HeuLab_newsletter


	innovative Technologies for Learning 2009 crowded with enthusiastic participants

innovative Technologies for Learning [iTL] 2009- a seminar hosted by HeuLab and jointly sponsored by SingTel, Popular e-Learning and Asiapac – welcomed 55 educators from various K-12 schools and tertiary institutions in Singapore.

Held on November, 19th 2009 in Meritus Mandarin Hotel, the seminar aims to showcase technologies that can be incorporated into lesson plans to enhance teaching and learning experiences.


			The seminar was kicked off by opening ceremony by HeuLab CEO- Mr. Lim Soon Jinn. “No ICT potential is realised automatically. The problem isn’t strictly technological, it is educational contextual, even psychological”, he pointed-out the challenge to harvest ICT to make education relevant to today’s world. The opening speech was followed by Mr. Lim’s introduction to HeuLab and its solutions. Participants have the opportunity to take a peek at the new generation of HeuCampus : Designed like Apple i-Phone interface and equipped with touch screen capability, the new HeuCampus is integrated into social networking tools –allows easier navigation and improves usability for users. HeuLab also introduced 2 new products- Phoenix, an integrated social networking and learning management system designed to facilitate asynchronous learning and collaboration among peers; and hüe - where users can transform any flat surfaces into an interactive screen.

During the morning session, participants also enjoyed a whole host of different talks given by various educational technology partners.

Anya Foo, Education Segment Manager of Singtel enlightened attendees with a session on “Unleashing the Power of Cloud Computing in Teaching and Learning”

Mr. Eric Berthier, CEO of Popular e-Learning gave audiences interesting talk about “New Paradigms for Effective Learning”.

The key highlight in the afternoon was presentation by guest speaker- Mr. Tony Ryan from Australia, who inspired the participants with his talk on “Transformational Thinking”.

Showing the attendees “Thinker Keys” – a set of learning tool designed to engage and motivate learners in a range of thinking tasks- he emphasized the importance of pedagogy that will determine the quality of students’ learning retention.

His presentation was insightful and thought-provoking as it left audiences with positive feedbacks. “I really enjoyed [Tony’s] interesting speech and useful ideas and the autographed book as well”, said Mr. Adrian Ng from River Valley High. Another teacher commented “It’s very inspiring. I learnt a lot from Tony Ryan’s sharing” .

In the next session, Mr. Lim Teck Sin, Director of Product Marketing of Fujitsu, discussed about tablet PC and its benefits in supporting interactive and participative classroom learning.

Mr. Michael Leung, Head of Regional Marketing, Asia Pacific, Promethean Ltd ended the talk with “Interactive Classroom – Technology Roadmap for the Future”- underlining the benefits of interactive whiteboard for today’s classroom.

The Seminar ended with lucky draw prizes sponsored by HeuLab. The top prize- a Fujitsu Notebook worth $888 was won by Ms. Ang Wee Ling from Nanyang Girls’ School; while the second prize – Ipod Touch- went to Ms. Cynthia Teo from Woodlands Primary.

Overall, it has been a rewarding and positive experience for participants. The post-event survey result indicates that 90% of people are satisfied with iTL 2009, with 85% of participants agreed that the concept presented was applicable to day-to-day teaching and learning.

HeuLab is grateful to all partners and attendees for their presence and participation in ITL 2009. We look forward to seeing you again in future seminars!