Learning Edge - At the forefront of ICT-based Activities

LearningEdge, the training arm of Marshall Cavendish Online, has been providing ICT-based educational services since the initial MOE Master plan was envisioned. Our staff are equipped with high level of competencies in ICT coupled by strong understanding of the needs of the local education institutions. With a strong focus on continuous learning and upgrading, as well as committed curricular and pedagogical support from Marshall Cavendish Education, a pioneer in educational publications, we offer unmatched credibility in providing integrated ICT education to our schools.

So What Do We Actually Do?

LearningEdge is one of the largest ICT training providers in Singapore. We are a leading ICT training and consultancy provider and in Singapore that is well-equipped with a Google-integrated LMS to deliver curriculum-integrated ICT programmes using Google's Web 2.0 tools.

Consisting of three teams of ICT professionals – Residential Trainers, ICT Executives and Infocomm Trainers, we are constantly at the forefront of ICT training innovations and aligned with MOE’s vision of bringing ICT to the core of the education process.

For more information on Learning Edge, log on to:
www.mconline.sg

Launch in Hong Kong

Marshall Cavendish Online recently held a launch event in Hong Kong. Teachers had the opportunity to learn more on what Marshall Cavendish Online's learning portal features and even a hands-on session for them to experience the digital curriculum in our platform.

Users from Hong Kong can now visit www.mconline.hk to find out more about us or contact us for more information.

Mathematical Olympiad Talent Quest at Clementi Town Secondary School

Clementi Town Secondary School, with the use of the Marshall Cavendish Online learning portal, organised a Mathematical Olympiad Talent Quest in its school for students in Singapore. The event was held on 21 May 2010 and attracted more than 200 students, participating to be the top mathematician.

Mr. Choy Chan Hong , HOD for ICT of Clementi Town Secondary School was delighted to have Marshall Cavendish Online as their partner for this event and had this to say:

Why did Clementi Town Secondary choose Marshall Cavendish Online's portal as their partner in this year's Maths Olympiad?
One of the key components for this year's Mathematical Olympiad Talent Quest is a quiz segment which require more than 200 students to attempt a series of mathematics questions online. A reliable platform is thus required to ensure that students can go through this process smoothly, and the compilation of results can be done quickly and accurately. MC Online's portal's good reputation and large market dominance in the primary school LMS sector has encouraged to venture into this partnership. We hope to leverage on the primary school students' familiarity with this platform. The constant support and meticulous trial testings also gave us the confidence and assurance that they are able to manage the task well.

How did Marshall Cavendish Online's portal help to facilitate this event and the difference it made to previous years' Maths Olympiad?
The process went on smoothly and the aggregation of results was prompt and accurate. The comprehensive on-site IT support on the actual day was also very assuring to the organiser.

Was this partnership a success for this year's Maths Olympiad?
Certainly. The success of this event hinges, among other things, on the need for
(a) the maths quiz to be displayed accurately,
(b) the submission of students answer, and
(c) the compilation of results quickly.
All these were delivered as promised by MC Online's portal

Are you satisfied with the support level provided by MC Online?
Certainly. Beside the impressive IT support, we are also grateful for their sponsorship of prizes.

Will you choose Marshall Cavendish Online as your partner again for future events? Why?
Certainly. It had been a positive experience working with MC Online staff and we hope to continue this partnership for future events.

La Consolacion College Visits East Spring Primary School

Delegates from La Consolacion College, Manila, Philippines visited East Spring Primary School on 20 May 2010 for an exchange and sharing session with the Principal and teachers.

Marshall Cavendish Online along with Diwa Genyo, partner from Philippines, organised this session to foster relationships between the schools from the two nations. Both schools are users of the Marshall Cavendish Online's learning portal and were delighted to understand more on the differences in teaching cultures and gained invaluable tips from each other.

La Consolacion College is grateful for East Spring Primary School's hospitality and would like to thank the school once again for being a great host during their visit.

WrITers IgnITe with Writing Buddy

More than 70 pupils participated in the inaugural WrITers IgnITe, an essay writing competition organised by Yuhua Primary School and support by Marshall Cavendish Online's Writing Buddy courseware.

The competition is open to all Primary 5 pupils in Singapore to encourage creative writing.

