‘Teachers need to shift focus towards digital classrooms’
abu dhabi — The role of a teacher is even more important in today’s digital world, as they transform pupils into creative learners and collaborative thinkers, according to Anthony Salcito, the vice-president of Education for Microsoft Corporation.
In an interview with Khaleej Times on the sidelines of Bett Middle East and Africa Summit at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec) on Monday, Salcito said the new technologies would require more teaching and technical staff, to educate students about developing skills and provide support on the use of new gadgets.
It’s important for governments to prepare teachers and appreciate them more. “We have to focus more on how to prepare teachers and train them in new technologies, so they can transform students for the future by providing them with the necessary skills,” said Salcito.
“Things like collaboration is now becoming more important. Technology enables students to collaborate and share ideas with one another,” he said.
“Pupils can work on projects inside the classrooms and outside the classrooms. With technology, students can build necessary skills which they take forward in the world of work. These are critical things for teachers to embrace and incorporate into their curriculum.”
According to Salcito, technology has expanded the classroom as students can learn from the world of information available everywhere.
“Unlike before, where learning used to take place at a certain time of the day and in a certain location, with today’s technology, learning takes place everywhere. It’s lifelong and has shifted the nature of learning from its foundation,” he said.
Students also need to be prepared well for the future workplace, where mixed reality — a combination of the digital reality and physical reality — and artificial intelligence (AI) will be the order of the day.
Sonal Ghelani, event director, Bett Middle East and Africa said: “The UAE has always taken pride in delivering inspirational educational curricula that are centred around excellence, innovation and progression. Bett underpins the nation’s ambitious vision to become the leading education destination in the world, as outlined in the UAE Centennial Plan 2071.”
This year’s Bett Middle East and Africa hosted 2,500 educators, policy-makers, thought-leaders, stakeholders and technology specialists, who came together to share their views on how to improve learning outcomes across the region.
McKinsey’s “Class of 2030”
In his keynote address at the Bett summit, Anthony Salcito shed
With technology, students can build necessary skills which they take forward in the world of work. These are critical things to embrace and incorporate into their curriculum.” Anthony Salcito, vice-president of Education, Microsoft Corporation
light on the recent Mckinsey ‘Class of 20’ ” report. McKinsey’s ‘Class of 2030’ report — encompassing input from 2,000 students, 2,000 teachers and 70 thought leaders worldwide — revealed that children starting school now would be better prepared for the post-Fourth Industrial Revolution workplace if they were endowed with social and emotional skills.
Only 42 per cent of employers believe that today’s graduates are adequately equipped with those attributes.
The study showed that up to 40 per cent of jobs in growth industries required soft skills and that emotional and social attributes were twice as predictive of a student’s academic results as home environment and demographics.
More than 98 percent of students expressed a desire for more personalisation in the classroom, as opposed to automation, revealing a need for teachers’ time to be freed up.
Teachers, on average, said the right technology in the classroom gave them 30 percent of their time back, allowing them to deliver more student-centric education.