School goes virtual

ALREADY recognised for its fixation with matters hi-tech, Singapore is on the verge of introducing cyber-classrooms.

One of the city-state's premier institutions, Raffles Girls' School, will conduct "virtual classes" live on the Internet starting next year, the Sunday Times reported.

"It will be as good as being in the same classroom," principal Carmee Lim said.

To be included in the lesson, students from other schools will access a Net site at a prearranged time using video-conferencing. They will converse with the teacher or other students by voice or text.

The prestigious school accepts only the top 10 per cent of students, and parents have urged it to expand for years, according to the report.

The homepage for Raffles Girls' School is http://www.rgs.edu.sg and some teachers have already posted lesson notes and student projects. The Sunday Times said it was likely the school would use the country's much-hyped national high-speed network, called Singapore One, for its cyber-classroom sessions.

 Published in the South China Morning Post. April 13, 1998