Educators from Bangladesh and across Asia recognised the importance of digital technologies in the classroom as they attended the Bett Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur recently.
They discussed the digital transformation of education and shared cutting-edge innovations that will prepare students for a digital future, Microsoft Bangladesh said in a statement.
As a worldwide partner of Bett (British Educational Training and Technology), Microsoft delivered an informative and engaging educational experience through hands-on sessions that aimed to equip students in Asia with future-ready skills.
“High quality education is critical for the growth of Bangladesh's economy, because it is well known that access to education lifts productivity and competitiveness in developing markets,” the company said.
Better education will help students improve their technical, behavioural and thinking skills that they will need to face the challenges of the labour market, according to the statement.
In response, leaders in Asia Pacific's education sector are showing urgency in embracing the fourth industrial revolution to improve students' educational outcomes.
Microsoft Asia's Digital Transformation survey found that 87 percent of the educators know they need to transform to a digital institution to enable future growth.
Yet, only 23 percent said that they have a full digital strategy in place today.
“But with the right technology, educators can access the best tools to better engage students with digital, interactive and personalised content, and non-teaching staff can feel empowered and ensure compliance requirements are met,” the company said.
In the statement, Don Carlson, director for education of Microsoft Asia Pacific, said digital disruption has resulted in a shift in how work is being approached and conducted.
So, it is important that educational institutions transform in order to equip students with future-ready skills, said Carlson.
“At Microsoft, we have a specific and nuanced approach to digital transformation in education. We believe this involves transformation in four key pillars – empowering faculty and non-teaching employees, engaging students, optimising institutions and transforming learning, with data and the cloud being the key enablers.”
Sonia Bashir Kabir, managing director of Microsoft Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Laos, said, “We need to prioritise the issues and eliminate the barriers found in this study for taking a leap towards true digitalisation in the education sector of Bangladesh.”
“It is a prime time to embrace and facilitate the emerging technologies for staying ahead of the future to come.”
The statement said Microsoft is empowering students and teachers to achieve more by investing in the education sector.
Recently announced, Microsoft 365 Education includes Office 365 for Education, Windows 10, Enterprise Mobility + Security, and Minecraft: Education Edition.
It gives students, faculties and staff members everything they need to create and collaborate securely, according to the statement.
Microsoft believes that digital transformation is not simply about technology; rather, it requires education leaders to re-envision existing business models and embrace a different way of gathering data and processes to create value for their students through systems of intelligence.
“Through the transformation journey, Microsoft has been supporting Bangladesh's education leaders to empower the youth with the key skills for success in the digital age.”
Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/digital-tech-liven-classrooms-1521529