EdTech in Asia: Insights from GST Webinar
Last week we held a webinar panel discussion bringing together tech leaders in Singapore to discuss important trends and opportunities amid the Covid-19 outbreak. The discussion focused on EdTech and the future of education in Asia.
A few insights from the conversation:
- At the university level, self-directed learning is emphasized. Teaching methods have changed, there is less supervision. While at the K12 level, teacher-student engagement is still paramount.
- COVID-19 forced us to get used to online learning. Teachers had to quickly become more tech-savvy than ever.
- For countries who had more access to equipment and stable internet connection, it is easier to engage students. But for countries with less access, teachers had to scramble to find new ways to engage students.
- One of the main challenges of online learning is keeping track of student progress. How many actually finish the online courses that start?
- For students at the K12 level, face to face or social interaction is still important. It provides positive reinforcement for the student.
- There must be a smarter way for teachers to teach lessons that will allow them to focus more on students’ progress rather than repeating material over and over.
- In Myanmar, the level of penetration is high. People have access to FB, Messenger, Line and Viber but that’s it. Most people only access through phones, not tablets or laptops. Most people have limited data and WIFI connections are unreliable.
- You need equipment to conduct digital remote learning. But most students in Myanmar do not have basic equipment. And it is not sufficient to have one computer per family. It should be proportionate to the number of students within the household.
- Although Asians are known for rote learning, other types of learning such as Montessori is becoming more acceptable.
- The propensity of education to adapt is dependent on the technological infrastructure in the country.
- Unlike Myanmar, Korea’s education never stopped despite the threats of COVID-19. They have a stable internet connection. Schools have opened again.
- Online education also plays a key role in professional development. But there should be a clear balance of pedagogy and choices that students want.
- For blended learning to work, you should have the support of the school administrators, data management ad back systems. There should be an infrastructure in place, not just for the students.
- The price of data streaming and hardware is preventing people from adopting these technologies.
- Basic internet coverage should be addressed by policymakers.
Problems:
Making basic internet coverage available to all:
- Need to start with stable electricity. How do you ensure that everyone has access to a stable internet connection? How can we lower the cost to make it available for everyone? How engaged are telcos in this area?
Ensuring everyone has the necessary technological equipment:
- How can the government or policymakers ensure that everyone has access to equipment to aid online/distance learning? We need to make sure that the playing field is level for everyone.
- How do we help all the players (students, teachers, administrators, parents) switch to digital learning?
How do you verify quality assurance for online programs?
How do you ensure digital coverage, ie. availability of 5G for everyone
How can you ensure Cyber security/child protection in video conferencing tools especially for K-12 aged kids?
How do you upscale all the participants (participants, teachers, school administrators, parents) of online learning? How do you create an infrastructure that supports the upgrade of their skills?
How do we approach blended learning? What can be online and what requires physical learning? Because of 5G and IOT, is it possible to shift everything online?
How do we keep data tracking from being too invasive for children?
How do you provide tools for teachers to create content that will actually teach the students?
Health:
- How do we prevent health issues (eyesight, posture, mental health etc) from happening?
- How do we help children develop their social and behavioral skills even if socialization is limited?
TOOLS:
