While digital tools offer opportunities for personalized learning and increased student engagement, their integration in basic education is limited. Here’s why.
While digital tools offer opportunities for personalized learning and increased student engagement, their integration in basic education is limited. Here’s why.
The rapid adoption of digital technology in Southeast Asia underscores its critical role in shaping basic education. However, its integration into teaching and learning processes remains limited.
While technology can personalize instruction and enhance student engagement through diverse multimedia formats, its widespread adoption faces significant hurdles.
1. Limited Use in Classrooms: Despite its potential, the use of technology in Southeast Asian classrooms remains sporadic. For instance, only a small percentage of students use digital devices in their lessons.
Even in wealthier nations within the region, the usage of ICT in classrooms is minimal. For instance, only about 8 percent of 15-year-olds in Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, and Thailand engaged with digital devices for over an hour weekly in mathematics and science, as per the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment.
2. Teacher Preparedness: A major obstacle to the integration of technology is the lack of preparedness among teachers to use digital tools effectively in their pedagogy.
In Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, a staggering 90 percent of teachers reported either never or rarely using computer-based resources for teaching mathematics, according to the 2019 Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics.
3. Private Sector Involvement: The engagement of companies like Microsoft in supporting national technology integration plans raises questions about equity in access and quality of education technology.
4. Personalized Learning: Innovative applications, like Singapore’s national learning platform using AI for personalized education, show promising developments in the region.
5. Challenges of Online Learning: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the difficulties in shifting to online learning, especially for teachers and students unprepared for this transition.
While technology holds promise for enhancing teaching and learning, its effective integration necessitates comprehensive support in terms of pedagogical alignment, teacher training, and equitable access. The evidence on its impact on learning outcomes is still emerging, underscoring the need for systematic research and context-specific applications.
Embracing Digital Transformation
In higher education, Southeast Asian countries are actively promoting digital transformation. This includes the integration of advanced technologies like virtual and augmented reality into curricular activities.
1. Open and Distance Learning: Institutions like the University of the Philippines Open University and Indonesia’s Universitas Terbuka are leading examples of how distance learning can expand access to higher education, accommodating diverse student populations.
The expansion of open and distance learning has made higher education more accessible. The University of the Philippines Open University, for instance, comprised 17 percent of the university’s graduate student body in 2021/2. At Universitas Terbuka in Indonesia, relaxed admission policies have resulted in a student body of 320,000, with 40 percent of these students being over 30 years old.
2. Micro-Credentials and MOOCs: These have become significant in complementing traditional university education, with platforms like Coursera experiencing high growth in the region. In Thailand, the Cyber University’s provision of Massive Open Online Courses reached over 800,000 students in 2021.
Approximately one in four students in the Philippines are believed to be using online and micro-credential courses alongside their university education. In 2021, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam saw the highest growth in Coursera enrolments, totaling nearly 3 million new learners.
3. Challenges in Integrating Digital Technologies: Despite advancements, a significant number of educators and institutions still struggle with implementing effective digital teaching and learning strategies.
While tools like videos, interactive exercises, games, and collaborative features have shown to improve student engagement and motivation, there is still a lack of concrete evidence regarding their impact on learning practices and outcomes.
One of the main challenges to the integration of digital technology is the limited capacity and infrastructure available to educators. For instance, about two-thirds of university students in Vietnam perceive their lecturers’ low ICT skills as a hindrance to effective digital integration. In Cambodia, most lecturers rely on their personal laptops and pay for their internet services.
The Future of Higher Education and Technology
The digitalization of higher education in Southeast Asia is reshaping the landscape of learning and teaching. However, this transformation is contingent upon regulatory support, enhanced educator capacity, and infrastructural improvements. As technology becomes more embedded in higher education, it holds the potential to create more inclusive, flexible, and innovative learning environments.
Technology’s impact on education in Southeast Asia presents a complex landscape. While it offers transformative potential, especially in personalizing learning and expanding access, challenges like limited teacher preparedness, equity in access, and the need for supportive policies are crucial. The future of education in the region hinges on balancing these elements to harness the full benefits of digital technology in both basic and higher education.
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