Preparing for an SH ICT MRL interview

Preparing for a key personnel (KP) appointment interview, I had to relook at what I knew about EdTech and my beliefs pertaining to it (at least in the Singapore context). It was helpful to have sight of the EdTech plan and the legacies of the ICT Masterplan in MOE's Educational Technology Journey. The EdTech plan site was also helpful in laying out the strategic focus of ETD. Below are some extracts from the page:

Overview

The EdTech Plan will guide the development of the technological ecosystem and key platforms for learning in primary schools to pre-university institutions. 

Building on the foundation laid by past plans, the plan seeks to:

• Maintain a broad overall 10-year vision from 2020 to 2030.
• Build agility in recognition of the emergent and rapid changes in technology.

The EdTech Plan is positioned as a rolling plan subject to regular reviews and updates. 

Vision

Over the next 5 to 10 years, educational technology will help make education more:

• Self-Directed
  By developing pedagogy, tools and structures to help students develop intrinsic motivation and take ownership of their learning.

• Personalised
  By creating learning experiences that customise the pace and path that cater to each child’s needs.

• Connected
  By developing collaborative learning experiences and connecting students’ learning to the community and the world.

• Human-centred
  By leveraging a data-driven understanding of how students’ interests, attitudes and motivations can optimise learning.

What is the EdTech learning experience like?

Students engage in multiple technology-mediated interactions with content, their peers, teachers and the community.

Student - Content

Students access personalised learning pathways — a range of e-learning activities to build their knowledge progressively. They can do this anytime and anywhere using personal learning devices (PLD) to learn at their own pace.

Student - Peer

Students connect with their peers online and in-person to engage in self-organised, collaborative, and interest-driven learning.

Student - Teachers

Teachers are skilful practitioners of e-pedagogy, using data-driven insights in the cognitive and affective aspects of learning.

Student - Community

Students extend their learning sphere to connect with the community and the world to enrich their learning.

Go to the site for the Vision Statements, Implementation focus, Approaches and Enablers

I reached out to several more experienced education officers for tips and advice along the way as I went through the Enhanced Posting Support (EPS) Exercise process. Some emphasised the importance of a good fit or matching of expectations and others shared about how the school's culture made a difference when I was still picking schools to go down to. Those with more specific or relevant knowledge would ask me to look into the EdTech plan and the school's VMV (Vision, Mission and Values) amongst other things including their existing signature programmes as well as their ALP and LLP. I even spoke to some Principals who wanted me to really think about how I could contribute and value add. My experiences in ETD dealing with innovation and Blended Learning also came in handy as that was one of the most recent policies introduced by MOE HQ which was still in the implementation stages across schools.

As I was preparing for the interview with the 'high' school I was matched with, I had to review and revise my understanding of e-pedagogies (connected, participative and reflective) and the Key Applications of Technology. For me, things like differentiation, metacognition and assessment for learning were things that I have recently been thinking about as well as I have been tasked to lead another new workstream which spanned across those areas. I started to think about EQ and inquiry too and had to make sure I was ready to go back to teaching my curriculum subjects (Mathematics and English language) while possibly having to take up a 3rd CS of Computing (the one at O levels not Computer Applications at N Levels). The portfolio I was interviewing for included the Media Resource Library (which was commonly attached to the ICT portfolio in the past) and that also got me thinking about my roles and responsibilities beyond teaching. I would probably have to manage the media in the library (luckily I am trained to teach EL) and also the ICT team including the non-EOs. Good thing I have experience leading mixed teams from our multi-agency classroom of the future workstream. Alright, this is a pretty busy period of the year before a proper break in June so that is all from me for now.