peer review reflection

In this course, we wrote reviews, identify problems and question on other’s writing. Personally, I felt that it was really helpful to have my peers evaluate my work. They gave a different perspective in the problems we wrote in our writings which most of the time I would not have noticed. Furthermore, many language problems can be resolved through this exercise.

It was also enjoyable reading post by others and learn from their mistakes as well as the good points in their essay during peer review. By doing this, I actually have a hands on experience in editing work and discovered what are the common language mistakes my peers made and learn and remind myself not to make them. We also learn more about each other personally by reading each other’s posts.

Through this exercise, I have learnt more about my own style of writing when I compared it with my peers. This exercise also improved my style by forcing me to put myself in other’s shoe and mind-set when I read their essay. This actually made me realised that some essay were harder to understand than others. So as a writer, I feel that I should always put myself in the reader’s shoes as well and think through my writing to ensure that it is crystal clear for my readers.

Such experiences in editing and ensuring clarity are important in my field of work as I need to constantly ensure that my research papers are clear and easy for my reader’s to understand. Although fantastic English was not needed, this peer review have allowed me to hone my editing skills so that it is easy for me to convey my ideas through to my readers and to ensure that my language is good enough and that my readers can really understand it.

Overall, I felt that this exercise really strengthens my weaknesses in the English language, of which didn't really receive such trainings in my previous educations.

external post 2

Experiment 2: Oxidation of (-)-Borneol to (-)-Camphor using green chemistry

Aim:

This experiment focuses on the synthesis of (-)-Camphor from (-)-Borneol via oxidation. This was done by using ClO^- as the oxidizing agent formed from Cl^- . Oxone as a key oxidizing agent used to form ClO^- from Cl^- . The crude (-)-Camphor were obtained after extraction and was purified via sublimation. Pure (-)-Camphor were analyzed by Infrared (IR) spectroscopy in order to obtain the spectrum of the product. The spectrum will be studied to analyze the purity of the pure product obtained.

Results and discussion:

Synthesis of (-)-Camphor equations:

KHSO₅ + Cl^- + H⁺ → KHSO₄ + HOCl

Calculations:

Amount of (-)-Borneol used:  =  6.48 x 10^-3 mol

Amount of Oxone used: (Amount of (-)-Borneol used ) x 1.2

                                        = 6.48 x 10^-3 x 1.2 = 7.78x10^-3 mol

Hence, (-)-Borneol is the limiting reagent.

Amount of NaCl used for 1^st addition: (Amount of (-)-Borneol used) x 0.2

                                                              = 6.48 x 10^-3 x 0.2 =1.30x10^-3 mol

Amount of NaCl used for 2^nd addition: (Amount of (-)-Borneol used) x 0.08

                                                              = 6.48 x 10^-3 x 0.08 =5.18x10^-4 mol

Mass of Oxone needed: (Amount of Oxone used x MR of Oxone)

                                       = 7.78x10^-3 x 307.38 = 2.39g

Mass of NaCl needed for 1^st addition: (Amount of NaCl used for 1^st addition x MR of NaCl)

                                                              = 1.30x10^-3 x 58.44= 0.08g

Mass of NaCl needed for 2^nd addition: (Amount of NaCl used for 2^nd addition x MR of NaCl)

                                                              = 5.18x10^-4 x 58.44= 0.03g

Actual mass of crude (-)-Camphor: 0.870g

Actual mass of pure (-)-Camphor: 0.806g

Theoretical mass of (-)-Camphor: (Theoretical amount of (-)-Camphor) x (MR of (-)-Camphor)

                                                      =6.48 x 10^-3 x 152.23= 0.986g

Percentage yield of pure (-)-Camphor:  x 100 =81.7%

Percentage yield from crude (-)-Camphor:  x 100 = 92.6%

The percentage yield for pure (-)-Camphor was 81.7%, which was moderately good. However, there were still loss of yields due to several factors. (-)-Camphor has a relatively high vapor pressure of 1mmHg at 42^oC which makes it volatile ^I. Hence, there was loss of product to the surrounding atmosphere as the experiment goes along. Solute vaporization may occur during the use of rotary evaporator as pressure is high in the system, causing vaporization of (-)-Camphor together with the solvent ethyl acetate as (-)-Camphor is highly volatile ^II. Furthermore, ethyl acetate requires more energy for evaporation than other solvents such as diethyl ether. This will cause more vaporization of (-)-Camphor in the rotary evaporator ^III. Moreover, there were some loss of products throughout the experiment when the product was transferred from one containment to another. All of these factors may contribute to the loss in the products.

