New hitech tool for model school

and the electronic Distance Learning Television (eDLTV) programme of Wang Klaikangwon School under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King.

Wang Klaikangwon School has been broadcasting lessons via satellite for 13 years to 3,000 secondary schools and 20,000 primary schools.

But the timetables of Wang Klaikangwon School, which serves as "parent" school, do not match with those in remote schools when broadcasting, and students studying from the airing through satellite sometimes could not follow what the teacher on TV teaches, thus several organisations decided to provide the schools teaching in the form of offline elearning so that students can study in their convenient time and practice exercises as often as they want.

The eDLTV programme provides education in main subjects from Mathayom 16 (Grade 712), including mathematics, science, Thai language, English language, social studies, hygiene, religions and culture.  

This project is run under Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's royal information technology (IT) projects.

The Princess yesterday provided the servers to the 77 schools, through the Office of Basic Education Commission secretarygeneral Khunying Kasama Voravarn na Ayudhya, at an exhibition displaying the Princess's 12 years royal IT projects at the Miracle Grand Convention Hotel.

Among those which will receive the servers are the royal IT projects, including Suksasongkhor Phetchabun, Nakhonnayok Witthayakhom and Ban Khaotanyong schools.

The project is jointly supported by the Distance Learning Foundation, National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre, National Science and Technology Development Agency, SVOA public company limited and Hitachi.   

During her speech, the Princess said she would  like the elearning programme to be expanded to other upcountry schools and to be able to serve all rural schools with assistance from the government and other interested private companies.

She also said she would like people to apply information and communication technology (ICT) to benefit more underprivileged and handicapped people and refugees. She showed her experience about some good examples abroad of how ICT had helped those people.

"I'm very glad that I can speak with people and understand when they speak, despite not all the words," said Sudarat Piewon, 18, a deaf student from Nonthaburi School for the Deaf who has a Speech Viewer III programme granted by the Princess as a tool to learn speaking and listening.

Sudarat also makes use of the Internet in making her reports, searching for useful information and playing games in her relaxation time.