THERE never was enough time to take every student's questions, especially in a class of 40, physics teachers Alvin Tan and Lee Chin Teck knew.

Instead, the Ngee Ann Secondary School teachers found themselves communicating with their charges after class through MSN Messenger. Using the live chat, students would get their teachers' undivided attention on doubts they had about concepts or problems with lessons.

The two men then hit on the idea of creating virtual buddies for students to turn to for answers. In June last year, they approached Microsoft to develop MSN Messenger into a teaching tool.

Mr Tan said: 'Students are very comfortable using MSN Messenger. I also found they could understand me well during our online chats. I am able to clarify questions they have because we are talking one on one. So I thought, why not use MSN Messenger to teach them since they respond well to it?'

Microsoft was so sold on the idea that it bankrolled the development. The funds were provided by its global initiative Partners in Learning, which was launched in 2003 with a US$250 million (S$363 million) investment with the aim of transforming education through technology.

By September, all primary and secondary schools will be offered the computer program, which allows students to learn via instant messaging. Rather than vie for a teacher's attention, students will get that of the Heuristic Online Learning Agent, or Hola - virtual buddies that identify key words in their questions and generate answers based on them.

In developing the idea, Microsoft also roped in Singapore education technology company ACP Computer & Training Consultancy. Both companies invested $180,000 and worked over the last year with the Ngee Ann teachers to produce answers to a database of 11,000 questions in physics and literature.

After a successful pilot this year at Ngee Ann Secondary, Microsoft and ACP felt ready to roll out the program to more schools. A survey found 99 per cent of students said they had learnt more with Hola. Students said they liked chatting with virtual buddies because of the attention they got.

Student Keith Ang, 15, said: 'Not everyone in a class of 40 will be able to ask questions during a one-hour period. There is just not enough time. Sometimes, we might also feel shy to speak up in class. I feel that with a buddy, I can ask everything and clarify all my doubts.'

With Hola, teachers coach students to ask the right questions so that concepts are explained thoroughly. The program is still being refined. Teachers go through the conversation logs to find out if there are questions the buddies cannot answer, so that more data can be added.

ACP's managing director, Mr Alan Poh, said his company and Microsoft hope that more teachers from other schools will work with them to cover other subjects. He added: 'Students use instant messaging a lot to communicate. We hope that teachers will see our program as an opportunity to teach in a way that is based on their needs.'

Schools can use Hola by paying annual subscription fees of about $2,900 to $3,500.

ameltan@sph.com.sg