Developed countries tend to have a cultural bias against smart devices in education, particularly in early childhood. It is not uncommon for parents and even educators to get children to unplug and return to “traditional” forms of education.
This is partly due to the preconceived notion that there is a lack of high-quality digital content to address the educational needs of children or blanket misguided views that children should not spend too much time on electronic devices. Understandably, there is also a prevailing notion that there is, or will be, difficulty in accessing and assessing their child’s progress on educational apps.
However, this is a problematic stance to take. For many families across the region, smart devices represent the primary way for children to access education outside of existing educational institutions. Such devices also give access to crucial tools and materials that current curriculums just do not support.
So, when it comes to democratising education across the region, it is important that we fully acknowledge and appreciate the role that smart device – and by extension, technology – can play.
The reality of education
The reality is that the curriculum being taught across Southeast Asia – even in Singapore, where children have great access to education – is not hitting the mark. Children across the region are still following the same age-old learning methodologies and are not being taught skills that are relevant in today's world.
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The education system is essentially “fast food for the mind”, with a ratio of 1 teacher to 30, or even 40 students, creating a cookie cutter approach. There is little opportunity for personalised education and new-age learning objectives within national curriculums.
Then think about those across Southeast Asia who do not have access to good education. For example, children from disadvantaged backgrounds have been shown to perform worse in the critical years of primary school as compared to their peers. Across the region, 1 in 3 children in upper primary schools – whose ages range from 10 to 12 – are performing at a level expected of a lower primary school student.
However, these figures do not paint a complete picture of the reality of education. Data issued from the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics also shows that only 2% of children in some countries in the region have basic literacy and numeracy skills.
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Technology can provide a critically important way for children and their parents to access educational content. When you consider that smart device adoption across the region is set to reach 88% by 2022, technology has the potential to make learning accessible for over 150 million children in Southeast Asia.
How can edtech help?
In a challenging environment after the reopening of schools, many educational technology (edtech) firms are struggling to cope and are reporting sharply declining numbers.
Reports show that edtech firms have been forced to reinvent and position themselves in an environment of cost-cutting, right-sizing and retrenchment. A slowdown in wages, increasingly higher cost of living and regulation have also shifted priorities from learning to earning.
However, those who can demonstrate their offerings can complement the traditional learning experience or are targeted at children with poor access to education will find that there is still a strong demand for high-quality educational content.
To create a lasting impact and help encourage the use of smart devices and technology in education, edtech solutions need to meet three main criteria:
- Localisation
Beyond local languages, localisation is crucial to align edtech with local educational standards and infrastructures. While knowledge, in theory, should be universal, this level of localisation will make it easier to draw a tangible connection between the content and the local educational requirements.
For example, parents would be much more willing to leverage an edtech solution that not only provides supplementary knowledge, but also helps to shore up foundational knowledge that will support their children within the framework of their respective national education systems.
- Accessibility
In the pursuit of democratising education, it is important to evaluate accessibility from different perspectives. Consider that not all smart devices are the same – and edtech platforms should accessible by the widest range of device types and versions. With regards to the content, it should also be catered to a wide spectrum of abilities.
This will be especially critical in markets that may not have extremely robust infrastructures or whose populations may not have wide access to high-end smart devices. It would affect product design decisions, like whether a constant Internet connection is needed or how much processing power would be required for the solutions.
- Leveraging the medium
Finally, it is critical that edtech solutions aim to not just replicate “traditional” educational experiences, but instead fully utilise the unique aspects that being on digital platforms can bring.
For example, digital platforms should allow for greater levels of interaction and content updates to weave in new materials. They should also allow children to access a modern curriculum or subject matter that is not offered within the traditional educational system.
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So, maybe it is time we stop thinking of technology as either “good” or “bad” but consider that it is the “how” we use smart devices that will make the difference.
By offering high-quality and relevant education to a larger population, technology and smart devices play a crucial role in making learning accessible for all and helping children improve their foundations, contributing to the growth of future generations.
Prerna A Jhunjhunwala is the founder of Creative Galileo, an early learning edtech platform
