Notes

Lesson Proper for Week 2
bcp logocte logo
TOPIC

TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION IN SOUTH EAST ASIA

SUBTOPICS

Opportunities for Transforming Education with the Use of ICT

Progress in Integrating ICT in ASEAN Education

Key Challenges that Continue to Remain in ASEAN












LESSON PROPER
TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION IN SOUTH EAST ASIA

ICT development in ASEAN varies greatly. Singapore, on the one end of the spectrum, is ranked 16th globally with an ICT Development Index (IDI) value of 7.90, while Myanmar is ranked 150th with an IDI value of 1.82. Only three countries – Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei – are reported to be above the global IDI average value of 4.77. The region’s awareness of the need to improve education quality is growing and progress is evident in many areas. However, inequalities in quality teachers, infrastructure, and access still exist both within and between countries. To continue progressing towards the United Nations 2030 Goals for Sustainable Development for quality education (SDGs), it is imperative to find ways to provide equitable and inclusive education, as well as lifelong learning opportunities for all in the region. Having a clear vision as well as a strong and competent educational leadership is crucial for the region to continue progressing at all levels (UNESCO, 2008,2014).



Singapore, for example, is more along the trajectory of thinking through the role that CT will play for its future socio-economic plans and preparing its future workforce. Other ASEAN nations like Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam may have slower rates in the spread of ICT infrastructure, but the large populations of these countries represent significant markets for ICT – both fixed and mobile in the future. Lastly, the rising interest in Myanmar from international investors and aid organizations provides a unique opportunity for the nation to experiment with a variety of ICT based programs, based on the experiences of other countries in ASEAN.



OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRANSFORMING EDUCATION WITH THE USE OF ICT


Frame work for ICTRecognizing the importance of education as a universal right and for the success of all, South East Asian Countries aims to ensure equitable access to quality education and improved learning outcomes – within a lifelong learning perspective for all. It is hoped that through this, the foundations of a sustainable and inclusive knowledge society will be built. In order to deliver on this commitment. It has emphasized the need for the application of ICT in education (UNESCO, 2015), in view of the unprecedented opportunities it offers to improve the quality, equity and efficiency of education systems to transform education as we know it.







Transformation in Education through ICT:



Improve the quality of education, in terms of both the teaching processes and learning outcomes - The use of ICT can also support teachers in adopting more student-centered pedagogical approaches for constructivist learning amongst students. Similarly, there is potential for teacher capacity building as ICT allows for the sharing of best practices and digital learning resources between teachers and between schools.
Enabler of a more inclusive learning environment - It can provide students with access to educational resources that might not otherwise be available to them, due to infrastructure, socio-economic, and geographical barriers etc. For example, with the growing penetration rates of mobile phones, mobile learning will increasingly become a reality that will benefit students, especially in countries where access to computers is limited due to its high costs. The SMS Story mobile reading program in Papua New Guinea, Learn English and World Reader Mobile are examples of successful ICT blended programs


Improve the efficiency of education systems - ICT tools such as Learning Management Systems (LMS) and have been used to collect data on students’ learning patterns. The interpretation of such data will allow teachers to adjust teaching pedagogy and for policy makers to make more informed education policies. This is currently underutilized in many developing nations and holds huge promise in improving learning outcomes. In other words, learning analytics can increase the internal efficiency of schools – and thereby education outcomes – by better catering to students’ learning strengths and difficulties. On the other hand, when ICT is both taught as a discrete subject and used as a pedagogical agent, it can increase the external efficiency of education, i.e., its relevance to labor market conditions, as students develop 21st century skills that are in demand today. These refer to the 4Cs - communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking skills


PROGRESS IN INTEGRATING ICT IN ASEAN EDUCATION


graphRecognizing the benefits of using ICT to enhance the quality, equity and efficiency of education systems, all ASEAN countries have introduced initiatives to integrate ICT in education. However, as the region is very diverse in terms of economic and educational factors etc., the member countries are at very different stages in their ICT integration process.



Given the duration of time since the 2010 Southeast Asian Ministers of Education (SEAMEO) report and as new and increased efforts have been undertaken by the respective Southeast Asian governments, it is possible that the position of the member countries may have shifted along the 4- stage framework in Figure 3, albeit that such changes are likely to be minimal. An up-todate analysis of the status of ICT integration in education is required. The latest available data from the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS), does however, provide insights into the status of ICT integration in education for the years 2012 and 2014 – based on a few select indicators for policy, technological infrastructure and ICT in curricula. Almost all the ASEAN member countries have integrated ICT in their national education and ICT Master Plans (Prajaknate, 2015, p.4). According to a report by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS, 2014), about half of the ASEAN member countries (including Cambodia, Brunei, Singapore) have standalone sector-wide ICT in education plans while the other half (e.g. Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam) have ICT mentioned within their national education plans. In terms of the proportion of schools with computer labs, data for the Group 3 countries are largely unavailable for the year 2012. Of the 6 countries for which data is available, i.e., Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, the statistics stands at 5%, 21%, 97%, 72%, 100% and 100% of schools respectively (UNESCO Institute of Statistics). Additionally, the proportion of schools with internet access in the same year can be seen in the Table:





