Alex C. W. Fung

Empowering student learning through Tablet PCs: A case study

Empowering students to learn through ICT is seen as a way to address the growing awareness and demand for preparing students to effectively participate in the emerging global knowledge economy. It is believed that, in order to maintain competitiveness in a global economy, traditional classroom practices must be re-conceptualized in a way that enables students to engage themselves in knowledge building, to become more self-directed, and to assume greater autonomy and social responsibility over their own learning. In this article, we report a case study on the use of Tablet PCs to support teaching and learning in a primary school in Hong Kong, and provide insights into how schools can harness and capitalize on the opportunities offered by such emerging technologies.

Information Technology in Educational Management for the Schools of the Future

Key note speech. Tomorrow schools. Computer-assisted decision-making. Organisational culture. Evaluation and implementation. Systems development. Learning process management. Panels and discussion - summaries.

Pathways to Institutional Improvement with Information Technology in Educational Management

Introduction. Pathways in Context C.J.P. Nolan, A.C.W. Fung, M.A. Brown. Section 1: Models for Supporting and Enhancing Professional Practice. Managing Assessment: Using Technology to Facilitate Change G. Welsh. The Distance Ecological Model to Support Self/Collaborative-Learning in the Internet Environment T. Okamoto. Educational Centres as Knowledge Organisations Training Future Knowledge Workers: The Role of IT J. Osorio, C. Zarraga, J. Rodriguez. Section 2: CSIS Models and Designs. Developing Software for School Administration and Management M. Bajec, M. Krisper, R. Rupnik. Open ITEM Systems are Good ITEM Systems A. Tatnall, B. Davey. Information Systems for Leading and Managing Schools: Changing the Paradigm C.J.P. Nolan, M. Lambert. CSIS Usage in School Management: A Comparison of Good and Bad Practice Schools A.J. Visscher, P.P.M. Bloemen. Section 3: Evaluation of System Effects. Has a Decade of Computerisation Made a Difference in School Management? P. Wild, D. Smith, J. Walker. SAMS in Hong Kong Schools: A User Acceptance Audit A.C.W. Fung, J. Ledesma. Section 4: Making a Difference Through Training and Professional Development. How Should School Managers Be Trained for Managerial School Information System Usage? A.J. Visscher, E.M. Branderhorst. Supporting UK Teachers Through The National Grid for Learning I. Selwood, D. Smith, J. Wisehart.

Management of Education in the Information Age

Since the mid-1980s,computer assisted educational systems have been developing in various parts of the world and the knowledge surrounding the development and implementation of these systems has been growing.

Extending the Classroom

This paper reports the case of an interactive, real time platform using web-technology in the delivery of teaching and learning when classes were suspended during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in April 2003 in Hong Kong. Responding to the suspension of schools during that unprecedented difficult period, the Hong Kong Baptist University offered schools free use of its Internet-based Virtual Integrated Teaching and Learning Environment (VITLE) platform. Teachers and their students were encouraged to adopt e-Learning by continuing their classes on the VITLE platform, and 75 schools registered to use the new technology. This is a specific example of taking advantage of streaming technologies to create a rich, multi-media communication solution for the benefits of the students, teachers and schools.

An evaluation of the Hong Kong design and development strategy

Abstract This chapter addresses the complex issues of a district-wide school information system design and development in Hong Kong. The SAMS (School Administration & Management System) is being implemented by the government in about 1,500 schools. The focus of the chapter is on the system design and development strategy and the related outcome. Evidence that a design and development strategy without genuine user participation produces a low quality system and low user acceptance is provided. Besides technical issues there are political factors that need to be considered in designing and developing a district-wide school information system. Moreover, an officially intended design and development strategy is one thing; the actual strategy is another. Furthermore, the SAMS project shows that high quality systems cannot be developed using a strategy that ignores a detailed study of school organizational information requirements.

Determinants of Participation Disposition in Leisure Among Hong Kong School Students

Abstract The present paper investigates the contribution of several key variables to the inclination of adolescents to participate in leisure in the future, a variable which is coined here as participation disposition or (PD). This variable is distinguished from the commonly used variable leisure participation which is based on participation frequencies in past activities. By subjecting data collected from 7570 students attending primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong to analyses with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the relative strengths of Leisure Satisfaction, Leisure Attitude, Leisure Participation and Perceived Well-being in predicting participation disposition (PD) was established. In addition, results of the study indicate the relative contributions of Leisure Satisfaction, Leisure Attitude and Leisure Participation to Perceived Well-being of adolescents. The study suggests a holistic model which indicates the potential contribution of participation disposition to other variables related to leisure and well-being of people. Recommendations are made to investigate this model on a longitudinal basis.

SAMS in Hong Kong: A Centrally Developed SIS for Primary and Secondary Schools

This chapter describes how SAMS1 has been developed and implemented in Hong Kong schools, and the degree of usage at the end of the five-year project. Through the presentation of quantitative and qualitative findings, the problems that were faced in implementing a large-scale School Information System (SIS) in 1,200 Hong Kong schools are discussed. Strategies used in the system design and implementation are reviewed and factors affecting the implementation and usage of the system are reported. Evidence provided indicates the need of a client-centred approach in SIS development and implementation for success. After the future of SAMS has been discussed the chapter ends with a number of conclusions on what can be learned from the SAMS experience. The authors have long-standing experience of the SAMS system and implementation process. Fung’s work in this field began as a headteacher of a Hong Kong secondary school before he engaged in more focused research into SAMS on his move to his present post. Jenilyn Ledesma joined him as a research assistant to support the work of the SAMS Training and Research Unit set up at Hong Kong Baptist University under Fung’s guidance.

Imperatives for Successful Implementation of School Information Systems

Figure 2 in chapter five presents an overview of the groups of factors that are supposed to influence the success of implementing SISs (blocks A-E). In chapter six Tatnall elaborated on effective strategies for designing SISs. As such he addressed the blocks A (design strategies) and B (the SIS-quality resulting from a followed design strategy) in Figure 2 in chapter five.

Development of information technology in Hong Kong education over the past decade

In the early 1980s computer Eeucation was introduced in Hong Kong schools as a new subject in the curriculum. Almost all secondary schools now offer computer literacy to junior form students (ages 12 to 14) and computer studies to senior form students (ages 15 to 16). Computers have not been used across the curriculum nor in the area of CAL/CAI (computer-assisted learning/instruction). Hong Kong has advanced from a developmental to a popularization phase in the use of Information Technology to assist schools in administration and management. In the development phase of over a decade individual schools produced their own Computer-Assisted School Administration (CASA) software in an uncoordinated manner. Popularization began in 1993 when the Hong Kong government started a centralized approach to implement the School Administration & Management System (SAMS) in about 1300 schools. Schools will soon be provided with access to the Internet by the government. Whether there was conscious planning for capacity building for IT in Hong Kong is a matter of doubt. A major question is whether that path is unavoidable when developing countries are building their capacity for IT in education or if there could be quantum leaps bypassing the starts and fits of earlier implementers.