Table 1: Assignment of peaks for the IR spectrum of purified (-)-Camphor

Wavenumber range (cm-1)	Intensity of Peaks	Assignment
1743.41	Strong	C=O Stretching
2960.66, 2874.58	Medium	Sp3 C-H Stretching
3470.55	Weak	O-H Stretching

The sharp peak at 1743.41 cm^-1 can be interpreted as the stretching of the carbonyl functional group C=O as it’s near to 1740 cm^-1and is a rather strong peak. This indicate the presence of the ketone functional group that is present in (-)-Camphor. The sharp peaks 2960.66 cm^-1 and 2874.58 cm^-1 can be interpreted as sp³ C-H stretching. This could be due to various groups C-H present in (-)-Camphor. Hence, this shows that (-)-Camphor was indeed present.

However, there is a broad peak at 3470.55 cm^-1, which corresponds to O-H stretching. There are two possible explanation for this. Firstly, the O-H stretching may be due to leftover (-)-Borneol. Since (-)-Borneol have similar structure as (-)-Camphor, they have similar volatility and may vaporize together. There was no proper temperature control during purification to facilitate sublimation. Furthermore, no fractional column was used during sublimation to properly separate these two substances. Secondly, the peak could be due to water that was still present. Although there are many steps throughout the experiment to remove water, (-)-Camphor is hygroscopic and it difficult prevent it from having contact with the air moisture. (use column chromatography)

Even so, the signal intensity at 3470.55 cm^-1 was very weak. This shows that the end product was of high purity and can be used for direct characterization of (-)-Camphor or use in a subsequent reaction, such as NaBH₄ reduction to form more useful substance such as (+)-Isoborneol ^IV.

Observations:

(-)-Borneol was first dissolved in the solvent ethyl acetate. Although ethyl acetate requires more energy for evaporation in later process, it is a good choice of solvent in the organic chemistry teaching laboratories as it poses less fire hazard as compared to diethyl ether and is less corrosive compared to solvents such as glacial acetic acid, which is a commonly used solvent with bleach in green oxidations ^III. Oxone and NaCl were added but was unable to dissolve in 1.5ml of water. Oxone is a rather good choice of oxidizing agent here. It is an inexpensive reagent that is comparable to H₂O₂ and bleach, some of the common oxidizing agents around ^V. Furthermore, Oxone will be quenched with sodium bisulfite in later steps to form a mixture of non-hazardous sulfate salts in water. These byproducts are clean and green and unlike oxidizing agents like chromium trioxide and bleach, it does not emit pungent vapors which pose the risks of inhalation ^VI. However, Oxone have poor atom economy as only one of the triple salts was the actual oxidizing agent.

NaCl was added at a catalytic amount and react accordingly to the equations shown above. Hence, the catalytic nature of the chloride ions can be seen here. Yellowish green color observed 5minutes into stirring and color persisted throughout the reaction. This is due to the production of Cl₂ as a byproduct via comproportionation if Cl^- and ClO^-.

HOCl + NaCl Cl₂ + NaOH^VII

Due to this reaction, it is possible to lose some Cl^- as Cl₂ gas throughout the reaction. Hence, there is a need to add 0.08 eq of NaCl in later steps.

The solution remained cloudy throughout the reaction. The remaining salts that are unable to dissolve in 1.5ml of water will cause the solution to be cloudy. A precaution here was to add water in limiting amount to prevent excessive Oxone salt from dissolving during the reaction process. After 15ml of water was added, all the salts dissolved and form non-hazardous salts. Afterwards, sodium bisulfite was added to quench the reaction by reducing all the oxidizing agents presented. Starch-iodide paper was used to indicate if the oxidant is present. The following reactions took place if oxidizing agent was present

HOCl + 2I→ I₂ + Cl^- + OH^-

I₂ + I^- → I₃^-

Hence, if any oxidizing agent was present I^- will be oxidized to I₂, which will further react to form I₃^-. I₃^- would then get stuck within the starch to form a blue-black. If there is no more oxidizing agent present, I^- would remain and no color change of the starch-iodide paper would be observed. This also shows that all trace oxidizing agents have been efficiently reduced by sodium bisulfite.

