ALTHOUGH there are a multitude of digital tools available, both teachers and learners are not fully prepared for their effective use, say experts.
According to Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) Digital Learning Hub lecturer cum senior digital learning designer Dr Fumiko Konno, data from the Education Ministry shows that less than half (48%) of teachers say they are confident and proficient in using these devices in a blended learning way.
This, she added, is despite 2024 data showing that 94% of classrooms have been equipped with smart devices.
While most teachers have been trained on how to use digital tools, Konno said they have not received enough, or any, training on when and why they should be used.
“The real question is not how much teachers are using technology, but whether they are making deliberate or pedagogically grounded decisions about when and how they can use it.
“I’m quite doubtful whether teachers have developed enough confidence and skills to use them effectively from the perspective of instructional design.
“So it’s not necessarily over-reliance, but under-preparation,” she said.
On student learning, APU Digital Learning Hub senior lecturer and programme manager Jonathan JS Kovilpillai said problems arise when devices are used for tasks that require very low cognitive effort.
“Instead of students constructing their own answers, they turn to devices to find the answers for them,” he said, adding that many of these tools are removing the “friction” needed for learning.
“There is also autocorrect, which removes one very important learning tool – the ability to identify mistakes.
“Self-recognition of mistakes is what helps you learn,” he said, adding that while a student may be able to turn in a well-written essay, they might not have learnt much.
Another important skill is memory retention, which students in the 1980s and 1990s developed through dictation classes and memorising multiplication tables, he noted.
“Asking kids to practise handwriting and recite multiplication tables is not a nostalgic experiment or experience. It is neuroscience-based.
“These skills cannot be abandoned just because we have technology.
“In fact, technology should be anchored to and built on those skills. That should be the foundation,” said Jonathan.
He also said that the “hint economy” is reducing the cognitive effort students need to put into learning.
“The hint economy is when you use devices, especially apps built for learning, that provide hints when you are stuck on a question. If someone sees the hint there, they will automatically click on it.
“Every time you press the hint, it substitutes the cognitive effort required for learning,” he said.
Pointing to the benefits of digital tools, he said technology is now used in place of textbooks, as a collaboration platform, for visualisation and stimulation, and for communication.
“A virtual reality device can take a classroom on a tour of the pyramids of Egypt, allowing students to experience what it is like there,” he said.
He also said technology helps persons with disabilities, such as visually-impaired students using haptic devices to “read” or those with dyslexia using voice-to-text functions.
Throughout history, he added, even with the advent of tools such as the book and the calculator, fundamental skills have always remained.
“As much as the tools change, the fundamental basics of teaching, learning and education do not change. It is still the transfer and retention of knowledge,” he said.