graphFurther efforts have also been made to introduce ICT in school curricula. In 2012, all schools in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei had utilized some form of computer assisted instruction (UIS, 2014). On the other hand, the proportion of schools with computer assisted instruction in Cambodia, Philippines and Thailand was 3%, 49% and 98% respectively.













KEY CHALLENGES THAT CONTINUE TO REMAIN IN ASEAN


Despite the knowledge of the advantages of using ICT in education, much needs to be done to realize the perceived benefits of ICT in education. The following are key challenges that continue to be highlighted by large international organizations like the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), UNESCO, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the region.



1. Quality. There are many gaps that need to be addressed in terms of quality – quality of teachers in the developing nations, quality of student achievement that varies greatly within ASEAN, quality in the delivery of public education across large and diverse nations and finally the quality of school leadership. Education systems can harness the potential of ICT to enhance quality in terms of a systematic way to analyses the learning data gathered to improve student learning outcomes



2. Equity. Many challenges with respect to rural urban, geographical location, socio-economic class, and gender divides still remain as obstacles to equitable access to quality education in some ASEAN countries. Mobile technologies have the potential to address these challenges.



3. Efficiency. Internal efficiency: Optimization of resources and use of ICT to improve efficiency at the school level. For example, use of learning analytics data to make informed policies. External efficiency: Ensuring relevance of education to societal needs and labor market conditions; ICT in education is useful in developing 21st Century skills and core competencies in students and lifelong learners.





RECOMMENDATIONS



Moving forward, the following are some of the macro policy questions that policy planners in the ASEAN region need to think about while reforming their existing national ICT Policies. It is a fact that the countries in ASEAN are in different stages of development with respect to ICT in education. However, insofar as many in the region aspire towards an “Asian Century” and want to integrate ever more intensively into today’s knowledge-based economy, there are clear lessons and questions that all governments should consider. ICTs provide the opportunities for students to develop a set of core competencies where they can learn to think critically, be creative, and collaborate to learn and seek new information and communicate effectively.



1. To be able to meet the demands of the knowledge economy, each developing member country needs to assess its own strengths and capacities to integrate ICT in education. There is a need to mobilize more resources for the integration, research, development, and evaluation of ICTs in education.



approach2. A holistic approach (Figure 3 below) is one that has a well-rounded integration of various dimensions of ICT in education like national ICT policies, infrastructure, teacher capacity building, ICT in curriculum, and assessment. This is essential if the affordances of ICT policies in education are to be realized in an efficient manner. Are the current national ICT in education policies aligned with the national educational vision? Do the policies include measurable goals, implementation strategies, a timeframe, and key performance indicators to monitor/evaluate the implementation of the policies? Are all the stakeholders involved in the process? What financial resources are available? Figure 4: A Holistic Approach Towards ICT in Education (Ra, S., Chin, B., & Lim, C.P (2016)









3. There is no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to sharing of practices. Documenting and sharing what works within and between countries in the region is crucial for ICT policy formulation and implementation. For example, what can we learn from Singapore’s successful ICT Masterplans? Can they be adapted to other country contexts in rest of ASEAN?



4. It is well-documented that to be able to broaden access as well as implement largescale initiatives in education involving ICT, driving and creating public-private partnerships are essential. Partnerships could be in terms of how policy makers can create and sustain partnerships to ensure that students have quality education with equitable access to ICT resources for educational purposes. For instance, for the Malaysian Smart Schools Integrated Solutions (SSIS), there was a partnership between the Malaysian Government and the private sector in development, testing, installation and implementation of the SSIS. The Government set the vision and provided the budget, while the private sector provided their expertise in their area of interest.





5. Professional development for policymakers, school leaders and teachers form a critical component of the holistic approach. ICTs cannot compensate for lack of good pedagogical practices or leadership or ill drafted policies – Policymakers will need to identify key areas of capacity building (teacher and policy) that are needed to improve ICT integration in education.





6. Finally, it is crucial for governments to make informed actionable decisions based on national level assessment data, interpreting what the data tells in the first instance. A system to periodically evaluate the progress in policy design and implementation is crucial for refining future policies based on the identified obstacles.





-ICT IN ASEAN EDUCATION: CHALLENGES AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES

2016 © THE HEAD FOUNDATION