News

Recently, many students in Singapore faced problems with their personal learning devices (PLDs) as a result of two incidents affecting the Mobile Guardian app ( Aug 2; and , Aug 6). These issues caused frustration and concern for those affected, including my friends, but we are grateful to the Ministry of Education (MOE) and our schools for taking the necessary measures to help students. The IT staff were a big help in getting the devices running properly again. Unfortunately, in the process, some students lost all the notes that they had taken and saved on their PLDs. My heart goes out to them, especially those who are about to sit their national exams. Thankfully, many students are helping their peers by willingly sharing their notes with them. This episode serves as a reminder of how technology has become such a major part of our lives and how reliant we are on it. In school, many of our learning resources are online and many of us use our PLDs for note-taking. When the problems hit us, teachers and students had to find alternative means to carry on with lessons. Situations like the recent one can occur at any time. We should ensure that we are not overdependent on technology, so that we are not crippled when glitches occur. Secondary 4