SAF SERVICEMEN EXCEL IN E-LEARNING COMPETITION

Learning about weapons and ammunition in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) just got more interactive and fun, thanks to the e-learning software Lectora. Through courseware created based on the program, SAF servicemen can explore the inner workings of a grenade, for example, before they get actual hands-on experience in field.

At the recent Lectora e-Learning Course Competition held at the Intercontinental Hotel on 22 Jan, the SAF took home a seven of the 26 awards.

Now into its fifth year, the competition recognises corporate organisations and schools that make use of the e-learning software program to enhance learning for their users. This year s competition saw more than 100 entries from more than 30 different organisations such as the Singapore Police Force, the Ministry of Education and the Singapore Sports School.

Awards were given out based on two categories; best use of instructional design and best use of multimedia, interaction and simulation.

One of the teams from the SAF School of Ammunition, comprising Eilenia Tay, Lee Kwong Nam and Johnny Tan Yong Hao, won a Silver and a Bronze award at the competition.

Said Ms Eilenia Tay of the Lectora program: It s good because it allows the students to learn at their own pace. In any case, if there are parts which they are unsure of...they can access it online and go through it all over again.

The program is used in the School of Ammunition to teach the introduction to pyrotechnics. Ms Tay added that the use of animation to display the technical specifications of pyrotechnics helps trainees to visualise the process and enhance their understanding.

Mr William Chua, Co-Chief Executive Officer of eLC, which organised the competition, said that the standards of the competition have risen since it started five years ago.

I feel that it has come of maturity that the instructors now understand what an altering tool (Lectora) can do to help them in the creation of lessons.

For Full-time National Servicemen 2nd Lieutenant (2LT) Jonathan Ng Wen Jie and his team from the SAF Artillery Institute, the fact that Lectora allowed students to learn on their own paces was a key benefit: We took a more hands-off approach, allowing students to actually learn via their own means and also allowing them to take ownership in their own learning. Instructors are there to facilitate their learning process rather than to take full charge of it.

Lectora is used by the Artillery Institute to teach trainees the fundamentals of artillery, such as fire direction and battle techniques.

On winning the Bronze award in the best use of instructional design category, 2LT Ng, a first-time participant, said: I m actually quite surprised because we did it more for the students than the competition.

Representing SAFTI Military Institute were Mr Mohamad Alif and Mr Muhammad Yusri, who won the Bronze Award in the best use of multimedia, interaction and simulation, although it was their second attempt at the competition.

On the lesson they created, Mr Yusri said: "We put ourselves in the cadets' shoes, to think about what they would like, so we put in more videos for them; pictures they can interact with and quizzes that they could do without getting bored while going through the courseware.