The prize presentation was conducted at Yuhua Primary School on 21 May 2010 and the winners are as follows:
Top Essay: Clarissa Lee - CHIJ Kellock
Runner Up: Muhammad Sulaiman - Kranji Primary School
2nd Runner Up: Kasim Bin Abdul Ramak - Loyang Primary School

Congratulations to all the winners of WrITers IgnITe 2010!

NCTM 2010 and Singapore Math

Marshall Cavendish Online participated in the annual NCTM Meeting and Exposition at San Diego, California on 21 - 24 April 2010. It was an excellent opportunity to showcase our Singapore Math digital curriculum to the educators from all over the world.

From the team that brought to you the successful Primary Mathematics Series, Primary Mathematics Online is a supplementary digital courseware that contains and maintains the original content and methods that have been used and proven effective in Singapore.

The Primary Mathematics series is based on sound research principles of effective approaches to teaching mathematics. Studies on the instructional approach have also been tested successfully in classrooms both in Singapore and the United States.

Users from United States can learn more about this offering at http://www.mconline.us

Zenitant Alliance to Bring More Learning Trails for Schools

Marshall Cavendish Online recently announced the alliance and collaboration with Zenitant on the Trail Buddy. This partnership will be beneficial to schools widening the possibilities for schools to select the learning trail location of their choice, the subjects they want to focus on the trail and platform for the trail. Zenitant, with extensive experience and expertise in learning trails coupling Marshall Cavendish Online's digital advances, will be looking forward to providing more learning trail services to your schools in the near future.

For more enquiries on our learning trails with iPhone, email to enquiries@zenitant.com.sg

 

CHIJ Katong Primary on Massive "Smart" Trail

Pupils from CHIJ Katong Primary embarked on an extraordinary journey, taking a big step forward together with Marshall Cavendish Online.

The whole level of Primary 6, which consists of more than 200 pupils, simultaneously went on a learning trail at Labrador Park armed with Marshall Cavendish Online’s Trail Buddy innovation. Gone are days of pupils holding on to sheets of paper and pens. With the use of smartphones (iPhone) during learning trails, it offers not only functional convenience but also an opportunity to allow pupils follow-up activities such as discussions and reflections through the use of blogging features in the LEAD portal.

Mrs Tracey Hoa, HOD ICT for CHIJ Katong Primary had this to say from their experience. "Our girls where able to handle and navigate through the activities with minimal supervision on the iPhone!"

 

Marshall Cavendish Online is looking forward to collaborations with more schools in the near future!

Marshall Cavendish Online Resources Extends To Indonesia

Students from the Singapore National Academy in Indonesia are now able to integrate LEAD resources as a part of their learning curriculum in class.

The Singapore National Academy is an International School situated in East Java of Indonesia that focuses on using Singapore curriculum as the preferred mode of teaching and learning. The use of LEAD content resources was naturally the next step forward for the pupils are Singapore National Academy as it was a perfect match for curricula structure and pedagogy involved. The multimedia digital learning content facilitates the pupils to better understand the subjects that are being taught and practice self-directed learning.

Four Years In A Row

For four consecutive years (2006 – 2009), the LEAD Portal, www.lead.com.sg, maintained at the top of the hits list of visits to ‘Education – Reference’ websites in Singapore. Hitwise, an online competitive intelligence organisation that measures visit counts to websites all over the world, revealed this outcome.

This amazing feat would not have been possible without your support and believe in our portal and resources for teaching and learning. Marshall Cavendish Online’s continual efforts to partner with established textbook publishers including Marshall Cavendish Education and Panpac will create even wider possibilities for our users of the portal.

The Hitwise award is a motivation for us to extend to our schools an even better portal for your educational needs and a testament of our reliability and achievements over the years.

iCTLT 2010

The annual International Conference on Teaching and Learning with Technology (iCTLT) was held on 4-6 March 2010 at the Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre. Without exceptions Marshall Cavendish was on site to showcase our existing services and a sneak on what was to come in the near future.

The three day event was a perfect platform to catch up with familiar teachers from various schools and get to know new teachers as well. As an initiative to work closely for a wider range of learning and teaching resources for the schools, Marshall Cavendish Online and Marshall Cavendish Education was side-by-side at the iCTLT to feature a complete spectrum of products from print to digital and mobile technology.

