisition procedure, and help address the issue of IT facilities having increasingly shorter life cycles. We will provide a cash grant to schools with which they can procure IT facilities from several designated suppliers whom Government would select through a central tender. While these suppliers cannot sell at more than their tendered prices, schools can negotiate with them for lower prices. Schools may also procure computers from suppliers other than those shortlisted by Government following relevant procedures under the Codes of Aid, or deploy their own fund to top up any price differences, procure some more powerful and advanced version of computers to meet their specific needs. The Information and Technology Services Department and ED would give advice to schools regarding the choice of non-standard features to ensure compatibility for inter-school networking. Schools also have full autonomy to decide how to configure their IT facilities to achieve the best results. They should seek to develop their own IT plans to fully utilise the resources they get. ITERC stands ready to provide advice to schools.
3.5
We have also improved the standard designs for primary and secondary schools to ensure that they can support a high level of application of IT in the school buildings. Schools to be completed from year 2000 onwards will adopt the new designs.
Outside school hours
3.6
A child's education extends beyond classroom and continues long after the normal school hours. To ensure students have more opportunities to use IT after school hours, and to allow the less privileged students more access to computers, we will, with effect from the 1999/2000 school year, provide a grant to enable schools to make available their computer rooms and IT facilities for use by students after normal school hours, at an additional annual recurrent cost of $15.5 million. In this connection, we are pleased to note that there have been community efforts to donate used computers to needy students. We welcome and encourage such efforts and will consider how best Government may play a facilitating role. We are also working closely with other government and community organisations with a view to increasing computers in community facilities including public libraries, children and youth centres and community centres, for use by students after school hours.
Connectivity
3.7
We need sound network infrastructure for teachers and students to share information, to tap into the wealth of knowledge in various electronic networks worldwide, and to make IT-based teaching and learning more efficient and effective. Networks also allow more effective and timely communications among teachers, students, school management, parents, and the community, bringing them much closer to one another than ever before. By mid 2000, the library, staff rooms, computer-assisted learning room and/or computer rooms in a school will be linked up by a Local Area Network (LAN). We will review the scope of the LAN in due course. We are glad that good efforts are also being made in some quarters with funding from QEF. QEF has awarded about $78 m to 18 projects which are web-based or related to networking such as the "Kwun Tong Inter-school Education Net" project. In fact, many schools, not least the 20 schools in the IT pilot scheme, are also establishing their own home-page or web-site to launch their dialogue with the outside world.
3.8
As teachers become more attuned to using IT to teach, on-line sharing of teaching materials would be a crucial support item for them and it would be beneficial to their professional development. The "Teacher Community Platform" funded by QEF is one such project. Another prime example of peer support and guidance network is '"Telenex" which provides on-line support and advice for all teachers of English.
3.9
All our secondary schools have access to the Internet, and so will all primary schools in the near future, but ownership of individual e-mail accounts is still low. In this connection, we are glad to note that the "Hong Kong Cyber Campus" project, jointly supported by the tertiary institutions funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC), has obtained funds from UGC and QEF to extend Internet access and individual e-mail accounts for the entire student population in 350 secondary and primary schools. We will also explore with Internet service providers and fixed network operators the possibility of providing Internet access (including broadband connection) and/or e-mail services for teachers and students at more favourable rates. We will consider, in the context of the education-specific "Intranet" (para 3.10 below) where appropriate, providing teachers and students above a certain academic level with access to the Internet and individual e-mail accounts.
3.10
As a critical mass of electronic networks is gradually building up in the school and tertiary sectors, we will shortly commission a consultancy study on the establishment of an "Intranet" dedicated for education purposes. We expect the consultancy study to come up with recommendations regarding overseas practices, physical infrastructure, as well as division of responsibilities among parties concerned. (We see the "Hong Kong Cyber Campus" as a major building block from which this education-specific Intranet could be developed.) In considering the physical infrastructure for the education-specific Intranet, we will take into account any communication infrastructure planned for the community so as to ensure efficiency and cost-effectiveness. We will closely liaise with the Information Technology and Broadcasting Bureau (ITBB) in this regard.