Called MyCLOUD, this interactive platform based on relevant content and capabilities plans to enhance the teaching and learning of the Chinese language—integrating real life use of the language into the curriculum.

As part of a three-year collaboration, researchers from the National Institute of Education (NIE) and Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL) will assess and study the effectiveness and the pedagogy that accompanies the system, while working closely with Chinese teachers from Nan Chiau Primary School (NCPS) to incorporate MyCLOUD into everyday teaching.

Microsoft will provide the intellectual property—developed by Microsoft Research Asia—that students can use at school, at home, and on the go.

Jessica Tan, Managing Director of Microsoft Singapore, said: “Our objective is to base this (MyCLOUD) on relevant content and capabilities so that students can benefit from a rich and interactive learning journey, and integrate real life use of language into the curriculum.”

Principal of NCPS, Tan Chun Ming, told FutureGov Asia Pacific that MyCLOUD would enable students to learn Chinese with interest and curiosity while having fun with the language in their everyday lives.

“For this to happen, it is critical that the tools and technology make it possible for their learning to take place beyond the classroom,” he said.

Students will be coached in reading Chinese passages, learning vocabulary and idioms, as well as assessed on their understanding of the language.

Wong Lung Hsiang, NIE Research Scientist, called the four-way partnership “exciting”. He said the programme meets “a key objective in the third masterplan for ICT in education where access to and use of ICT supports new teaching approaches”.

“The use of mobile and cloud computing technologies makes it easier to customise learning to suit students’ needs,” Wong said.

The need to equip students with necessary personal mobile devices for the use of MyCLOUD outside of campus has also been considered.

Tan said that the Singapore Hokkien Huaykuan had agreed to provide funds to subsidise the purchase of computing devices “to support the teaching and learning of the Chinese language using the latest technology”.

With MyCLOUD, students will be able to:

• Click on words or sentences for text-to-speech reading
;
• Access a highly personalised e-dictionary is designed to accompany and support students’ language learning journey
;
• Use a camera phone or digital camera to take photos that best describe a particular vocabulary or idiom and integrate their definition with the e-dictionary