Twenty first century learning is the accumulation of knowledge, work habits and soft skills, including digital literacy, critical thinking and problem solving, that will help students lead successful careers in the modern workplace. In an era of challenges faced due to pandemic that had slowed down the development of future generations or the talent required for global growth, Huawei Sri Lanka’s Enterprise Business Group Vice President Indika De Zoysa recently pointed out that fortunately with digital technologies today’s education sector is on a clear pathway and experiencing a profound change whilst speeding the efficiency of management.
He elaborated that students are expected to develop skills soft skills and digital literacy whilst producing content for their classes and that this mode of learning accounts for an increasingly digital learning landscape, where students depend on accessing information via the internet and relying on virtual classrooms for content delivery. Both teachers and students are now leveraging technological innovations to enhance their learning whilst various kinds of content have emerged based on internet and other digital technologies developments that cater to new learning models helping the millennial students to mold themselves to future demands of industries. He further elucidated that Internet is becoming another form of infrastructure, enabling access to infinite possibilities and that technology is a powerful catalyst for change, bringing people closer, making society more efficient, and promoting a more sustainable world. He was speaking at an event titled ‘Enabling Education through Digital Innovation’ organized by Huawei Sri Lanka.
Today there are 7.2 billion people in the world and more than 25 percent of them are below 18 years old. Inspired by the benefits brought by technology, young people will help define the future of mankind. A future where the digital and physical worlds will become more integrated, and boundaries no longer exist between technologies, countries, businesses and industries.
“Connectivity will emerge as the new normal. By 2025, there will be 100 billion connections” he said speaking on the latest insights on global digital transformation adding that therefore investing in ICT and education is a prerequisite to invest in the future. It is about conveying knowledge, connecting the ecosystem and fostering collaboration between teachers, students, parents, and school administrators, anytime and anywhere. It is about making people, communities, and nations more competitive.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. It is the key to eliminating gender inequality, to reduce poverty, and to fostering peace. And modern education tend to help learners develop and manage their physical and emotional well-being. Like the famous philosopher Herbert Spencer said, ‘In education the process of self-development should be encouraged to the uttermost’. So personal development is playing an important role for graduates looking to join the workforce” De Zoysa highlighted.
Although everybody got their own talent inside, he went on to explain that most of us could not explore it because of lacking of personal development. In this regard modern education tend to focus on personalized learning models and students are encouraged to study in a collaborative environment that can foster their creativity with the usage of digital tools and connectivity.
However in the process of education models transformation, there are still three challenges ahead faced by the education sector which is first the network quality would be the bottleneck when students are eager to access various educational resources via internet. And secondly, as workload increases, teachers and school administrators must find better ways to help improve their efficiency, and thirdly, sharing high-quality educational resources between teachers and students becomes more important and critical to achieve the quality of online education.
Huawei Sri Lanka’s Enterprise Business Group Vice President Indika De Zoysa