The mixture was extracted using 3 x 15ml of ethyl acetate and 2 clearly immiscible layers can be seen. After the extraction process, the crude product was an organic layer with a slight yellowish color. Brine was added to remove water present as concentrated salt solution wants to become more dilute and because salts have a stronger attraction to water than to organic solvents ^VIII. White flakes were obtained as crude products after ethyl acetate was removed through the use of rotary evaporator.

The crude products were then purified via a simple sublimation. As mentioned above, there was no proper temperature control during sublimation and no fractional column was used. The yields could be improved by using a better sublimation setup shown in diagram 1.

Diagram 1: Better sublimation set-up ^VIIII

(-)-Camphor forms white crystals on the condenser. Before the crystals starts falling back to the bottom of the apparatus, stop the heating and remove the condenser out to scrape the (-)-Camphor crystals into a container. Cover the apparatus with a watch glass when doing this to prevent (-)-Camphor vapors from escaping into the environment.

Another precaution using the petri dish sublimation technic was to constantly remove the pure product obtained on the lid of the petri dish to another containment. By doing so, the sites for deposition will always be easily available for more purified (-)-Camphor to be formed. The purified products obtained after sublimation were also white flakes. Some brown impurities were observed after the purification process which indicates that impurities were separated from the pure (-)-Camphor.

                                                  

Conclusion

In the current industry, the challenge for chemists is to develop products and processes in a sustainable manner to not only outplay industrial competitions, but also to help maintain the natural environment. There were many ways to oxidize (-)-Borneol to (-)-Camphor like bleach-acetic acid oxidation or using chromium based oxidizing agents. However, the use of Oxone and catalytic amount of NaCl was an efficient and clean method to oxidize (-)-Borneol to (-)-Camphor and fufilled many of the criteria of the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry ^X.  These includes the use of non-toxic reagents (Oxone and NaCl), environmentally friendly and safer solvents (ethyl acetate), catalytic reagent (NaCl), reduce hazardous waste products produced (Oxone removed as harmless salt) and energy efficient (reaction conducted at room temperature). Though (1S)-camphor is likely not a compound needed, it can undergo further reactions to form more useful compound such as (+)-Isoborneol ^IV.

Reference

·         ^I  D.Pavia & G. Lampman & G.Kriz & R. Engel, 2011, A Small Scale Approach to Organic Laboratory Techniques third edition, M. Finch, pg 766, accessed on 3 September 2014

·         ^II D.Parriott , 1993, A Practical Guide to HPLC Detection, pg 259, accessed on 3 September 2014

·         ^III Anne E. Marteel-Parrish & Martin A. Abraham , Green Chemistry and Engineering: A Pathway to Sustainability  , pg 927-934, accessed on 3 September 2014

·         ^IV McMaster University Chem2006 Lab Manual , Experiment 7- Isomerization of an Alcohol by Oxidation-Reduction: Borneol, Camphor, and Isoborneol accessed on 3 September 2014

·         ^V Aldrich Chemical Company, 2000, Catalog Handbook of Fine Chemicals, pg 1258, accessed on 3 September 2014

·         ^VI M. Sundar,D & Easwaramoorthy,S & Kutti Rani & M. Palanichamy, Journal of Solution Chemistry 2007,36 Mechanistic Investigation of the Oxidation of Lysine by Oxone  pg 1129–1137 accessed on 3 September 2014

·         ^VII Wikipiedia, Disproportionation ,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disproportionation , accessed on 3 September 2014

·         ^VIII University of Colorado at Boulder, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Drying Organic Solutions, accessed on 3 September 2014

·         ^VIIII BUTE - Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Purification of Camphor by Sublimation  accessed on 3 September 2014

·         ^X American Chemical Society (ACS), 12 Principles of Green Chemistry, http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/greenchemistry/what-is-green-chemistry/principles/12-principles-of-green-chemistry.html , accessed on 3 September 2014

