Source: Bernama

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said here Tuesday teachers must adapt to change to take on new responsibilities in managing learning with technology and in managing and evaluating technology.

He said teachers must be technologically versatile and not technologically resistant.

"The real challenge is not just the availability of technology but the pedagogical application of technology," he said, adding that if teachers did not adapt to change, no amount of incentives would ever change their practices.

"They must have the desire for change and to change," he said when delivering a keynote address at the 2010 Learning and Technology World Forum, here.

The gathering is one of the largest forums and assembly of education ministers, leaders and policy makers in the world which focuses on the development and integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education and also, in particular, into teaching and learning in the classroom.

On the usage of technology, Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said teachers must change their mindset.

"From the very beginning, we were well aware that the incorporation of ICT into teaching and learning involved more than putting computers and other hardware into the school and classroom.

"We repeatedly remind our teachers that they must assume an important, if not more critical, role as the guide by the side. They can no longer be the sage on the stage," he said, adding that teachers have had to take on new responsibilities as facilitators of learning.

He said teachers had been reminded that technology was only a tool as the classroom interactions were basically a synergy of human emotions that either impeded or enhanced learning.

"No technology can ever replace a teacher. Teachers must continue to assume their key role in promoting and motivating students' learning, alongside with the implementation of ICT in education, in developing students' confidence in learning with technology," he said.

He said the critical pedagogy then was the teachers' ability to identify critical moments for the integration of technology into their teaching where the selection of the right applications and strategies would extend the dimensions of the classroom and enrich students' learning experiences.

On the training initiatives, he said he was proud to say that Malaysia had achieved positive impacts.

He said a study by the British Commonwealth Group (BCG) 2008, in collaboration with the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) pertaining to the MSC Malaysia, had found that there was enhanced creativity and effectiveness in teaching and learning, a higher level of ICT literacy among teachers and students, and increased efficiency in management and communication among stakeholders.

Muhyiddin said that the impact of ICT had further opened doors to many other opportunities for educationists in Malaysia.

He said ICT functioned as an enabler to reduce the digital gap between schools, and as a teaching and learning tool which made lessons more interesting, relevant and meaningful.

"ICT has also brought the world into the classroom and improved information literacy," he said.

Moving forward, he said, an educational system was not worth a great deal if it taught young people how to make a living but did not teach them how to make a life.

"In essence, the process of education is transformative and it has to be the engagement and the opening of hearts and minds. Therefore in our haste to introduce technology, we must never forget the human dimensions of education," he said.

"We must make education the best defence in providing economic security, in protecting health, eradicating poverty, saving lives and combating hunger," he said.

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