VEENABHARWANI

veenab@sph.com.sg

IT’Snoteasy takingstarting lifeafresh inanewschoolafter theO levels.

This is especially true for studentswhoenter privateeducation institutions. It is vastly different from going to apolytechnicora junior college

Justask 18-year-oldMiss OngSzeYun.

The first-year student,who isdoingadegree in BusinessAdministrationunderSIMGlobal Education (SIMGE)awardedbyUniversity atBuffalo, The StateUniversity ofNewYork,said it took some time forher toget used to lifeat theprivateinstitution.

Shesaid: “It is verydifferent from life in secondary school.Wehave to learn tobemore independent veryquickly.

“Thereare very few things that are justgiven tous. Mostof the time,wehave to source for thingsourselves.”

Toget a tasteofwhata typical day is like for herat SIMGE,weshadowedher for adayat thecampusatClementiRoad.

Shesaid: “I have two lessons aday this semester. Lastsemesterwas tougher as I had three lessonsa day.

“Itwasvery tiringaseach lesson isbetweenone-and-a-halfto twohours long.”

Onmost days, shegets toschool just beforeher firstlessonwhichstarts at10amor 12pm.

Butevenbefore shesteps into theclassroom, she firstchecks tosee if thereareany lecturenotes that she needs toprint out.

SaidMiss Ong: “Many thingsaredoneonline.We use an

onlineportal called theBlackboard todownload lecturenotesandalso to participate in discussionsaboutourmodules.

“Sometimes the lecturer onlymakes thenotesavailableon thedaybefore the lecturesowehave to takeourowninitiative to check theportal so thatwedon’tmiss outanything.

“This is different fromsecondary school wherewealwayshavea textbookoraregivennotesby our teachers.”

Studentshave twooptions– todownload andprint lecturenotesat home or todo it in school.

Thosewhoprint out thenotes in school do soat the libraryorat thephotocopying room beside the library, locatedonlevel2of themainbuildingatSIM HQ.

Studentscanuse acash cardorez-link card topay–atfivecentsper page.

CHECKINGONLINEPORTAL

MissOngsaid studentsalsohave tobeconscientiousenough tocheckanother onlineportal called theSIMStudentPortal tocheck their examschedulesor tosee if a classhasbeencancelled.

Anothermajor differencebetweensecondary school andSIMGE is that studentsmove fromone place toanother forclasses.

Shesaid: “In secondary school,weusually stay inoneclasswhile the teacher comes to us.But here, the venuesofour lessons changeall the time.

“Wehave todoublecheck the venues just in case thereare last-minutechanges.”

Tocheck the venueof her next class, sheheads toone ofthee-Boardsoncampus.

ThesearebigTVscreens located beside the lifts onalllevelsaround thecampus.

Thesescreensdisplay the venues forall lecturesandtutorials.

Then, armedwith her notesandher student card, MissOng isoff toher lecture.

StudentsatSIM GEmark their attendance electronicallybefore thestartof eachclass.

Todo so, she taps herstudent cardonanelectroniccardreadercalled theattendance i-Tapdevicebeside thedoor intheclassroom.

“It’s just like tappingyourez-link card toget into theMRTstation,” shesaid.

MissOngadded: “We takeour attendance electronicallyandmanuallyas well, just in case the readerdoesn’tworkproperly. It is best toget toclassabit earlier too.

“Ifwearemore than15 minutes late, the lecturermightmarkusasabsent. This is seriousasattendancemakes upfiveper centof ourgrade.”

After her lecture, shegrabs lunchwith friendsat thefoodcourton level3.

Studentshave threeother eateriesoncampus tochoosefrombut thisone is her favourite.

“I like this foodcourt as it is thecheapest. It is thebusiestthough”shesaid.

After lunch, sheusuallygoeshome to doher assignmentsorheads to the interactive loungeon the first level of theannexbuildingatSIMHQ todo them.

Shesaid: “Wedo manyof our assignments in groupssowehavea lot ofdiscussions withourcourse mates.”

Beforeshe leavesschool at theendof theday,MissOngeither hands in her assignments to her lecturers ordropsoffthecompletedassignmentsat theassignmentboxes locatedon level2 ofSIM HQ.

MissOngsaid it’sbeen aneventful year for her at her newschool.

Shesaid: “It’s beenan exciting year forme atSIMGE. It’s alot toget used to but it’s been fun meetingnewpeople.”

Students at private institutions have to source morefor themselves, but it is more rewarding too

Online, on time and

ONTHEBALL

Then she heads to the interactive lounge to do her homework and have discussions with friends. She takes a quick lunch break with some pals at the foodcourt.

Just before headingoff at the end of her day,Miss Ong drops off herassignments into theassignment box.

Miss Ong taps her student card at the attendance i-Tap device at the entrance of class. Miss Ong hard at work in class.

“...we have to take our own initiative tocheck the portal so we don’t miss outanything. This is different from secondaryschool where we always have a textbookor we are given notes by our teachers.”– Miss Ong Sze Yun (right)

THENEWPAPER Monday, January 9 2012 9