Presentation reflection

I feel that I was a bit nervous during presentation and my sentences had quite a few fillers. Furthermore, I feel that I could reduce my speed of speaking since I'm not using any slides. Datas and statistics could probably be included in slides as well so that I need not memorize it

essay draft 3

Today, people live in a highly digitized and networked society where information can be accessed easily with a click of a button. The education sector benefits tremendously from this. Pritchard and Hara (2014) reported that school Internet connectivity worldwide grew from 35% in 1994 to 100% in 2005, while classroom connectivity increased from 3% in 1994 to 90% in 2005. With the increasing availability of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), students worldwide, especially in Singapore, no longer need to visit a bookstore or library for books or resources and teachers are given access to online materials that they can share with their students. Due to the convenience of the Internet access to information, students of all levels worldwide, especially in Singapore, should use this in their learning experience in order to attain a better efficiency as they can have access to databases they need at the tip of their fingers if they encounter a problem while studying.

However, according to Obrien (2014), many of these online resources are not evenly distributed and utilised effectively. A digital divide can still occur within different levels of the education system which may lead to the problem of the digital divide where students in lower education levels may not be able to adapt to their future tertiary educations. The Singapore education system still experiences problems caused by the digital divide due to the different usage in different education levels. Lim (2010) explains that MOE invested in ICT to support teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools to ensure that students are well prepared for their tertiary education as well as working life. However, it is not observe by schools in Singapore that ICT was effectively utilized in lower education level as compared to tertiary level. The effective implementation of ICT in schools by multiple organisations in Singapore is a complex process that not only involves providing the technology to schools but also the competency of teachers and curriculum restructuring, and these are not seen in lower education levels.

Firstly, the mind set and competency of teachers is important in ensuring ICT implementation is successful. Dzidonu (2010) explains that in many schools, ICT is typically poorly adopted and underused in classroom. Keengwe and Onchwari, (2011) explain that even though there is rapid growth in ICT infrastructures in school as well as access by teachers and students both at home and school, most teachers are unwilling to adapt and adopt ICT tools during teaching. It appears that teacher’s competencies in ICT as well as their attitudes towards ICT remain an obstacle for them to adopt and use efficiently the technology in classroom. In order to remove the digital divide caused by the underuse of ICT in the classroom, the National Institute of Education of Singapore (NIE) have been incorporating courses involving usage of ICT into its teacher training programs. This ensures ICT competency of teachers and ensure that they incorporate ICT into the teaching curriculum.

Despite the extensive support for the teachers, the adoption and integration ICT into classroom learning and teaching by NIE is behind expectations. In practice, ICTs are rarely used or only used as a supplement to traditional teaching in lower secondary (Redecker, 2009). This could be due to the traditional perspective of teachers in teaching whereby older teaching staffs may still prefer traditional style of classroom teaching without the use of ICT. Surveys can be conducted to investigate teachers’ beliefs and attitudes toward ICT adoption so that the problem can be identified and solved. This may help to narrow the digital divide in the lower education levels as compared to the higher ones and allow students to have an easier transition from lower to higher education level.

Besides the competency of teachers, curriculum structure which the school adopts is also very important. According to Gupta (2014), the use of an ICT structured curriculum free up class time to allow deeper thinking and more problem solving experience for the students. These students are actively engaging in learning with their peers while solving problems, or taking assessments.  Some examples of ICT structured curriculums are flipped classroom, class website or even by utilizing the social media Facebook as a learning support group. Most of these are being utilized in the tertiary education system but not at lower levels. However, ICT can be a double edge sword. As mentioned by Shen (2010, as cited in Lim, 2010), MOE reported in 2012 that $850 million Standard ICT Operating Environment (SOE) for school systems. This system enable all schools to have access to 1Gbps wireless broadband.  This aims to allow students to use portable computing devices and  multimedia resources in school for outdoor learning. Such a system encourages all schools to implement ICT into their curriculum. However, one cannot neglect the distractions ICT can cause in the form of emails, blogs, YouTube video and even online games. Lim (2010) explained that MOE has put in place cyber-wellness programmes to educate students on cyber wellness and the safe use of technology, as well as filters to restrict undesirable contents online. Through these various protection schemes, primary and secondary schools could also utilize ICT to the fullest in their curriculum. This will narrow the digital divide between tertiary education and the lower education levels.

