Nature lessons in the palm of your hand

Straits Times 27 Oct 09;

Smartphones let Radin Mas Primary pupils have fun learning about Sungei Buloh

SMARTPHONES have changed the way schools run nature trips for their students.

Armed with such phones, students can now roam Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve's 'intelligent' wireless trails and learn about the flora and fauna there.

Yesterday, about 100 Primary 6 pupils from Radin Mas Primary School worked in pairs, using hand-held smart technology to receive photos of plant and animal life, sound clips and to answer quizzes on the go.

Their partner in this: the mobile network coverage in the wetlands.

No more lugging around of laptops. No more jostling to peer at the screen with each laptop being shared by five students. No more being confined to the wetlands' visitor centre, beyond which Wi-Fi coverage does not extend.

And definitely no more carrying of workbooks that get sodden on the go.

When Radin Mas' pupils hit the trail yesterday, they had with them their phones and a sheet of paper containing a series of 'colour codes'.

All they had to do was use the smartphone's camera to snap a picture of a code, which triggered a download and display of multimedia content - say of a particular tree - into their phones. They then went in search of such trees in the wetlands. They also answered quizzes sent to their phones by their teachers.

Teachers are able to pre-programme questions beforehand, and even mark the pupils' answers in real time during the outing.

Until now, students using laptops that are part of a conventional Ultra Mobile Personal Computer learning system had to stay within range of a Wi-Fi network, thus limiting their mobility.

Radin Mas Primary is among many schools now tapping the power of smartphones to turn learning into an engaging experience in the classroom and outdoors.

Its high-tech nature ramble yesterday cost $18 a pupil; the school picked up $10 of the tab, with the rest coming from the pupil's Edusave account.

Seven schools have signed up for the educational programme, which was developed last month by Zenitent, an enrichment programme vendor.

Radin Mas teacher Cindy Cheng, 33, said her pupils were excited by the use of mobile technology as it was engaging and interactive.

One pupil, Joey Ong, said she enjoyed the trip and would be 'ecstatic if all excursions were like that. The phone was easy to use and convenient'.

Zenitent operations manager Ivy Woo said its wireless learning system can be implemented in many settings. It has used this at HortPark, also to the delight of pupils, who found it a change from traditional learning.

LESTER KOK