MarchLilypad2014_fullcompile

BRIDGING THE
DIGITAL DIVIDE
WITH THE
FROG
CLASSROOM
[ By Crystal Cha ]
When SMK Puchong was founded in 1975, it had only
just over 200 students in a single session. Today, the
school has grown to over 1,600 students and holds a
morning and an afternoon session.
Phang Chia Chen, a Mathematics teacher and the school’s
Frog Admin and ICT coordinator, has been teaching in the
school for over 22 years now. When he was first posted to
SMK Puchong, it used to be notorious for gang fights and
disciplinary issues. The school was located in an
underdeveloped area of Puchong and students did not
came from privileged backgrounds.
“When I first came to SMK Puchong, I was shocked, ” says
Phang. “Many students come from lower-income families
and didn’t even have enough pocket money to afford food
at the canteen.”
“What motivates me,” says Phang, “is knowing that kids
can change. That’s why I have been a teacher for 31 years.
I’m always positive that people can change.
“When I saw the
COMPLETED
CLASSROOM,
it totally surpassed my
expectations. It would
be great if every
classroom could be like
this.”
Today, more development has come into Puchong,
and things have improved. Our school has produced
respectable engineers, doctors and lawyers.”
Phang believes that access to technology is the key to
giving his students an equal chance to compete on a
level playing field when pursuing higher education or
joining the workforce.“The future is going to be digital,”
says Phang. “Everything is moving towards being
digitized. Kids who don’t have exposure to technology
will be left behind. That is the reality we have to face.”
Although the school has made notable progress
academically, it has been a constant challenge to
provide the students of SMK Puchong with access to
technology. Phang has been lobbying for more classes
to be taught with technology and assigned homework
through the Frog VLE.
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