By Roderick L. Abad | Correspondent &Verna Mae Barrozo
IN a technology-driven era, a top executive said it’s high time for the Philippines to integrate technology in academic institutions to provide better service for the Filipinos.
Woohoo Learning Lab CEO Galvin Ngo called on educators to take advantage of this phenomenon and shift learning to be tech-forward.
“It’s easy to say that technology has become easier, and because of that, we can now make this crucial shift in the education sphere,” he said during the Techonomy 2017 Forum held recently at the Maybank Performing Arts Theater in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
“A shift that is not just about learning technology, which is still important, but also learning with technology. And I think this is a very important shift,” he said.
The CEO emphasized how this transformation would allow teachers to better understand and appreciate how integrating technology in their teaching will better engage the students in learning.
“I’d like to think when we shift this paradigm, we ask this very important question: How does learning with technology enable? This shifts the question away from technology to the purpose of technology and I’d like to think we should have a good grasp of the purpose even before touching any technology,” he said.
The challenge, Ngo said, is for educators to become 21st- century teachers themselves.
“When we become 21st-century teachers, I think that’s the only way we can prepare 21st-century learners not just for today, but also for the future,” he said.
PLDT Vice President for Digital Marketing Strategy Carlo Ople summarized in three steps how the potential of digital can be better used by government agencies and academic institutions for their services.
“Unlock data vaults, share and centralize. Unlock action by operationalizing the data. Unlock funding through public and private partnership,” he said.
The Techonomy forum was the first-ever conference to tackle the vital role of technology and economy.
It gathered top executives and leaders in government, business and education to discuss the subject and its potential benefits to the different sectors and organizations in the country.