Back in June 2020, the Ministry of Education in Malaysia launched a new platform known as DELIMa (Digital Education Learning Initiative Malaysia) that offers a range of e-learning solutions and tech-centric learning materials that are conceptualized by hybrid and blended learning methodologies. This marked an official national approach to edu-tech on a bigger scale, albeit not a pioneering shift for an edutech-takeover here. Despite it all, any movement for tech-led education is a move forward.
EdTech (short form for educational technology) is an I.R 4.0 sector which prepares students for a tech-equipped future with its secure and structured learning environment. Accessibility and flexibility are some of the forefront components for its framework, which makes it unique as well as attractive to make various stakeholders engage and participate in the sector. Edtech provides solutions for the demands of a highly skilled workforce in the country and future generations. Digital literacy is the star-quality of the minute and everyone is scurrying to get a piece of this giant ‘cake’ to stay ahead of the curve.
We have discussed various verticals of the edtech sector in past blog posts like the element of different learning media, learning management systems in different sectors , alike. Early days edutech was limited to the experience of downloading reading materials and sometimes emailing in term papers in educational institutions. On a business level, it barely scratched the surface of online training that involves video recording of training or basic onboarding processes for new hires. The game has levelled up now (as discussed here) and we owe it to the rapid revolution of edtech altogether.
As many would be aware, Virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI), gamification and big data are all concepts that are finally spilling over into the edtech sphere. With all these intact, edtech promises advances such as immersive learning experience with the applications of VR and AR in everyday tasks, which in a way, we are already experiencing.What does this mean for trainers in the sector? The data scientists, tech engineers and architects? Digital learning that’s driven by data is helping to customise learning journeys, track progress and deliver a learning experience that’s both engaging and in-line with real-world work.
The pandemic has demonstrated the importance of many things— especially impacts for which require physical isolation from the real world, and plunging head-first into the world of virtual assistance, wherever it finds to suit. College students have been robbed of their experience to navigate as regular students on campus. However, it is not completely doom and gloom as there are technological solutions such as VR (virtual reality) being adopted heavily by all these institutions to enable campus virtual tours when campuses shut down and student tour guides were no longer on campus to form connections with prospective students. What is interesting about the rising popularity of these VR features in edtech is that it could be a permanent feature rather than a temporary fix that it was intended for.
Working professionals use online educational resources and platforms to upskill themselves. This is another outcome from edtech within a professional setting. Edtech enables various educational bodies such as universities and training centres to offer online courses for professionals by virtually recreating the live classroom experience with a group of students and a faculty of trainers collaborating on lessons, projects and online discussions. GoTraining exemplifies an edtech entity for both educational and training purposes as it offers various online courses which encompasses skills training and deep-learning courses.
Edtech promotes a sense of inclusivity with programmes aimed at learners of all ages, experience and capability that can be conducted in the privacy of homes or in the company of virtual classmates. Whether it's remote learning or hybrid learning that covers both onsite and off-site student participation, the edtech sector’s growth is a result of enabling the privilege of being used to curate digital resources for teachers or trainers, administrators, students and even families.
