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November 2006: MYSDPDA used in Boon Lay Secondary's 'Amazing Race'
This year, Boon Lay Secondary School (BLSS) broke new ground by launching its very own ‘Amazing Race’ for the Secondary 3 pupils. The ‘BLazing Race’ was so-named with  the first 2 initials of the school forming the ‘BL’ of ‘Blazing’ and ‘AZ’ stands for moving from point A to Z. This event is also a spin off from the ‘Amazing Race’ made popular on television.
In previous years, the Secondary 3 pupils frequently used Labrador Park as a venue for their annual field trip. Wanting a departure from the norm, the school management wanted members to conceptualize something new and refreshing for the students. Rather than conducting the run of the mill field trip, they wanted to organize an event which will encourage student interactivity and interest by getting them more involved in the event. Thus the idea of the ‘BLazing Race’ was formed.
Right from the start of the ‘BLazing Race’, it was evident from the pupils’ faces that they were all geared up for the new challenge. The students formed 20 5-man teams. According to the rules, pupils were only allowed to travel utilizing public transportation. Each team was outfitted with a PDA to aid them in navigating around Singapore.
The PDAs came with VM Pocketspace, a GPS-enabled personal travel guide by Virtual Map, which came with a Singapore map akin to those seen on www.streetdirectory.com. In total, each team had to reach 4 different checkpoints where they had to answer questions or to complete a designated activity.
 The teacher in charge stated that the key learning objective present in this exercise was to expose students to elements in today’s IT like the use of GPS, mobile devices and location-based services like those found in VM Pocketspace. He believed that the objective could be accomplished while providing a fun and exciting time for all. The school recognized the usefulness of IT as an educational tool to be used across subjects.
As the event was very successful and feedback was good, the ‘BLazing Race’ re-affirmed the school’s decision to use IT as an educational tool.
One of the organizing teachers found that student feedback was encouraging as many pupils praised the engaging nature of using PDAs loaded with location-based tools and digital maps to help them navigate around Singapore. He emphasized on the importance of using the latest in a world where various processes revolve around advanced IT. Quality, not quantity, was vital to the success of the 'Blazing Race'. He encouraged other schools to make use of the appropriate technology to meet their learning needs. In doing so, there may be a need to balance the budget to costs and teacher and pupil’s competency in using such technology.
Vanessa Manap, a participant of the ‘BLazing Race’, found that VM Pocketspace was very useful in helping her team locate the historical sites used as their checkpoints. A senior teacher mentioned that in the use of new IT software and hardware it is natural that there will be issues to iron out. What's important is that pupils are exposed to these new and latest forms of technology and to learn from the experience. A fellow pupil Serene Koh, who also took part in this race, said confidently that this event had expanded her general knowledge by exposing her to hands-on outdoor activities. She also found the maps from StreetDirectory.com very reliable as the students were able to find transportation points and nearby places.
As she and her teammates were not familiar with the devices, they still faced a challenge in getting used to them. The event was very meaningful for her as it is held in Singapore’s context and it helped her to understand the geographic terrain better and to also familiarize herself with the local flora and fauna. Winning the race, in her opinion, is a matter of whether one is determined and focused enough to persevere, since only the use of public transport was allowed.
Boon Lay Secondary School came up with the ‘BLazing Race’ concept as the school always strives to get the best out of their pupils while recognizing the hi-tech needs of today’s society. In future, they will continue to tap on IT to provide learning experience for the students. Not only that, Boon Lay Secondary School hopes to organize this event again but with a cluster of schools to make it a more enjoyable and competitive experience.
Overall, the pupils gained very useful knowledge and skills in the process. As quoted by Serene Koh, “It was fruitful as two subjects were fused into one ‘BLazing Race’ which allowed teachers and students of different subjects to come together as one to contribute their own ideas."
Interviewed:
Serene Koh (Student)
Vanessa Manap (Student)
Written by 2 Secondary 3’07 students from Boon Lay Secondary School:
Muhammad Noor Matin Bin Noor Aziz
NurSafarina Binte Mohamed Salleh
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