Advances in technology necessitate that governments, schools and educators change the way of teaching to improve outcomes and prepare learners for the future. These were the findings at the Bett Middle East and Africa Leadership Summit and Exhibition held at Abu Dhabi. KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE was there.
After completing an aptitude test last Saturday in Lagos, this reporter overheard two job seekers lamenting over their struggles to find jobs years after graduation on the bus home. They blamed their education for not equipping them with any other means to get employment except by writing tests and wished for a more functional education.
Said one to the other: “I pray God blesses me with children. I will make sure they do not have this B.Sc (first degree) mentality. They need to have something they can do for themselves. The orientation of B.Sc graduates in Nigeria is just to read and pass exams; we gain no skills.”
Even before the duo will have children, the ideal classroom environment has changed for learners. Educators are being asked to quickly do away with the old ways of teaching and embrace new ways of preparing learners who can better fit into the jobs new technologies are creating. Research has shown a significant increase in STEM-related jobs and significant drop in traditional ones.
The new ways of teaching and learning were the focus of discussions at the Bett Middle East and Africa (MEA) Leadership Summit and Expo 2018 held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), United Arab Emirates (UAE) last week.
Harb Bou-Harb, Senior Director, Education, for Microsoft in MEA, said there was a global concern that the education sector was not keeping up with the pace of technological advancements.
“Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence are advancing at a speed that surprises us even within the system. It is proven that the education sector is struggling to keep up with the pace. Even in the most advanced countries like Japan and the United States, their students are struggling,” he said.
To address this problem, Microsoft said it was collaborating with educators to develop solutions to help train learners who its research with Mckinsey Education had shown would do 98 per cent better with education tailored to their personalised needs.
The firm in collaboration with Bett hosted government, technology and education leaders from Africa to learn about numerous solutions available to get the best from learners.
From physical to digital
notebooks
It is no longer enough to use technology to teach one subject – Information Communication Technology (ICT) or Computer Studies, said Jordan Belmonte, Education Programmes Manager for Microsoft Nigeria.
In an interview with The Nation, Belmonte said technology could be applied in teaching all subjects to achieve optimal learning, a reality she urged Nigerian schools to embrace.
“In Nigeria many schools only use technology to teach the IT class. But the History teacher, the Science teacher, the Geography teacher, Maths teacher are now using technology to make learning more dynamic. We want to see teachers embracing technology so that children of different levels of ability and learning styles can access information. Some children may learn very well by seeing things; others may learn by hearing things; while other children may learn by doing things. And using technology enables children to experience different types of learning. Traditional delivery method in the classroom is not so robust,” she said.
Andy Turner, Head of Education Technology at Alder Academies, a group of seven academies in the UAE, said schools within the group use technology the way Demonte advocates.
He said all Alder Academies were Microsoft Showcase schools using its 365 education platform to connect teachers, students and even parents to give access to free learning resources for which on completion they can get certifications.
In adopting technology for use, Turner said schools must develop their technology plans which must be updated regularly to keep up with changes. He said technology had become so embedded in the school’s administration and teaching and learning.
He said solutions under the Microsoft 365 like One Note, Paint 3D, Sway, Forms, and Mine Craft enabled the school to teach pupils individually and as group, access and assess their work online; conduct surveys, quizzes, polls, as well as teach in three dimensions and through games.
Turner said Pain 3D and Minecraft were software solutions that could be used to teach creativity in fun ways.
“Educators can unlock the creativity of students using technology tools such as Paint 3D and Minecraft. Research has shown that children learn much better using 3D,” he said.
Speaking about One Note, a note-taking app that can be shared, Turner said teachers could do much more than just teach on the smart board.
“With One Note, you can have personal notes and sharred notes. The teacher’s notes can be projected for students on their tablests and they can make their own notes on it.In the contents library, students can access past papers or past classes. Teachers can write, type or record video or audio feedback for students to review. I am not jumping into two or three platforms to do this, I can do it all in One Note,” he said.
Assistant Head Teacher of Digital Learning at Jess School, Dubai, Jennie Burke, said One Note also helps her monitor what her students do in class real time and beyond.
“In terms of feedback, nothing is lost. I can ask a student to take a picture of their work and email to me; I can give feedback and post on their page. The difference between the modern students and the old students is that they (modern students) can access the teacher beyond the classroom,” she said.
In class, she also said her students could not hide because she could project their work on their personal tablets to the teacher’s class projector and also lock access to their tablets.
However, she said the school was also concerned about teaching the students to be disciplined enough to manage their distractions and get their work done.
“We have invested in a system to lock down all devices. But we have taken a lot of time thinking how much we should lock down for secondary school.We need to teach them how to manage that distraction themselves.
Sharing how he uses One Note, Conor Brennan Batory, a Year Eight pupil of Jess School Dubai, said his tablet had replaced a bag full of many books he had to carry about in the past. He said he also has to take personal responsibility of caring for his device.
“Before I resumed for Year Seven, my parents were told to buy the device. I played with it during the holidays to familiarise myself with the device. Everyday when I get home, I charge. If there are updates, the device notifies me of updates so we update ourselves,” he said.
More opportunities for
differently abled children
Children with learning disabilities such as autism, dyslexia, cerebral palsy, hearing impairment or visual impairment have better learning chances through technology.
Mr Warren Fleur, Microsoft Director for East, West and Central Africa, said solutions across various platforms now have features that help learners with disabilities read, write, create, complete assignments in ways that were previously not possible.
He said many Microsoft software like Word, PowerPOint, One Note and others have an Immersive Reader tool that reads to dyslexics and people with visual impairment. For Dyslexics, the texts are made bigger and spacing can be adjusted as required. Learners with visual impairment can even scan text items which could be read to them.
If given the right support and opportunities to learn, Fleur said people with disabilities could excel.
“Dyslexics are good coders and this is why we have to think of technology that is all encompassing and can meet their needs,” he said.
Data Collection
and Analytics
The ability of technology to improve learning outcomes is one that Microsoft Vice President, Worldwide Education, Anthony Salcito, does not want educators to lose sight of.
Salcito, who gave the keynote speech at the opening of the Bett MEA conference, said educators should not underestimate the support Artificial Intelligence could give to their data collection efforts in determining what works best for their students.
“We should collect data on what motivates students to do better. But it easily becomes overwhelming for educators if done manually. We should move to the level where learning outcomes is the most important. Artificial Intelligence can help us not just to provide insight and clarity, but what is needed,” he said, urging teachers to use technology to collect and analyse data on their students.
Special Adviser to the Oyo State Governor on Education, Dr B. C. Akin-Alabi said despite the state’s slim resources, the government was ready to embrace transformation and had already invested in Microsoft Imagine Academy licenses for its students.
“We were invited to the Bett we just deployed Microsoft Imagine Academy for everybody in Oyo State – both private and schools, primary, secondary and tertiary.
‘’We want to use Microsoft platform to drive our digital literacy in Oyo State and as such, we also want to share our stories with other regions and also learn from what others are doing. It is all about transforming education, which is one of the key pillars. What we take away from here is using technology as an enabler to provide education that is fit for purpose to make our children globally competitive and locally relevant. We are looking to use education to find solutions to other socio-economic problems we have in our society,” she said.
Ms Banke Alawaye, who leads Lagos State CodeLagos programme, an initiative that has provided ICT facilities and teachers in primary and secondary schools as well as public libraries, said she had learnt a lot from the technologies on offer.
