For those who don't know how RP's learning system is like, let me explain.

The system is called PBL, Problem Based Learning. Our teachers are called Facilitators because RP students were expected to learn on our own without any lecture and the "Faci's" only job is to guide us. The awesome factor about PBL is... E-LEARNING :D

Lesson starts at 8.30am everyday and each day we have only one module which stretches till 3pm. In between we have the first break, which is from 9am to 10am, and a second break from 12pm till 2pm. Between these breaks, each group prepare for their presentation.

8:30am- Lesson start, Facilitators release the problem statement of the day and start class discussion. First group discussion.

9:00am- First Break. Groups discuss their presentation on their own.

10.00am- Second class discussion starts.

12.00pm- Second Break. Students do research and prepares for presentations.

2.00pm- Class presentations start. Each group presents what they found and learnt.

3.15pm- Class wraps up, Facilitators present their own slides of what was covered in class.

The great thing about PBL is that it enables students to be IT savvy as RP is a "Paper-less" poly. We solely rely on the books in the library and online information to self teach ourselves. Therefore, EVERY student MUST have a laptop and bring a laptop to school EVERYDAY.

Presentations are not only limited to presentation slides. You can almost do anything you want as long as you are able to apply the solution to the problem of the day into it. :) Making videos, podcasts, blog entries, online survey...etc..

As for exams...ok...we called them UNDERSTANDING TESTS (UTs), all of it are online and Republic Poly have their own VPN whereby students have to log in to connect to use the school's internet connection. But during UTs, the school will shut off the connection so that it discourages the student to cheat by searching for answers on the internet. By using VPN, the students can only submit their test online and websites such as Facebook and Instant Messaging like MSN are blocked.

UTs for first years are in the morning before their class start.

As for year 2 and 3 students, it is after class.

The pros of e-Learning in PBL are...

- You are not limited to text and you can use ANY form of Media to aid your understanding of the topic.

-It's not boring.

-It makes you more responsible in your own learning.

-You take more initiative as you are not spoonfeed with information.

-It's interactive.

-You get to work in groups (in this case).

-You get to improve your presentation skills.

-It helps you to get creative.

The Cons are...

-Conflict may arise among group members.

-The internet connection is SLOW, which may cause disruption in your research.

-Some concepts may be too difficult to understand by self-teaching (Maths and Science).

-The Facilitators aren't allow to say what you learn is right or wrong until the end of the class.

-There are always a LONG queue at the Student Helpdesk because there were always tons of students reformatting their laptop due to virus or hard disk errors.

-Taking care of your laptop so that it will sustain for the 3 years you spend in RP, money will be force to fork out to pay for some repairs.