Our participation this year also boasted an amazing oversized smartphone (iPhone) to demonstrate the possibilities of conducting learning trails effortlessly and effectively. Response for this service continues to gain positive results and we are very optimistic in fulfilling the needs of the schools planning on learning trails for their students.

Embracing this year’s conference was Mr. S Iswaran, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Ministry of Education sharing with the crowd valuable views and thoughts on teaching and learning with technology. The conference summed up with the final day opening its doors to the public. Parents are greeted with tools and resources on how to enhance their children’s daily lessons in class and at home as well.

With the success and immense support from our partners and parents, we will be looking forward to a more exciting and promising iCTLT next year.

Adopters from Brisbane, Australia

The Marshall Cavendish Online team paid a visit to Forest Lake College, the first school in Australia to adopt the LEAD portal as an e-learning platform for all students Grade 1 to 6.

 






The school integrated the use LEAD into the Learning-Centred Approach for students. The Learning-Centred Approach focus on the needs of the students rather than educational process such as teachers being administrators. With the LEAD portal, students are able to conduct self-directed learning paying added attention on subjects and topics they have difficulties in.

Testimonial from Jordan

Marshall Cavendish Online participated in the inaugural event “Jordan International Education Exhibition” where hundreds of educators gather for workshops and seminars co-organised by The Jordan Educational Initiative (JEI).

The Rosary College-Shmeisani, which adopted the use of the LEAD portal, had two of the teachers to share with other schools on how the students have benefited from the LEAD platform.

“Most of our students are visual learners, so LEAD help them to learn more and easier. LEAD presents what the students see in their lives using the same technology, which makes the students more interested in learning.” Mentioned Ms T. Tamara Ghattas, a teacher from the Rosary College-Shmeisani. “It makes science FUN! LEAD was instrumental to students to continue learning from home during winter storm where all Jordanian schools are shut down for about four days.”

Budding Writers Project 2009

In its 10th year now, the Budding Writers Project was first initiated to encourage young children to develop their creative writing and artistic skills. The winning entries of the project will have their works printed to a book and sold to the public.

Marshall Cavendish Online is proud to support Marshall Cavendish in this project by converting the winning entries to a digital format available via the web. As we move into the digital age, it is essential for audience to be given a choice of either the traditional physical book or an electronic one for reading at anytime, anywhere with internet connectivity.

Besides just having the winning entries printed onto a book, the authors were also given the opportunity to be attached to Marshall Cavendish and Marshall Cavendish Online to understand the process involved to have their books edited, adding digital illustrations, digitising their books to the final process of printing. The authors visited Marshall Cavendish Online on November 18 to learn how their books were digitised and were later brought to a professional recording studio to have their voices recorded for their narration of the digital books.

The official launch of the winning books was held at Chamber, The Arts House on December 4, 2009. The winners of this year’s Budding Writers Project, The Crying Dream by Anya Lee and Ricky Learns To Fly by Yuli Steffina were both thrilled being the ‘star’ of the evening. Mr. S Iswaran, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Ministry of Education was the guest of honour for the event. His presence certainly played great importance in motivating the winners to continue showcasing their flair in creative writing. Marshall Cavendish Online, supporting the Budding Writers Project for the first time, was on site that evening to showcase and assist guests in navigating the digital books.

With the success of this year’s participation, Marshall Cavendish Online will be looking forward to working with Marshall Cavendish Education again for next year’s Budding Writers Project. All young writers out there, get your pens ready.

• For more information about Budding Writers Project, please visit www.marshallcavendish.com/education/buddingwriters

Marshall Cavendish Online supports Technology Initiative in Education

While the initiative has achieved much success in deploying technological innovations into education, we know there's still much to be done locally and globally.

That is why Marshall Cavendish Online is supportive of any initiative that will help in the advancement of technology to optimise student's potential.

Last 21 to 23 November 2008, Marshall Cavendish Online sponsored the competition Asian Robotics League VEX Championship 2008. The event was organised by Rulang Primary School and the Asian Robotics League in partnership with Millenia Institute.

Held at Rulang Primary School, 84 teams coming from China, Hong Kong, Korea, and Singapore competed for the top spot. In the end, Hong Kong and China teams were announced as winners who will then represent Asia in the upcoming World VEX Championship.