Maxis brings eKelas to Kpg Tebelu students
SEBUYAU: Maxis has expanded its eKelas, an after-school digital learning initiative, to the Internet centre in Kampung Tebelu.
During a showcase of eKelas yesterday, students and members of the community experienced first-hand the live tutorial for Mathematics and English, where classes were streamed from Kuala Lumpur via video- conferencing.
“This programme has grown rapidly and we are overwhelmed with demand for this service so we got some decisions to make as to how to ramp up and scale up with more resources to deliver more experience for students and to fulfil the objectives that we set for,” Maxis chief executive officer Robert Nason told a press conference about the programme that began two years ago.
“We are in the middle of sorting these problems right now because this is something which can be embraced throughout Malaysia. We are working with MCMC ( Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) on how we develop this programme further in the coming months and years.”
Nason said Maxis eKelas demonstrates what technology can do to help students, who would otherwise be deprived from having tutors available.
“We can then use technology to bring extra education straight to them as a free service where we can help kids with their studies,” he said.
On expanding to include more subjects, Nason said Maxis wants to ensure the programme offers a very high quality experience.
“So we’ve got really good teachers, who are accustomed to teaching this sort of format and the first thing is to get English, Maths and Science to as many students before looking to expanding to other subjects,” he explained.
“I am sure teachers are keen to embrace this as well because it is a fun experience and different way of teaching.”
eKelas is delivered at Internet centres owned by MCMC under Maxis’ care for students from Form 1 to 3.
In Sarawak, there are 13 Internet centres in Kuching, Miri, and Sibu with access to eKelas.
Maxis is the first company to bring digital learning to the centres and is currently running eKelas in 54 Internet centres across 10 states.
It offers a combination of live tutorials, group learning, and interactive digital content, which is in line with the Malaysian school syllabus.
Currently, about 4,000 students nationwide, mostly in rural areas, have benefitted from eKelas.
Meanwhile, eCikgu – a live chat platform where students can immediately interact with teachers and ask questions – is currently being put on trial.
“We will ensure that this success continues but we won’t try to grow it too fast without the quality being there that students don’t get the education benefits out of it. We are very conscious of that,” added Nason.