The existing digital divide between tertiary education level and the lower education levels is apparent if nothing is done to bridge this gap. To start off, the government and schools could do their part by improving the teachers’ beliefs and attitudes toward ICT adoption and to refine the school’s curriculum structure. If all of these can be done, digital divide within the education sector can truly be narrowed.

Reference

Dzidonu, J. (2010) The role of ICTs to achieving the MDGs in education: An Analysis of the Case of African Countries. Retrieved October 1,2014, From http://www.ait.edu.gh 

K.Gupta (2014), Edutopia, Increase student engagement & extend beyond the classroom using the blended learning model. Retrieved October 1,2014, From http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/increase-student-engagement-extend-beyond-classroom-using-blended-learning-model

Keengwe, J. & Onchwari, G. (2011) Computer Technology integration and student learning: Barriers and promise, Journal of Science Education and Technology 17 560-570 , Retrieved October 1,2014, From http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10956- 008-9123-5 

Ministry of Education (2010). Use of ICT in schools aimed at enhancing teaching and learning, Retrieved October 1,2014, From http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/forum/2010/06/use-of-ict-in-schools.php 

Obrien, A (2014), Edutopia . Celebrating access to information. Retrieved October 1, 2014. from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/information-access-digital-divide-gutenberg-anne-obrien 

Redecker, C (2009). Review of Learning 2.0 Practices: Study on the Impact of Web 2.0 Innovations. Education and Training in Europe. JRC Scientific and Technical Report. Retrieved October 1, 2014

S O'Hara, R Pritchard (2014). What is the digital divide's impact on learning. Retrieved October 1,2014, From http://www.education.com/reference/article/what-digital-divides-impact-learning/

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Essay prompt draft 3

Today, people live in a highly digitized and networked society where information can be access easily with a click of a button. The education sector benefits tremendously from this. Pritchard (2014) reported that school Internet connectivity has grown from 35% in 1994 to 100% in 2005, while classroom connectivity has increased from 3% in 1994 to 90% in 2005. With the increasing availability of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), students no longer need to visit a bookstore or library for books or resources and teachers are given access to online materials that they can share with their students. Due convenience of internet access to information, students of all levels should use this in their learning experience in order to attain a better efficiency as they can have access to databases they need at the tip of their fingers if they encounter a problem while studying. With such a divide existing, students may find it hard to adapt to higher education level as they are unfamiliar with the ICT curriculum the tertiary education utilised

However, according to Obrien (2014), many of these online resources are not evenly distributed and utilised effectively and a digital divide can still occur within different levels of the education system which may lead to the problem of the digital divide among different education levels. The Singapore education system still experience problems caused by the digital divide due to the different usage level in different education sector. Lim (2010) explain that MOE invested in ICT to support teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools to ensure that students are well prepared for their tertiary education as well as working life. However, it is not observe in Singapore that ICT was effectively utilized in lower education level as compared to tertiary level. The effective implementation of ICT in schools is a complex process that not only involves providing the technology to schools but also the competency of teachers and curriculum restructuring and these are not seen in lower education levels.

Dzidonu (2010) explains that in many schools, ICT is typically poorly adopted and underused in classroom. Keengwe and Onchwari, (2011) notice that even though there are rapid growth in ICT infrastructures in school as well as access by teachers and students both at home and school, most teachers are unwilling to adapt and adopt ICT tools during teaching. It appears that they are competencies in ICT as well as their attitudes towards ICT remain an obstacle for them to adopt and use efficiently the technology in classroom. Hence, in order to remove the digital divide caused by the underuse of ICT in the classroom, National Institute of Education of Singapore (NIE) incorporated courses involving usage of ICT into its teacher training programs. This will ensure ICT competency of teachers and ensure that they incorporate ICT into the teaching curriculum.

Despite the extensive support for the teachers, the adoption and integration ICT into classroom learning and teaching is behind expectations. In practice, ICTs are rarely used or only used as a supplement to traditional teaching in lower secondary. (Redecker, 2009). This could be due to the traditional perspective of teachers in teaching. Therefore, surveys can be conducted to investigated teachers’ beliefs and attitudes toward ICT adoption. Hence, the problem can be identified and solved. This will help to narrow the digital divide in the lower education levels as compared to the higher ones and allow students to have an easier transition from lower to higher education level.

