From chalk boards to smart boards - tech takeaways from Dubai education summit

Dubai: As expertise continues to quickly change the world, college students as we speak face “an unknown future” relating to education, expertise and careers, a Dubai-based skilled instructed the digital ‘GESS Education Global Leadership Summit’ this week.

Huda Ramadan, Faculties Relation Supervisor, Expo 2020 Dubai, stated: “In 2021, we find ourselves preparing students for an unknown future, for a global education system that is ever-changing, that we don’t even know what careers will exist for our new kindergarten students, or what post-secondary education will look like for those future careers.”

Ramadan added. “What I have noticed over the last few years is that technology has developed rapidly, changing the way students think about education; questioning why they should memorise facts or look through a book when everything is available on the internet.”

Though “we’ve gone from chalk boards to smart boards, and even augmented reality in the classroom”, what college students are taught and the way they're taught has modified little or no, falling behind the calls for of latest expertise for evolving careers, Ramadan stated.

“In reality, the content of education, over this last century has actually not changed very much around the world. Students will start school around four or five years of age, they get put into a classroom with 20 or 30 students, and everyone is taught very similar content until they’re 18 years old, when they have to decide which university or college they want to attend.”

Ramadan stated new analysis and experiences of final yr – referring to the COVID-pandemic – have “changed our understanding of how students learn”. The outdated one-size-fits-all mannequin needs to be – and already has to some extent – phased out, she added.

Final yr, faculties worldwide needed to shift instantly to full distance studying due to COVID-19 lockdowns. Over time, college students finding out from dwelling tailored to develop into extra impartial learners, conducting on-line analysis and accessing digital schooling assets. Many pupils created their very own on-line platforms for studying.

Ramadan stated: “Now, we find the teachers do not need to rely on direct instruction on rote learning to educate our children, but rather they’re emphasising the importance of appreciating every student individually. And rather than fitting all students into one mould, education is now focused on allowing students the opportunities to explore their interests, and actually develop those skill sets required for their own dream careers.”

She added: “We additionally discover that lecturers are now not merely imparting data, they’re now changing into facilitators for studying and supporting college students on that studying path, wherein we’ve began exhibiting college students how their studying applies to their actual life, which ensures that studying continues as soon as they've really left the classroom, which means that college students now perceive that studying can occur wherever, anytime, at any tempo that fits their pursuits.

“This year, we also learned and appreciated that education is just as much about life experiences, as it is about those academics. It’s also about how people and individuals, adapt, and collaborate. And that’s about no longer confining education to the actual classroom, but about making life experiences as meaningful as possible.”

The 2-day digital GESS summit featured discussions by native and abroad educators reflecting on the pandemic’s affect on education, amongst many different subjects. GESS, or International Instructional Provides and Options, is an annual commerce truthful held in Dubai (and different cities), which is at present scheduled to bodily return in November.