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Computer-based writing is already a norm to a large extent in social communication for any major language around the world. From this perspective, it would be pedagogically sound for students to master the Chinese input system as early as possible. This poses some challenges to students in Singapore, most of which are learning Chinese as a second language, as inputting the non-alphabetic Chinese characters is not as direct as keyboard-based input. In this regard, an exploratory study that involved 419 students from three secondary schools was conducted. The aims of the study were three-folded, (1) To investigate if there is any differences between their performances in computer- and paper-based writing; (2) To determine the relationships between their Chinese input skills and their motivation in learning Chinese and using computers for Chinese assignments; (3) To recommend a cut-off level of pinyin input skill that students need to possess. The target students were first surveyed and then sat in two essay writing tests in the two different mediums. The collected data were quantitatively analyzed. The findings of this study will help to inform various strategies necessary to enhance students' ability to carry out computer-based writing, and provide additional ground for the adoption of Chinese input system in formal curriculum and assessments. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Although there is an established body of work arguing that teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) is necessary for designing ICT-integrated lessons, little is known about the relationships among teachers' beliefs about learning, their design dispositions, learning design practices and TPACK. Critical inquiry in this aspect is timely as a new culture of learning is emerging from the informal contexts of learning and challenging how school-based learning should be designed to foster 21st century competencies. In this study, a survey instrument was developed to assess and investigate the relationships among pre-service teachers' beliefs about the new culture of learning and school-based learning, their design dispositions, learning design practices and relevant factors of TPACK. Based on the sample size of 223 pre-service teachers in Singapore, the validation shows that the relevant factors pertaining to TPACK, teachers' beliefs and design were distinctive. The study shows that teachers' beliefs about learning and their design capacities changed along with their TPACK efficacy. It also identified factors that might affect teachers' competencies needed to design lessons that could cultivate a new 21st century culture of learning. Implications of the relationships among teachers' beliefs about learning, their design capacities and TPACK to foster 21st century competencies are discussed.

This study attempts to design a survey to assess students' perceptions of twenty-first-century learning practices in their classrooms and the resulting knowledge creation self-efficacy among the students. In addition, it also explores the relationships among the various dimensions of twenty-first-century learning practices. Four hundred and eighty-two primary school students from a Singapore school that focuses on the pervasive use of ICT within its school curriculum responded to the survey. The validation of the survey yielded satisfactory reliability and validity through both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The results also showed that the subscales that survey students' perceptions of critical thinking, creative thinking, and authentic problem-solving were more dominant predictors of their knowledge creation efficacy as compared to their perceptions about the learning processes.