The Star: MCO: Selangor launches e-learning platform for SPM, STPM students learning at home
The Selangor state government has launched an e-learning platform for students in the state, based on its free tuition programme (PTRS).
The website provides courses for those taking the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), covering a range of subjects including Bahasa Melayu, English, mathematics, history, general studies and Malaysian University English Test (Muet).
Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari told SelangorTV that though PTRS was initially meant for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the new education portal would be open to other students too.
While the videos could be watched by visitors, for additional content and features, users would need to set up an account which requires them to have an Identity Card (IC).
National level online courses
The federal government also has its own online digital teaching and learning (PdP) platform, called Digital Educational Learning Initiative Malaysia (DELIMa).
The platform for both students and teachers provides users with webinars, courses, and teaching resources, with content from the National Library, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and Unicef.
Originally using Google Classroom, the online learning platform was now backed by Apple and Microsoft, since being relaunched last June.
In November last year, Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon said 485 digital textbooks were uploaded to the platform with nearly 10,000 educational videos from other related video portals also linked to it.
Independent Education
Beyond government education platforms, the former Education Minister and now independent MP, Dr Maszlee Malik also launched another service, called Sophia.
On its website, it explained the programme aimed to provide more interaction than watching educational videos, enabling teachers to set courses for their students and discuss afterwards on a class forum.
The Rakyat Post reported Maszlee saying there were more than 13,000 free videos on the site for students in primary and secondary school, covering language, music, history, theology and science.
The videos were made by local teachers, students and even members of the public.
Streaming an education
Streaming service Dimsum showed watching videos could also be educational, when it added The Star’s eTuition programme to its offerings back in 2019.
The courses covered preschool to secondary syllabuses across different languages, from the publishing company’s various educational assets including Kuntum and Newspaper-in-Education.
The eTuition programme is available to all Dimsum subscribers.
Educational magazine Kuntum also has its own website for additional content to complement the long-running print edition.
Some of the programmes available include animated clips with mascot characters Pintar and Comel, Mandarin lessons and also fun sketching and drawing exercises.
