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UNESCO Enhances Digital Capacities of Teachers to Foster inclusive and Equitable Education Systems in Asia-Pacific
Post date:
2024/08/13
A recent webinar aimed to improve teaching practices with innovative digital technologies.
9 August 2024
As the Asia-Pacific region rapidly embraces digital transformation, the integration of Open Educational Resources (OER) is crucial in equipping educators with the necessary skills and resources to deliver inclusive and equitable education – thereby fostering sustainable development and innovation.
With the support of the Japanese Fund-in-Trust (JFIT) for the Promotion of Education in Asia-Pacific (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, or ‘MEXT’, of Japan), the webinar, ‘Empowering Tomorrow's Educators with Open Educational Resources’, was conducted by the UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO INNOTECH), on 18 June 2024. This was the second in a series of such webinars planned under UNESCO’s current project, ‘Preparing teachers who can innovate using digital technology’.
SEAMEO INNOTECH
Highlights of the Webinar
‘Empowering Tomorrow’s Educators’ attracted more than 220 participants from South-East Asia, a majority from Thailand and the Philippines, the two beneficiary countries of the JFIT project, to date.
Opening remarks were provided by Dr. Leonor Magtolis Briones, Director of SEAMEO INNOTECH, who who emphasized the crucial role of Open Educational Resources (OER) in promoting inclusive and equitable education in the Asia-Pacific region. Highlighting the adaptability of OER to digital transformation, Dr. Briones underscored how these resources help keep teachers' skills and knowledge up to date, foster innovation, and support resilient educational systems. Dr. Briones also highlighted the importance of OER in bridging educational disparities and enhancing teachers’ continual professional development.
Dr. Briones’s remarks were followed by presentations by guest speakers Jiao Yanwen and Sit Fung, both of the International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI). Jiao Yanwen provided a comprehensive introduction to UNESCO-ICHEI and the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE). He reviewed these organizations’ missions to leverage new technology to empower higher education innovation; their achievements in expanding global partnerships to 38 countries and 12 national centers; their ongoing projects; and their joint research on the digital transformation of higher education.
Sit Fung, who currently leads the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) Operation Centre at UNESCO-ICHEI, spoke on how the IIOE platform supports educators through AI-powered tools and resources, such as through the IIOE 1+X GenAI Course Series, comprising certification-based courses aligned with the IIOE Higher Education Teaching Personnel Digital Competency Reference Framework, version 1.0. Each IIOE course is designed to provide a personalized knowledge service; in addition, the AI-powered IIOE platform can support a full course of education and training.
The presentations gave rise to discussion on how IIOE can serve as a catalyst for enhancing teachers' ICT capacity and enhance overall educational quality in the South-East Asia region. Participants were enthusiastic about the potential of the IIOE platform to drive digital transformation at their respective institutions and expressed an interest in exploring further collaboration towards utilizing the platform's resources, improving their own teaching pedagogies, and integrating innovative digital technologies in their teaching as efficiently and effectively as possible.