Mustapa (left) observes some of the students using laptops at the launch of the Samsung SMART Classroom in Jeli. — Bernama photo
JELI: Sekolah Kebangsaan Ayer Lanas, here, created its own history yesterday when the rural school received the first Samsung SMART Classroom (Kelas Bestari Samsung) programme developed by Samsung Malaysia Electronics (SME) Sdn Bhd.
Samsung director of Corporate Affairs, Datuk Roh Jae Yeol said it was a historic moment for Samsung too as it was the first time that such a project was introduced in Malaysia.
“The launch of the Samsung SMART Classroom in Malaysia is part of Samsung’s global initiative that is already making a difference in almost 400 schools in 72 other countries worldwide.
It has revolutionised the traditional methods of learning for students’ educational and professional development,” he said in his speech at the launch of the Samsung SMART Classroom by International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, here, yesterday.
Also present was Kelantan Education director, Hussain Awang.
Roh said SK Ayer Lanas was selected for the project to help minimise the digital divide between urban and rural schools.
“It is targeted to provide opportunities for the students here to utilise the technologies available and add value to their education, and to acquire important 21st century skills.”
He said the educational content was tailored to complement the current national school syllabus which focused on Bahasa Malaysia, English, Science and Mathematics for Standard Six pupils, and was designed to be engaging and interactive to attract the interest of students.
“It is also equipped with monitoring capabilities where teachers are able to supervise the progress of individual students on the learning exercises and provide additional and targeted coaching where neccesary. With this, the school can look forward to seeing improvement and positive academic performance,” he said.
Roh, who did not disclose the amount spent on the project, said the Samsung team would be monitoring the programme for three years.
Meanwhile, Mustapa who is also Jeli Member of Parliament, said the programme would spur students to learn more and to be competitive, hence producing more smart students.
“I believe we will see the results in the next three to four months. Many developed countries have used such technology in the learning process in schools.
“I hope more giant multinationals will invest in such a programme to help improve the academic performance of students in Malaysia,” he said. — Bernama