Limitless learning is now made possible with digitalisation

International Day of Education falls on 24 January every year. This year’s theme, ‘Changing Course, Transforming Education’, seeks to “showcase the most important transformations that have to be nurtured to realise everyone’s fundamental rights to education and build a more sustainable, inclusive and peaceful future”.

I can’t agree with this enough. At Marshall Cavendish Education (MCE), all our efforts focus on facilitating effective teaching and active learning to continuously equip learners with 21st-century competencies necessary for the challenges of today and the future.

According to UNESCO, almost 75% of the world’s student population has been affected by school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the past two years, COVID-19 has left schools with no option but to adopt remote or distance-based teaching. Therefore, it is not surprising that many countries have cited digital learning as part of their IT blueprint for the next few years.

In particular, the Asia Pacific region is expected to witness the fastest distance-based learning (also known as digital learning) market growth. Some countries may have already seen rewards from digital learning. In Singapore last year, the country’s GCE ‘O’-Level examination results were better than in 2020. While various factors could have led to this, such as increased parental guidance due to work-from-home arrangements, the prevalence of digital learning resources played a significant part. With video learning content, interactive whiteboards, and online educational games; remote learning has become more meaningful, fun and accessible than before.

According to Grand View Research, the total education technology market size was valued at USD 89.49 billion in 2020 and is expected to witness a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.9% from 2021 to 2028.

From a global perspective, we anticipate a significant increase in access to digital education for the next generation of learners. The Education-Tech (EdTech) industry will continue to evolve with the adoption of digitalisation in the form of the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and even blockchain technology. At MCE, we’ve collaborated with several EdTech partners such as Literatu, Cerebry and Koobits, to create digital learning resources that uses AI and AR to make learning simpler and a joyful and meaningful experience for both teacher and student.

However, I do recognise that developing countries are still facing challenges in adopting technology. Amidst the digital learning movement, those that do not have digital devices or Internet access have fallen between the cracks. Fortunately, efforts to close these gaps are underway; for instance, investors have started to pour funds into India’s EdTech industry, and it is expected to reach USD 3.5 billion this year.

Personally, I am very excited to see the benefits EdTech will bring to the classroom, physically and virtually. With access to technology in education, students will receive a more personalised and richer learning experience that builds on their 21st century skillsets such as collaboration, creative thinking and peer participation. The role of a teacher will evolve from a knowledge holder to a facilitator who has extra pockets of time to think and design a more motivating, inspiring and meaningful lesson to engage their students.

In 2019, MCE launched MCEduHub, a digital learning platform designed for teachers and students to access online learning materials. These materials are also accessible offline for countries without on-demand network access. After three years of improving the interface, we are pleased to share that the subscriber count has grown to more than 120,000 worldwide subscribers across countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, the United States, and more.

At MCE, we have always believed in the transformative role of teachers, ensuring effective and a joyful learning experience for their students. The next step for us is to expand our continuous professional development via the MCEduHub platform together with our educational partner such as Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU). We look forward to sharing more about our professional development programmes for teachers in the coming months.

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