Curriculum structure in which the school adopts is also very important. According to Gupta (2014), the use of an ICT structured curriculum freed up class time to allow deeper thinking and more problem solving experience for the students. These students are actively engaging in learning with their peers while solving problems, or taking assessments.  Some examples of an ICT structured are flipped classroom, class website or even by utilizing the social media Facebook as a learning support group. Most of these are being utilized at a tertiary education system but not at lower levels. As mentioned by Shen (2010, as cited in Lim, 2010), ICT can be a double edge sword. He mentioned that MOE announced that $850 million Standard ICT Operating Environment (SOE) for school systems will start on 2012. This system will enable all schools to have 1Gbps wireless broadband access systems. The aim of this is to allow students to use portable computing devices as well as interactive multimedia resources in the school-wide wireless connectivity environments for outdoor learning. Such a system encourages all schools to implement ICT into their curriculum. However, one cannot neglect the distractions ICT can cause in the form of emails, blogs, YouTube video and even online games. Lim (2010) explained that MOE has put in place cyber-wellness programmes to educate students on cyber wellness and the safe use of technology, as well as filters to restrict undesirable contents online. Through these various protection schemes, primary and secondary schools could also utilize ICT to the fullest in their curriculum. This will narrow the digital divide between tertiary education and the lower education levels.

The existing digital divide between tertiary education level and the lower education levels is apparent if nothing is done to bridge this gap. To start off, the government and schools could do their part by improving the teachers’ beliefs and attitudes toward ICT adoption and to refine the school’s curriculum structure. If all of these can be done, digital divide within the education sector can truly be narrowed.

Reference

Dzidonu, J. (2010) The role of ICTs to achieving the MDGs in education: An Analysis of the Case of African Countries. Retrieved October 1,2014. From http://www.ait.edu.gh 

Kavita Gupta (2014). Increase Student Engagement & Extend Beyond the Classroom using The Blended Learning Model. October 1,2014. From http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/increase-student-engagement-extend-beyond-classroom-using-blended-learning-model

Keengwe, J. & Onchwari, G. (2011) Computer Technology integration and student learning: Barriers and promise, Journal of Science Education and Technology 17(2011) 560-570 ,October 1,2014. From http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10956- 008-9123-5 

Lim T.S (2010). Use of ICT in Schools Aimed at Enhancing Teaching and Learning, October 1,2014.From http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/forum/2010/06/use-of-ict-in-schools.php 

Obrien, A (2014). Celebrating Access to Information. Retrieved October 1, 2014. from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/information-access-digital-divide-gutenberg-anne-obrien 

Redecker, C (2009). Review of Learning 2.0 Practices: Study on the Impact of Web 2.0 Innovations. Education and Training in Europe. JRC Scientific and Technical Report. Retrieved October 1, 2014

S O'Hara, R Pritchard (2014). What is the Digital Divide's Impact on Learning. October 1,2014. From http://www.education.com/reference/article/what-digital-divides-impact-learning/

essay prompt draft 2 (edited)

Introduction

Today, we live in a highly digitized and networked society where information can be accessed easily with a click of a button. The education sector benefits tremendously from this. Pritchard (2014) reported that school Internet connectivity has grown from 35% in 1994 to 100% in 2005, while classroom connectivity has increased from 3% in 1994 to 90% in 2005. With the increasing availability of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), students no longer need to visit a bookstore or library for books or resources and teachers are given access to online materials that they can share with their students. Due convenience of internet access to information, students of all levels should use this in their learning experience in order to attain a better efficiency as they can have access to databases they need at the tip of their fingers if they encounter a problem while studying. With such a divide existing, students may find it hard to adapt to higher education level as they are unfamilar with the ICT curriculum the tertiary education ustlised

Problem

However, according to Obrien (2014), many of these online resources are not evenly distributed and utilised effectively and a digital divide can still occur within different levels of the education system which may lead to the problem of the digital divide among different education levels. The Singapore’s education system still experience digital divide in terms of how effective the schools utilise the technologies provided for them. Lim (2010) explain that MOE invested in ICT to support teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools to ensure that students are well prepared for their tertiary education as well as working life. However, it is not observe in Singapore that ICT was effectively utilized in lower education level as compared to tertiary level. The effective implementation of ICT in schools is a complex process that not only involves providing the technology to schools but also the teachers’ competencies and curriculum restructuring and these are not seen in lower education levels.

