Introduction

The Internet is the 21^st century replacement of the library.  Google is the card catalog and Internet accessible web sites are the books, magazines and newspapers.  We will share our insights from the way we learn what we characterize as an Internet-centric learning.  We assert that curiosity drives learning and that mobile devices provide anyone with anywhere, anytime access to learning resources useful while chasing one's curiosity.  We will demo our Gateway to Learning that outlines tools for delivering documents (video, voice annotated presentations, documents, web sites, etc.) as well as tools for harvesting and aggregating objects useful in assisting learning of new concepts.  But the key to learning is not just access to content but to facilitate its integration into learning.  Duke-NUS adopted a stratified 3 step approach.  The first is after students use the material to learn at home, they come in to class and are tested to see how much they learnt.  Then they go into groups of 8 and teach each other and retake the test. Finally they work in the same small groups to assess if they can apply what they learn to solve difficult issues that are not easily solved.  These steps engage and lead to application and development of the knowledge.

Thus the term LEAD - learn, engage, apply and develop.  In our first several years the method seems effective in that our students achieve in 1 year performance comparable to US medical schools achieve in 2 years.  The method has now been adapted and used in North Carolina in both medicine and in undergraduate studies and here in Singapore; it is being implemented at Christchurch Secondary School and planned for use in others schools.

Contact Information

Should you have any enquiries, Please feel free to contact: irpids@hksyu.edu