The Edge
By Butt Wai Choon
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Each period of history is defined by both the tools that exist and the ways in which those tools are used. The transition to a new century gives us pause to define how learning — and perhaps the learner — has changed and what new tools enable us to bring the best we can offer to educate our world. Access, access, access Dissecting the new student A school that never closes The outcome matters! Butt Wai Choon is managing director of Microsoft Malaysia. This article is adapted from 'Educating the 21st Century Citizen', a white paper prepared by Microsoft Corp.
Think about the time when slates were used as exercise books to the tablet PCs used today. We've moved from an industrial economy to an Internet economy and onwards to an innovation economy. These shifts have had enormous impact on the nature of everyday life, the economy and work.
Yet, despite these changes, our education system remains much the same. While we've come a long way since our independence — when the literacy rate was under 50% — to today's 97%, we have a lot of catching up to do. So, the prime minister's clarion call during the International Advisory Panel meeting recently to reform the education system in Malaysia is overdue yet timely.
How can Malaysia move quickly up the ICT (information and communications technology) chain to dogma innovation (call it an oxymoron), to acculturate new thinking? What are the education requirements for the 21st century citizen? What has changed? What should change? What needs to stay the same?
Today, only 4,500 schools in the country have ICT labs — that's less than 50% of all primary and secondary schools in Malaysia. Of this, only 8,120 are connected with some form of high-speed Internet. Some 97,000 computers have been provisioned. Are these sufficient to reach our five million students and 320,000 educators? In any case, computer lessons are still not considered compulsory in the education system. It's more dire when you consider that less than 20% of households in the country have a PC. Possibly, another wave of student-teacher notebook projects or home PC ownership schemes needs to be started.
The profile of what we call a student has changed. "Millennials" are defined as the generation born after 1982. As preschoolers, they were acquainted with cellphones, pagers and PCs — and for some, stepping into school means stepping back in time to chalkboards and overhead projectors as state of the art. As a result of technology touching just about every aspect of their lives, students may feel that they are more Internet-savvy than their teachers. They use the Internet for school work and leisure, and often have a perception that the use of technology in schools is inadequate.1
At the end of the day, it's not just access to technology that is important in creating a digitally inclusive world. Of even greater importance is acquisition of "digital literacy" — the knowledge and skills necessary to use these technologies and the ability to adapt to the rapid pace of change that is the hallmark of their ongoing development.
Imagine telling this to a student — that he is able to experience lifelong learning anytime, anyplace and on any device. The chances are he wouldn't touch this new idea with a 10ft pole. But explain that it offers new and creative ways for him to research 24/7, communicate by e-mail with professors and complete coursework without waiting for an available PC during open laboratory hours... and he will bite.
Education is no longer bound by the limits of the teacher, textbook, or the reference books in the school library. Rather it is limited only by the student's interest. These new learning models enable the teacher to serve as learning facilitator, mentor and guide on subjects that do not require students to spend a prescribed amount of time in a physical classroom. The Internet now allows remote schools and homes to have access to the libraries of the world. Technology has accelerated the growth and expanded the definition of the "non-traditional" student profile.
Imagine the power of this student interest in technology and the potential for developing their education as a consequence of their behaviour. Some 140,000 students from 200 countries, for example, are eager participants in TakingITGlobal (TIG)2 — an international organisation led by youth, empowered by technology, collaborating on concrete learning projects that address such global challenges as water pollution, political correctness and rehabilitating criminals.
In essence, the learning methods and approaches for the "new students" need to adapt to their experiential nature — sight, sound, animation — since the classroom is their gateway to the future. We all readily agree that learning should be fun and exciting — so let's not suffocate for the excuse of lack of technology.
The understanding of how technologies work and building on this knowledge to adapt teaching methodologies to newer devices provide the opportunities to succeed in the workplace and actively participate in society — the innovation society.
The impact of science, technology and globalisation calls for even greater reform. This is especially necessary because of their ubiquitous impact on society, because employers are facing skills shortages and because the economy requires a new set of worker competencies. Employers indicate that technical skills alone are not enough.3
The call for educational change and a programme to address a set of 21st century skills is being made by educators, policymakers, industry, parents and learners of all ages. In addition to our corporate programmes and efforts, Microsoft has been privileged to participate in national commissions and partnerships to address these compelling questions for the 21st century learner.
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