Solutions

Dzidonu (2010) explain that in many schools, ICT is typically poorly adopted and underused in classroom. Keengwe and Onchwari, (2011) notice that even though there are rapid growth in ICT infrastructures in school as well as access by teachers and students both at home and school, most teachers are unwilling to adapt and adopt ICT tools during teaching. It appears that they are competencies in ICT as well as their attitudes towards ICT remain an obstacle for them to adopt and use efficiently the technology in classroom. Hence, in order to remove the digital divide caused by the underuse of ICT in the classroom, National Institute of Education of Singapore (NIE) incorporated courses involving usage of ICT into its teacher training programs.

Despite the extensive support for the teachers, the adoption and integration ICT into classroom learning and teaching is behind expectations. In practice, ICTs are rarely used or only used as a supplement to traditional teaching in lower secondary. (Redecker, 2009). This could be due to the traditional perspective of teachers in teaching. Therefore, surveys can be conducted to investigated teachers’ beliefs and attitudes toward ICT adoption. Hence, the problem can be identified and solved. This will help to narrow the digital divide in the lower education levels as compared to the higher ones.

Curriculum structure in which the school adopts is also very important. According to Gupta (2014), the use of an ICT structured curriculum freed up class time to allow deeper thinking and more problem solving experience for the students. These students are actively engaging in learning with their peers while solving problems, or taking assessments.  Some examples of an ICT structured are flipped classroom, class website or even by utilizing the social media Facebook as a learning support group. Most of these are being utilized at a tertiary education system but not at lower levels. As mentioned by Shen (2010) in response to Lim(2010), ICT can be a double edge sword. He mentioned that MOE announced that a $850 million Standard ICT Operating Environment (SOE) for school systems will start on 2012. This system will enable all schools to have 1Gbps wireless broadband access systems. The aim of this is to allow students to use portable computing devices as well as interactive multimedia resources in the school-wide wireless connectivity environments for outdoor learning. However, one cannot neglect the distractions ICT can cause in the form of emails, blogs, YouTube video and even online games. Lim (2010) explained that MOE has put in place cyber-wellness programmes to educate students on cyber wellness and the safe use of technology, as well as filters to restrict undesirable contents online. Through these various protection schemes, primary and secondary schools could also utilize ICT to the fullest in their curriculum. This will narrow the digital divide between tertiary education and the lower education levels.

Conclusion

The existing digital divide between tertiary education level and the lower education levels is apparent if nothing is done to bridge this gap. To start off, the government and schools could do their part by improving the teachers’ beliefs and attitudes toward ICT adoption and to refine the school’s curriculum structure. If all of these can be done, digital divide within the education sector can truly be narrowed.

Obrien, A (2014). Celebrating Access to Information, http://www.edutopia.org/blog/information-access-digital-divide-gutenberg-anne-obrien (Retrieved 1/10/14)

Redecker, C (2009). Review of Learning 2.0 Practices: Study on the Impact of Web 2.0 Innovations. Education and Training in Europe. JRC Scientific and Technical Report, Available at ftp://ftp.jrc.es/pub/EURdoc/JRC49108.pdf. (Retrieved 1/10/14).

