One is a neighbourhood secondary school in the west. Another is an elite Integrated Programme institution. A third is a primary school that hasn't even opened its doors yet.

Diverse as they are, come next year, these handpicked schools and two others will have one thing in common: They will embody the schools of the future.

Students at the five schools — Jurong Secondary, Hwa Chong Institution, Canberra Primary and Crescent Girls' and the new Beacon Primary School — will integrate infocomm technology into their curriculum across all levels, over a period of four years.

This ambitious programme goes beyond the piecemeal ICT initiatives already undertaken by some schools. And by 2015, the Ministry of Education (MOE) intends for up to 15 schools to be similarly shaped through the FutureSchools@Singapore initiative.

As a foretaste of what the future might hold for students: At Canberra Primary, students could immerse themselves in a virtual 3D world and — using a head-on display and synchronised gloves — play surgeon operating on a patient's heart.

A Primary 4 class could be solving a vocabulary puzzle on handheld devices, with their answers collated on the teacher's computer; while next door, several Primary 5 students in a science lesson might be testing out a digital alarm system with laptops hooked up to light sensors.

Even computer games would have a place in the classroom, with students taking on different avatars and interacting in a virtual setting.

The five pioneering schools, announced on Monday by Minister of State for Education Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, were carefully hand-picked from among 26 schools that had submitted proposals.

As they represent different backgrounds and profiles, this would help other schools to later draw on their experience, said RAdm Lui.

Working closely with the schools will be the Infocomm Development Authority, which will put out a Call- for-Collaboration on May 31 at gebiz.gov.sg for technology companies to propose how they might take these ideas from drawing board to reality.

Describing technology as a learning "enabler", RAdm Lui said the aim was to get more students to participate in class — compared to one-way, "chalk and talk" lessons where teachers merely stood at the blackboard and lectured.

Today's learning has to be more "sight and sound", he added.

Putting parents' concerns to rest, he said the admission criteria would not change for the five schools.

And while he did not rule out the possibility of having to pay a premium on school fees, RAdm Lui said the schools would ensure that "those who are in need will not lose out", and that there would be "avenues where these students can draw assistance from".

While he steered clear of saying how much MOE is setting aside for this project, RAdm Lui emphasised that instead of capping the amount, the MOE would "rather look at the programmes that come out of it in detail and then give schools the necessary support".

Additional teachers might also be dispatched to provide consultancy support.

The five schools will also carry out studies on the impact of technology use on students' cognitive, emotional and social development, to ensure that they are indeed benefiting from these initiatives.

WHAT SOME SCHOOLS INTEND TO DO

Hwa Chong Institution
The Integrated Programme school is looking to break down walls with a truly global classroom, involving virtual mentorship schemes with leading professors overseas, and online access to more local and overseas library collections.

Students could also choose where and when to learn, through an online modular system which allows them to log on to topics at their own convenience. Student-taught modules might also be posted online for the wider community – such as working adults who might want to learn about Chinese cultural appreciation.

Jurong Sec School
On field trips, students will carry tracking devices that map that route. They may then be asked to create digital stories – say, the area’s history in audio format – to be posted on a community portal the public can access.

The school also aims to equip every student with his or her own tablet PC, and redesign the curriculum such that they can spend more time outside the classroom – studying how science applies in the real world, for example. Students could also take on avatars in online games to learn history.

Beacon Pri School
The new school in Bukit Panjang will help its first intake of Primary 1 pupils develop their oral skills through podcasting, where students narrate stories and upload them for peer review. Parents will be able to access this material to track their children’s progress. Students will able to co-write pieces of information on assigned topics.

Besides being wireless, the school will house a fullyequipped production studio where students can produce simple video clips.

Crescent Girls' School
Immersive virtual reality will be used to help students at the autonomous secondary school visualise abstract concepts, such as what the inside of a human body looks like.

The school’s i-Connect portal will profile students according to their learning styles and matches the relevant resources for their use. Visually-inclined students can choose to learn through flash animation or videos – while those who are kinaesthetic might pick games.

Students can also upload music and videos to teach their peers or search for industry experts to engage in discussion. - TODAY/sh