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eduPAD SCHOOL-INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP SCHEME PROJECT

1. The eduPAD School-Industry Partnership Scheme (SCHIPS) project is a collaborative R&D effort of the Ministry of Education (MOE), Kent Ridge Digital Labs (KRDL), CET Technologies Pte Ltd (CET), National Computer Board (NCB) and some local publishers. It is a programme under the Masterplan for IT in Education, to encourage industry to work together with schools to explore the leading edge of technological development for educational purposes. The eduPAD is one of the projects under the Centre for Learning Technologies, which aspires to develop innovative ways of using IT in education.

2. The eduPAD is a customised device specifically targeted at the school environment for the purposes of teaching and learning. It fills the gap between a low-cost Personal Digital Assistant and the notebook or desktop computer, to allow computer usage within the class during lessons. In addition, it supports the concept of learning anytime, anywhere and it encourages a pupil-centred approach to learning.

3. This pilot project is being conducted at Dunman Secondary School. The cost of this pilot, estimated at SD$2.1 million, is shared between the government (MOE and NCB) and the industry (CET and KRDL).

4. A holistic approach in the selection of partners ensures that an effective study can be conducted. MOE mooted the idea for the eduPAD and provides pedagogical support, KRDL offers the technological expertise for the software, CET designed the hardware of the state-of-the-art device, the local publishers contribute to the content and the school supplied the users and learners for this R&D pilot project.

5. The eduPAD will also be launched on 17 Sep 99. A Memorandum of Understanding will also be signed on this date between Dunman Secondary School, MOE/ETD, KRDL, CET Technologies Pte Ltd and NCB at Dunman Secondary School for this project.