Dzidonu, J. (2010) The role of ICTs to achieving the MDGs in education: An Analysis of the Case of African Countries, Accra Ghana. http://www.ait.edu.gh (Retrieved 1/10/14)

Keengwe, J. & Onchwari, G. (2011) Computer Technology integration and student learning: Barriers and promise, Journal of Science Education and Technology 17(2011) 560-570 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10956- 008-9123-5 (Retrieved 1/10/14)

Lim Teck Soon (2010) Use of ICT in Schools Aimed at Enhancing Teaching and Learning, http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/forum/2010/06/use-of-ict-in-schools.php (Retrieved 1/10/14)

Kavita Gupta (2014) Increase Student Engagement & Extend Beyond the Classroom using The Blended Learning Model, http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/increase-student-engagement-extend-beyond-classroom-using-blended-learning-model, (Retrieved 1/10/14)

S O'Hara, R Pritchard (2014), What is the Digital Divide's Impact on Learning, http://www.education.com/reference/article/what-digital-divides-impact-learning/,(Retrieved 1/10/14)

Thesis draft 1 for essay prompt

main topic area: digital divide in learning experience between different education level in Singapore


main problem identified:
-normal classroom learning experience in lower education level is a hassle as compared to tertiary level due to the lack of immediate access to information where doubts cannot be resolve as quickly without the help of modern ICT

where: in a secondary and lower education
who/ what : students as well as teachers who encounters problem can have immediate access to solutions


proposed solutions:
- promote the advantages of a flip classroom situation where students can get connected at ease
- provide tools to access the internet so that students can access the addition informations at ease

who can solve: governments can provide more subsides to schools to allow the building of better wifi infrastructures

proposed thesis :

Due convenience of internet access to information, students of all levels should use this in their learning experience in order to attain a better efficiency as they can have access to databases they need at the tip of their fingers if they encounter a problem while studying. 

Draft 4(edited)

Wakefield (2010) observes that sources from International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ranked countries based on internet connectivity, where the more economically developed countries are the most connected. Thus, many developing countries are trying to improve the lack of connectivity with the implementation of wifi infrastructure to their rural villages. Certain countries like America do attempt to reach native communities, which remain as a ‘barren desert,’ by offering technical support in broadband access. 

According to Wakefield (2010), some countries are improving their communications technology in order to improve their countries economically ranking. However, providing just the necessary advance in technology may not be enough to increase connectivity of a country. It is also important that people are able to the use of technology. Without the necessary knowledge, technology is just a word with no meaning. However, in the right hands, technology can help to improve and even save lives. This shows the importance of education as it allows people to use technology more competently so as to improve connectivity. Although this aspect is very important, not all countries can provide that level of education for people to work with these technologies due to several problems they face.

Many developing countries in the world face problems financing education for technology. For these countries, their main priority would be basic necessities such as food, shelter as well as healthcare for their citizens. According to The African Economist (2013), in several parts of Africa, illiteracy rates are as high as 90%. This could be because many Africans were being denied basic education due to lack to monetary capabilities. The African government does not intervene with these education problems as they are busy handling basic necessities like food to its citizens. Without education, the citizens will not be able to effectively use the Internet technology to their advantage. This would greatly hinder the bridging of technological gap between developing countries.

Wakefield (2010) also reports that there is a digital divide even within a country. Even though some of these countries are highly connected, there might be a digital divide occurring between the old generation and the current generation. According to an article from Deloitte entitled " The smartphone generation gap: over 55? no app for that" (2014), there are a few factors that stop the senior citizens from accepting new technologies like the smartphone. One reason is that members of the older generation are generally more confused by how the technologies work and the new allowances they are given like data allowance. Furthermore, the older generations were not familiar with these technologies due to their lack of education in this aspect. Hence, government can provide subsidised IT courses to enhance the IT knowledge of the older generations. These makes it easier to bridge the with the younger generation and would greatly hinder the bridging the technological gap within countries

In a nutshell, although it is important to focus on the distribution of technology within countries, education is also a must in order for technology to be effectively utilised. Hence, countries should always make sure that their citizens know how to effectively utilise the technologies they are given in order to more effectively bridge the ever growing digital divide.

References: 

Wakefield, J. (2010, March 19). World wakes up to digital divide. BBC News. Retrieved September 09, 2014, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8568681.stm.

The African Economist. ( 2013, July 6)., Ranking of African Countries By Literacy Rate: Zimbabwe No. 1. Retrieved September 09, 2014 , from http://theafricaneconomist.com/ranking-of-african-countries-by-literacy-rate-zimbabwe-no-1/#.VA8GkPmSxgI 

Deloitte. (2014).The smartphone generation gap: over 55? no app for that. Retrieved September 20,2014, from  http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Technology-Media-Telecommunications/gx-tmt-2014prediction-smartphone.pdf